Psalm 84:11
King James Version
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield:
the Lord will give grace and glory:
no good thing will he withhold
from them that walk uprightly.
When does GOD hold back?
What makes Him hold back?
When does He withhold "grace" and "glory"?
SPIRIT led me to TWO distinct examples in the Bible.
In fact, GOD woke me up really early this morning.
Imprinting upon my mind a particular GENESIS chapter.
So, I got up, checked the significance of it, and found this.
Which formed the framework for this article.
FIRST, the Genesis chapter:
Genesis 11:1-5
King James Version
11 And the whole earth was of one language,
and of one speech.
2 And it came to pass,
as they journeyed from the east,
that they found a plain in the land of Shinar;
and they dwelt there.
3 And they said one to another,
Go to, let us make brick,
and burn them thoroughly.
And they had brick for stone,
and slime had they for morter.
4 And they said,
Go to, let us build us a city and a tower,
whose top may reach unto heaven;
and let us make us a name,
lest we be scattered abroad
upon the face of the whole earth.
5 And the Lord came down
to see the city and the tower,
which the children of men builded.
What were GOD's thoughts?
Genesis 11:6
King James Version
6 And the Lord said,
Behold, the people is one,
and they have all one language;
and this they begin to do:
and now nothing will be restrained from them,
which they have imagined to do.
What did GOD do?
Genesis 11:7-9
King James Version
7 Go to, let us go down,
and there confound their language,
that they may not understand one another's speech.
8 So the Lord scattered them abroad
from thence upon the face of all the earth:
and they left off to build the city.
9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel;
because the Lord did there confound
the language of all the earth:
and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad
upon the face of all the earth.
After pondering on why GOD led me particularly to Genesis 11, I remembered the FIRST instance where GOD withheld His grace.
FIRST, the context:
Genesis 2:16-17
King James Version
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,
Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
thou shalt not eat of it:
for in the day that thou eatest thereof
thou shalt surely die.
What did man do?
Genesis 3:1-7
King James Version
3 Now the serpent was more subtil
than any beast of the field
which the Lord God had made.
And he said unto the woman,
Yea, hath God said,
Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent,
We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree
which is in the midst of the garden,
God hath said,
Ye shall not eat of it,
neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman,
Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof,
then your eyes shall be opened,
and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw
that the tree was good for food,
and that it was pleasant to the eyes,
and a tree to be desired to make one wise,
she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat,
and gave also unto her husband with her;
and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened,
and they knew that they were naked;
and they sewed fig leaves together,
and made themselves aprons.
What were GOD's thoughts?
Genesis 3:22
King James Version
22 And the Lord God said,
Behold, the man is become as one of us,
to know good and evil:
and now, lest he put forth his hand,
and take also of the tree of life,
and eat, and live for ever:
What did GOD do?
Genesis 3:23-24
King James Version
23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth
from the garden of Eden,
to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man;
and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden
and a flaming sword which turned every way,
to keep the way of the tree of life.
These two are powerful examples of CAUSE, and EFFECT.
Not to mention the GREAT sins man has committed.
In the "tower of Babel" example, it was the sin of "pride".
In the "tree of life" example, it was the sin of "greed" and "disobedience".
Thus, all our resulting hardships.
Now, there are many languages.
As well as constant hardships.
When will man ever learn?
Related material:
The MAGNIFICENCE and MAJESTY of GOD
