Basic HTML Version
Now do you begin to under–
stand?
Mankind was cut off from God
because of rebellion, and God, in
turn, withheld from mankind, in
general, access to his Holy Spiri t.
Consequently, God withdrew bis
hand, gave manki nd free rein to
write indelibly and for all time the
lesson in human tears and blood
that, a par t from obeying God 's
laws, universal happiness, peace
and prosperity are impossible. That
lesson is still being wr itten today.
lt
wasn't only Adam and Eve
who c hose to have it that way. All
their mat ure descendants did like–
wise. T he whole Bible is a record of
human beings- with the exception
of a few indiv idua ls- rej ecting
God 's ways and suffering for it.
Did you ever wondcr, when read–
ing the Bible, why sorne of the ter–
r i b le accounts it con tai ns a re
included in it? The reason is, t he
events described form a par t of the
lesson be ing writte n by human
experience: the lesson that breaking
God 's r evea le d s piri t u a l l aws
results in suffering and misery.
Hear what God says to a human
race bent on self-destruction:
" Because 1 have called and you
refused , 1 have stretc hed out my
hand and no one rcgarded, beca use
you disdained all my counsel, and
would have none o f my reproof, 1
also will laugh at you r calamity; 1
wi ll mock whe n your terror comes,
when your terror comes like a
storm, and you r destruction comes
like a whirlwind, when distress and
anguish come upon you."
God doesn't e njoy seeing people
suffer. Bu t he wants them to learn
their lesson wel l. Continuing:
"Then t hey wi ll cal l on me, but 1
will not answer; they will seek me
di ligently, but t hey will not fi nd
me. Because t hcy hated knowledge
and did not c hoose the fear o f t hc
Lord, t hey would have none o f my
counsc l a nd d espised a ll my
reproof, therefore t hey shal l eat t he
fru it of t hei r own way, and be fi lled
to the full with their own fancies"
(Prov. 1:24-3 1).
Why is t here a nguish and suffer–
ing on ear t h? Why is t here so much
heartache and pain? Humans have
been eati ng the fruit of thei r own
ways and they ins is t on cont inuing
to do so.
October 1984
Though men have formed their
own rel ig ions and t hough many
have professed to seek God, they
have not found hi m, because they
are too often like t hose prophesied
of in Hosca 5:6: Wi t h their rel i–
gious accoutrements " t hey shall go
to seek the Lord, but t hey will not
find Him; He has withdrawn Him–
sclf from t hem." Why? Listen to
t he prophet Micah: "Then t hey will
cry to the Lord , but He wi ll not
hear them; He will even hide His
face from t hem at t hat time, [and
here is t he reason) because t hey
have been evil in thei r deeds" (Mic.
3:4).
While God has
throughout history
maintained an
overall hands-off
poliey, he has
intervened when
necessary to work
out bis plan.
" When you s pread out your
hands [in prayer]." God says, " 1
wi ll h ide My eyes from you; even
though you make many prayers, 1
wi ll not hear" (1sa. 1:15) .
l saiah pu t it this way: " Behold,
t he Lord's hand is not shor tened,
that it cannot save; nor His ear
heavy, that it cannot hear. But your
iniquities have separated you from
your God; and your sins have bid–
den H is face from you , so t hat He
will not hear " (lsa. 59: 1-2).
God hides his face because of sin
(see also J ohn 9:3 1; Deuteronomy
3 1:17- 18; 32:20 ).
God, However, Can Be Found
It
is important to understand that
whi le God has throughout history
maintained an overa ll hands-off
policy, he has intervened when nec–
essary to work out his plan. He has
deal t d irect ly with select individu–
als, even appeared and spoken to
sorne of them, g iving his Holy S pi r–
it as needed . Bu t to mankind as a
whole, he has personally remained
" hidden."
Those who have ears to hear are
told to
seek
God and to keep look–
ing unti l they fi nd him (lsa. 55:6-7;
J er. 29:13) .
lt
is God 's will t hat
people of every nation "should seek
the Lord , in the hope that they
might grope for Him and find Him,
t hough He is not far from each one
of us" (Acts 17:27). He can be
found. But one needs to call out to
h im in obedient earnestness. Few
seem willing to do that , however .
Even to those who do seek and
find h im God has chosen at this
t ime to remain invisible.
T he reason God now remains
invisible even to those who follow
b is ways is that he is developi ng
t hei r fai th and perseverance. Sur–
rounded as we are by the tangible,
mater ial world, it requires a special
daily effort to seek t he spiritual
values and to keep one's mind on
that plane (Col. 3:1-2) . Thus we
are instructed t hat we should "not
look at the thi ngs which are seen,
but at the things whic h ar e not
seen. For t he things which are seen
a re tempo rary, bu t t he th ings
whic h are not seen are eterna)" ( Il
Cor. 4:18).
lt 's easy to believe what is visi–
ble. But "faith is ... t he evidencc
of things
not
seen" (Heb. 11 : 1).
J esus pronounced a special blessing
on those who remain faithfu l to
him wi t hout ever seeing him in t his
life. He said to one of bis d isci ples:
" Thomas, because you have seen
Me, you have believed. Blessed are
t hose who have not seen and yet
have believed" (John 20 :29) .
When J esus was on ear t h , how–
ever, few even of those who saw
him wi th t hei r own eyes believed.
T hat ought to tell us something.
Here he was, having come to ear t h
on the human leve!. He carne as a
mortal, fl esh-and-blood man- God
in the flesh- capable of being seen,
talked to, even touched . And what
happened ? Was he accepted with
open arms? Was he welcomed and
given due respect?
No, he was "despised and
41