Twi-Con-Do
There are certain words that our five-year-old daughter says incorrectly that I refuse to correct, in fact, I dread the day she actually learns how to properly say these words. One of my favorites is music, she says “muse-mick.” Then there is put or as she says, “puk.” Spanish and Danish are “Spanidge” and “Danidge.” These are those nuggets of cuteness that, once gone, I will never get back so I have to enjoy them as long as I can. Her latest verbal nugget is “Twi-con-do,” or as we boring adults say, “Taekwondo.” “We learned to chop blocks today in Twi-con-do!” she said one day after her lesson. Again, the adorable factor is off the charts so I dare not correct her.
We have been studying the Book of Haggai together and she has the story down pat. “Who is Haggai?” I asked her. “He is a post-exilic prophet of God,” she answered. “Is he a major or a minor prophet?” “He is a minor prophet,” she said. “What is the difference?” I asked. “The major prophets had a big ministry, the minor prophets had a small or shorter ministry,” she answered. “That's my girl,” I shouted, giving her a high five. “I am going to turn to the Book of Jeremiah for a minute because I want you to understand how we got here. How did we get to post exilic Israel with a temple destroyed and a people discouraged?”
Jeremiah 25:8-11 says, “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the LORD, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the King of Babylon seventy years.” God had sent prophets to warn the Israelites what consequences their disobedience and pagan ways would bring. Now it was on Jeremiah to warn the people, not of what would happen if they kept up the idolatry, debauchery and sin but what was the inevitable effect of what they had already done.
God had been holding back the enemies of the Hebrew people since before the Red Sea, Twi-con-do-ing bad guy, after bad guy for Israel's sake. They had a hedge of protection around them but sometimes, as a parent, you have to take away the cushion and let your child fall flat on their behind so they can learn a lesson. God did not take joy in punishing His people but they took joy in their sin so, He had no choice. Twi-con-do, no more.
God is a righteous God. Just as He blesses and rewards, He also must punish. Sometimes people look at the Word of God and question what kind of God would allow destruction; what kind of God would judge this way? The answer is, a just God. God gives us a play book with rules and guidelines to keep us from suffering, and yet when we defy everything He says and begin to reap the consequences, we blame Him. God is merciful and full of grace, He holds back the night, continues to defeat our enemies but we refuse to live according to His Word. God is the LORD of Hosts, that means God is the commander of heavenly armies. The universe has an army and God is in control. This is who Twi-con-do's our enemies for us, “rebuking the devourer for our sakes” (Malachi 3:11).
In the Book of Haggai, the Children of Israel were back home. They were still not perfect after their return but, if you look back on the history of Israel to the present, you will find that after the Babylonian exile they never worshipped idols again. God’s people had learned their lesson. Learn your lesson before God brings His judgement down on your life. He has given you a playbook with rules and guidelines, read it, study it and apply it to your life. This is probably not the first warning you have gotten, let it be the last one you need.
Folks used to sing this old church song, if you remember it, sing along with me... “If it had not been for the LORD on my side, tell me where would I be... where would I be? He kept my enemies away, He let the sun shine through a cloudy day, He wrapped me in the cradle of His arms, when He knew I'd been battered and torn, so if it had not been for the LORD on my side, tell me where would I be? Where would I be?”
