GO AWAY, I NEVER KNEW YOU, EXPLAINED
– Mary A. LaClair
Isa 10:15
“Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it?
Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it?
That would be like club wielding those who lift it,
Or like rod lifting him who is not wood. NASU
It is important in God’s eyes that we acknowledge Him.
We should applaud athletes, sportsmen and others who find themselves in the public eye when they openly acknowledge God for they are setting an example of the secret of success which America’s leaders need to implement within Government, just as our forefathers have. It has been an ingredient to America’s success. The removal of the acknowledgment of God is leading to the downfall of America.
Again in the New Testament, is a Scripture which still puzzles people today (Matthew 7:23). It is where some of those who work miracles will be told by God “Go away, I never knew you” – and it is not because they work miracles, it is because they “self-exalt” wishing to take credit for themselves by saying, “Didn’t WE do many miracles in your name?”, when it is God who actually works the miracles – as we follow His plans. There is a price to pay for taking to one-self the credit for God’s works and for down-playing God.
The axe is not more important than the man who swings it.
Matt 7:22-23
“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ NKJV
The axe spoke to God and said ‘..have WE not done many wonders’. Yes, God may have honored His Name; but He will not let the axe take the credit.
Num 20:10-11
“Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” NASU.
Did you catch the WE in this one also?
“Shall the axe vaunt itself over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood! Therefore the Lord, the LORD of hosts, will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire.” Isaiah 10:15-16 (RSV)
Are YOU doing God’s work; or is God doing the work through you, using you as a tool in His hand? Will we be like an axe which stands before the man who swings it, saying, “Look, see what I, the axe, have done by my power”? Food for thought here.
If you were the lumberman, and the axe spoke to you like that, what would you say or do to that type of axe?
Will God be justified when He says ‘Go away’ to those who claim the credit for themselves for what God Himself did using their hands or their money?
Let us ask ourselves where we fit in that picture.
Do you think a good reply to a compliment we receive might be, “To God Be The Glory!” ??
Or might we just say, depending upon our works; “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink”; “We can plant a seed, God makes it grow”; “An axe is not greater than the man who swings it”; and thus decline the glory for ourselves, rendering it properly to God.
Look at the sportsmen who do this so well, and have their works prospered, when God knows He gets the credit. God and man working together is a powerful combination.
https://theproverbs120column.wordpress.com/category/god-and-country/blessed-is-the-nation-whose-god-is-the-lord/
Something, dear reader, I hope we will all think about.
Thanks for reading, and may God bless and prosper YOUR work as you give Him the honors for making it possible.
The Proverbs 1:20 Column 