Musing –Who are the Arrogant, Ignorant and Apathetic?

Hebraic Musing –Who are the Arrogant, Ignorant and Apathetic?

Too many people are Arrogant about God as well as Ignorant; and thus have a great deal of Apathy.

Q. Who are the arrogant?  A. Those who make judgements about who God is and what He should be.  Have you met people who tell you how God should judge?  And that God does not have a right to judge them.

Q. Who are the ignorant? A. Those who preach that the OT God is an angry God; and the NT God is a God of love.  Did God change?  And have you heard people expressing opinions about what the Bible says, but they’ve not read the Bible, much less studied it?  Do they use quotes out of context?  They preach but are not willing to debate for fear of being confronted with facts.  Is this ignorance fed by arrogance?

Q. Who are the apathetic?  A. Those who have not experienced “Lordship salvation.”  They feel “Sunday is the Lord’s day, the rest of the week is mine.”  Maybe not that blatant, but Jesus is clearly not their Lord.

While it is easy to accuse movements and people outside the church, the greatest threats to our faith are these attitudes within Christianity and our churches.  These attributes described the Israelite nation about 400 BC; thus the Lord severely accused His people on seven counts through His prophet Malachi:

1.   They didn’t recognize God’s love because of His discipline. Mal.1:2  "I have loved you," says the Lord.  "But you ask, 'How have you loved us?” They feel Edomites are not cursed, or “hated”, as promised, forgetting or not recognizing the long-term blessings coming to Abe, Ike and Jake and their descendants.
(Do we find ourselves looking for instant gratification/blessing?  Count your blessings!)

2.   They showed contempt, not offering the best.   How?  God’s charge - "You place defiled food on my altar…crippled, diseased… Try offering them to your governor” Mal. 1:7-8   God challenges His people to give the First, Healthiest and Best.  And do it cheerfully!  Are we a Servant of God?
(Do we put into the offering bucket the biggest bill or the smallest bill in our wallet?)

3.   Prayers are no longer answered.  “You ask, ‘Why?’ It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.” Mal. 2:14  God gave to us His perfect plan in Genesis 2.
(How well is the marriage covenant honored today?  God is #1 and wife is #2.  All else is after #1&2.)

4.   You don’t trust Me.  “You have wearied the Lord with your words. … By saying, ‘All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them.’" Mal. 2:17  “Vengeance is mine says the Lord.” 
(Do we really trust God’s judgement?  They forgot they cannot withstand God’s judgement either!)

5.   You need to return to Me.  Have we been disobedient?  “…you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," Mal. 3:7  Is arrogance holding us back?
(How far have we strayed from Torah?   Is our home, our church and/or our nation straying?)

6.   You have robbed me.  "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' In tithes and offerings.  You are under a curse — the whole nation of you — … Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, …Test me in this,…and see if I will not throw open the floodgates.” Mal. 3:8-10   The tithe is a percentage, fair to rich and poor.
(The only time God tells us to “Test me”!!!)

7.   You envy the wicked.  “You have said, 'It is futile to serve God.’   What did we gain by carrying out his requirements …?  But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper…” Mal. 3:14-15 
(Are we bothered when we hear that the Arrogant, Ignorant and Apathetic seem to be blessed?)

Some would argue that the book of Malachi was addressed to the priests.  “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, … a people belonging to God” 1 Pet. 2:9   Maybe we need to read Malachi again!?!?

 Points to ponder

An apathetic believer – Can there be such a person?  (Oxymoron?)

“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.” Mal. 4:2

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                               September 12, 2017

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note - Inspired by Pastor Chris Cooper’s Sept.3, 2017 message entitled “Arrogance, Ignorance and Apathy”