November 8
How Does God Smite (Part 2)
Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations. And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth (Eze. 7:8-9)
Two days ago we asked, "How does God smite?" We learned from 1 Kings 14:15-16 that God smites, not by personally using His omnipotent power to bring harm, but by "giving Israel up" to the consequences of their rebellion. This, we learned, is the removal of His supernatural protection that holds back the evil forces waiting to bring about destruction.
In yesterday's devotion we learned that God does not always intervene unless He is asked. We learned from Ezekiel 22:30-31 that God really has no desire to give people over to the consequences of their sin. Therefore, He looks for a man to stand in the gap and invite Him to continue to protect the nation. However, since God could not find such a man, He allowed the nation to reap the consequences of their sin.
We learned in yesterday's devotion that the word "recompense" means to "permit, allow, and give someone over to" something. This comes from the Hebrew word "nathan" and it is the same word used in 1 Kings 14:16 in which we are told "he shall give Israel up" to the consequences of their rebellion. From the understanding of how this word is used in today's passage, we again conclude that God "smites," not by actively bringing about destruction to the nation, but by removing His protection and allowing people to have the very thing that they want, despite the fact that it leads to their demise.
If "nathan" had been translated consistently in this sense then Bible readers would not be so confused about God's character and would not depict the God of the Old Testament to be any less loving than the God of the New. Besides the fact that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament, the Bible does not depict two different deities—one loving and forgiving and the other vindictive and destructive. We find the same God in both testaments.
God's method of "smiting" is not to directly hurt and destroy. He has no desire to do that. God wants very much for people to turn from their rebellion and live (Eze. 18:32). However, when people are unwilling to do so, He allows them to reap what they sow.
http://victoriouswordchurch.blogspot...te-part-2.html