Mere men reject Authority

Amos 8-11

We are living in a time of contrast, such marked differences between good and evil, between the degree of light and darkness in our society.   And it makes me wonder, is that pointing us to something new?   In verse 8 Jude is telling us these false teachers in the church are into dreams, and pay no heed to the commands of God about defiling the flesh, rejecting authority, and blaspheming the glorious ones.  Often, very often Scripture is like reading the daily newspaper on current events, we live in a time where Jude is speaking those words to our Nation.

God calls mankind many things but one that resonates with this writer is mere men, used in Romans 2:3, and now contrast that to another created being Michael the archangel.  Mere men reject authority and blaspheme the glorious ones, could it be that we the mere men have foolishly promoted ourselves to be gods?  Could it be that the average church- goer has no understanding of the schemes of the devil?  Is it that we are ignorant of where the battle is taking place in our daily lives; “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

(Ephesians 6:11-12 ESV)

The archangel Michael, the prince of Israel, the protector of Israel, has full understanding of authority, and Michael understands that God is the ultimate authority, so look at how one who is much greater than a mere man, acts when engaging the devil.  “But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”  (Jude 1:9 ESV) 

We at times display the same arrogance as Lucifer, who wanted his throne to be as high as God’s, for we often choose to ignore the teaching of Scripture, the commands of God, and choose to live independently of God’s authority; is not that action rebellion?  If the Spirit of God said you are that person, then do as king David did when confronted by the prophet Nathan; these were the words of David, “I have sinned against the Lord.”  And because David repented, we call it a confession, and now we’re calling things what God calls them, and being sorry we went against God’s orders, for God forgave David’s sin.  You may want to read this story in 2 Samuel 12, for David was forgiven but his sin did bring judgment on his family, our sins always find us out! 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice