COMPLAINTS OF MAN AND GOD

“Yet you say, the way of the Lord is not fair. Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?” (Ezek. 18:25 NKJV).

This verse is repeated three more times in Ezekiel. It is basically God answering Israel’s complaints and setting the record straight. Thus we want to note the complaint about God and the complaint by God.

Complaint about God – “Yet you say, the way of the Lord is not fair.” This complaint is iniquitous and inexcusable. It is iniquitous because it accuses God of being unfair. The word “fair” comes from the practice of weighing things in the balances. In those days they did not have scales like we do to weigh things but had balances. They would put a specified weight in one side then the product in the other that equaled the weight. So the people here are accusing God of being unfair to man, of being unfaithful and untruthful.

Further, the complaint is inexcusable because in spite of the goodness of God, the people were still complaining. Facts do not make any difference with some people as they have made up their mind to complain about God. They are simply biased against God.

Complaint by God – “Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are unfair?” Now we have the correction and the condemnation in the complaint by God. If anyone is true, honest, faithful, fair, and just, it is God. To accuse God of being unfair, unfaithful, untrue, and unjust is absolutely ridiculous. We cannot blame God for evil; it is not His fault. And so God say that those people who are complaining about Him are hypocrites. We want Him to answer prayers speedily while we drag our feet serving Him. We want God to be liberal in blessings while we are stingy in the offering plate.

(Adapted from Butler's Daily Bible Reading 3)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“God expects no complaining on our part and offers no explanation on His part!”

Oswald Chambers (1874 - 1917)

Scottish Evangelical Bible Teacher and Military Chaplain

Word Study

Dwells

In 2 Peter 3:13 we read, “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (NKJV).

Dwells is the Greek word katoikeō (κατοικέω = kat-oy-keh'-o). It is made up of two words: “kata” which means down, towards, in; and “oikeō” means to live, inhabit or dwell. Thus the word literally means to settle down in a place so to take up permanent abode or residence. In classical Greek katoikeō means to settle in or inhabit. In the Septuagint, katoikeō also means to inhabit, to settle in. In the New Testament katoikeō is used to mean to inhabit or to dwell. It denotes permanent habitation as opposed to sojourning or an occasional visit. Further, the word is in the present tense meaning to continually dwell. Here the apostle Peter is talking about a righteousness that is no longer a sojourner, wanderer or guest, but is a permanent resident.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – At Messiah’s coming, Israel would have unfit leaders (Zech. 11:4-6).

New Testament Fulfillment – Matt. 23:1-4

Did You Know…

The Bible states that the Lord Jesus was the sacrificial lamb to pay for man’s sin (John 1:29).

Bible Quiz

What is the name of the day when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: What were the two bodies of water that God parted for the Israelite children to cross? The Red Sea and the River Jordan (Josh. 4:23).

Names For God Found in the Bible

“El Olam”

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable” (Isa. 40:28).

1. Meaning – El Shaddai “The Everlasting God” speaks of God’s eternality, having no beginning or end. There is nothing past or future that is outside of His knowledge.

2. Insights – In context, instead of praising the Lord, the nation was complaining that He acted as though He did not know their situation or have any concern for their problems. However, the Creator who knew the names of all the stars certainly knew the problems of His own chosen people. He knows how we feel and how we fear, and He is adequate to meet our every need.

Did You Know...Christian History

John Ryland was born January 29, 1753 in Warwick, England. He was an English Baptist minister, religious writer, and one of the founders of the Baptist Missionary Society.

Born into a godly Baptist home, Ryland was the son of a Hebrew scholar and pastor who taught him to read Hebrew at an early age. He could translate Psalm 23 at age five and had read through Genesis in the original language several times before he was twelve. Despite his scripture learning and his attendance at church, Ryland was not a Christian. A friend showed Ryland his need for faith, and he was finally converted in 1767 when he was fourteen. Five days later he was baptized in the Nene River by his own Father.

Ryland was seventeen when he began to preach. It was Ryland who baptized Carey in 1783 - in the same river where he himself had been baptized. At the age of 28 he was co-pastor with his father at Northampton. In 1794 he accepted the presidency of the Baptist College and the pastorate of the church in Broadmead, Bristol. Ryland was characterized by sound sense, persuasiveness, deep sincerity, and Scriptural teaching. He was a man of considerable literary culture and was one of the founders of the Baptist Missionary Society.

Ryland wrote several books and a number of hymns, including, “O Lord, I Will Delight in Thee.” Ryland’s hymns were composed at different times from his sixteenth year to the year of his death. At the age of 20 in 1773, he wrote the first of a series of 100 hymns, most of which were composed to be sung in connection with his sermons.

Along with a few friends, Ryland began to urge the Particular Baptists to move away from their hyper-Calvinist view of God’s sovereignty toward a more modern understanding of the need of human agency in missions. Nonetheless, when Carey urged the commencement of a mission work, it was John’s father who is supposed to have said to Carey, “Young man, sit down. When God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid or mine.” Ryland, however, became a close associate and sponsor of Carey in his successful mission work. He threw himself heart and soul into the enterprise and kept up a very affectionate correspondence with his old friend Carey to the close of his life. Ryland died at the age of 72. His last words were: “No more pain.”

A Little Humor

After the revival had concluded, the three pastors were discussing the results with one another. The Methodist minister said, “The revival worked out great for us! We gained four new families.” The Baptist preacher said, “We did better than that! We gained six new families.” The Presbyterian pastor said, “Well, we did even better than that! We got rid of our 10 biggest troublemakers!”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Jesus is not one of many ways to approach God, nor is He the best of several ways; He is the only way!”