October 20, 2002
…and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. Ezekiel 9.9b (KJV)
The land is full of blood. Nothing could be more accurately stated about our world these days. In the last number of weeks we have certainly all watched with horror and astonishment as the body count climbed.
The “quicksilver sniper” in our nation’s capitol splashes blood over the newscasts.
Bombings in Bali brought back September 11th images.
War with Iraq, assassinations, car bombings and North Korea nukes.
The land is full of blood!
Among the most chilling of images I have witnessed recently (delivered by my own mailman this week) was the cover of U.S. News & World Report (Oct 21, 2002). The headline read “I AM GOD”. The reference was to the Tarot card left behind at one of the sniper’s deeds.
Inside the magazine were the grisly accounts of the profilers’ guesses at motivation and clues that will help solve the case.
Part of the article dealt with 8 serial killers – Son of Sam killer, David Berkowitz, torturer/murderer and cannibal, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy the charming and cunning murderer of young women. And others; eight killers, 138 victims.
According to published reports (as well as folklore propagated and nourished in media), most serial killers play the role of God, choosing death for their victims, and daring authorities to do anything about it.
What has become of those monsters? Where are they now? Here are a few answers, according to the U.S. News article (Ibid)
Three have been executed (Ted Bundy, Aileen Wuornos, John Wayne Gacy).
One beaten to death in prison (Jeffrey Dahmer).
One committed suicide rather than be apprehended (Andrew Cunanan).
One is currently on death row (Richard Ramirez).
Two are serving a combined 203 years plus 7 life sentences in New York prisons (Berkowitz and Joel Rifkin).
The land is indeed filled with blood.
Abortion kills more children than all the prenatal and childhood maladies we can imagine combined. At the other end of the spectrum, euthanasia is growing in acceptance…be careful about getting older! Suicide is on the rise – men’s hearts failing them.
The land is filled with blood.
Recently a preacher shared these words in a sermon, “as I stand before you, there are approximately forty wars raging in this world. We have spilled more blood in the twentieth century than in the previous nineteen put together. The German philosopher Nietzsche reminded us that since God had died in the nineteenth century, the twentieth would become the bloodiest century in history.”
(Ravi Zacharias "The Lostness of Humankind", Preaching Today, Tape No. 118)
It is no secret we live in a land filled with blood! If art reflects culture, we have no farther than the network shows and movie producers to see the blood in the land. Our children see more murders and violence on screens than they will ever see acts of kindness.
Even apart from murder mysteries, occult and action shows, the most popular new offerings are “reality-based” TV; high-speed chases, robberies, eating bugs and animal entrails, emergency room gore and the like.
The land is filled with blood.
What is the likely observation, or at least the common outlook of folks about all that? What do people think is going on with all that? Two and a half millennia ago a Jewish prophet by the name of Ezekiel gave us the answer:
…and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. Ezekiel 9.9b (KJV)
In short, folks look around and surmise God is not in the equation; with all that happens, how could He be? If He ever was in the equation, He has bailed on us, and He isn’t watching.
With all the communication gadgets to help us “stay in touch” – email, TV, express mail, telephones on every hip – the most common feeling in the universe is “I’m alone. I’ve been forsaken. The Lord – whoever He is, and even if He’s out there – He doesn’t know my name. I had better watch out for me, because I am all there is!”
If this describes you (or describes you at times), or if you know some folks who feel like this, and you’d really like some good news to share with them – allow me to share four important words in two short phrases with you that make all the difference in the world. The first two words:
GOD KNOWS
Scripture tells us He really does…
but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Hebrews 4.13b
Here is a chilling thought: As soon as the first blood was spilled, God knew it; and He still knows it. Do you remember the incident? Cain got jealous of His brother’s acceptance by God. Cain plotted and then beat his brother into the ground. God came looking for Cain,
10And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
Genesis 4:10 (KJV)
The land has been filled with blood ever since Cain. And how does God know? The reason is God created man (Genesis 1). The Creator knows His creation. God’s creative purpose was life. He put it in the blood:
11For the life of the flesh is in the blood:
Leviticus 17:11a (KJV)
Here is another chilling thought; we have all filled the land with blood.
23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23 (KJV)
18For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, 1 Peter 3:18a (KJV)
It was our sin that nailed Christ to the cross. And that is where the other two words come in – God not only knows…
GOD CARES
16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:16-17 (KJV)
The Bible talks of so many ways in which God cares for us. However, the chief proof of that is the cross. Jesus died for us. He said that was His reason for coming to earth. On his last night on earth Jesus gathered the disciples together for a meal…
26And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
27And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Matthew 26:26-28 (KJV)
“My blood!” Jesus wasted no words communicating with perfect accuracy what He was going to do – die for us! How “right” is that?
Simon Peter, fisherman and friend of Jesus, said later about that death:
18For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors.
And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver.
19He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
1 Peter 1:18-19 (TNLT)
All of what Jesus did in going to the cross was for us – so we could be forgiven. What does that mean, and what should I do about it? These are two great questions that demand an answer for a sacrifice so big.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
It means that which we are about to celebrate – the Lord’s Table – is for us, but it couldn’t be provided by us. My blood is type B-negative. That is good…sometimes! As the fastest clotting blood, it helps when you get a bad cut. As a kid I rarely needed a band aid. On the other hand, my blood can get over-zealous and clots can block off needed circulation. Result? Six days in the hospital with my legs in the air!
One of the hardest things for me to accept about my blood is that I can’t share it. My donation days are over because of the medication I take to thin out the ooze which slogs through my veins. Nobody wants a transfusion with MY blood.
Quite different is the blood of Jesus Christ. For any of us who will accept what His blood accomplished at Calvary – the sin is washed away! That’s what it means!
WHAT SHOULD I DO?
By now that should be obvious – give yourself to Him. Give your life to Him – after all, He is the one who gave you life in your blood. Accept His blood sacrifice for your sins, and be forgiven, be blessed, receive life!
