Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Mismanagement and Exploitation
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Jeremiah 12:1-4
Jeremiah, like Baruch, has become discouraged by the turbulent maelstrom of events around him, the confusion and destruction that always accompany the unraveling of a nation. Yet, the prophet's complaint is more focused than that of his scribe's. Moreover, Jeremiah's complaint does not betray the self-absorption that Baruch's grumbling exhibits. Instead, Jeremiah's complaint is oriented outside himself. It is a “green” complaint, as we would say today: The land, he declares, mourns, the herbs everywhere wither, the animals and birds are gone because the residents of the land are evil. It is clear that the natural environment of Judah was languishing as a result of mismanagement at the hands of selfish, exploitive people. Jeremiah did not limit culpability to Judah's leaders, but speaks more generally of the “wicked” (verse 1) or of “those who dwell there” (verse 4), who have “taken root” (verse 2), that is, become established to the point that they are prospering due to their environmentally destructive activities. Jeremiah's complaint, therefore, has at its heart the issue of prosperity on the part of the wicked, people without scruples who take advantage of others and circumstances for their own gain. Why does God permit the wicked to prosper? The psalmist Asaph broached this issue in Psalm 73:1-28. Asaph comes to understand that a time will come when, “in a moment,” God will “destroy those who destroy the earth,” as John states it in Revelation 11:18. Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 8:11, “Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Sooner or later, though, their sins and crimes catch up to them, and divine justice—destruction and death—follow.
Charles Whitaker
A Tale of Two Complaints (Part One)
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Mark 1:14-15
The word gospel means “good news,” but conflicting ideas exist about what the good news is. Most who call themselves Christians consider the good news simply to be that Jesus died for the sins of humanity, which is definitely good news. But the good news that Jesus brought was about the Kingdom of God, as Scripture says (see Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 24:14; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 16:16). It was about the dominion of God, both present and future. Matthew 9:36 includes a helpful detail in the context of Christ's preaching of the gospel: “But when [Jesus] saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” Simply put, the people of Judea and Galilee were in a wretched state. They were exhausted, discouraged, and despondent. Similarly, in Luke's account of the inauguration of Christ's ministry, He quotes from Isaiah about His being anointed “to preach the gospel to the poor; . . . to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:16-19). Jesus preached to a downtrodden people. Ample evidence exists that much of what troubled the people were the leaders, the lawyers, the ones loading them with burdens they could not bear. The people suffered largely because of the mismanagement of the various power structures that held sway over them and against which they were powerless. The gospel of the Kingdom of God, then, is good news because it is a message of divine governance, where the governed finally have righteous leadership. Revelation 11:15-18 shows the fulfillment of the gospel: Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.” The first-century people of Judea and Galilee are not the only ones who have become wearied and discouraged because of failed governments. Corruption has characterized human government from the beginning. Mankind's fundamental problem is that he will not even govern himself within the limits of God's standards, let alone govern others in righteousness. The records of the Bible and secular history both show humanity's inability to solve its problems because they originate in the human heart, which is out of alignment with the heart of the Creator. The carnal heart is incurably sick (Jeremiah 17:9). The gospel teaches that the real solutions must and will come from above because humanity simply cannot produce good and just societies that last for any length of time. The Olivet Prophecy reveals that humanity's mismanagement will get so corrupt that, if God allowed matters to run their course, no flesh will be saved alive (Matthew 24:22; Mark 13:20). But for the sake of His elect, He has already determined to cut short the days at the end and intervene by taking His great power and reigning. He will claim rule over all the kingdoms and nations of this world, much to their anger and great dismay. Only when Jesus establishes His Kingdom on earth and judges from Jerusalem will the world finally experience peace and prosperity.
David C. Grabbe
Implications of the Gospel of the Kingdom
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