The Scorpions: "Wind of Change"

August of 1991 was a pivotal time for the former Soviet Union. Communists tried to take back the reigns of government but the people rose up as one person to oppose them.

This hard rock band from Switzerland memorialized the scene in Moscow in this song. Check it out here.

For ancient Israel, the wind of change blew through Egypt. The Lord liberated them in one eventful day. In preparation for that, God said in Exodus 11:1 and 2 (Bible in Basic English), "And the Lord said to Moses, 'I will send one more punishment on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go; and when he does let you go, he will not keep one of you back, but will send you out by force. So go now and give orders to the people that every man and every woman is to get from his or her neighbour ornaments of silver and of gold.'"

Another wind of change happened when the Israelites demanded a king. We read God's encouragement to his heartbroken prophet in 1 Samuel 8:7 (BBE). "And the Lord said to Samuel, 'Give ear to the voice of the people and what they say to you: they have not been turned away from you, but they have been turned away from me, not desiring me to be king over them.'"

Likewise, the Israelites realized that the seventy-year exile in Babylon was about to end. As we read in Daniel 9:1 and 2 (BBE), "In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldaeans; In the first year of his rule, I, Daniel, saw clearly from the books the number of years given by the word of the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah, in which the making waste of Jerusalem was to be complete, that is, seventy years."

By the first century A.D., the Jews expected the Messiah to arrive. When John the Baptist was born, we read Zacharias' prophecy in Luke 1:76-79 (BBE), "And you, child, will be named the prophet of the Most High: you will go before the face of the Lord, to make ready his ways; To give knowledge of salvation to his people, through the forgiveness of sins, Because of the loving mercies of our God, by which the dawn from heaven has come to us, To give light to those in dark places, and in the shade of death, so that our feet may be guided into the way of peace."

When Christ arrives, everything will change. If that hasn't happened by Thursday, I hope to post about how children often grow up to be like their parents.

Why God Wants Mercy, not Sacrifice

One huge mistake people make is to assume that God is only stern and judgemental. I know that I used to believe that. Was I ever wrong.

Throughout Scripture, the heavenly Father wanted a loving relationship with his people. But they consistently rebuffed him when things were going well. Jeremiah 11:6-8 (BBE) is just one example. "And the Lord said to me, 'Give out these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, "Give ear to the words of this agreement and do them." For I gave certain witness to your fathers on the day when I took them up out of the land of Egypt, and even to this day, getting up early and witnessing and saying, "Give ear to my voice". But they gave no attention and did not give ear, but they went on, every man in the pride of his evil heart: so I sent on them all the curses in this agreement, which I gave them orders to keep, but they did not'".

God did give ordinances such as sacrifices but it was his way of teaching the people about the consequences of sin. Hosea 6:4-6 (BBE) shows God's emotion toward those whom he loved. "O Ephraim, what am I to do to you? O Judah, what am I to do to you? For your love is like a morning cloud, and like the dew which goes early away. So I have had it cut in stones; I gave them teaching by the words of my mouth; Because my desire is for mercy and not offerings; for the knowledge of God more than for burned offerings."

Sadly, people turned those ordinances into a religion. They figured that just performing them would get God off their backs. We read how the Lord felt about that in Amos 5:21 (BBE). "Your feasts are disgusting to me, I will have nothing to do with them; I will take no delight in your holy meetings."

God takes rejection personally. When Israel wanted a human king instead of the Lord, it broke his heart. We read this in 1 Samuel 8:7 (BBE). "And the Lord said to Samuel, 'Give ear to the voice of the people and what they say to you: they have not been turned away from you, but they have been turned away from me, not desiring me to be king over them.'"

Jesus, being part of the Trinity, felt the same sorrow of rejection by his people. Luke 13:34 (BBE) demonstrates this. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, putting to death the prophets, and stoning those who were sent to her! again and again would I have taken your children to myself, as a bird takes her young ones under her wings, but you would not!"

The trouble with people is that we turn God's loving protection into a religion. Instead of obeying out of adoration, people go through the motions in the hope it's impressing the boss. How that must hurt his enormous heart!

I'll be writing more about God's personality in my book, You Think You're Going to Heaven? People forget that God is a person. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Neither does he lack feelings, the same ones he gave us.

On Thursday, I plan on posting about our motives for giving. Those are what count.

The Tithing Error

This is one error many churches make. They read about tithing in the Old Testament and assume it must be done today.

When God led the descendents of Abraham out of Egypt, he initiated the tithe so that the Levites could minister without having to do secular work to survive. Israel was a theocratic nation with God as king.

But that wasn't good enough for the people. They wanted a visible king. As 1 Samuel 8:7 (KJV) records, "And the LORD said unto Samuel, 'Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.'"

Another thing tithe proponents don't consider is that there were other tithes than the first fruits and a tenth of all the produce. Deuteronomy 14:28 (KJV) says, "At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:"

Additionally, Matthew 23:23 (KJV) is used by them to bludgeon believers into giving. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."

Christ hadn't died on the cross yet and neither had he initiated the new covenant when he spoke those words. He was speaking to the religious leaders too, not the laity.

The same is true of Malachi 3:10 (KJV). God spoke through that prophet to the priests and said, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

People also misapply the second half of the verse, assuming that giving a tithe of money to their church will bring them a hundred-fold blessing of riches. That's not in the verse, neither is blessings merely monetary.

I'll be touching on these mistakes in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Tithing is often viewed as a mark of holiness by those who believe in works righteousness. As I've pointed out so many times, it's trust in God which gets one into paradise.

On Thursday, providing that the Lord doesn't return first, I'll post about how people contend for the worst pre-conversion testimony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7LjeUX3SUw