Year of the Bible: Part Four of Twelve Sample

God Hands Us Over.

In Judges 2, God's people forget and forsake God, following the ways of the other nations and other gods. It took place after Joshua's generation died and provoked God to anger. God turned the people over to reap the consequences of their choices.

We repeatedly see this phrase in the Bible when God gets angry, He "hands us over." But what does this mean?

When humans do great evil and stop representing God's Kingdom in the world, he "hands them over" to the death and disorder they have unleashed in creation. And that phrase, "he handed them over," is one of the most common ways God expresses his anger in the biblical story.

They provoked the Lord because they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. And the Lord's anger burned hot against Israel, and the Lord gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies, whom they were no longer able to resist.

The apostle Paul summarized the Old Testament stories when he talked about God's anger in his letter to the Romans, saying, "God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts." (Romans 1:24). "God gave them over to shameful lusts." (Romans 1:26). "God gave them over to a depraved mind." (Romans 1:28). This is also described as God "hiding His face" [hiding His presence].

The Biblical authors want us to see that God's anger always responds to human betrayal and evil. In other words, God's wrath is expressed by giving humans what they want, or at least, what they've chosen. And if what we've chosen are ruin and death, then that's what we will get.

God is consistent, and He doesn't play favorites. He warned the Israelites that if they broke the covenant and adopted the culture and religious practices of the Canaanites, they would face the same consequences. This consequence is, of course, that's what came to pass. The whole point of the book of Judges is to show how the Israelites progressively became just like their enemies.

Saved from God's Wrath

When God hides His face, it's a tragedy. When God removes his presence and power, humans can't accomplish the task for which we were created, to be his royal image-bearers. This is why the story of the Bible finds its high point in Jesus. God was not content to let humanity destroy itself, so he came to rescue us.

Here is how Paul reflects on this in his letter to the Romans.

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person, someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!"

"For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." (Romans 5:6-11).

In God's anger, humanity has been handed over to death, but that isn't the end of the story. God's love is even greater. In Paul's mind, it is God's love that answers to God's wrath through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Instead of God hiding His face or handing us over, He has reconciled us to Himself. We get to experience God's powerful and creative life in us.

Question: Am I showing Jesus' love by being slow to anger when others do things that hurt me?

Prayer: God, thank you for being slow to anger and giving me many opportunities. I don't want to forget what you have done and what I have learned about you. Help me to remember the love you displayed by paying for the consequences of my choices. Allow me to bring you joy and not sadness. Please help me show the same kindness you have shown me when others hurt me. In Jesus' name, Amen!

See You Next Month: Part five of twelve starts on the 1st. We hope to see you there, don't forget to start the plan and create your daily reminder.