The Way Out of the Sore Judgments
How may these judgments be averted? How were they averted in the Bible? They were often averted or terminated through repentance; whole-hearted repentance, as different from ceremonial confessions from the lips. In Jeremiah 14:19-20, the prophet prays to the Lord about his land. Even though the calamity was to descend in the following chapter, at least the prophet gives us a pattern of what to do:
THE BRINGERS OF THE SORE JUDGMENTS
Generally, these four sore judgments of God come upon a land when it sins grievously (Ezekiel 14:13). The sins in question may derive from any or all the following three sources:
1. The Sins of the Rulers
The four sore judgments, either one after the other or all at once, may come upon a land because of the sin(s) of its ruler(s). In 2 Samuel 21:1-2, famine came upon all Israel for three consecutive years during the reign of David the thrice-anointed king and psalmist, because of the sin of Saul his bloody predecessor. The righteousness of the present ruler was not sufficient to avert the consequences of the sin of the previous ruler. That previous sin was to be properly atoned for, or otherwise its consequences suffered, by the present generation. Fortunately for that land, it had a perceptive and willing ruler at the time, to do it.
5. Pestilence
19 Or if I SEND a pestilence into that land, and pour out MY fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:
20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness (Ezekiel 14:19-20).
What we read as “pestilence” in the King James Version is rendered in other translations as “plague,” as “epidemic,” as “deadly disease.” Of course, this would be another source of multiple deaths, of widespread infectious and contagious deaths; death that enters a house without knocking on the door; death beyond normal control, that begets other deaths, spreading itself, like cholera, Ebola, HIV/AIDS, meningitis, bird flu, cow pox, monkeypox, bubonic, influenza, and so on; pestilence on divine assignment, ‘sent’ by the Almighty, as an expression of “MY fury.” But, can – or should – a loving God get into such boundless “fury” with puny mortals? Ask the Jews.
1. A Basket of Judgments
1. Transactional Priestly Hands
Priestly hands are not merely bodily extensions; they can be potent transactional tools. Much as hands may transmit a blessing (Genesis 48:14; Deuteronomy 34:9), they can also transmit death. Someone can contract death by the hands that come upon them. That principle abounds in the rituals of the Old Testament worship. It is not for nothing, therefore, that Paul warns that priestly hands should not be carelessly or “suddenly” laid on anyone – on “no man” – because transactions could be activated, even though it had not been intended (1 Timothy 5:22). Check the following critical cases:
Self-Forgiveness
Forgiveness of self is no less important than the forgiveness of others. People have harmed themselves terribly because they could not forgive themselves for what they had done or what was done to them. Meanwhile, the same people are sometimes willing to forgive others generously. The self needs the assurance of forgiveness no less than others do. Give first to yourself what you would give to others, or what you want others to give to you. Sow a ‘seed’ into your own life also, as you would sow into other lives. Forgive yourself, forget your past.
Assurance of Forgiveness (Forgiveness, Chap 9, Series 16)
We concede that feelings alone might not always be a true expression of the degree of penitence (on the part of the trespasser) or of forgiveness (on the part of the forgiver), although they are veritable indicators. There are other indicators of the state of forgiveness that we can glean from the story of Joseph and the parable of the prodigal son. The effort here is to address two questions:
1. The Unlikely Armies of God
When your enemy is God, it is pointless to fight, because you will never win. In such conflicts, the mighty God could hire such ordinary fighters as frogs, such little fellows as locusts and lice, such hellish missiles as hailstones, or fiercer regiments like the heathenish brutish Babylonians (Jeremiah 25:9; Exodus 8). His army might be as deceptively fragile as flies and little as lice yet, even with supersonic chariots and the backing of superpower Egypt, you will never win against them. Swift chariots do not guarantee a victory in every war, not especially when God is on the other side (Proverbs 21:31).
Conditions in Forgiveness
Does Acts 17:30 mean that forgiveness may be given blankly; that a trespasser can be granted blanket forgiveness that is connected to no specific trespass? Can I forgive someone, yet tell them of possible consequences if they should trespass again?
Sometimes it is necessary to specify post-forgiveness terms in a relationship, which terms, if breached, the culprit should be aware of the implications. It is neither wisdom nor spirituality to shut the eyes to future or possible future trespasses merely based on past forgiveness. David and Solomon might have abused the ‘clause of conditions’ in the terms of forgiveness, yet that does not make the process wrong.
No team wins a match by keeping the ball, but by kicking it far away and into enemy territory. Had Joseph never been kicked out by his brothers, he might never have been taken in by Egypt, where he became what he was born to be (Genesis 37-41). Had Moses not been ‘thrown out’ by the mother, he would not have been picked up by the princess into the palace, where destiny began to chart his course (Exodus 2:1-10). Thank God at times for those who kick us out; they merely fire us towards the goal. Sometimes, destiny plays the game in different styles with different balls.
Mario Balotelli, the popular Italian footballer, was born in Italy to poor immigrants from Ghana, the Barwuahs. Constrained by their challenging economic circumstances, especially given the child’s health issues, the Barwuah family had to seek the help of social services, which landed the young Mario in the foster care of Silvia and Francesco Balotelli, Jewish Italians, whose surname he subsequently adopted. Over time, Mario became a very stable and successful footballer, playing for the national team. His biological parents wanted him back, but he is said to have replied to them that they merely wanted to harvest his glory, because they had thrown him out when he was a helpless child.
I see it gratefully differently. Had they clung to him in their poverty, he might since have died in their hands and been justly forgotten. Had they never given him away, he might never have met the Balotellis, nor found the glory he now celebrates. Joseph was thankful in similar circumstances that offended Mario (Genesis 45:4-5,7; 50:20). He also had been kicked out by his own team towards the goal post in enemy territory.
Had Mario, Moses, and Joseph never been kicked out, they might never have been scored. No team wins by keeping the ball in their half of the field. In fact, by doing so, they stand the greater risk of losing, or at best escaping the game with a goalless draw.
Sometimes destiny plays the game in different styles with different balls. Even Jesus got ‘kicked’ out by the Holy Spirit into enemy territory, in God’s efforts to win the game. We read, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil” (Matthew 4:1, New Living Translation). The celebrations came afterwards: “Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus” (v.11, NLT). Of Abraham also, we read about a related experience,
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee OUT of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And [there] I will make of thee a great nation… (Genesis 12:1-2).
Nobody scores a goal by keeping the ball. In fact, the goalkeeper who does that risks the referee’s penalty. We are looking at the same ball: I see the fortunate face, you see the bickering back; I see with Joseph’s eyes, you see with Mario’s eyes. It depends on perspectives, on where on the grandstands you are watching from. Balls that hang too long around home often end up in own goals.
From The Preacher’s diary,
June 2014
WHAT TO EXPECT AT THESE RETREATS
The Preacher retreats are usually a special gathering for believers seeking spiritual renewal and a deeper fellowship with God through passionate prayers, intense study of the Word, and lively worship. Previous participants consistently declare that the spiritual atmosphere at the retreats is the kind of deepness their soul always longed for, somewhere every serious Christian (especially ministers) should be at, something that reminded them of the fire in the early days of their Christian experience. Starting from Friday evening to Sunday morning, each retreat is usually very intense but very memorable three days.
The retreats usually offer refreshing encounters of no regrets. Meeting brothers and sisters from different Christian and social backgrounds and relating freely and refreshingly as if you had known yourselves all your life time, is another takeaway that many recall. The retreats are guided by the spiritual principle of cooperate ministrations, giving everyone a room to bless everyone else with their unique spiritual gifts and talents, as one big family.
As part of the personal preparations for the retreats, intending participants are usually encouraged to study a given book of the Bible while also observing a weeklong daily fast from the Monday of the retreat week. Participants break the daily fasts with a dinner, and on Sunday morning, there is breakfast before departure, after a brief service concluded with a memorable Holy Communion from which there have usually come testimonies of remarkable healings.
See you at the next retreat …
For respective retreat details, see registration and contact information on the fliers, and note the other dates below:
Ghana: October 16-18, 2029
Abuja, Nigeria: June 2026
Port Harcourt, Nigeria: September 11-13, 2026
Australia: 2027
Uganda: 2027
