What Would God Do?

I had occasion some time ago to hear a gentleman speak about the small, struggling congregation of which he is a member. Apparently the church has struggled for a number of years. At one point a previous minister stood on the steps of the church building and announced: “God has abandoned this church.” The gentleman relating the story seemed to reject the very possibility of such a thing. His appeal was based on Jesus’ promise that “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” (I assume he was referencing the King James Version of Hebrews 13:5) I don’t know the particulars of this situation. Perhaps this was simply a case of a frustrated preacher seeking to place the blame for his own failures on someone else. Frankly, the particulars are irrelevant to the basic point I want to discuss.

I am concerned by the near-certainty many Christians seem to have that God would "never" do such a thing. Of course, this is a discussion that can degenerate into semantics (e.g., What, precisely, do we mean by “abandon”? Does God abandon us, or do we abandon Him? Etc.) It is not that I think these points are invalid. (In Jer. 5:23, in fact, God speaks explicitly of the people having “turned away and abandoned Me.”) Yet I suspect that such digressions are often pursued simply because they afford a convenient way to dodge the uncomfortable question: Is it possible that God may actively bring great misfortune--and even suffering--upon people (even His own people) specifically in punishment for their sins? If we answer that it is at least possible, what are the implications of this possibility for our interpretation of and teaching about suffering?

It has been my experience that in cases of suffering and/or misfortune—the near-ubiquitous response of American Christians is to say, “God didn’t do that. God didn’t bring that about. God doesn’t do that kind of thing”

Yet the fifth chapter of Jeremiah testifies to at least the possibility that those who were once the apple of God’s eye can so degrade themselves and reject the LORD that they are—for want of a better word—abandoned by Him. Consider:

Go down the rows of the vineyards and destroy the grapevines, leaving a scattered few alive. Strip the branches from the vines for these people do not belong on the LORD. The people of Israel and Judah are full of treachery against Me,” says the LORD. They have lied about the LORD and said, ‘He won’t bother us! No disasters will come upon us. There will be no war or famine. God’s prophets are all windbags who don’t really speak for Him. Let their predictions of disaster fall on themselves!” Therefore, this is what the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies says: “Because the people are talking like this, My messages will flame out of your mouth and burn the people like kindling wood. O Israel, I will bring a distant nation against you, says the LORD…They will devour the food of your harvest; They will devour your sons and daughters. They will devour your flocks and herds; they will devour your grapes and figs. And they will destroy your fortified towns, which you think are so safe…And when your people ask, “Why did the LORD our God do all this to us?” you must reply, “You rejected Him and gave yourselves to foreign gods in your own land. Now you will serve foreigners in a land that is not your own.” – Jeremiah 5:10-15,17,19.

Reflections Questions
1. Compare Jeremiah 5:1 to Genesis 18:23-33. What seems significant to you about these passages? How do you think the first hearers of Jeremiah’s oracle would have understood his message in light of their knowledge of the Abraham story?

2. It is sometimes conceded that God came in temporal judgment on people in the Old Testament, but He has ceased to operate in that fashion since the coming of Jesus. Now all punishment inflicted by God is—according to this argument—reserved for the Final Judgment. Yet if this is the case, how do we explain:

-The case of Ananias and Sapphira? (Acts 5:1-5)
-Paul’s warning to the Corinthian Christians that “if you eat the bread or drink the cup [of the Lord’s Supper] without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.” (1 Cor. 11:29-30)
-The warnings of the Resurrected Jesus:
*To the church at Ephesus: “I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.” (Rev. 2:5)
*To the church at Thyatira: “I will throw [that Jezebel] on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the One Who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.” (Rev. 2:22-23)
*To the church at Laodicea: “Since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth!” (Rev. 3:16)