Abandoned by God
[Acts 7:39-43]
Stomach cancer accounts for about one-fourth of cancers in Koreans and is one of the most common cancers. It is about twice as common in men as in women. In fact, in the early stages, stomach cancer often does not show any specific symptoms. Early symptoms of stomach cancer include discomfort in the upper abdomen and abdominal pain. Other symptoms after meals such as indigestion, post-meal bloating, and loss of appetite can also occur. These symptoms are similar to those commonly seen in acute or chronic gastritis, duodenal ulcers, and gastric ulcers. Therefore, when patients experience these symptoms, they often dismiss them as minor indigestion and end up using digestive aids or antacids for a long time, missing the right timing for treatment. If stomach cancer is detected in its advanced stages and left untreated, patients usually die within 1-2 years, and the younger the patient, the faster the progression. The prevention of stomach cancer is primarily possible through improvements in diet. The Korean diet includes a lot of salty kimchi, spicy foods, hot foods, and charred foods, and it is advisable to reduce the intake of such foods. Additionally, it is recommended to consume ginseng and milk, which are believed to have preventive effects against stomach cancer, and to increase the intake of fresh green vegetables and fruits rich in vitamins A and C to boost vitamin intake (Internet). When thinking about stomach cancer, we realize that instead of consuming healthy foods in our diet, which can prevent cancer, we often consume foods that can lead to cancer. When cancer is discovered and left untreated, it ultimately leads to death within 1-2 years. Reflecting on this, I applied it to our spiritual lives as well. In our spiritual lives, if God does not hold onto us and simply leaves us, we may eventually face death due to the sinful and corrupt instincts within us, like cancer cells. No one would knowingly leave a cancer untreated; they would do everything they can to try and cure it, no matter what it takes. Similarly, we should make every effort to address the spiritual "cancers" within us, seeking healing and restoration through God's grace.
In today's passage, Acts 7:42, the Bible tells us that when the Israelites sinned against God, He eventually abandoned them. In other words, it emphasizes that God is a God who allows abandonment. Focusing on Acts 7:39-43, I reflected on why God abandoned the Israelites and received a lesson. We should strive not to sin like the Israelites, so that God does not abandon us.
First, we must not commit the sin of disobedience to God's word.
Look at Acts 7:39 - "But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt." The Israelites did not obey Moses, whom God had chosen to give them the words of life. Instead, they rejected the words of life that were conveyed through Moses. Why did the Israelites, who considered Moses the greatest prophet and leader, disobey his words? Why did they reject the words of life? It was because their hearts turned back to Egypt (v. 39). Even though God heard their cries when they were in pain as slaves in Egypt and sent Moses to save them, they kept looking back and complained about Moses and God whenever they faced hardships and difficulties in the wilderness. They would say, ‘Life was better in Egypt.’
We are not so different from the Israelites. Despite being made a new creation, our hearts often dwell on worldly matters rather than heavenly ones. Though Paul clearly instructs us to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things (Col. 3:2), we find ourselves constantly wavering between heavenly and earthly concerns. The term "earthly things" can also be understood as the deeds of the "old self" (Eph. 4:22). For example, living according to our sinful desires (v. 22), lying (v. 25), allowing anger to lead us to sin and harboring bitterness (verse 26), stealing (verse 28), engaging in corrupt speech (v. 29), clamor (v. 31), slander (v. 31), and refusing to forgive (v. 32), and so on. If we become captivated by these deeds of the old self, we will, like the Israelites, reject the words of life and ultimately live a life of disobedience to God's word. Ultimately, if we reject the love of truth, God will allow deception to work in us, leading us to believe falsehood (2 Thess. 2:11). If God abandons us, we will believe in falsehood. It is one of the two: either we love the truth or reject it, and therefore believe in falsehood.
We must choose the truth. We must never reject or refuse the words of truth. To do so, we must not turn our hearts towards the world. If our hearts are gradually taken away by this world, we will end up living a life of disobedience to God's word. In that case, God will abandon us in our sin.
Second, we must not commit the sin of making idols.
Look at Acts 7:40 - "They told Aaron, 'Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don't know what has happened to him!'" Why did the Israelites during the time of the exodus ask Aaron, Moses' brother, to make them gods when Moses was on Mount Sinai communing with God? I believe it was due to the Israelites' anxiety about their uncertain future, stemming from a perceived absence of leadership from Moses. In the end, their lack of faith led them to request from Aaron an idol to lead them in the future out of their fear and uncertainty. Could there have been such a great deficiency in Moses' leadership during the exodus? Then, was Aaron not a leader? Unlike Moses, Aaron did not receive direct communication from God to convey to the Israelites; rather, he was led by the people more than he led them with the word of God. A leader who is not led by the word of God but instead led by people, ultimately leads those who follow him to sin before God. In the end, as Exodus 32:25 states, Aaron allowed the Israelites to become out of control, becoming a laughingstock to their enemies. The more accurate answer as to why the Israelites made idols is found in Romans 1:21: "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened." The reason the Israelites rejoiced in making the idol of a calf and offering sacrifices to it with their own hands (Acts 7:41) was because their thinking became futile, and their hearts became foolish and darkened. So why did the thoughts and hearts of the Israelites become so futile, foolish, and darkened? The cause was that they knew God but did not glorify Him as God or give thanks (Rom. 1:21). Even though God delivered the Israelites from Egypt through miracles and showed them signs and wonders in the wilderness, they chose to exchange the truth of God for a lie, worshipping the creature rather than the Creator (v. 25). Why did they do that? It was because the Israelites thought of themselves as wise (v. 22). Ultimately, their prideful hearts led the Israelites to commit the sin of idol worship.
We must be wary of pride. We must not think of ourselves as wise. Therefore, we should not steal God's glory to exalt ourselves. We must not make idols like the Israelites. We must not offer sacrifices before these idols and become like the Israelites, sitting down to eat and drink and rising up to play (Exod. 32:6). And we must not look at the idols we have made and rejoice as the Israelites did (Acts 7:41).
Third and last, we must not commit the sin of ingratitude towards God.
Look at Acts 7:42 - "But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon, and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets: 'Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?'" Even though God met the Israelites from heaven, brought water from the rock, led them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, the Israelites committed the sin of ingratitude towards God. Instead of giving glory to God with thanksgiving for His grace, they grumbled. In the end, while Moses was on Mount Sinai communing with God and receiving the Ten Commandments, the Israelites, along with Aaron, made a golden calf and worshipped it, committing the sin of idol worship. Ultimately, the Israelites did not offer sacrifices to God for forty years in the wilderness (Amos 5:25-27). Look at Acts 7:42b – “Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?" In the end, God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the heavenly bodies (v. 42). This cannot be anything other than a terrifying judgment from God. Leaving them to their futile thoughts and darkened foolish hearts is a frightening judgment. The reason is that, just like the Israelites, if God does not hold us, we will struggle in sin and ultimately die. The Israelites were abandoned by God in the midst of idol worship because of their previous sin. Look at Romans 1:26 - "Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts." In the end, even after entering and settling in the land of Canaan, the Israelites committed the sin of idol worship. They worshipped the idols of the Assyrians (worshipping the stars) (Jere. 8:2, 19:13). We must not commit the sin of ingratitude towards our Father God. When God blesses us in various ways, it pleases Him for us to use those blessings for His glory, not for idol worship like the Israelites.
Our God is the God who does not abandon. When the Israelites sinned, God abandoned them. They sinned by disobeying God's word, making idols, and being ungrateful. Therefore, God abandoned them. However, the God who abandoned the Israelites is not the God who will abandon us. The reason is that God abandoned Jesus, His only begotten Son, on the cross in our place. Therefore, when we realize the grace and love of God revealed through the cross of Jesus, we will no longer commit the sins of disobedience, idol worship, and ingratitude.
Saved through the only begotten Son Jesus, who was abandoned by God the Father,
James Kim
(Seeking forgiveness for the sin of ingratitude towards God)