By O. Allen Bailey
"...For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again..." Rom 11:21-23.
"...4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: 8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11 For there is no respect of persons with God..." Rom 2:4-7.
Paul, in writing to the Romans, seems to have a primary subject in mind; and this was to show that in Christ there is no distinction to be made in any of mankind according to the flesh in the sight of God; but God is now judging His people by faith in Christ Jesus through the Spirit and in the conscience according to the fruit that they may bring forth, or that which is manifested in them, and not according to race, ethnic origin or political status. All through this epistle Paul charges the Jews with being under the power and condemnation of sin as Christ has also done when He was Incarnate and among them: John the Baptist, as the forerunner of Christ came preaching the doctrine of repentance to the Jews:
"... Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,.." "...21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? 22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? 23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?.." Rom 2-17,22-23.
"...They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. 41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. 42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not..." John 8:39-45.
Now, Paul is not singling out the Jew as such to show that they alone are under condemnation; but to show that all mankind are by nature under the sentence of death caused by original sin, (of Adam) - and as well, the Gentiles; and he is further using them to illustrate, and as the great example of the failure of the law of works to justify sinners, and that God has concluded both Jew and Gentile under the condemnation of sin that He may have mercy upon both Jew and Gentile in Christ:
Paul then exclaims in wonder at this great mystery that was hidden in ages past from His people in His Own Mind, but is now made manifest by the preaching of the Apostles; and does not attempt to fathom God's Mind as to His reasons for conducting Himself so toward His creature Man; but proceeds to say that God's judgments are unsearchable by His creatures:
"... How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel..." Eph 3:5-6.
Many, especially agnostics, and atheists - and even many professing Christians use the very truth of the Scriptures as a tool as to question the righteousness of a Holy God, and the latter, by attempting to "apologize" for Him, and say that a God that would deal severely with His creatures (especially man) could not be a just creator in dealing in such a way with them. These are those who generally and nominally also claim to accept the doctrine of original sin.
In the case of Elisha and the two she bears that tore or mauled 42 children, (2 Kings 2:24) I checked at least 30 webpages on the subject on the Internet before I found an article that was not of an apologetic nature. (Of course, this offends a normal person's sensibility and compassion for the recognized personal innocence of little children; However, Solomon says ".. Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right..." Prov 20:11. But God's ways and Purpose are infinitely higher than man's ways, and His thoughts than our thoughts.) Most all the other articles were good and informative, and gave one a lot to think about; but they generally attempted to show that those who were torn by the she bears were not in fact (little) children, but young people from the ages of perhaps 12 to even 30 years - and maybe even soldiers. While this apology may in fact be true, it does not (as they suppose) lessen God's sovereignty, in sending bears to injure, or perhaps even kill small children; because God who made us to realize that He has the Divine right "to give. and to take away", and to we to also receive evil as well as good at His Hand; and to speak otherwise, seems to emulate the same "foolish women" that Job speaks of in Job 2:9-10, and who would teach by so doing, bring a curse upon themselves - perhaps they were loving mothers- because many mothers have responded in this same way until God taught them better. Besides, with proper reasoning and reverential respect toward The Almighty, by these being LITTLE children, (rather if they had been older, or even young men) the effect would be much greater toward the disobedient and idolatorious Israelites who had gone after the worship of Baal and had severely persecuted God's prophet Elijah, and was now doing the same with his successor, Elisha. This was also a fulfillment of God's threatened judgment upon the Israelites when they walked in disobedience to His Law:
"... And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. 22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate..." Lev 26:21-22.
There are many other examples in the Old Testament where God sent judgments upon peoples and nations where small children, and even infants were involved - and the Israelites were even commanded by God to deal very severely with the Canaanites and other enemies of theirs. God also dealt very severely with the Israelites themselves at times according to their disobedience of His Law that He put upon them and to the terms of the covenant that He made with them as a nation and people.
To my knowledge, I have yet found anything in the Scriptures that says that God has changed His methods of dealing with the nations of this world, except as it is mitigated by the Kingdom of Christ being here in the world, and that "the nations of those who are saved shall dwell in the light of that city, and the kings of the earth have brought their glory and honor into it. (which they have.) But while Christ has surely brought His great glory in His salvation to His people, yet the old world of mankind has pretty much continued upon its same old course: And as it was in the destruction of Old Jerusalem. so has it generally continued with the wicked of this secular world, and for we all really know, might finally issue in a total consummation of mankind upon earth. Luke 17:27-29.
OAB