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by J. Miller | Category: Jottings | Sept 1951

It is a sad and fearful thing to contemplate that men will inevitably reap the folly of. their own way". The law is clearly enunciated by Paul in Galatians 8.7: "Be not deceived God is not mocked for whatsoever a wan soweth that shall he also reap We have in the Scriptures examples of both kinds of sowing, of those who sowed to the Spirit and those who sowed to the flesh of those who sowed good seed and those who sowed bad.

But what is running through my mind is the thought of men who listened to God and walked in His ways, and the fact that God answered them when they called upon Him; and that there were other men who seemed to have little time or inclination to listen to God, and for whom God had no voice in the day when it was of vital importance that they should hear Him.

Solomon outlines this matter clearly in Proverbs 1., when he tells us that "Wisdom crieth aloud in the street ... in the broad places ... in the chief place of concourse ... in the gates". But though Wisdom's voice may be heard calling - above all other voices, yet it is unheeded

"I have called, and ye refused;

I have stretched out My hand and no man regarded. "

At length the time of distress comes

"When distress and anguish come upon you

Then shall they call upon Me but I will not answer. "

Saul, the king of Israel, is a solemn example of this He was sent to destroy the Amalekites and he obeyed the commandment of God only m part only in as far as it suited himself, saving the best of Amaleks flocks and herds, and bringing back Agag the king.

This flagrant act of disobedience, which lost for Saul and his family the kingdom of Israel, was the result of a deeper error, and that was, that he and Israel in his reign sought not unto the ark of God The ark contained the law of God which was vital to the restoration of Israel (Psalm 19.7) and to right government The rest of Saul's life was one of disaster, much of it being spent in the persecution and futile pursuit of God's anointed king David.

Saul, who refused to listen to the voice of wisdom, at length in the day of his calamity sought the house of the witch of Endor. It is said

"When Saul saw the host of the Philistines he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORDanswered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim nor by prophets" (1 Samuel 28.5, 6).

Hence he sought into this woman with a familiar spirit and the message he received was not one of hope and victory, but of despair and defeat and death.

Of Saul and others David spoke in Psalm 15.41 when God had delivered him from Saul and all his enemies

"They cried, but there was none to save

Even unto the LORD but He answered them not. "

How different this was from the experience of others who loved the Loa and walked in His ways!

"Moses and Aaron among His priests,

And Samuel among them that call upon His name

They called upon the LORD and He answered them

He spake unto them in the pillar of cloud

They kept His testimonies and the statute that

He gave them Thou answerest them 0 LORD our God (Psalm 99.6-8)

Moses' life as the leader of Israel was one of continual communion with God. God spake and Moses answered, and Moses spake and God answered Him and in this fact lay the greatness of that great man, so was it with Samuel, and so also was it with the prophets and with the apostles also John speaking for the rest said, "Our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son.

There are men, many I have no doubt, who like Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, have "let the appointed time pass by" (Jeremiah 6. 17). They have passed "redemption point," having refused to hear the voice of God, God has no word for them. Such quite evidently was the case with Herod Antipas in Luke 28.8-12. At an earlier time John the Baptist had rebuked him for his incestuous relationship with his brother's wife, for which Herod had cast John Into prison. Later in the midst of voluptuous proceedings in his palace, he commanded a soldier to go to the prison and cut off John's head to satisfy the spite and jealousy of this immoral hussy. When Herod heard of the Lord's fame, he said, "John I beheaded: but who is this, about whom I hear such things? And he sought to see Him" (Luke 9.9).

Whether they ever met before is doubtful, but at length they met, and it is said, "When Herod saw Jesus, he was exceding glad: for he was of a long time desirous to see link, because he had heard concerning Him; and he hoped to see some miracle done by Thin." No doubt he thought that the Lord, because he was tetrarch of Galilee, would work a miracle for his amusement, as the daughter of Herodias had done with her dancing. The Lord could not forget the sad end of that day's events, when the disciples of John came and informed Him of what had happened to their teacher. The Lord wrought no miracle for Herod's pleasure. It is said that "he questioned Him in many words; but He answered him nothing." What a slight to the tetrarch's pride! It brought out the serpent of hate from the man's bosom, which the Lord well knew was lurking there, and it is said, "Herod with his soldiers set Him at nought, and mocked Him," and in robes of mockery sent Him back to Pilate, and that day he and Pilate, who had been at enmity before became iriends. Herod had failed to heed the voice of wisdom when it called to him, and now the Lord had no voice for him-" He answered him nothing"!

The same was true when the Lord stood before Pilate. The chief priests surging round with the temple officers, cried, "Crucify Him, crucify Him." They alleged that according to their law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God. Upon this Pilate was the more afraid and said, "Whence art Thou? But Jesus gave him no answer" (John 19.6-8). He had no words of grace and enlightenment for Pilate, as He had had none for Herod Antipas. He knew well the characters of both men. Of Herod the Pharisees said at an earlier time to the Lord, "Get Thee out, and go hence: for Herod would fain kill Thee. And He said unto them, Go and say to that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I am perfected" (Luke 13.31, 32). He knew well the crafty, cunning, immoral Herod, a true son of his wicked father, Herod the great, as he has been called-great indeed in wickedness! Pilate was a brutal, cruel Roman. In his ruthless, savage rule he had slain Galileans and mingled their blood with their sacrifices, a truly abominable act. His hands were stained with blood that no water could remove, and were soon to be imbrued again with the blood of the incaruate Son of God. There was no voice from the Lord for such men as these, as there had been none for Saul the king of Israel years before. The course which leads to mercy and pardon is clearly indicated in Isaiah 55.6, 7.

"Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him ; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." How different the experience of those men was from David's! as he said:

"In the day that I called Thou answeredst me" (Psalm 138.8).

If God had been silent to him, he said that he would become "like them that go down into the pit" (Psalm 28.1).

J. Miller | Sept 1951
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