God Will Cut Short the Moral Decline of His People
Paul talked about cutting the work short. We are going to look into this obscure and usually overlooked scripture for a deeper understanding. Paul, when talking about Israel, mentions that God will cut short His work on Earth to stop the moral decline of His people. If God did not cut short that time, what would happen? Paul writes:
Romans 9:26-29, “And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
“Esaias [Isaiah] also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
“For He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
“And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.”
The problem with Sodom was that sin was totally accepted in that society. They existed in a society of near total corruption. They wouldn’t –– or couldn’t –– repent because they knew no shame! The entire city was accepting of the attempted forcible rape of the two angelic men sent to rescue Lot. It was not rape in some dark back alley; it was in full view in public.
God abhors sin. We all should feel some shame when we slip and sin. How much more must He abhor it when sin becomes wholly accepted by society? However, God will not allow Israel to completely rot away morally. God told Israel to repent while they still could.
Isaiah 1:16-17 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil,
“Learn to do good; Seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.”
God warned them that corruption was starting to infect all parts of Jerusalem’s society, from the princes to the business leaders and judges. All greedily sought bribes and the people suffered accordingly.
Isaiah 1:23, “Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come before them.”
God’s plan would prevent the entire society from becoming totally rotten, without shame and unable to repent.
God Sent Israel Into Captivity to Save a Remnant
Paul quoted the prophets regarding this. He was aware of the historical examples. Paul is paraphrasing Isaiah 10:22-23. This warning from God through the prophet was regarding saving a remnant of Judah from becoming totally corrupted. God cut short that nation’s freedom for 70 years to punish them and to save them for later repentance.
Isaiah 10:22-23, “For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
“For the Lord God of hosts will make a determined end in the midst of all the land.”
God warned that He was about to end the kingdom and take them into captivity unless they repented. Paul also referenced the prophet Jeremiah’s warnings.
Jeremiah 7:16-19, “‘Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you.
“‘Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
“‘The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger.
“‘Do they provoke Me to anger?’ says the Lord. ‘Do they not provoke themselves, to the shame of their own faces?’”
God is saying to the prophet that the people have gone too far into idolatry. They have no shame. They have reached the point of NO RETURN, where they cannot repent for lack of knowledge. Therefore, to save a remnant before they are all morally poisoned, God chose to send them into captivity.
Jeremiah 8:12, “‘Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed, nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; In the time of their punishment they shall be cast down,’ says the Lord.”
Sin had become totally accepted by a vast majority of that society, so how could they ever repent? God requires us to feel shame when we sin. All mankind sins and we all should feel shame and guilt and then repent. Historically, the northern ten tribes of Israel had been cut short and went into captivity.
2 Kings 10:32, “In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;”
The northern ten tribes of Israel began approaching the point of NO RETURN long before the southern kingdom of Judah. Both were warned by prophets but the downward drift continued. God called Judah to repentance but only a remnant would remain faithful. Israel went into captivity in 722 BC and Judah was taken in 586 BC to Babylon. Note what God told the prophet Elijah:
1 Kings 19:18, “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.”
God always left a remnant by cutting short the days of corruption. After these chapters warning of the growing moral corruption, the prophets told of the Messiah’s wonderful rescue. We see this after both chapter one and ten in Isaiah. Judah returned from captivity and then remained steadfast regarding idolatry, Sabbath keeping and preserving the word of God. Hard times can strengthen people. Remember that the Great Depression and World War II did that for America after the prosperity of the Roaring Twenties led to rampant moral decline.
The Messiah’s Wonderful Rescue of the Remnant
These are some of the most encouraging words in all the Bible. Those with a repentant, obedient heart will all be in paradise where repentance will be abundant.
Isaiah 2:3-4, “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
“And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
Isaiah 11:6-9, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
“And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
“And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den.
“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”
History: A Warning for End-Time Believers
All the world will be cut short to save a remnant of Israel in the end times. Mankind, if left to his own devices, would go so far astray that it would poison the planet. Jesus warned of this:
Matthew 24:21-22, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
“And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”
We are warned to stay in a repentant and ready spirit because the days will be suddenly cut short.
Matthew 24:42-44, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
“But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
God is saving this planet for us –– the spiritual remnant of Israel –– by cutting short the evil days ahead. Stay focused! A soft heart and a responsive conscience are prized by God.
