Friday: Further Thought – Rebuke and Retribution
Jeremiah struggled with a question that we all do: how do we make sense of evil? But maybe that’s the problem, trying to make sense of what’s not sensible, what could even be deemed as nonsense.
Image © Jeff Preston from GoodSalt.com
In this regard, Ellen G. White wrote: It is impossible to explain the origin of sin so as to give a reason for its existence. . . . Sin is an intruder, for whose presence no reason can be given. It is mysterious, unaccountable; to excuse it is to defend it. Could excuse for it be found, or cause be shown for its existence, it would cease to be sin.
-Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 492, 493. Replace the word sin with evil and the statement works just as well: It is impossible to explain the origin of evil so as to give a reason for its existence. . . . Evil is an intruder, for whose presence no reason can be given. It is mysterious, unaccountable; to excuse it is to defend it. Could excuse for it be found, or cause be shown for its existence, it would cease to be evil.
When tragedy strikes, we hear people say, or we ourselves think: I don’t understand this. It doesn’t make sense. Well, there’s a good reason that we don’t understand it: it’s not understandable. If we could understand it, if it made sense, if it fit into some logical and rational plan, then it wouldn’t be that evil; it wouldn’t be that tragic because it serves a rational purpose. How crucial it is that we remember that evil, like sin, cannot often be explained. What we do have, however, is the reality of the Cross, which shows us the love and goodness of God despite the inexplicable evil caused by sin.
Discussion Question:
- Dwell more on this idea that evil and suffering don’t make sense, that they don’t have a rational or good explanation. Why is it better that way? Think about it. A horrible tragedy strikes: perhaps a young child dies of a terrible disease after years of suffering. Do we really want to believe that a good and rational reason exists for this? Isn’t it better to chalk it up to the terrible and evil results of living in a fallen world? Discuss in class.
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There is no reason for evil and just like the existent of the Devil for it was not in the blueprint of Yahweh or the Trinity from the beginning therefore let us just think of the future where there is no words, intellect and orator can explain the wonder, beauty and majesty of our mansion prepared by the Lamb of God as He saves us from this sinful world and destruction to take us to eternal bliss and rest forever. Let us adhere to Saint Paul's admonition, "Think of the things from Heaven where your life is hidden in Christ" and this is my prayer for all the saints today so that it brings satisfaction that we already are citizens of Heaven.
I’ve been taken up with the image by Jeff Preston above…the puffed up chest, stomach drawn in (pride), the beguiling look on the face with droopy ears and pathetic wings; ‘it’ looks harmless yet the reality is that this evil one has had a devastating affect on humankind, on the universe, and even on heaven itself. Let us remember, that this is why Jesus came, ‘to undo the works of the devil’ (1John 3:8). The evil that we know and see, experience in temptation and in the act of sin, is what drove the nails into our Saviour’s hands, this evil brought down a crown of thorns to bear on his skull and pierced his side with a sword. As we examine today’s lesson, let us examine ourselves. Pull out the sin that hinders us, look at it, examine it, call it by its rightful, sinful name until we hate it. Deal with it, never let it beguile you for what it really is, that which caused His pain and separated us from God.
Once again I have been reminded of how omniscient our God is. Many years ago when our little congregation was going through particularly trying times the theme of the Sabbath School lessons were spot-on. Nearly five years ago we lost our younger daughter in a car accident. Her daughter is now part of her mother’s sister’s family. Now that she is a teenager the innocent joyful little girl has been replaced by a rebellious disrespectful teenager. In a desperate effort to get her attention we set an ultimatum – change your attitude, treat the family with respect and study in the presence of her aunt. Things went well for a few days and now matters have reached a point of no return. I truly expected that the thought of not coming ‘home’ (she considers Namibia ‘home’) would make her change. Now we face the fact that we have to go through with the punishment.
Amidst tears this morning the Lord reminded me of our Sabbath School lesson and the tough decision He had to make to get Israel to repent and change their ways. Like our granddaughter, they were only sorry when the punishment came – the drought and famine or the enemy invaded their homes. Once the crisis was over they went back to their old ways and God eventually had to carry through what He had been warning them with through the prophets – exile. Does God shed tears? Today I cannot help but think that He does. He knew that unless He took drastic action there wouldn’t be an Israel into which His Son could be born .... and God always keeps His promises.
How lonely the Father must have been without His Son sharing His throne during the years Jesus spent in Satan’s ‘territory’ . Although God knows the end from the beginning, that did not make it any easier to stand by and see His only Son being abused, tortured and death without intervening. But He was willing to do it anyway it to keep His promise to Adam and every soul saved will be as diamonds in His crown. There will be places empty when we celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary and Christmas this year – our daughter at rest and her little girl through choice. Her 14th birthday will also be a sad one without the family around her. Thank you Lord for sending such a timely message through your Sabbath School lesson and through it giving me peace with a tough decision.
I strongly agree with you, I believe God sheds tears when we choose to disobey Him. We usually talk about what sin did/does to us as humans but tend to forget what it did to God. He loves us so dearly He wants to be with us physically but sin separated us from Him otherwise we would be consumed by His glory. May He help us to choose not to break His heart anymore than it has been broken and also to draw others to Him.
I was just thinking about people suffering and that sometimes or most times it doesn't seam fair. Don't we tell our kids life isn't fair, or your just not old enough to understand right now. Okay then really, are we old enough to understand God will? If this person that is suffering can bring others to Christ, and themselves too. That in itself is a miracle!
What about Hezekiah? He received and extra 15 years. But his extra 15 years didn't exactly end up the way he might have hoped. God's will is higher and more awesome than anything we can ever imagine.
Maureen,
I can relate to your pain and your faith in spite of your loss. We lost our daughter to a car accident twenty years ago, and our son to a massive stroke four years ago. It is very painful, but we look forward to the day we meet our children again following the return of our blessed Savior.
How is the origin of evil a mystery? Evil is the result of Sin. Sin is no mystery, only it's ORIGIN is a mystery as Ellen states it. There is no reason to depart from and fight against the righteousness, justice, goodness and mercy of a Loving Creator who gives life to all. It would be madness to turn against such a One. Yet this Lucifer has done and we cannot explain it or find a reason, yet we can define sin by the same Law that defines righteousness. They are polar opposites.
While we have sin clearly defined in God's word, we are also taught that "The curse causeless shall not come" in Prov 26:2. We can trace the cause of every evil that comes, which will always be because of sin. God's Word is our Guide and never errs in it's truth. I believe our understanding today is greater than what Jeremiah understood in his day, just as with other prophets such as Daniel. The great evil that came upon Jerusalem had been warned of and there was no reason to not understand except when having departed from the faithful Word of God. For us, the great evil what will soon come upon this earth has been clearly defined and for all who live by every Word of God, there will be no misunderstanding, and thus, no deception. All others will be deceived and "worship the beast".
Jehovah loves us and knows what will make a perfect world where all live in harmony. It takes putting the happiness of the family before that of the individual. Selfishness and rebellion against Jehovah is the root of evil.
Since sin/evil entered the world, till Our Savior Jesus Christ came to intervene and reclaim us His own. Since then, Sin/evil has been defeated, yet still alive awaiting its eternal doom. Go to Jesus Christ today, sit at His feet, hold fast till He come to take us Home for Eternity in His All powerful name Jesus Christ Amen.
Please help me in this last week lesson, who rebukes, who retributes, who is rebuked and who is retributed? Thank you.
Indeed sin makes no sense. It is illogical and completely out of step with God's intentions for humanity. God created angels and men with the capacity to choose to obey Him or not to obey Him; to choose right from wrong. When a third of the angels and human kind chose not to obey God, trouble came as a logical consequence. But if we trust Him and put ourselves completely in His care, God's love covers us up and we are able to yield good results. In other words we may experience inexpressible grief but when we accept all and place our troubles in His hands we tend to develop a good character as we get enveloped in God's righteousness. Think of many sinners in the Bible who suffered much but when they came face to face with Christ, they always left that same place clothed in His righteousness. Think of Mary caught in the very act. She was brought to Jesus naked, ready to be executed but she left that place of execution clothed in Christ's righteousness. Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more."