Title Before the chance passes
Contents
♡♥♡ Before the opportunity passes / Zep 2:1-3
***Introduction
I look up to the sky until the day I die / I hope that I will not have any shame / Even the wind on the leaves was tormented by me. / With a heart that sings the stars / I must love everything that is dying / And I must walk the path given to me. / Even tonight, the stars are blowing in the wind.
It is a poem by poet Yun Dong-ju, which shows the deep Christian colors. Poet Yun Dong-ju died at the young age of 29, but he was baptized as an infant, served as a Sunday school teacher at Yongjeong Central Church, and loved the Lord deeply until he was sent to prison for the independence movement.
“Until the day I die, I may have no shame in looking up to heaven… I have to walk the path given to me.” You have a really honest, clean, and beautiful heart. How wonderful would it be to live a life without shame in the sight of God?
However, it is sad that it is difficult to see such a beautiful life in the society we live in today. I can't see anyone in the political, legal, economic, educational, or even religious circles who admits to themselves. He endures until the end, and even after his guilt is released, he brazenly raises his face and walks proudly. It's a shameless look. It is not shameless because it is honest and clean, but it is a cheolmyeon skin with iron plates on its face.
The term “cheolmyeonpi” (鐵面皮) was coined by a Chinese man named Wang Gwang-won (王光遠) in the old days. This person was a career-oriented person, and he was a very unscrupulous person who would do anything for his own benefit. When he set a goal, he lied, framed, and harmed anyone in order to achieve that goal.
In this way, I was confused by any means and methods, and I was humiliated and beaten countless times. Still, he couldn't change his old habit, and when he continued to behave like that, people around him said, 'Wang Gwang-won's face is thick like ten layers of iron armor.' It is said that the word ‘cheolmyeon skin’ was born from this word.
In the text of this time, there is also an exhortation for spiritual shields. Through the Word, God exhorts those who have committed sins and are not ashamed to ‘repent while there is still an opportunity.’ This recommendation consists of three parts.
The first is an exhortation to examine yourself.
Verse 1 says, “Gather together, you people who do not know shame. Gather together.”
The ‘people who do not know shame’ here are ‘cheolmyeon skin’. It is God's lament toward the people of Israel, who are God's people, but they are separated from God, live with the world and commit sins, but do not even know the shame. Would this groan only apply to the people of Israel at that time? Even today, this applies to those who have been called to be children of God, yet fall into the world, love the world more, and commit sins, but do not know whether it is a sin or shame.
God invites them to “gather together.” ‘Gathering’ here means ‘collecting one’s actions spiritually in order to examine oneself’. In Isaiah 31:6, it is said, “Son of Israel, turn back to those who were very rebellious.” In Joel 2:12, 13, “This is the word of the Lord, 'Even now, fast, and weep and mourn; Return to me with all your heart.' 'Tear your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God; he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, relenting and bringing no evil. Do you do it?” he said.
The first condition of repentance is ‘introspection,’ that is, self-examination. It is to see if there is one point of shame in the sight of God. These are the words of God admonishing those who do not know shame about ‘repentance’ to examine themselves and turn to God if they have deviated from the spiritual life.
The second is an exhortation to come back before the opportunity runs out.
It is time for the Israelites to walk through the wilderness toward Canaan. About two years after the Exodus, we arrived at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Paran. It was just before entering Canaan. Before they entered Canaan, they sent 12 spies from there to spy out the situation. The spies who returned after 40 days of spying reported negative reports except for Joshua and Caleb. When the people heard this, they wept and complained against Moses, and they wanted to return to Egypt.
God was angry with the people who complained and disobeyed God, and He told them that they would be tried in the wilderness for 40 years, and all those who rebelled would die. The people regretted their foolishness only after hearing God's voice and said that they would go into Canaan right now. Then Moses insisted that he would not only succeed, but also sin again and again against God because the opportunity had already passed. Nevertheless, the people went to war, and the result was a devastating defeat.
The text also warns us to turn around before the opportunity passes. “Before the decree is executed, before the madness flies away like chaff, before the wrath of the LORD comes upon you, before the day of the LORD's wrath comes upon you.” This verse calls for a decision before the opportunity passes and the wrath of God is executed. In particular, the phrase “before the madness flies away like chaff” means “that day is coming like chaff.” It means “God’s wrath will come very quickly, but it will come like chaff blown by the wind.”
Opportunities given to us will come suddenly at some point we never realize. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 says, “For yourselves know fully that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will by no means escape.”
Gospel song lyrics. “If you are entangled in worldly affairs and do all the worldly things, how will you meet the Lord if you call me? Lord, if you come to me, how will I treat you? I was wandering far away Now, this poor sinner, I will think only of you and forsake the glory of the world, I will look only to you and follow you.” Make a decision toward the Lord now when you have a clear opportunity.
The third is the exhortation to seek Jehovah.
The text explains “seeking the Lord” as “seeking righteousness and humility.” The humble are those who do the righteousness of the Lord. That is, a person who diligently strives to obey what God has set forth as righteousness. Such a person can hide in the day of God's wrath. In other words, you can receive forgiveness and be saved.
Are you losing your former zeal for God? Or are you still unaware of the shame of not thinking of sin as a sin? Or are you not even ready to be zealous yet? Let's examine ourselves. And before God destroys it, I must be transformed. Let's make a decision before the opportunity given to us suddenly passes. It is said that God has mercy on those who repent and return.
As Lent draws to a close and Holy Week passes, let's be zealous for our own newness. I pray in the name of the Lord that you can enjoy the great assurance and joy of the resurrection.