WHY WE CAN EXPECT CASCADING CRISES

 Posted at Reformation Scotland:

Shortage of labour and goods, supply chain disruption, inflation, rising energy costs as well as public health concerns. On both sides of the Atlantic and around the world there are multiple crises, one difficulty following another and frequently colliding. After decades of comparatively smooth globalisation and prosperity it may be that we are entering a period where disruption is the new normal. The political mantra of building back better is proving still more challenging. Others will have their views on geopolitics and other issues, but we need to take a spiritual perspective. Why are we in the midst of this? What can we learn?

Scripture tells us that when nations abuse their prosperity to exclude the voice of God, He will gain their attention in ways they cannot avoid. And when they refuse to seek Him in their troubles, they can only expect more. It is clear that as nations we have not been humbled by the events of God’s providence of the past two years, we have not heeded God’s voice but continued to reject Him yet further. We are only deepening our rebellion against Him. This is how it was with Israel and other nations. In Amos 5:18-20 we have such a context. Israel would not be allured by gracious offers nor would they be terrified with threatenings to seek the Lord. They were secure, trusting in various false pretences and presuming all would be well. The Lord shows these false confidences would not provide security for them and warns them so that they might be moved to repent.

He speaks to those who desire the day of the Lord, in other words they were scornful of God’s threatened punishments. They were such atheists that they did not acknowledge God or a providence, nor would they believe anything of approaching judgment. They were in effect saying scoffingly of divine judgment, “bring it on.” Some perhaps were also presumptuously thinking that God had not finished with them yet, He still had a purpose for them and favour towards them. They could not therefore believe that any such day would come as the prophet threatened, or that if it did it would be as dreadful for them as the prophets warned. They therefore with scorn desired to see that day they were so often threatened with (see Isaiah 5:19; Jeremiah 17:15; Ezekiel 12:22; 2 Peter 3:3-4). The Lord declares that this very attitude was an evidence of them being punished and that more would yet come. They were giving little consideration to what they were doing, that day would not only come but it would be full of perplexities and miseries, without any light or comfort (verse 18).

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