It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. Psalm 119:126-127
Since they do ‘not like to retain God in their knowledge’, the world chooses to mark eras by man’s purported advancements. According to profane ancient history, eras are delineated by technological knowledge. For example, it is claimed that the ‘stone age’ ended in 3000 BC, giving way to the ‘bronze age’. More recently, the World Economic Forum has boasted about the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ which has come in the wake of artificial intelligence and gene editing.
Sacred history pays little attention to technological advancement. Its epochs are marked by fearful demonstrations of the sovereign power and majesty of God, who acts in response to the moral weal or woe of the world under His feet. Some major events marking the epochs of sacred history are the deluge, the tower of Babel, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. There are many other events we could mention, but all follow a common course. While they terminate with irrevocable judgements from the Almighty, this always follows a season of pleading on the part of God and His servants.
Noah, for example, preached for many years while he built the ark. Abraham pleaded with God not to destroy Sodom if there were a certain number of righteous dwelling therein. Such were men who could say, ‘I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold’, but this did not obliterate their sense of justice. As other righteous after them, these men understood that there is a point that a man or a nation reaches, after which no more can be done. Their plea changes according to their perception of a change in the divine will concerning the wicked. Instead of pleading for a delay of judgment, they pray in acquiesce to His will: ‘It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law’. In this most corrupt age, those who love God and His commandments above fine gold will utter the same prayer, and an apocalyptic response will follow.
Christopher Sparks