We ought not to be surprised at the low moral conditions in Christendom in these last days, for not only does Scripture plainly forewarn us of these conditions, but Scripture traces for us, down the ages, the departure from fidelity to God of those who professed to worship Him. In the midst of the departure from God there have always been those who have remained loyal to Him, and these, though blessed of God, have had to share what God’s government brought upon the unfaithful. Moses, Joshua and Caleb, though so faithful to God, had to share with the unbelievers the forty years of wandering in the wilderness.
During Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness, time and again Moses had to intercede with God to spare them from destruction because of their unbelief and murmuring. They were outwardly in relationship with God, but in heart they were far from Him. At the foot of Sinai they worshipped the golden calf, singing and dancing, and calling it a feast to Jehovah. The Spirit of God, through Stephen, quoting from the prophet Amos, tells us what happened while Israel passed through the wilderness, “Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them.”
In the days of the Judges, the moral degeneracy of the people is revolting; and in the days of Eli, the priestly house was utterly corrupt. Outwardly, the people were worshipping Jehovah, but their moral condition was so low that God allowed them to suffer defeat at the hands of the Philistines. The elders of Israel said, “Wherefore has the Lord smitten us today before the Philistines:” It was a right question, and good indeed that they realised that Jehovah had smitten them; but instead of going to the Lord about what had happened, they relied on their own wisdom, saying, “Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it comes among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies” (1 Sam. 4:3).
The elders of Israel did not say “The Lord may save us,” but, the ark may save us. Their confidence was not in Jehovah, but in the ark, which they evidently considered to be a kind of charm that would assure them of victory. They no doubt recalled that the ark had stood in the Jordan while Israel passed over dryshod, and that the ark had accompanied the warriors of Israel in their marchings round Jericho, but they attributed the power to the ark instead of to Jehovah. The value of the ark was in its symbolic significance: it was the symbol of God’s covenant relations with His people, and for us of the Person of the Son of God in manhood.
Like the elders, the confidence of Israel was in the ark rather than in the Lord, for “When the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.” Even “The Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp… Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.” The Philistines had good reason to be afraid, and they were to learn that if God allowed them to smite His people, and to capture the ark, He would take care of His ark in its captivity.
Israel were to learn that God would have reality with those who professed His Name. He was not indifferent to the sins of Eli’s sons, or to the wickedness of Israel. The ark might be the symbol of Jehovah’s presence in the midst of His people, but if their trust was not in Him, but in the ark; if they relied on outward forms and not in a living God, He would allow the ark of His strength to be captured, and judgment to begin at His house.
At that time there were those who truly feared God, though we may not hear much about them. God delights to tell us of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, pouring out her soul before Him, and of how she was concerned for His interests amidst the days of departure and indifference to God’s holiness. Then there was the man of God who delivered Jehovah’s solemn message to Eli, condemning the evil of his sons, and warning of the impending judgment.
The days in which Jeremiah prophesied were the last days of the kingdom, for he prophesied until Judah were carried away into captivity. In chapter 7 of his book, he tells of how the word of the Lord came to him, commanding him to stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, “and proclaim there this word…Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord…” (Jer. 7:4).
Although the moral condition of the people was so low, God still lingered in mercy, pleading with them to amend their ways, and not to trust in lying words. The false prophets were telling them that things would be all right, so long as they had the temple of the Lord judgment could not overtake them. But God said, “Behold ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my Name, and say, We are delivered to do all those abominations?”
In one verse the people are convicted of breaking six out of the ten commandments; and while worshipping Baal and other idols, they retained an outward form of relationship with the true God in standing before Him in His house. They were but a residue of the nation, a few who had been delivered from the hand of the enemy in the mercy of God, who evidently thought that God had spared them to do their own will. They vainly imagined that God was insensible to their wicked ways, and that He would be content with their formal recognition of His temple.
Jehovah reminds them of Shiloh, where His Name had been set at the first, and of His judgment of it “for the wickedness of my people Israel.“ After the capture of the ark, it never returned to Shiloh. First it came to Beth-shemesh, then to the house of Abinadab in Kirjath-jearim for twenty years, then to the house of Obed-edom for three months before being brought to the tabernacle pitched for it in the city of David.
Just as their fathers had put their confidence in the ark rather than in Jehovah, so their children trusted in the temple rather than in Him whose Name the temple bore. Because of the wickedness of His people, for the honour of His holy Name, God must bring His judgment on them and on His house, even as He prophesied by Jeremiah, “Therefore will I do to this house, which is called by my Name, wherein ye trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.”
Though God still lingered in long-suffering, the dreadful state of Israel made the divine sentence of judgment irrevocable. Earlier in the chapter God had called upon them to amend their ways, with the promise that they would still dwell in the land if they obeyed His voice, but now He says, “Pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.” Children, fathers and women were all united in a common effort “to pour out drink offerings to the queen of heaven;” engaged in gross idolatry, though still offering sacrifices in the temple. But God desired obedience, not sacrifice, even as He had told king Saul so long before.
All this shows how far it is possible for men to go with the outward profession of piety. Evil of almost every kind was indulged in by every section of the community; kings, princes, priests, prophets and people, all guilty before God; yet their trust was in “The temple of Jehovah.” They vainly imagined that nothing could harm them so long as the temple was in Jerusalem. Jehovah’s word was nothing to them; they cared not for the honour of His Name, truth had perished, and only an empty form remained.
Amidst the grave departure from Jehovah in the last days of the kings of Judah, there were those of whom He took knowledge. When Jehoiakim burned the roll with the words from Jehovah, and then sent to apprehend Jeremiah and Baruch, Jehovah hid His faithful servants. The names of the princes who were afraid when they heard the word of the Lord, and who pleaded with the king not to burn the roll, have been left in the divine record. The sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, are commended in that evil day, because they obeyed the commandment of their father. It was a day marked by gross disobedience, and simple obedience has its reward from God. See also Ebed-melech, spoken of in Jeremiah 38:7–13; 39:15–18.
The last days of Christendom are spoken of by the Apostle Paul in his second epistle to Timothy, and they remind us very forcibly of the last days of the Judges, the days of Samuel, and the last days of the kingdom of Judah, the days of Jeremiah. In each of these periods, the outward form of worship to the true God is retained, but all kinds of evil are indulged in, and no heed is paid to His word. Professing Christendom, in its last days, is characterized as “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2 Tim. 3:5).
Spite of all the boasted progress of Christendom, its last days are “perilous times,” which bring difficulties not only to the true believer, but also to the rulers of the world. There have been remarkable scientific inventions, springing from the educational system of the professing Christian world, which have brought much in the way of comfort to men, and natural prosperity; but they have also increased the dangers to mankind. Only those who do not see clearly would speak of moral progress, for the rapid moral deterioration is evident on every hand, confirming the prophetic words of Paul to Timothy.
The features of these perilous times commence with “For men shall be lovers of their own selves,” and to gratify themselves they are “covetous,” or “lovers of money.” Covetousness is a form of idolatry, as Paul told the Colossians in Col. 3:5; a different form from that which engaged Israel in the last days of the kingdom, but just as effective in turning the hearts of men from fidelity to God.
Of the evil traits listed in 2 Timothy 3, a number are exactly similar to those that mark the heathen in Romans 1. These are, covetous, boasters, proud, disobedient to parents, without natural affection and truce-breakers. A glance at the two passages will show the strong resemblance between the moral state of the heathen and that of professing Christendom in the last days. It is of interest to observe that “The Rechabites” of the days of Jeremiah were commended for their obedience to their father, whereas the heathen of Romans 1, and professing Christendom of 2 Timothy 3, are marked by “disobedience to parents.”
At the close of the long list of Christendom’s features we read, “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God: having a form of piety but denying the power of it.” There was a time when leisure and money belonged only to the upper classes, but now the working classes of Christendom have workless days each week, and some weeks of holidays each year, and money for the luxuries and pleasures that are so abundant. Modern discoveries have been applied to meet the ardent desires of a pleasure-seeking world.
How few there are in these last days who could be called “lovers of God.” But this is the mark of a true Christian, who, having the divine nature, as born of God, is able to respond to the love of God made known in the death of His only-begotten Son. The true Christian has to be exercised before God in these last days, so as not to be drawn away by the influence of the pleasure-loving world, gratifying the desires of the flesh rather than the desires of the divine nature.
There is much in the religious world of Christendom that is merely for the gratification of the flesh. Imposing structures, adorned by the skill of the world’s artists and craftsmen; attractive music, the product of the genius of the great masters; costly vestments; an educated clergy with a liturgy that does not arouse the conscience, and traditions that set aside the word of God, can provide pleasure for religious instincts, for those who have no real love of God.
Although many in Christendom have but a remote connection with the religious ceremonies of the professing church, there is still a great mass of formal religion uniting the different institutions of the so-called Christian world. Alas! it is but the form of godliness, for there are relatively few among the many who profess Christianity who have a living link with Christ. There is great store laid upon membership of the church, but few who stress the necessity of living faith in the Son of God, and the resting of the soul on the finished work of the cross.
Just as in the days of Eli, the Israelites put their trust in the ark rather than in Jehovah, and as in the last days of the kings of Judah, when the people put their trust in the temple rather than in God, so today, the many have their trust in membership of a great religious system rather than in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. They have the form of godliness in their religious associations, but deny the power of godliness which is in a living link with the exalted Son of God.
But God has His own today, as in earlier days, who have learnt the secret of godliness, who have believed in Him who revealed God in Manhood in this world, and who now lives in the glory of God.
R. 16.3.62