To wrap up our 4-week topic on the enemies of God, we look specifically at those who rebel and stand opposed to Him. There are countless stories in the Bible that deal directly with rebellion against God, from the story of Adam and Eve eating the fruit to Armageddon, the Bible is filled with stories of how man rebels, God punishes and man either repents or is destroyed. We talked about how rebellion is the basis of sin; how when we put our wants and desires ahead of God's, we are in rebellion.
As we looked at a few stories in the Old Testament, we saw how God's righteous judgement was poured out on those who opposed Him. This was done in a number of different ways, from God's hand directly to Him allowing enemies of the nation of Israel to inflict the punishment. We talked about how mean and harsh God seems, but that in reality, it was because of His great love for His people that He punished their rebellious actions. But we saw the great consequences of His punishment as entire families were swallowed up by the ground. We talked about how unfair it seems that wives and children of rebellious men would be killed, but we were also reminded that everyone sins and that the wages for those sins are death and separation from God. So, even though it seems unfair, really they are simply getting what they've earned. The only reason we don't when we sin is because of His mercy and grace.
Not only did this give us a great opportunity to talk about God's discipline out of love, but how it works with our parents too. Parents aren't being mean when they punish or discipline, but rather, are acting out of love to correct and teach. As parents, we have a great model in our heavenly Father.
Lastly, we looked at the scripture in Isaiah 53 where the prophet eludes to the wrath that Christ would take for our rebellion. The consequences of our sins were placed on the one who was blameless. And his act of love has given us the opportunity to be forgiven of our sins and found clean in the eyes of God.
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