As far back as I can remember I have always loved Genesis 15, after all it is the story when God appeared to Abram in a vision and instructed him, “Do not be afraid, Abram I am your shield, your exceeding great reward.” Can you imagine God, the creator of all the earth coming to you and saying “I am your shield, your exceeding great reward.” If I could paraphrase. “Abram, there is nothing to fear, anything that tries to get to you has to go through Me. You have chosen the most precious thing of all, My presence and it far exceeds all other treasure.” I love to read the intimate relationship that Abram had with God, he was secure enough in his relationship with God top ask the hard questions, like whether God knew what He was talking about. Then he went so far as to almost blame God, “Lord God, what will you give me seeing I go childless.” Then he went further, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed, one born in my house is my heir.” God clarified His promise and told Abram to look at the stars in heaven then told him that his offspring will be as numerous as the stars. This time Abram took God at His word and it was counted to him for righteousness. Then God promised Abram the land all around him. As a guarantee for the promise God told Abram to cut a blood covenant and instead of the lesser party, Abram walking between the sacrifice, God Himself went between the slain animals, This ceremony signified God promising Abram that he would be the sacrifice if He broke the covenant He made with Abram. Abram fell asleep and horror and a great darkness came upon him. God explained to Abram what would happen to his descendants. They would be slaves in a foreign land for four hundred years. At the end of the four hundred years they would leave that country (Egypt) with great possessions. Their time in Egypt was not because they would forsake God, it was not because they had sinned the unpardonable sin, but instead it had nothing to do with them except for the timing of God. God could not disinherit the Amorites and give the land to Abram and his family without due process. Listen to the legal reason the people of the land would be disinherited. “But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
Our God is a Holy God and all that He created is Holy (except when angels and mankind rebelled.) Isaiah 66:1 “Heaven is My Throne, and earth is My footstool.” Not only did God make all things, all things exist and through Jesus blood were made to be reconciled with God. Colossians 1:15-18 “He is the image of the invisible God the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things and In Him all things consist. “All creation declares the glory of God. Isaiah 55:12 “The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” In Luke 19:40 when Jesus was told to make the people quit worshipping Him, His response was “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” God created all things and even the earth worships and praises Him, but when sin abounds, the earth also responds. When Adam sinned, the earth no longer cooperated and produced a lavish garden, God told Adam “cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you. And you eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face, you shall eat of the bread.” Genesis 3:17-18. God placed the law of sowing and reaping in place to help self-govern the earth and free will man. Galatians 6:7-8 warns “Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that he shall also reap.” Some people reap the consequences of their actions immediately like Korah, in Numbers 16, he led 250 of the chosen of Israel in a rebellion against Moses, God’s anointed. After Moses isolated the rebellious leaders and their families from the congregation, the ground opened up and swallowed them and their families. Then it seems like not only in the bible but in our modern-day times, some very wicked people are never held accountable and pay for the years of wickedness.
There is a theme that is woven throughout the Bible and seems to never be taught is the cup of God’s cumulative wrath, or the cup of iniquity. Revelations 17:4 is the story of the prostitute who enticed the kings of the earth to commit sexual immorality and caused the leaders to become drunk with her wine. “The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immoralities.” (The next verse reveals she was drunk with the blood of the martyred saints.) When Jesus was in Gethsemane, he prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.” I had always thought this was a metaphor, but Jesus asked to be spared the wrath of God that overflows from the cup of iniquity pass from Him. (Thank God He was obedient to death and won our salvation.) He suffered the wrath that all the iniquities of all mankind from the beginning of time until now. Our God is a gracious God and not willing that any should perish according to 2 Peter 3:9, but He is also righteous and there will be a time all men will give an account. Some individuals and some nations are so evil and vile that the sins they are doing are being stored up in their cup of iniquity. When the cup becomes so full of their iniquity, and there is no more room for the leniency or grace of God but the iniquities began to over flow. They will reap what they have sowed. There are some sins that are so vile that they are called abominations. These are all things God considers an abomingation, 2 Kings 23:24 “those who consulted mediums and spiritist, the household gods and idol (worshipping other gods),” 2 Chronicles 28:3 “burned his children in the fire (child sacrifice- the shedding of the blood of innocent children), sexual immorality Jeremiah 13:27,and forsaking God’s house Ezekiel 8:6. These vile lifestyles and behaviors are rampant in the United States today and many are being practiced by the so called “church”. What we have been programmed to believe as freedom of religion and tolerating the worship of foreign gods (even on our government facilities, and yes Hindu and Muslim are worship of false gods) God calls an abomination. In the old testament, people would sacrifice their children for prosperity and how many people sacrifice their children today because they do not want the inconvenience of the pregnancy. Sexual immorality is common, and the church wants to single out homosexuality, but all sex that is not between a husband and his wife is an abomination. That sin is rampant in the church, how many couples regularly attend church and live together, never making a commitment in front of God to marry and be faithful to one another. There is a saying that if you do not stand for righteousness, you will fall for anything, and sadly we are seeing those in the ministry fall right and left because of sexual immorality. We are like Adam who watched Eve eat the forbidden fruit and still walk around alive and still think we will get away with sin. We may not have did immediately, but people who walk in sin are storing up iniquity in the cup and one day will reap the seeds they have sown. There are consequences for iniquities. In Jeremiah 44:22 “So the Lord could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you committed. Therefore, your land is a desolation, an astonishment, a curse and without an inhabitant as it is this day.” Our sins will cause our lands to be waste and desolate lands. Leviticus 18:24-25 warns “Do not defile yourselves with any of these things, for by all these nations are defiled which I am casting out before you. For the land is defiled ; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants.” Many of the leaders and the people of the great United States of America have forsaken God and are blatantly living a life style and committing Abomination that offend God. It makes me wonder if we are not seeing the beginning of a pattern in New York where foreign forms of governments are gaining foot holds. The largest city in our nation has a full socialist mayor. If we do not change course as a nation, I believe the United States as we know it will be “vomited out of the land.” I love the promise God made in Jeremiah 4:1 “If you will return, O Isreal,” says the Lord, “Return to Me; and if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, then you shall not be moved.” We must examine ourselves and ask God if there is any sin that would cause us to be disinherited as individuals, a church or a nation. Repent, turn from all sin and stand on that promise along with 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins and heal their land.” The battle for our way of life and our nation is not over. We have seen God move mightily and I am so very thankful that He has spared our nation. We cannot quit standing on God’s promises. Daniel interceded for Israel for over 70 years, before Israel was able to go back home. We will reap if we do not lose hope.
Cathy Nesmith