Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous all around Him. (Psalm 50:2-3)
As was discussed in the previous devotion, to the casual observer it would seem that God is slow to punish the wicked and equally as slow to reward the righteous. Though we who are His people know that this is not really the case, we must also admit that His decision on when and how these things should be addressed doesn’t often sync with ours. In other words, why does God wait so long to punish those who persecute and oppress His people? Why does it seem that He suffers long with them and, at the same time, seemingly very quick to point out our shortcomings and administer correction?
According to rabbinical thought, the reason is because one focuses more on what is right before their eyes. The line of thought is that God’s eye is fixed on His beloved people and not as much on the rest of the nations. That is not to suggest that God is unaware of what the nations do, but emphasizing that His gaze is set primarily upon those charged with the task of being a light to those in darkness. Therefore, He will be much quicker to correct His children than He will be to correct those who are not. Most parents will be more attentive to what their children do and quicker to give correction to our own because we want our children to faithfully reflect who we are and what we are; that is to say, to be an authentic representation of our values in private and in public.
So it is that those who are closest to Him are held accountable for the slightest of missteps — not because He is cruel and unjust but because He is holy and has called us to be holy. The closer we draw to Him, the more we are subjected to the consuming fire that goes out before Him devouring our will and desires. As we are placed upon the altar so to speak, it may seem very tempestuous all around Him, but that is because He is doing the necessary work in us. And as we submit to His corrective Hand, our lives become the shining example He has ordained us to be for the sake of those who remain under the spell of the nations. We should not think that He will allow the wicked to go unpunished, but that they might be saved, He calls us to a higher standard as a witness to those who remain in darkness. May it be that we can be used of God to lure them into His marvelous light.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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