“Therefore, thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am planning against this family a calamity from which you cannot remove your neck; and you will not walk haughtily, for it will be an evil time.’ “
The sovereign Lord is sovereign over good and evil. The problem of evil is something that has troubled mankind since the fall. Today people speak out against God, accusing Him of being powerless or absent when evil happens. But God is neither powerless nor absent, He is Lord over all, even over evil. As Lord over all He has intentions and plans for evil and calamity – without ever sinning or doing the least unrighteous thing.
The Lord ordained that evil be, and He has made glorious use of it in His designs for salvation through the cross of Christ. It was by the hands of sinful men that Jesus was put to death – and in His death and resurrection the greatest expression of God’s glory was made manifest.
That the world would accuse God of unrighteousness is no surprise – for those without faith, without Holy Spirit, are hostile against Him by nature. Much more dangerous however, is when God’s people resist God’s sovereignty over evil, seeking to excuse Him from any involvement when anything bad happens. This resistance is dangerous to the people of God and it is dangerous in my own soul. In seeking to excuse God from involvement in the bad things that happen we misrepresent Him, and His purposes for sending calamities, for our ultimate good, are short circuited. The scripture is clear that the Lord is Lord over calamity and ordains its existence using it to accomplish His sovereign plans (Psalms 107, Isaiah 45:7, Amos 3:6, Micah 1:12, 2:3). It is exceedingly dangerous to deny God His right to rule over life and death, over good and evil. Here in Micah the false prophets tried to use God’s own nature as a shield against calamity. How familiar to our twenty-first century evangelical ears are arguments like “Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient? Are these His doings? Do not my works do good to the one who walks uprightly?” God is good, so the argument goes, therefore calamity can certainly not be from Him. Premise – God is good; absolutely and gloriously true. Conclusion – calamity is not from Him – dead wrong. Only false profits deny God His sovereignty over evil and to try and use truth about God as a shield against God. God is perfectly good and He appoints calamity to bring about His ultimately and magnificently good plans.
O how careful we must be when declaring what God does and does not do. How careful we must be not to use one truth about God as a shield against the whole truth of who God is. God is love and works all things together for the good of those who love Him. Yet God, in His love and goodness disciplines every true son – for their good, with things which at the time do not seem good (Hebrews 12: 9-11). If I were to reject “that which does not seem good at the moment” because it does not pass through the filter that “God is good,” God’s good purpose in sending “that which does not seem good” would be thwarted. Rather, I must receive from God good and “evil” as did Job, knowing that God works all things, including evil, to work for the ultimate good of those who love Him.
One of the wonderful things God gives through sending calamity is humility. “You will walk and not be haughty…” That God is the sovereign Lord over good and evil, such that he can use evil, without being evil, to serve His perfectly good plan, should cause us to fall on our faces and shut our mouths before the sovereign hand of God. Such a faith filled fear of God bears the perfect fruit of righteousness and delivers us into the places where all God’s sovereign power works for our good. Praise the Lord, that He is the Lord over all!
O Father, save me from the certain reproach that would come from misrepresenting you and denying your Lordship over all. Make me humble that I would not find you resistant to me, but rather find you drawing near to me and receiving me as I draw near to you. Amen.
{ 0 comments… add one now }