God does not want to punish
Ezekiel 22, 30-31 (ASV): And I sought for a man among them, that should build up the wall, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I brought upon their heads, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Bůh nás opravdu nechce zničit. Touží po tom, abychom Jej poslouchali a učili se od Něho. Dokonce hledá lidi, kteří se budou za svou zemi a její obyvatele přimlouvat - aby Bůh tento lid nemusel potrestat....
Ezekiel 33, 10-11 (ASV): And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live? Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
It has just occurred to me that we should perhaps stop for a while to sort out a problem of ours posed by the notion of a God who want us made into His servants or slaves. This is an idea various forms of which are often used by the evil one to prevent people from seeking God and His will. If you consider it more thoroughly, you may wonder how something like that could have ever cross your mind, nevertheless, this idea may be a recurrent one. Does God really need our sacrifices? Let’s look at what the Bible says about it:
Psalms 50, 7-23 (ASV): Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify unto thee: I am God, even thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; And thy burnt-offerings are continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, Nor he-goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains; And the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving; And pay thy vows unto the Most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, And that thou hast taken my covenant in thy mouth, Seeing thou hatest instruction, And castest my words behind thee? When thou sawest a thief, thou consentedst with him, And hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, And thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; Thou slanderest thine own mother's son. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: But I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver: Whoso offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifieth me; And to him that ordereth his way aright Will I show the salvation of God.
Job 35, 5-7 (ASV): Look unto the heavens, and see; And behold the skies, which are higher than thou. If thou hast sinned, what effectest thou against him? And if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? Or what receiveth he of thy hand?
God surely doesn’t need ‘to be served to’. He is nor tired nor hungry, all universe with everything in it belongs to Him. If we don’t obey him, committing sins, it is only to our own detriment. Our unreasonable behaviour may affect people around us at the worst. God teaches and admonish us solely for our good because He loves us as the best father loves his children. To rectify our attitudes, we need to know it deep in our hearts. God’s desire is that we obey His commandments not out of fear from His anger or punishment, rather because we know that He loves us and wants the best for us.
