Soil Disturbance (Matthew 27:51b)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/31/2024 8:28 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                  Focus:  “Soil Disturbance”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 27:51b

 

            Message of the verses:  “and the earth shook; and the rocks were split”

 

            Today’s SD brings the fifth miracle that occurred during the crucifixion which was a supernaturally caused earthquake.  This happened immediately after Jesus died and the Temple veil was torn in two from top to bottom that the earth shook; and the rocks were split.  We can say that this makes another statement about God’s Son to the world, and especially to His chosen people that the Father brought a devastating earthquake to Jerusalem and the surrounding area.  I guess my question is why not many people believed that through these miracles from the Lord that something very special was going on.

 

            In his commentary John MacArthur goes over some things from the Old Testament.  “Again the Old Testament gives insight into the significance o the occurrence.  When God appeared to Moses on Mt. Sinai, ‘the whole mountain quaked violently’ (Ex. 19:18), and when He appeared to Elijah on a mountain, ‘a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord,…and after the wind an earthquake’ (1 Kings 19:11).  David sang of the earth’s shaking and trembling when the Lord became angry (2 Sam. 22:8; Ps. 18:7; cf. 77:18).  Isaiah spoke of the Lord’s punishing His people through ‘thunder and earthquake and loud noise’ (Isa. 29:6), and Jeremiah of His venting His wrath on the nations of the earth by causing it to quake (Jer. 10:10; cf. Nah. 1:5).  The book of Revelation tells of God’s causing the stars to fall to earth, and of mountains and islands being moved  out of their places’ during the final judgment (6:13-14).”

 

            When God made the earth we do not hear of any earthquakes, and that is because all was perfect in His creation.  I will give you my opinion as to when earthquakes began and why they began.  I think that when God created the earth there was no mountains on it and all the land mass was in one place.  So what changed?  Well in my opinion all the trouble came with the world-wide flood found in Genesis chapter six.  God was judging sin through this flood and we read that the water came from both the earth and from the sky.  I don’t believe that there were any clouds or any rain before the flood as there was a vapor barrier around the earth that protected the earth from the harmful rays.  So you have water coming from above and from below and the water from below, in my opinion is what cushioned the earth, but once that water was gone the earth then came into the different continents that we see today.  Since the water that cushioned the earth was gone then the earth is unstable and earthquakes now happen.  It seems that God cursed the very earth that He made and part of how He is doing this is through earthquakes.  “20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Romans 8:20-22).   

 

            Let us now look at Hebrews 12:26-27 showing of God’s judgment on unbelievers “26 And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, "YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN." 27 This

expression, "Yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.”

 

            MacArthur concludes by writing “At the cross Jesus earned the right to take the title deed to the earth from the hand of His Father (Rev. 5:9-10).  Therefore when God shook the earth at the death of His Son, He gave the world a foretaste of what He will do when one day He shakes the earth in judgment at the coming of the King of kings.  Because Jesus became ‘obedient the point of death, even death on a cross,’ His heavenly Father ‘highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’ (Phil. 2:8-11).”

 

            If you are reading this SD and realize that you are not a true child of God you can see from these verses in Philippians that every person ever born will one day every knee will bow before Him.  It is far better to bow the knee before Him in your heart now and accept the forgiveness that He provided by dying on a cross almost 2000 years ago.  Take the time to confess to the Lord that you are a sinner that you were born a sinner and because of that you sin.  Then ask the Lord to come into your life and save you and then walk with you for the rest of your life and you then at that point become a true born-again child of God.

 

8/31/2024 9:08 AM