"Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root shall be rottenness, and their blossom shall fade into dust, because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel." Is. 5:24
"...and the strong shall become tinder, and his work a spark; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them." Is. 1:31
All sin is self-destructive; the punishments of the wicked are self-inflicted. We are mistaken if we see God's law as the arbitrary assignment of a despot, imposing their alien ideas on what is. On the contrary, God's law is "what is" and not simply what ought to be. It is less like the law of a despot and more like the law of gravity: you defy it at your own peril. A man who attempts to defy a despot may be hailed a hero, even if he does not succeed. A man who attempts to defy gravity (e.g., by jumping off of a building) is known to be an idiot, precisely because he will not succeed. With God, what ought to be is also what fundamentally and ultimately is, and defiance is not only perilous but also futile.
This is simply common sense. If God's existence is that of true objectivity, then what He says is not arbitrary but the truth. If he truly is the Creator of all (Ps. 33:6-9; Heb. 11:3), then He would know better than anyone how creation (in all of its facets) actually and properly works. If He is truly the Sustainer of all (Col. 1:12-17; Heb. 11:3), then Ps. 127:1 is not only good poetry but also good practical advice for everyday living. If God truly is the Source of all joy and longing (Ps. 16:11, 42:1-2), then what else can there be for those who reject Him except sorrow and frustration? If He is truly the Lord of Life and Light (Ps. 27:1, 16:11, 36:9; John 1:1-4, 14:6-7; James. 1:17; I John 1:5), then what other end can there be for those who turn away from Him but death and darkness?
We are such children, throwing tantrums over things that cannot be changed. God is Creator and Sustainer and Joy and Life and Light not because He chooses to be or do those things, but because He is those things. Likewise, His law, His objective declaration on Himself and all things, is simply a statement of facts. You are free to defy facts as you will, but not for long, and certainly not for good. You may jump from the building if you wish, but sooner or later you will break against rugged reality, and not a soul will say that it could have gone another way.
-Jon Vowell (c) 2012
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