God laughed. Yes, from heaven He laughed in their face, at their calamity, at their delusion. The most sincere, He found hilariously funny, and justly cared not at their cultural correctness. The thoughts in the hearts of these wayward were only evil continually, and God flooded the world with no blinking.
Noah in the mean time had built an ark of insulation, got in it with family and some animals, and was shielded from the laughing-wrath event. God didn’t change His mind at the crying of the ark-less, the drowning of the devil-logged proceeded. “Good riddance, I hope you enjoyed your brief excursion here on earth, but now we must move on to a cleansed and scoured new world, (paraphrase mine).”
Pro 1:24-26 says, “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh.” Sounds like God tried to reach out to these dudes but they refused counsel and didn’t like the idea of correction. Now it is too late, the hand of God’s benevolence gives way to the new dispensation.
God’s government changes but never does God change a stitch. Oh yeah, God also mocks em. He derides em; meaning by implication “to speak unintelligibly: (as if imitating a foreigner).” He kind of impersonates their little pet excuses, using their foreign accent in sarcastic tones. There appears to be some fear with these rebels but they have made their own beds; all of their many prior decisions have been allowed by God and here they are. The last decision is used up, too late.
Proverbs 1:27-29 says, “when your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord.” Correct me if I’m wrong but God turns a deaf ear now and ignores the crying.
Lastly, Proverbs 1:30-32 says “They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.” Here we have the self-slaying and self-destruction of the simple and foolish. God lets man do as he or she wills. He honors His promise to enable free volition at any cost.
So, we got a problem for God when men use their will to take away another’s right to their free will. This is tyranny and has happened often in history. God lets it go for a while perhaps as a kind of chastening to a passive, peace loving, non-resisting group or nation. Now in bondage, this segment of society cries for help, and God rescues these oppressed ones, but not till after a lot of damage has been done.
Now, suppose a bunch of these folks become Christian believers; everything changes because they have entered God’s family. Now God corrects every son that He loves, but there is no casting off, no sarcasm, no ignoring, and no laughing. There is only Father’s unconditional love operating for the extreme benefit of the saint, his child. God is working Shepherd-wise to make the son a partaker of His own pure nature, bring a peaceable fruit of righteousness, and orient the child to grace by a diligent focus.
When a man or woman hearkens unto the Lord, He quiets them from all fear of evil. We gain a perspective on God that coincides with our trust –- He becomes a trustworthy God. I receive a protector, a guide, a commitment and a friend. That friend sticks closer than a brother, That Father watches for my soul, that Christ advocates for me in my failing guilt, that Spirit comforts my equilibrium. When we pray for our non-believing friends and loved ones, thankfully, an exception comes. When we do this, God will work to enable their capacities to receive Him, but still does not violate their will. God’s reality is real, but we have a ministry of reconciliation and the Word of it. The foolishness of preaching saves men. Keep in mind we are instructing them that oppose us and themselves. With our safe haven of Dad’s care we have nothing to lose to try. Its never too late. love ya
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