The God Who Gives and Takes Life

 

God says in Deuteronomy 32:39, “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.”

There is a truth here that modern man does not like to hear: life and death belong to God. God gives life, and God takes life. Life is not ours to possess independently of Him. It is a gift from the sovereign God of heaven and earth, and because He is the Author of life, He has the absolute right to determine its boundaries.

Job understood this. When his children died, he said, “The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Job recognized something we desperately need to recover today. Our lives are in God’s hands.

Man cannot lawfully take life simply because he chooses to do so. God has commanded, “Thou shalt not kill.” Murder is forbidden. But we must also recognize that God has established lawful authority under which life may be taken. Romans 13 teaches that the civil magistrate “beareth not the sword in vain.” Scripture also recognizes legitimate self-defense and lawful warfare.

The important point is that life and death must be understood on God’s terms and not ours.

God says of Himself in Deuteronomy 32:4, “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”

Whatever God does is right.

That includes His judgments.

We have created a sentimental view of God that accepts His love but rejects His holiness, righteousness, wrath, and justice. Certainly God is love. First John 4:8 plainly tells us that. But Scripture also tells us that God is light, that He is holy, and that He is just.

God is not what we imagine Him to be. He is not whatever kind of God we would prefer to worship. God is what He has revealed Himself to be in His Word.

Nahum 1:2-3 says, “God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.”

Notice the balance. He is slow to anger, but He will not acquit the wicked.

God’s love never conflicts with His holiness. His mercy never destroys His justice. His patience should never be mistaken for weakness.

Men look at the patience of God and imagine that judgment will never come. They sin year after year and say, “Nothing has happened to me yet.” But God’s patience is not approval.

There comes a time when judgment falls.

Throughout Scripture we see God judging individuals and nations. Ananias and Sapphira died under divine judgment in Acts 5. Herod was struck in Acts 12. Pharaoh and his army perished in the Red Sea. The Assyrian army suffered tremendous destruction in a single night.

This is why the words of Deuteronomy 32:39 are so important: “I kill, and I make alive.”

God is sovereign over both.

Sometimes He acts directly. At other times He uses means. Romans 13 tells us that the civil magistrate is God’s minister and “a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”

This brings us to a difficult passage in Jeremiah 48:10: “Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.”

You cannot properly understand that statement without understanding its context.

Jeremiah 48 concerns the judgment of Moab. Moab had become proud, idolatrous, self-confident, and rebellious against God. God declared that destruction was coming. Jeremiah 48:7 says, “For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken.”

That sounds terribly modern, doesn’t it?

They trusted their wealth. They trusted their achievements. They trusted their false gods. They magnified themselves against the Lord.

And God brought judgment.

The Babylonians became the instrument through which that judgment was carried out. God even referred to Nebuchadnezzar as “my servant” when He used him to execute judgment upon rebellious nations.

That did not mean Nebuchadnezzar was a godly man. It meant that God was sovereign enough to use even a proud and wicked ruler to accomplish His purposes.

The same thing happened with Assyria. Isaiah 10:5 calls Assyria “the rod of mine anger.” The Assyrians did not march into battle saying, “We are here to perform God’s will.” Their hearts were filled with conquest and destruction. Yet God declared that He was using them as an instrument of judgment.

Never imagine that the wicked are outside God’s control.

God remains sovereign even over those who hate Him.

That is what makes Jeremiah 48:10 so serious. When God gave a particular command and commission, those charged with carrying it out were not permitted to substitute their judgment for His.

There is a broader principle here that applies to every one of us.

Whatever God gives us to do, we must do faithfully.

“Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully.”

That means carelessly, negligently, halfheartedly, or with a slack hand.

God despises halfhearted service.

Our Lord made that clear to the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:16: “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

God does not want lukewarm worship, lukewarm obedience, lukewarm service, or lukewarm Christianity.

Whatever God has called you to do, do it faithfully.

If you are preaching, preach faithfully.

If you are raising children, do it faithfully.

If you are working with your hands, work faithfully.

If you are waiting tables, washing dishes, building houses, running a business, teaching a class, or caring for your family, do it as unto the Lord.

There is no meaningless work when that work is performed in obedience to God.

We must also recover a biblical fear of God.

Our Lord said in Matthew 10:28, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Modern Christianity talks much about loving God, and rightly so. But the Bible also teaches us to fear God.

The fear of God does not mean that the Christian spends every waking moment terrified that God will destroy him. It means that we recognize who God is. He is holy. He is sovereign. He is righteous. He has authority over life and death, time and eternity.

That realization changes the way we live.

It changes how we treat sin.

It changes how we think about obedience.

It changes how we approach worship.

It reminds us that we are accountable to God.

But I do not want to end merely with death and judgment, because the God who says, “I kill,” also says, “I make alive.”

There is a tremendous difference between merely being alive and truly living.

Real life is found in Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

That is where life is found.

Not in rebellion.

Not in money.

Not in human power.

Not in pleasure.

Not in escaping the commandments of God.

Life is found in Christ.

The man who walks with God, obeys His Word, trusts in Christ, and seeks to honor Him possesses something this world cannot manufacture.

He possesses life more abundantly.

God gave you life. Every breath you take exists because He permits it. Every heartbeat continues because He sustains it. Every day is a gift from His hand.

Therefore, live that life for Him.

Fear Him.

Trust Him.

Obey Him.

Serve Him wholeheartedly.

And never forget the words of the sovereign God of heaven and earth:

“I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.”