Earth de-Groaning

Romans 8

19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
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Just the other day a podcast was brought to my attention. I’m very grateful to the person that told me about it.

The name of the podcast is: The Briefing, by Albert Mohler.

Mohler is President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. For me, that makes his credibility trustworthy from the biblical perspective.

I’m not saying he’d agree with our Hebraic perspective and practice. But I do believe he would be in agreement with the Doctrinal Statement on our website. https://www.zionhebraiccongregation.com/what-we-believe

Starting yesterday I have listened to a few of his podcasts. There aren’t many. But, I have greatly appreciated what I’ve heard so far. He appears to be a voice of biblical understanding and reason with actual common sense in relation to the Faith lived out in our fallen world.

Here’s a link for today’s (4/14/20) podcast: https://albertmohler.com/the-briefing

This particular program talks, in part, about the Samaritan’s Purse and its emergency field hospital in Central Park. They are working alongside Mount Sinai Health System.

I don’t want to focus on that part of the program though. My focus is on the later part entitled: Seismometers Detecting Strange Silence? The Missing Noise of Humanity’s “Thumping Pulse”

He gives various stats regarding locations throughout the world which show that seismic activity has been reduced significantly in conjunction with COVID-19. I found it super fascinating.

But, my take is a little different than his.

Let me say upfront, I agree 100% with his perspective relating to the seismic activity decrease. He presents it in perfect alignment with the Scriptures. However, when I listened to him presenting this, my mind (before he had gotten to where he was taking it) went in the direction I want to present.

Here’s what I’m thinking. It’s a theory, not a fact. It’s my mind trying to connect what is happening now with the what-and-why of God and His purposes not only in this but also … in everything.

Here’s where I’m building my thought from.

God told Israel that when they got into the Promised Land they were to let the Land have regular/cyclical seven year periods of rest. The Land needed to rest every seventh year. And then, after seven cycles of years there was to be a Jubilee land rest as well. We find this in Leviticus 25 —

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord.
3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
4 But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
5 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.
6 And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee.
7 And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
9 Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
11 A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.
12 For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.
13 In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession. —

The Land needed to rest. Why? God tells us. It’s a rest for the Land and a sabbath for the Lord, v. 4.

But I think the Apostle Paul had a specific reason for telling the Romans that the whole earth was still groaning and travailing in pain right up until their time.

Paul is addressing Gentiles who are new to the faith. They are also new to their Hebraic heritage. In other words, God knew that Gentiles needed the input of new information to help them traverse their new life of faith.

Why the need? Unlike those who had been immersed in the ways of God, they had grown up and lived outside of a biblical, Hebraic mindset. They were the “newbies.”

Let’s continue —

It’s not just the Land of Israel that is weighed down by man’s incessant activity upon it, but the whole created world. And with the decrease of our daily “thumping pulse” throughout the world, the seismic readings reveal that the collective creative world is … resting … and … healing … and … regenerating … and … de-Groaining. It’s not “thumping” quite as much right now.

I personally don’t think it is beyond the scope and will of God to “allow” mankind to suffer the ill affects of their rebellious life and practices in order to let His creation experience a respite.

It’s “bad” enough that the whole creation has to suffer on account of us. But maybe, just maybe, God is doing something with mankind akin to that which He did a long time ago.

Remember the days of Noah as related in Genesis 6? —

5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. —

What did God do? He presented His creation with a choice: Be preserved in the Ark of His devising or die in the choice of your own devising. That simply breaks down to this: Choose to believe God’s Word or suffer the consequences.

Sound harsh? It depends on what perspective your coming from, doesn’t it?

Folks, we’re not only reeking havoc upon God’s creation, but we’re also destroying ourselves in the process.

How so?

Answer: By choosing to follow the devising our own devices (worldly wisdom) rather than acknowledging the truth of God’s Word and submitting to it.

Said another way: God calls to an accounting the shedding of innocent blood by … death.

We as a nation (along with our tentacles throughout the world) are severely culpable regarding the prolific amount of innocent blood that has been shed through abortions made legal by our very own government. The day we started down that path was the day we signed our own death sentence.

Notice:

Genesis 9:6 —Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

Numbers 35:33 —So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.

Proverbs 6:16-19 —16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Obviously I can’t speak for God concerning His role in COVID-19. However, I can try to make some sense of it from a biblical perspective for my own mind.

And for me, the diminishing seismic activity is as good a place to start as any.

That and …

The consequential guilt regarding our open defiance by taking the lives of unborn babies created in the image of God, Genesis 9:6.

If you have another idea, you’re more than happy to find comfort in it. Just, please, find your comfort, hope and rest in the Word of God and not in the word of man.

If we can do that … the earth might in fact de-Groan for at least a little while.