Why? -4

  The last 3 tidbits I have endeavored to expound on the question that Jeremiah asked for the children of Israel; ‘Why have these things happened to me?’ (Jer13:22). In other words, Jeremiah is teaching how to respond to the most difficult question of life…why has this bad thing happened to me?
  After addressing the theology of the ‘Why’ question in my past 3 tidbits, I now want to address how to apply the ‘Why?’ theology to my life. Of course, the reason this is so important is that bad things cause personal suffering which is the number ‘ONE’ reason people reject God.
  Two confirmations:
1.“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” -1Tim4:1
2.The Bible dedicates an entire book, i.e. Job, to understanding how to deal with the pain and sufferings of life.
 
  So, let’s jump right in and examine one of the more difficult situations of America’s past: slavery. The most important questions we must ask ourselves regarding American slavery are: If God is God, what was He thinking/doing during American slavery? Why did God allow the enslavement of Blacks if He is such a good God? Can God be ‘just’ if He allowed such cruelty to be perpetrated upon Black people?
  Allow me an example. In the movie ‘Emancipation’, star actor Will Smith plays the role of Peter. One of the most powerful and emotional scenes in the film occurred near the beginning when a Black slave who had just been whipped, beaten, and chained, was tossed back into a slave-holding pen while all the other slaves watched helplessly. A slave sitting next to Peter (Will Smith) begins shaking with fear after viewing this situation. Peter turns to the trembling slave and begins to encourage him to think about something good, i.e.his family, to calm him down.
Then Peter suddenly declared, “God is with us!” The first slave who is still trying to recover from his beating overhears Peter’s words is stunned, and angrily replies, “How can you say that to him? God is with us! Where is He? And why has He not set you free? Stand up and praise your God for all He has done for you! For all of us! God is not with you! He is nowhere! He sends that fool (referring to a slave preacher) to tell us about His word, to be a good slave; to be obedient to your masters! Is that what God says to you?” As Peter listens intently, tears begin rolling down his face; and then he responds, “God says many things! I do not know why God shows Himself to some people, and not to others, but if you do not know Him. I will pray for you!”
  In other slave/oppression movies, the norm is to call the oppressed to anger, hatred, and revenge against the oppressors!!! But not the writers of this movie! I’m fully convinced the Holy Spirit inspired Peter’s response! I repeat, although the suffering in this scene was unimaginably horrific, Peter (Will Smith) did not curse God, nor White people; and just as important, nor did he attempt to offer some deep theological explanation! In short, Peter did not attempt to explain something he did not understand! Yet, despite his inability to understand, Peter’s response showed that he retained his faith in a ‘good’ God—despite his suffering! ‘THIS’ PRINCIPLE is ‘THE’ key to answering the question of ‘Why?’ in our personal lives when facing suffering and tragedy!  
  So, am I saying the response to slavery is to do nothing? No! To ONLY pray? No! Is there an answer to the question of slavery* from God’s perspective? The answer is…YES!! To begin we must remember the first principle of determining God’s Will: God is good, at all times, and in every situation---because His nature is good (Ps119:68; Ps136; Lu18:19) and…He cannot deviate from His good nature…ever!
  Furthermore, God’s nature is multi-faceted, which in short means along with His goodness, He is just (Gen18:25; Ps96:13), and His justice is perfect (Deut32:4) because He is perfect, i.e.without sin(2Cor5:21; Ps92:15). This means God cannot be unjust anywhere or at any time…because He is absolutely righteous!
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  First, ‘God’s Will’ is two-fold:
1.Benevolence Will. Because God is good, He is benevolent toward all mankind. Luke 2:14 declares: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men”
2.Judgment Will. Because God is both perfect and just(Deut32:4), He must judge sin (Gen18:25; Acts17:31). On the contrary, if He does not  judge man’s sin---then He is unjust!
 
  The Judgment Will of God is ‘THE’ most complex Biblical doctrine because of its many facets. So, to understand and explain American slavery, we must first determine God’s will regarding the issue of slavery—because He is same yesterday, today, and forever(Heb13:8), i.e.His will is the same for all humans, at all times, everywhere…because God is just(Deut32:4)!
  The Bible declares Rehoboam sinned against the Lord and took all Israel with him (2Chron12:1,2). In God’s righteous judgment for their sin, He determined to send Shishak, the king of Egypt to wipe them out, unveiling to them the “WHY”, i.e. the reason Shishak was attacking. In other words, there is a reason, i.e. a ‘Why?’ for everything that happens in this life—good or evil (Is1:19; Pro26:2; Job37:23; Deut28)!
  Because they did not know the reason, and because God is perfectly merciful(Ps136)--which means even in judgment He desires mercy (Jms2:13)—God sent the prophet Shemaiah to announce the reason Shishak was attacking: “…Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.” -2Chron12:5
  Incredibly, the people humbled themselves and declared: “The Lord is righteous!” (2Chron12:6). These words are a simple declaration of God’s nature of Righteousness (Ps129:4). In other words, the people declared all God’s ways are righteous(Ps145:17)—including the absolute justice of wiping them out through Shishak--for their sin!
  Of course, this teaches one of the first principles of understanding how to deal with suffering and pain: I. Declare the righteousness of God’s judgments, no matter how difficult the situation. In other words, NEVER BLAME GOD FOR EVIL…especially in your time of suffering!
  Incredibly, God took the people’s declaration of righteousness as repentance and sent Shemaiah back to Rehoboam:
“And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.”           -2Chron12:7
 
  2Chronicles 12:7 confirms that God’s initial judgment for their sin was absolute: to destroy them—because sin requires justice(Rom6:23). However, while under absolute justice, because of their repentance, God gave them mercy…but that mercy resulted only in a ‘some’ (partial) judgment. Verse 7 says, “Therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them ‘some’ deliverance.”
  So, what was the final, i.e. ‘some’ judgment? Verse 8 declares: “Nevertheless they shall be his ‘servants’; that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.” The Hebrew word for “servants” is ebed, meaning slave.
  This teaches 2 types of slavery: i.slavery to God, and ii. slavery to man. Because God is good, slavery to God is good (1Cor7:22; 1Cor6:20; Mk10:44). However, because man is evil, slavery to man is wicked (Gen1:26-28; 2Chron12:8; 1Cor7:23).
  Therefore, 2 Chronicles 12:1-9 teaches slavery is a judgment of God for sin! This truth is confirmed by the entire book of Judges, where Israel was in and out of slavery for their sin lasting over 450 years. A third witness is both the nations of Israel and Judah were taken into slavery for their sin in 722BC, and 606 BC respectively.
  I repeat, slavery is a judgment of God upon a people group for their sin! This means when Blacks were brought enslaved to America, the reason was sin committed in Africa!!! Blacks are not the only group enslaved in history; slavery has existed in all people groups and nations—all over the world--for thousands of years!!! This does not make the enslavers innocent…for God condemns both kidnappers(1Tim1:10), which is the foundation for slavery; and the enslavement of men(1Cor7:23)!!
  In conclusion, because God is Sovereign (ruler over all), no event, nor situation; nor anything good or bad, can happen outside of God’s will. See God’s 2 wills above. If this is not true, then God is not Sovereign, i.e.He does not rule over all! In other words, there absolutely can be nothing good or evil, regardless of its scale or magnitude, that can occur without the involvement of the Sovereign God—Who rules over all! Why? If the devil can act apart from God’s will, then he is either equal with God, or greater than God---both of which are false!
 
*While I recognize slavery is an extremely difficult topic, and can literally take volumes to unpack, I can offer some basics. 
 
 
Quotebit
“…the spread of Christianity and Christian influence on government was primarily responsible for the outlawing of infanticide, child abandonment, and abortion in the Roman Empire (374AD)”
-Alvin J. Schmidt in ‘How Christianity Changed the World’, Christian Ethics, Wayne Grudem, pg475