I can’t tell you how difficult I
have found the doctrine of hell to accept.
I doubt I am the only Christian who feels this way. A friend of mine packed in his faith after
someone he knew died without trusting Jesus.
It can be very difficult to understand how the Jesus of love will come
back one day and condemn all those who have refused his offer of grace and
mercy. It is particularly difficult to
accept when so many of our friends see absolutely no need for Jesus in their
lives.
I should say that if you struggle
with the doctrine of God’s judgement you are in good company. You do not struggle with this doctrine on
your own. You struggle with Jesus, who
wept over Jerusalem when he considered the judgement that was coming to it, and
who reminded them that while God longed to gather them under his wing, they
were not willing (Matthew 23:37-39). You
also struggle with the apostle Paul, who saw the unbelief of his people, the
Jews, and said that he felt great sorrow and unceasing anguish in his heart
(Romans 9:2). There are times when it
is appropriate for the doctrine of God’s judgement to make us miserable!
God’s
judgement comes on those who refuse his grace and mercy
Maybe we should begin by
remembering that God’s judgement comes upon those who refuse his grace and
mercy. In our last reading we saw that
many people turned to God when they realised that he was coming in judgement
(8:17). There was a way to escape the
judgement, but many people refused to take it.
The Bible tells us that God takes
no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but would rather they repent and live
(Ezekiel 33:11). But people continue to
try to justify themselves and refuse to come to Jesus in repentance and
faith. In the gospels, Jesus doesn’t
seem to be shocked by the existence of hell, but he is dismayed over people’s
stubborn turn to him for rescue. To
people who don’t want to accept God’s mercy and live for Christ as their king,
God says, ‘have your way!’ The New
Testament places the responsibility for being judged firmly in our court. Paul explains that people perish because they
refuse to love the truth and so be saved’ (2 Thessalonians 2:10).
God’s
judgement will be seen to be just
As we move on to this morning’s
reading, we see God’s people killing over seventy-five thousand people in one
day. That is enough to upset the
sensitive reader. But they were not
acting out of spite or malice. They knew
that they were being used as an instrument of God’s justice. You may have heard the repeated emphasis on
the fact that the Jews did not lay a hand on the plunder (10, 15 and 16). When God sent the Israelites into the
Promised Land, God was very clear that this was a judgement on the wicked
nations that lived there, and so they were not to take the plunder. There is an echo of that here!
The fact that what is happening
is a judgement of God is further emphasised by another repeated emphasis. Again and again we read that the people they
killed were their enemies, who planned to gain mastery over them and who hated
them (1, 2, 5 and 16). This judgement
was being carried out on the very people who had planned to annihilate them. These verses may be severe, but they are unquestionably
fair.
God no longer sends his people
out as his agents of judgement. Indeed,
Jesus forbids the use of the sword as a means of extending his kingdom (Matthew
26:52). But there is a day of judgement
coming when Jesus will punish sin. Those
is heaven will look at the existence of hell and agree that the judge of this
world has done what is right (Genesis 18:24).
Indeed, even those in hell will not be able to deny that their
punishment is just.
Those
who have been rescued will celebrate
While the Israelites may have
been the instruments of God’s justice, the battle truly belonged to the
Lord. No-one could stand against them
because fear of the Jews overtook them (2).
The officials of the provinces helped the Jews because fear of Mordecai
had come upon them (3). This victory did
not depend on the military power of a people that had been scattered across the
nations. The Lord was rescuing his
people from annihilation. So what should
a rescued or saved people do? They
should celebrate! That is why they
instituted the feast of Purim.
In the second half of chapter 9
we have the arrangements for Purim. The
feast is called Purim because the wicked Haman had cast the lot (or ‘pur’) to
determine the day that he would kill all the Jews. Yet God had turned the tables and that day
become the time of their deliverance.
Purim was celebrated on the last
day of February and the first day of March this year. If you had been in one of the suburbs in
north London where there are large Jewish populations you might have witnessed
the party. Children would have been
running around in fancy hats, dressed up and waving swords. There is plenty of food, including funny
little triangular cakes called Haman’s ears.
Mock beauty contests are held.
The story is acted out—with heroes like Esther and Mordecai being
cheered, and Haman being booed and hissed.
We too are a rescued people. The doctrine of judgement leaves us with
nothing to boast about. It was for our
sin that Jesus bled and died. We are not
good people whose lives have made us worthy of heaven. We are forgiven people whose Saviour endured
the punishment we deserve. We will spend
all eternity celebrating a greater Purim—Jesus came and rescued his
people!
The
kind rule who cares for his people (10)
This wonderful book finishes with
a picture of Mordecai. Mordecai is given
the position that Haman had once held.
He is made second in power in the empire. But notice how different a ruler he is! He was great among the Jews and popular with
his people, for he sought the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare
of the Jews (3).
Given the role that Mordecai had
in delivering the people and his subsequent rule, I think it is fair to see
here a picture Jesus here. Jesus is
indeed great amongst his people and he does indeed work to ensure our temporal
and eternal welfare. Jesus is wonderful
to save you from the coming judgement.
He is also wonderful to care about our every need as he watches over us
as our loving ruler.
Conclusion
I want to finish by looking to a
verse that I came across recently. In
Isaiah, God says to the enemies of his people, ‘I am not angry … let them come
to me for refuge, let them make peace with me, yes let them make peace with me’
(Isaiah 27:4-5). Our God delights to
make peace with his enemies (Romans 5:10).
He gives those who have set themselves against him opportunities to
repent (Revelation 2:21).
Thomas Chambers, a Scottish
pastor of the 1800s, speaks on these verses in Isaiah and explains that
"the tone of God's invitation is not a tone of anger - it is a tone of tenderness. The look that accompanies the invitation is
not a look of wrath - it is a look of affection ... it may well be said of God
to all who are now seeking His face and favour, that there is no fury in him.”
Yes, there is a day of judgement
when Jesus will come back and condemn those who have spurned his mercy. But the Jesus who will return as judge looks
at the world in love and invites all people to come to him. Now is the time for the wicked to ‘forsake their
ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, for he will
freely pardon’ (Isaiah 55:7). Tell
people that you were his enemy but are now a beloved child. Show them the way of rescue and of peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment