Can a people “sin” so against God, against their Heavenly Father, that He “disqualifies” them from service? Can a group be so “far” from God, so very consistently “rebellious,” that the Lord puts them “on the shelf?” I think Paul’s word for this might be “castaway!”
Well, YES!
And today’s Bible Study Lesson provides us an example, a good one.
“Moreover he (the Lord) refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim: but (instead) chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.” Psalm 78:67-68
“Joseph” here is used as a name for the whole Tribe, immediately in our Text renamed “Ephraim.” Actually these terms refer to the division of Israel later known as the “Ten Tribes,” the “Northern Kingdom.”
Joshua 14:4 succinctly teaches us: “For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim.”
God “refused” these people, who never seemed to love Him with all their hearts. The verb “refused” is “maas” in Hebrew. It means “to reject, to despise,” almost “to make God sick.” As in “loathsomeness.” This same verb is used earlier in the Psalm, at verse 59. “When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred (“maas”)Israel.”
He “chose” them not. Not to continue as the “standard bearer” of the Jewish people! And “chose” (spelled “bachar”) means, among other things, “to accept, to consider excellent!” These people have been devalued, at least in terms of leadership, service.
Sins … do have consequences!
But one Tribe’s loss is another Tribe’s gain!
Our Passage again: “Moreover he (the Lord) refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim: BUT CHOSE THE TRIBE OF JUDAH, the mount Zion which he loved.”
Judah, the Tribe that later produced our dear Lord! Hebrews 7:14 reminds us: “It is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda.”
This “switch” may have been prophesied by Jacob, long ago. These are among his last words spoken on earth, as he lay dying. “JUDAH, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? THE SCEPTRE SHALL NOT DEPART FROM JUDAH, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Genesis 49:8-10, “Shiloh” being a foreshadowing of Jesus, we believe.
Most of Israel … OUT!
The least of Israel … IN!
And Judah, our text concludes, will possess the land (as her specific allotment) containing the Mount which God especially loved, Mount Zion, ultimately the City of Jerusalem!
God, dwelling with his people, His (hopefully) obedient people.
I have seen this principle at work, I think.
God laying aside one … to use another!
He IS the Potter.
We are the clay.
If we refuse to be pliable in His Hands … He can find other clay. After all, He owns the world! And all the clay therein!
What a sobering lesson today.
Paul again, whom I referenced earlier. “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I MYSELF SHOULD BE A CASTAWAY.” First Corinthians 9:27, referring not to loss of salvation (an impossibility), but to loss of opportunity, loss of the honor of serving the Lord.
Maybe this whole concept (Christian friend) is a part of our “fearing the Lord.”
— Dr. Mike Bagwell