(078) – THE WAYS OF JEHOVAH 2

 

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways’, declares Jehovah, ‘for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts’” (Is. 55:8,9). Let us see if Jehovah god confirms this declaration that he made by his works.

1.  Men have always offered human sacrifices to false gods, even when Jehovah prohibited such sacrifices, punishing the disobedience with death (Lev. 20:2-5). Nevertheless, Jehovah accepted human sacrifices, and accepting them, leveled himself with Moloch, god of the Ammonites. He accepted the sacrifice of the daughter of Jephthah (Judges 11:30-40). He also accepted the sacrifice of the seven sons of Saul (2 Sam. 21:1-14). As to sacrifices and burnt offerings, the ways of Jehovah are no higher than men’s ways.

2. In all the history of humanity, curses are part of the religious and spiritualistic rituals, charms, etc. The Bible mentions a magician that cast curses whose name was Balaam. His story is registered in Numbers chapters 22 through 24. Well, the climax of the laws of Jehovah was the terrible and frightening curses cast upon his own people. We read them inDeut. 28:15-68. Jehovah also won any competition with magicians and sorcerers when curses were the issue; never in the history of humanity any false god or any sick mind was able to devise such monstrous curses like those of Jehovah. This is horrifying.

3. The kings of this world, whose minds were dominated by demons of greed, got together huge armies to overtake and plunder other kingdoms. Blood flowed like water when millions of precious lives died in the greedy pursuit of each of these kings. Unbelievable as it may seem, Jehovah used this same method, for he commanded Joshua to destroy the kingdoms of Canaan, and what is even worse, he hardened the hearts of these kings and enticed them to war (Josh. 11:20). Joshua was the General commanded by Jehovah, and received orders to destroy and kill all the people (Josh. 6:21). Joshua received orders to plunder the gold and the silver to fill up the treasury of Jehovah (Josh. 6:19). This is convincing us that the ways and thoughts of Jehovah are in no way different from the ways and thoughts of the Barbarians who dwell this planet Earth.

4.  The Barbarian peoples kept the prisoners in captivity as slave workers to build cities and till their land. The nobles were forced to work in their palaces. Jehovah, through his power, brought his own people to forced labor under the yoke of the Barbarians (Deut. 28:36,37; Lam. 5:1-16). How are the ways of Jehovah higher? How are his thoughts higher? Jehovah compares men to animals because he finds men’s behavior similar to the behavior of the animals. “Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding” (Ps. 32:9). “The wicked are estranged from the womb; these who speak lies go astray from birth. They have venom like the venom of a serpent; like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear” (Ps. 58:3,4). Jehovah depreciates men so much, and then acts exactly like them? Jehovah measures his acts by men’s acts, and then says that his ways are different?

5. Men are always destroying one another in all areas of life. The stronger devours the weaker. Jehovah acted in a like manner, showing a behavior similar to Israel’s behavior. “…in their acting with hostility against Me—I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies” (Lev. 26:40,41). This is not an example of higher thoughts, or higher ways than men’s; on the contrary, this is to go lower, to come down from heaven, to blemish his own glory, making himself equal to sinners.

Men are vengeful and keep hatred in the heart against adversaries. What about Jehovah? “A jealous and avenging God is Jehovah; Jehovah is avenging and wrathful. Jehovah takes vengeance on His adversaries, and he reserves wrath for His enemies” (Nah. 1:2).

Men set terrible traps. There was an executive that wanted to discharge a high employee without paying his due rights. He called another industry owner, his friend, and devised a scheme. This friend called the employee and promised him a higher position, which would double his salary. The employee asked to be dismissed from his old job and took over the new job. Thirty days after that he was laid off. Only then he was able to see that he had been ensnared. Jehovah has spread many nets. He spread a net to catch king Jehoiachin (Ezek. 12:13). Job declares that Jehovah spread a net to close him in (Job 19:6). Isaiah reveals that Jehovah set snares to catch Israel (Is. 8:13-15). Spreading nets is one of the most contemptible paths that we know, that men may choose to take.

One of Jehovah’s favorite ways was to force people to walk in darkness. For this purpose, he himself blinded his people, as we read in Is. 6:10. The suffering people called in their lament, “We grope along the wall like blind men, we grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at midday as in the twilight, among those who are vigorous we are like dead men” (Is. 59:10,11). Jeremiah himself raises a lament, saying, “I am a man who has seen affliction because of the rod of His wrath. He has driven me and made me walk in darkness and not in light” (Lam. 3:1,2).

The Father of Jesus is totally different. He gave his only begotten Son in order to deliver those that are condemned by Jehovah. That is why John says, “He who believes in Him is not judged, he who does not believe has been judged already” (John 3:18). The ways of the Father are the ways of grace and salvation for all (Titus 2:11). They are ways of peace. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7). They are ways of deliverance and not ways of captivity. …keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1). They are the ways of love. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and every one who loves is born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7). These ways are facets of the work of Jesus in the Christian, for Jesus is the way. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6).

By Pastor Olavo Silveira Pereira

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