My dad was a great father. He was a hard worker, a good provider, was always there for us—he was dependable. Unlike some fathers today, he was involved in the lives of his children. Whether it was sports, or academics, or music, he encouraged us to be our best and to reach for the stars—and he was there to make sure we did.  He was a great Christian man.

We knew he loved us, that was never in doubt. He was kind, compas­sionate and patient. But there was a limit to his patience, and we experienced that from time to time.  And on a few occasions (okay, many occasions) I found myself on the business end of my father’s commitment to justice.

As we come to II Kings, we find that the infinite pa­tience of God has run out with Israel. After hundreds of years of rebellion, corrupted worship and flat out rejecting him, Israel has pushed God over the limit.  After scores of prophets had warned them and called them to national repentance—to no avail—the nation of Judah will now face the consequences of sin.

Years ago I came across two different sermon titles that aptly describe this sad part of Israel’s history. Charles Swindoll called it, When God Says, ‘That’s Enough.’  Likewise, the well known Baptist preacher, R. G. Lee was spot on in his sermon title “Payday Someday!”  That’s what II Kings 25 is all about.

The wrath of God is not a pleasant fact, but it is a reality.  There is an end to God’s patience and a time when judgment is not only appropriate, but  to withhold it would be for God to impugn his own character, emasculate his grace and empty his love of any real power. Judah had reached that point because of their continued wickedness—so God allowed their city to be destroyed, along with their cherished temple, and the children of God were sent into exile among the godless Babylonians.

There are some pretty sobering reminders in Judah’s story for us.  For one, we need to be reminded that absolutely nothing escapes the watchful eye of God. Galatians 6:7 tells us, “Don’t be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” In other words, there will be a payday, someday.  And we need to take that very seriously, because God does. He is a holy God who cannot tolerate sin. He won’t tolerate it in sinners, nor in saints. Murder, adul­tery, lying, cheating—God will deal with those “big” sins. Likewise God will not let us get away with the “little” sins either—anger, gossip, critical spirits, un-forgiveness.  We need to be very sensitive in allowing the Holy Spirit to convict us of those things that are displeasing to God—and repent of them quickly.

Another reminder from Judah’s fall is that sin deafens us to God’s loving warnings. Judah didn’t see that the line-up of imprecatory prophets were really their friends, calling them back from the brink of disaster. You see that sometimes in rebellious teenagers rejecting the discipline of their parents or in people leaving their churches because their pastor has confronted them on some tough issues.  Proverbs 27:6 tells us, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are profuse.”  The next time you hear a warning from a friend, or a tough message in church, open your ears—and your heart. It is really a message of love.

Finally, Judah’s fall reminds us that God is always rich in mercy, abounding in grace, and he relents from sending calamity.  King David, after his fall, said “a broken and a contrite heart God will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)  Ultimately the Jews humbled themselves and returned to God. God always responds to sincere humility, and we would do well to cultivate it.

Yes, there is always a payday, someday.  Make sure you are working for the right kind of wages.

“If we are willing to accept humiliation, tribulation can become, by God’s grace, the mild yoke of, His light burden.” ~Thomas Merton

Reflect and Apply: Take a moment to reflect on James 4:10—then do it: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

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Read Revelation 9

“But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused
to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God.”
(Revelation 9:20)

Thoughts… This chapter in Revelation continues the story of the horrifying judgment that is being unleashed upon the world at the end of time. Though the devastation is unspeakable, it is deserved. God has patiently withheld his righteous wrath for the cumulative evil that has characterized the earth since the fall of man, but now his judgment has rightly fallen.

God’s judgment has two purposes. The first is to cause people to repent and turn to him. The second is to punish unrepentant people for their wickedness. God prefers that divine punishment would be redemptive, but when it is not, he will not withhold its punitive purpose.

What is truly amazing about sinful humanity, which we observe in this chapter, is that even under such harsh punishment, there is a stubborn refusal to repent and turn to God. People clearly know that they are suffering judgment from God, and there is no doubt as to why his righteous anger has been unleashed, yet they are so thoroughly prideful, arrogant, and stiff-necked in their rebellion against God that they would just as soon die in their wickedness as to acknowledge their sin and change. As someone has said, hell will be populated with people who are not remorseful, but resentful and defiant. (See also Revelation 16:8-11,21)

Now Christians will not be a part of the judgment described here in Revelation 9. My own theology leads me to believe that we will have a front row seat from the galleries of heaven as this is taking place on earth. So then, is there any personal application of this chapter for us in the here and now? How should this make a difference in my life today?

Perhaps the best application would be that the fate of these unrepentant people would cause us to evaluate our own attitude toward God’s discipline. When pain and hardship come our way, do we stubbornly refuse to consider the possibility that God may be trying to get our attention? This is not to say that all pain is punishment, but the wise of heart will take a long, hard look inside to see what wicked way God may be trying to reveal and remove.

C. S. Lewis wrote in “The Problem of Pain”,

“Because we are rebels against God who must lay down our arms, our other pains may indeed constitute God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world to surrender. There is a universal feeling that bad people ought to suffer: without a concept of ‘retribution’, punishment is rendered unjust, (what can be more immoral than to inflict suffering on me for the sake of deterring others if I do not deserve it?). But until the evil person finds evil unmistakably present in his or her existence, in the form of pain, we are enclosed in illusion. Pain, as God’s megaphone, gives us the only opportunity we may have for amendment. It plants the flag of truth within the fortress of a rebel soul. All of us are aware that it is very hard to turn our thoughts to God when things are going well. To ‘have all we want’ is a terrible saying when ‘all’ does not include God. We regard him as we do a heart-lung machine—there for emergencies, but we hope we’ll never have to use it. So God troubles our selfishness, which stands between us and the recognition of our need. God’s divine humility stoops to conquer, even if we choose him merely as an alternative to hell. Yet even this he accepts!”

My suggestion to you would be that you would consider whatever pain, hardship or discomfort in your life right now as God’s invitation to further surrender your life to him.

That kind of surrender is always a good thing!

Prayer… Father, make my heart tender before you. Let no stubbornness keep me from a repentant and pliable spirit. I humbly submit my life to you, and ask you to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Totally transform me into the person you desire me to be.

One More Thing… “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” —C.S. Lewis

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Read Revelation 6

“And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us
and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the
throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.”
(Revelation 6:16)

Thoughts… There will be a divine payday, someday!

God’s justice demands it. The blood of the righteous prophets who were murdered simply for being God’s voice to wayward nations demands it. The untold millions of believers who have been martyred for their faith in Christ demands it. The thousands of years of indescribable and unnecessary human suffering perpetrated by the greed and arrogance of corrupt rulers and evil world systems demands it. The wanton and flagrant disregard for the laws of God demands it. The humiliation and murder of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, demands it.

And it is coming. One day Christ will return, and prior to establishing his eternal reign, will administer divine justice. The righteous wrath of God will be finally and fully leveled at both the systemic as well as the specific wickedness that has ruled this world since the fall of Adam, and righteousness will be vindicated.

It will not be a pretty sight. Just read the description here in Revelation 6: War on a scale humanity has never seen before, economic devastation, famine, pandemic disease, ecologic upheaval that will make global warming seem like child’s play.

Anyone who reads this will shudder at the horror that will be visited upon the earth. No right-minded person wants to see this inflicted upon this present world. And yet there is a part of us that knows intuitively that the evil of this world system and the wickedness of mankind has it coming.

So as Christians who read about the wrath of God to come, what should our response be? One, it ought to cause even greater motivation to share the Good News with those who are lost. God has made a way for sinners to escape the coming judgment. That has always been a vital piece of the Good News—and it needs to be shared unapologetically.

Two, God’s coming wrath ought to cause us to live soberly in the here and now. Peter reminds us, “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. (II Peter 3:11-14)

And three, reading of God’s imminent wrath ought to produce greater gratitude that those of us in Christ Jesus will be shielded from such unbearable times. John writes in Revelation 3:10, “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.” Praise God, we who are in Christ get a pass!

Yes—there is a divine payday, someday. We’d be wise not to forget!

Prayer… Father, I am so grateful that through Christ, I am preserved from your coming wrath. In truth, I deserve it! But the spear of your righteous anger was instead plunged into Christ’s breast. And I will be eternally in your debt for that.

One More Thing… “When the author walks on the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right…something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise…it will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up.” — C.S. Lewis

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