Sorting Out Good & Evil (9/6/10)

Shalom,




Please begin by reading Isa 32:1-8.



This is a very interesting passage. The first two verses point to the reign of Jesus, the righteous King, and all he'll do to refresh and heal the earth. The next two point to those who surrender to his rule, despite their sinful ways and attitudes. The next three point to those who reject him, and how they'll eventually lose all influence in this world. And it closes with a blessing on those who truly do good in the name of Yahweh.

The servants of Yahweh are spoken of as noble or "honest princes." The people who will rule and reign with King Jesus have dignified character. Their hearts have been changed and they're now noble people. Verses 3-4 describe those who've surrendered to Jesus as the ones who are no longer blind, deaf, rash, or filled with an overabundance of words. Without the healing balm of Yahweh no one can see spiritual things. We need him to open our eyes by asking for his touch. None of us can hear spiritual truth until we surrender our willfulness to our Lord God Almighty. Once we come to know and understand that the only real Truth is found in Yahweh's Word, we can overcome our tendency to make "rash" decisions about spiritual things. And of course when we come to know Jesus as our Savior and Lord we no longer have to waste our words talking about other gods or philosophies.

Verse 3 describes people who can now function properly. Their spiritual eyes and ears now rightly see and listen. And the key is that their concern is for the face and voice of Yahweh. That's what they want. That's what they hunger and thirst for. The word closed refers to self-inflicted blindness. It's root is smearing over, covering their eyes with something. When we refuse to believe Yahweh's Truth, it's our own doing. We've personally caused our lack of spiritual vision. The word listen means to pay attention. Before we came to personally know and love our Lord we could hear him calling, but we refused to listen. We've always had the ability to see and hear, we just didn't choose to follow Yahweh.

Then look at what our Sovereign Lord says about "hotheads." The rash are those who through blind zeal pursue other gods or philosophies. But they have every opportunity to change and become filled with spiritual sense and understanding. This won't just be theoretical knowledge, but experiential knowledge. They'll know the truth because they'll have met and responded to the Holy Spirit. Their zeal will change from fighting against the knowledge of Yahweh to hungering and thirsting for it. The understanding we're talking about is discerning, it's skillful in analyzing and determining what is of Yahweh and what is not.

The next group is very interesting. Basically it says, those who stammer in uncertainty will speak out plainly. This is referring to those who speak many words to try and convince themselves and others of truth outside of Yahweh. But after meeting and trusting in Jesus these people will be able to speak elegantly. The fruit of their lips will change from a bunch of gibberish to confident and bold words proclaiming the Truth of Yahweh. Where before they spoke evasively, trying to deceive themselves and others, they'll now be speaking the pure counsel of the Holy Spirit.



Now we get to the "bad guys." The primary thing here is that the deception and wrong acknowledgement of evil's "good deeds" will no longer be the way of the world. When Jesus returns, the evil will be clearly recognizable and exposed in the light of his Truth and Justice. Too often our world operates the way Isa 5:20 warns against. "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkenss for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." The spiritual radiance of our Lord Jesus will allow us to see and discern people's hearts.

We start with fools. The word fool here is nabal. Nabal was a rash and headstrong man who rejected David's request for food in response to his army's protection (1 Sam 25). This word refers to the foolish who are insolent and prideful. They have no understanding of Yahweh and reject him as invalid for any improvement in their lives. These are ungodly fools who off-handedly reject Yahweh because "they have better things to do."

We can't call these people heroes. They aren't noble, generous, great, or anything worthy of our praise and adoration. Some of our modern-day idols are sports stars, movie stars, and rich celebrities. Many of these people have no love for Yahweh, and in fact deny his reality and profess other philosophies. Their unrighteous ways should cause us to turn away from their influence. Just because they have money and fame doesn't mean they should influence our choices and decisions. Many will listen to the foolish advice these kinds of people spout just because they are rich. Many will find themselves greatly disappointed when their idol falls and leaves them chasing after odd spiritual or philosophical rabbit trails which only lead them to get tangled in the thorns of Satan's lies.

The scoundrels are wealthy cheaters. Webster's dictionary says a scoundrel is a rascal or a villain. When Jesus returns we'll clearly recognize and discern the motives of people's hearts and be able to reject the scoundrels who've wormed their way into influential positions in society. They'll no longer be considered as "outstanding citizens," but will be exposed as the cheaters and deceivers they truly are. Having financial or political or any other kind of influence because of cheating or deception doesn't earn you favor with Yahweh. But it will eventually be exposed and these people will be left as naked as the fairy tale emperor.

The King James Bible calls this person a churl. This means a miser. This is a person who practices hypocrisy. He may use high-sounding words about how he's trying to help others, but the bottom line for him is how much he benefits. He sets his eye against Yahweh and especially the poor, using lying words to deceive and cheat people out of their money.



The implication of this passage is that after Jesus returns everyone will recognize ungodly fools for what they are. King Jesus will bring us a discernment that keeps us from being fooled in any way by the sweet talk or sales pitch of the ungodly. A wolf in sheeps' clothing will be clearly seen for what he is, and will be denied any opportunity to continue his evil and deceptive ways. We could have more of that kind of discernment now if we walked more in the presence of our Lord God Almighty.

Look at the kinds of things they do. He "spreads error concerning Yahweh." This is talking about someone who lives and loves ungodliness. They talk as if they know the secrets of heaven and even convince many people of their truth. We're warned about these people in many places throughout the Bible, but 2 Tim 3:13 probably says it best. "Evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." These false teachers only want to control and manipulate others. They don't have Yahweh's Truth, only a corrupted version of it.

We know of people who've collected for the poor and needy and then run off with the money or swindled them in some way to come out ahead themselves. We see how government bureaucracy deprives needy people of what they need while fattening the bellies and wallets of those who work within the bureaucracy. Someday everyone will be well cared for and the swindlers and scoundrels will all be exposed for what they truly are.

The scoundrel's methods are translated as "smooth tricks" in the New Living Translation. Interestingly this phrase can also refer to things which are disagreeable to Yahweh. Some of the words describing this in the concordance were bad, disagreeable, stingy, ugly, and ethically evil. I don't believe anyone who follows Jesus would want these kind of descriptions being made of their activities.

And notice where these unethical things are being done, in court We know our current juducial system in America is mostly corrupt and ungodly. In general, our judges don't make their decisions based on absolute standards, and because of this we have many people cheating and lying their way to decisions in their favor. Maybe the only thing which can cleanse our judicial system is the return of Jesus, but we need to do our best to influence them to be just and fair right now.



The good news in this passage is that these evil things are going to be removed from our world. Not just because Jesus shows up, but also because we'll no longer tolerate them. The righteousness of King Jesus being manifested in our world and through our personal activites will judge and remove evil influences from our midst. The reason our world has gotten darker is primarily because the people who know and believe in Jesus as their Savior and Lord, backed out of politics and society. Instead of staying in the midst of the problem, we backed out and let it get worse. So we can be extremely thankful that Jesus will clean house someday.

Look at verse 8 again. "But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands." We will walk with nobility and generosity and diginity in Christ. Isn't that something you'd love to see more of right now? Imagine our world with everyone trusting Jesus and seeking to walk in his righteous ways. Be of good cheer because that day is coming. Do your best to walk that way right now and seek to influence people away from the darkness of the world system.



Blessings & Peace, Mike