“I will destroy you” is presented as the final word on God’s character, that this aspect of God’s character is self-evident. But wisdom requires that we not be taken in. We must refer to Ezekiel 28 and take in the full measure of everything that chapter says. When we read “I will destroy you,” we must ask:
2. How does God destroy? When God says, “I will destroy you,” turns out He is speaking of Satan, under the symbol of the king of Tyre, and Ezekiel 28 is one of the most eloquent Biblical chapters that describes Christ’s nemesis. Besides “I will destroy you,” here is what it says:
I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas” (vss. 7, 8 )
Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised in the hand of strangers” (v. 10).
I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee . . . .never shalt thou be any more” (vss. 18, 19).
As it turns out, five verses in that chapter expand on and tell how “I will destroy you.” It might be worth mentioning, too, that the entire verse says, “I will destroy you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire” (v. 16), mentioning that He will not allow him access to the “sea of glass, as it were mingled with fire” (Rev. 15:2) that exists in His glorious kingdom.
Therefore we can see that taking one small text or part of a text and concealing the rest will never yield full light on any Biblical question. We must take in everything on that topic.
But one thing does concern me. We know that any heavenly light that is rejected results in loss of the soul. “From those who have rejected truth the light of God has departed” (Ms. 32, 1886). It grieves me deeply that the individual(s) who wrote this book have thus made a very firm commitment to error, have led others into error, and they will be lost. None of us can accept that we could be lost. This is particularly true for leaders. Can he/they “man up” and stand before the people and confess that they have been wrong? It is a very humbling experience and very difficult to do. But if they will be saved, they cannot become the enemy of light that God would have shine on the people.
Now, I told you that you would have an assignment with this blog. Here it is.
In your Bible reading, anyplace in the Bible, keep the facts that you have read here uppermost in your mind. You will find statements that seem just as clear as “I will destroy you.” When you find such statements, look at the context. Find those texts that tell “HOW” God will accomplish this task. You’ll find them everywhere. We just read right over them in days past; now look for them. I predict great joy for you, as you come to understand God’s character and learn that “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.”
The Bloggery
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I could not agree more! I find that reading these difficult passages in context often gives us a fuller picture of the character of God. A particularly enlightening study for me was one I did on the phrase “burn with fire”. I found that within the context of that particular phrase was without exception the concept of the consequence resulting from facing one’s own sin. God deliver us from our superficial Bible reading!
Amen!