God's Judgment and Redemption

By Annette M. Nawls

Hannah knew her husband loved her, even his encouragement could not comfort her. She could not keep from listening of Peninnah's jeers and letting Peninnah's words erode her self-confidence. Although we cannot keep others from unjustly criticizing us, we can choose how we will react to their hurtful words. Rather than dwelling upon our problems, we can enjoy the loving relationships God has given us. By so doing, we can exchange self-pity for hope. Hannah had good reason to feel discouraged and bitter; she was unable to bear children she shared her husband with a woman who ridiculed her loving husband could not solve her problem and even the high priest misunderstand her motives. But instead of retaliating or giving up hope, Hannah prayed. She brought her problem honestly before God. Each of us may face times of terrible situation when nothing comes to our help in our work service or relationships. It is different to pray in faith when we feel so injective. But as Hanna discovered, prayer opens the way for God to work.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9798885403238

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God's Judgment and Redemption

Annette M. Nawls

ISBN 979-8-88540-322-1 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88540-323-8 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Annette M. Nawls

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Who Was King David in the Bible?

Understanding God's Judgment

God Gives Us Second Chances

Freedom for People's Judgment

Some People Say I Have Sinned

A Tale of Two Kings

Nebuchadnezzar's Pride and Punishment

Thoughts About the Judgment of God

Principles of God's Judgment

God's Intention for His People Is Always Good

God Always Warns His People, but Men Don't

Why God Destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah: Story of Sin in the Bible

God Desires All to Be Saved and Grants Repentance to Some

The Reluctant Warrior Overcame Doubt to Answer God's Call

You Are Judged by Your Appearance

Helping Others Recover from Depression

Being Judged in Your Relationships

Salvation

God Judges Justly

God Will Bring Justice for You

No Partiality with God

His Love and Grace Surrounds Us

Dealing with Doubts

Overcoming Circumstances

How Sweet Are Your Words: God's Precepts

About the Author

Preface

Imoved here in Minnesota in 2001; it was a dream for me to come to the United States. I remember watching movies and TV shows that made me wonder how Americans live. It was so intriguing to hear an American speak. I loved the accent and admired them greatly.

I also wondered as a child why and how the western world seemed to be very blessed. America is the one nation that many around the world admired. I wondered if the average American knew or comprehended how blessed they were. As I got to know and study this great nation, I realized that God has blessed this nation mightily.

For example, there are a few nations that have used God's name on their currencies and America is one of them. You will find In God we trust boldly written on the money. It was a dream for me to come to the United States. I remember watching movies and TV shows that made me wonder how the American lifestyle was.

Though God's favor and grace, he made a way for me to have a great privilege to come to this nation. When I look back, I now see that he put the desire for this nation in my heart when I was child in preparation for the journey I was about to take for my and it included great nation.

I believe that my journey to this nation is part of my destiny. As I share my stories, my prayer is that you will be inspired and motivated to how that no matter what life brings to you, you can boldly refuse to quit even when all odds are against you. You have it in you to stand strong, even if I do it alone.

Walk with me through my journey.

Annette Nawls

Introduction

One night, as I sat on a rear seat, at a church meeting, the Holy Spirit, the Ruler of Heaven and Earth, lawmaker, arrested me and led me to the front, in sight of all the people present. I was convicted and condemned, and I confessed my guilt to Almighty God. There seemed no hope for me, that what they thought, but the King of all kings, ruler of heaven and Earth, the only God who is in charge of everything, he convicted me. My sins towered up before me. Then Jesus came and quieted my fears. He paid the penalty for all my sins and guilt. He pleaded my case in the high court of heaven and won my pardon. When this great truth dawned upon my mind, my heart was filled with gratitude and praise. There came a great love into my heart for my Savior. That love has grown until he has the chief place in my life. Someday I expect to see him face-to-face. That will be heaven for me. We sing at times, What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. You will find this to be a reality when you put your trust in him as your Savior.

How do you get peace in a really bad situation? You may be in the fight of your life financially and about to lose your home. It may be that you've been diagnosed with lung cancer as my aunt was. It may be that your marriage is falling apart or you lost your job. You fill in the blank. You feel forsaken. We're either headed into a crisis, in the midst of one, or coming out of one. Now, coming out of one is great. We can see what God was up to in part, and we get a measure of peace from that. But how can we get peace if we're headed into or in the midst of a crisis? God tells us how to do just that in Philippians 4:4–9 (NIC).

Adjust Your Focus

The first thing you have to do to find true inner peace is to focus on God instead of your situation. That's easier said than done, but that's what Paul means when he says, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice (Phil. 4:4). He's not saying that we're happy about what we're going through; he's not even saying to rejoice in our difficulties. He's saying rejoice in the Lord, and that's something altogether different.

Biblical joy is the knowledge that God is in control of your circumstances and allows only that which is good for you into your life (Rom. 8:28). That's why James says to consider it joy when a trial comes your way (James 1:2). It's not that the trial brings joy; it's what God is doing for us through the trial. His good work is coming into our lives. Because we know that, we consider the trial joy; we rest in the Lord. In essence, we worship him. That's what Job did when he lost his possessions and his family; he said, Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21).

The morning my father died was sad; not only were we very close, but it pained me to see my mother suffer as well. At the same time, we knew that God was involved in every detail and was doing a good thing in our lives through our hurt. As we focused on that, we were able to worship, find joy, and tell others about the goodness of God and the good times we had with my dad. A couple of deacons from the church arrived within an hour of his passing. As they came into the room, we were laughing about some story as we'd been reminiscing, and one of them made the comment, Somehow, I knew there would be joy in this house today. Again, it's not that we were happy about my father's death. But we forced ourselves to focus on God and in so doing we found joy.

Work to Serve Others

But that's only the beginning; we can't stop there because Satan and the flesh have a way of coming back to bite us. From our focus on God, we have to literally engage in serving others. Paul says, Let your gentleness be known to all men; the Lord is at hand (Phil. 4:5). As you rejoice in God, that should move you to then focus on others. Let your gentleness, kindness, patience, and heart be known to others. How can you do that? Paul says the Lord is at hand; God is near and will help you.

And it's not just that God wants you to serve others in the midst of your trouble. It's that he knows our weakness. Our tendency will be to focus on ourselves and spiral down into despair. But if we focus on others, we'll be distracted and not have time to spiral down. More than that, we'll derive a certain joy and peace in serving others before the Lord.

The morning my father died, a man's car broke down in front of our house. He was taking his daughter to school, and the car just quit on him. I saw him, went out to help, and gave them a lift to school so the little girl wouldn't be late. The man and I came back to check on the car. While we were doing that, I remember looking over as the funeral home folks were carrying my father out of the house and thinking, That's just like the Lord to be kind enough to get my focus on someone else. Thank you, Lord.

Give Your Pain to God through Prayer

Now, that's well and good. But what happens when we're alone or when it's time to go to bed? We have to give our trouble to God through prayer. I remember tossing and turning one night because my mom was scheduled for open heart surgery the next day. I couldn't get any peace. I did remember God's Word, though: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (Phil. 4:6). Well, that's what I was doing; I was praying over and over again but I still couldn't get any peace or sleep!

And then I realized; I was praying like the pagans do (Matt. 6:7–8). I was worried if I didn't say just the right thing, mention every possible problem, or pray with just the right attitude, that God wouldn't hear my prayers. When I realized what I was doing, I simply gave it to the Lord. That's why he says to pray; He means for us to tell him what's burdening our hearts and give it to him so we can rest. He gives us permission (and commands us even) to stop thinking about our problems and let him deal with them. When we do that, he gives us the peace. When I did that, I went right to sleep. If we pray and leave our burden with God, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard [our] hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7). God's peace, like a Roman soldier, will guard our hearts and minds so that no troubling thing plagues us.

It doesn't work! That's what we say when we're filled with worry, fear, or despair. The truth is we can't take any one of these things without the other. Each of the things we're talking about forms a whole. God is telling us what to do in the midst of a troubling state of affairs. He's telling us to focus on him and others; to think about him, to pray to him, and to think about him again. It's not enough to pray. Once we pray, Paul says we're to force ourselves to think about the things of God and not what's bothering us. It's not easy; that's why it's called a battle. But the way we fight is to change what we're thinking about.

Don't Dwell on Your Circumstances

You might say certain thoughts plague you because you're in a long-term dilemma that seems never ending. Yes, but you don't have to dwell on the difficulties. Reorient the focus of your thoughts. Paul says, Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things (Phil. 4:8).

Take it one step further. The more you meditate on the things of God, as Paul says, the more you'll know God and his ways. You'll know that he is indeed working these things for good in your life. You know that the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly (Ps. 84:11).

Don't Give Up!

But there's one more thing. You've moved your focus from your troubles to God and others. Paul says now to make sure you keep doing that. Keep doing the things God has told you to do. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you (Phil. 4:9). If you do what God is teaching you to do, you'll have peace. And don't overlook the nuance of what Paul says here. Earlier, he said that the peace of God will guard your heart. That's true; that's what we want. But here he says the God of peace will be with you. That's even better! You get peace because you have the God of peace walking with you through the fire.

Jesus was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, and He'll be with you in your fiery furnace as well (Dan. 3:25). They were at peace even though they didn't know whether God would actually keep them alive or not (Dan. 3:17–18). All they knew was that God was with them and would see them through one way or the other. And that's what you need to realize; God is with you and will see you through one way or the other. And that's not resignation or defeatist. That's confidence. God has a plan for you and it's good. You walk with him because He's walking with you. That's how you get peace in a really bad situation.

1

Who Was King David in the Bible?

David is one of the most referenced people in the Bible with sixty-six chapters dedicated to him. According to scripture, David is a young shepherd who earns recognition initially as a musician and later by defeating the gigantic champion, Goliath. He becomes favored by King Saul and a friend of Saul's son Jonathan. Troubled that David is seeking to obtain his throne, Saul turns on David. After Saul and Jonathan are slain in combat, David is chosen as king. David then captures Jerusalem, bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the city and securing the kingdom founded by Saul. David engages in adultery with Bathsheba, driving him to order the death of her husband Uriah the Hittite. Because of his sin, God rejects David the possibility of building the temple, and his son Absalom tries to overthrow him. David escapes Jerusalem during Absalom's revolt, but after Absalom's death, he returns to rule Israel. Before his calm death, he anoints his son Solomon as heir.

The Story of David, the Shepherd Boy

Living at Ramah in the mountains of Ephraim, there was a man whose name was Elkanah. He had two wives as did many men in that time. One of these wives had children, but the other wife, whose name was Hannah, had no child.

Every year, Elkanah and his family went up to worship at the house of the Lord in Shiloh, which was about fifteen miles from his home. And at one of these visits, Hannah prayed to the Lord, saying, O Lord, if thou wilt look upon me and give me a son, he shall be given to the Lord as long as he lives.

The Lord heard Hannah's prayer and gave her a little boy, and she called his name Samuel, which means asked of God because he had been given in answer to her prayer.

Samuel grew up to be a good man and a wise judge, and he made his sons judges in Israel to help him in the care of the people. But Samuel's sons did not walk in his ways. They did not try always to do justly.

The elders of all the tribes of Israel came to Samuel at his home in Ramah, and they said to him, You are growing old, and your sons do not rule as well as you ruled. All the lands around us have kings. Let us have a king also and do, you, choose the king for us.

This was not pleasing to Samuel. He tried to make the people change their minds and showed them what trouble a king would bring them. But they would not follow his advice. They said, No, we will have a king to reign over us.

So Samuel chose as their king a tall young man named Saul, who was a farmer's son of the tribe of Benjamin. When Saul was brought before the people, he stood head and shoulders above them all. And Samuel said, Look at the man whom the Lord has chosen! There is not another like him among all the people!

And all the people shouted, God save the king! Long live the king!

Then Samuel told the people what should be the laws for the king and for the people to obey. He wrote them down in a book and placed the book before the Lord. Then Samuel sent the people home, and Saul went back to his own house at a place called Gibeah and with Saul went a company of men to whose hearts God had given a love for the king.

So after three hundred years under the fifteen judges, Israel now had a king. But among the people, there were some who were not pleased with the new king because he was an unknown man from the farm.

They said, Can such a man as this save us?

They showed no respect to the king and, in their hearts, looked down upon him. But Saul said nothing and showed his wisdom by appearing not to notice them. But in another thing, he was not so wise. He forgot to heed the old prophet's advice and instructions about ruling wisely and doing as the Lord said. It was not long before Samuel told him that he had disobeyed God and would lose his kingdom.

When Samuel told Saul that the Lord would take away the kingdom from him, he did not mean that Saul should lose the kingdom at once. He was no longer God's king, and as soon as the right man in God's sight should be found and should be trained for his duty as king, then God would take away Saul's power and would give it to the man whom God had chosen. But it was years before this came to pass.

The Lord said to Samuel, Do not weep and mourn any longer over Saul, for I have refused him as king. Fill the horn with oil and go to Bethlehem in Judah. There finds a man named Jesse, for I have chosen a king among his sons.

But Samuel knew that Saul would be very angry if he should learn that Samuel had named any other man as king. He said to the Lord, How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.

The Lord said to Samuel, Take a young cow with you and tell the people that you have come to make an offering to the Lord and call Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice. I will tell you what to do, and you shall anoint the one whom I name to you.

Samuel went over the mountains southward from Ramah to Bethlehem, about ten miles, leading a cow. The rulers of the town were alarmed at his coming, for they feared that he had come to judge the people for some evil-doing.

But Samuel said, I have come in peace to make an offering and to hold a feast to the Lord. Prepare yourselves and come to the sacrifice. And he invited Jesse and his sons to the service. When they came, he looked at the sons of Jesse very closely. The oldest was named Eliab, and he was so tall and noble-looking that Samuel thought, Surely this young man must be the one whom God has chosen.

But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look on his face nor on the height of his body, for I have not chosen him. Man judges by the outward looks, but God looks at the heart.

Then Jesse's second son, named Abinadab, passed by. And the Lord said, I have not chosen this one.

Seven young men came and Samuel said, None of these is the man whom God has chosen. Are these all your children?

There is one more, said Jesse. The youngest of all. He is a boy in the field caring for the sheep.

And Samuel said, Send for him, for we will not sit down until he comes.

So after a time, the youngest son was brought in. His name was David, a word that means darling, and he was a beautiful boy, perhaps fifteen years old, with fresh cheeks and bright eyes.

As soon as the young David came, the Lord said to Samuel, Arise and anoint him, for this is the one whom I have chosen.

Then Samuel poured oil on David's head in the presence of all his brothers. But no one knew, at that time, for the anointing to mean that David was to be the king. Perhaps they thought that David was chosen to be a prophet like Samuel.

From that time, the spirit of God came upon David, and he began to show signs of coming greatness. He went back to his sheep on the hillsides around Bethlehem, but God was with him.

David grew up strong and brave, not afraid of the wild beasts, which prowled around and tried to carry away his sheep. More than once, he fought with lions and bears and killed them when they seized the lambs of his flock. And David, alone all day, practiced throwing stones in a sling until he could strike exactly the place for which he aimed. When he swung his sling, he knew that the stone would go to the very spot at which he was throwing it.

And young as he was, David thought of God and talked with God, and God talked with David and showed to David His will.

After Saul had disobeyed the voice of the Lord, the spirit of the Lord left Saul and no longer spoke to him. And Saul became very sad of heart. At times, a madness would come upon him, and at all times, he was very unhappy. The servants of Saul noticed that when someone played on the harp and sang, Saul's spirit was made more cheerful; and the sadness of soul left him. At one time, Saul said, Find someone who can play well, and bring him to me. Let me listen to music, for it drives away my sadness.

One of the young men said, I have seen a young man, a son of Jesse in Bethlehem who can play well. He is handsome in his looks and agreeable in talking. I have also heard that he is a brave young man who can fight as well as he can play, and the Lord is with him.

Then Saul sent a message to Jesse, David's father. He said, Send me your son David, who is with the sheep. Let him come and play before me.

Then David came to Saul, bringing with him a present for the king from Jesse. When Saul saw him, he loved him as did everybody who saw the young David. David played on the harp and sang before Saul. And David's music cheered Saul's heart and drove away his sad feelings.

Saul liked David so well that he made him his armor-bearer, and David carried the shield and spear and sword for Saul when the king was before his army. But Saul did not know that David had been anointed by Samuel.

After a time, Saul seemed well, and David returned to Bethlehem and was once more among his sheep in the field. Perhaps it was at this time that David sang his shepherd song, or it may have been long afterward when David looked back in thought to those days when he was leading his sheep. This is the song, which you have heard often:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;

He leadeth me beside the still waters,

He restoreth my soul;

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me;

Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

The Story of the Fight with the Giant

All through the reign of Saul, there was constant war with the Philistines, who lived upon the lowlands west of Israel. At one time when David was still with his sheep, a few years after he had been anointed by Samuel, the camps of the Philistines and the Israelites were set against each other on opposite sides of the valley of Elah. In the army of Israel were the three oldest brothers of David.

Every day, a giant came out of the camp of the Philistines and dared someone to come from the Israelites' camp and fight with him. The giant's name was Goliath. He was nine feet high, and he wore armor from head to foot and carried a spear twice as long and as heavy as any other man could hold; and his shield bearer walked before him.

He came every day and called out across the little valley, I am a Philistine, and you are servants of Saul. Now choose one of your men, and let him come out and fight with me. If I kill him, then you shall submit to us; and if he kills me, then we will give up to you. Come, now, send out your man!

But no man in the army, not even King Saul, dared to go out and fight with the giant. Forty days the camps stood against each other, and the Philistine giant continued his call.

One day, old Jesse, the father of David, sent David from Bethlehem to visit his three brothers in the army. David came and spoke to his brothers; and while he was talking with them, Goliath the giant came out as before in front of the camp calling for someone to fight with him.

They said one to another, If any man will go out and kill this Philistine, the king will give him a great reward and a high rank; and the king's daughter shall be his wife.

And