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Thou Shalt Die and Not Live
For Thou Shalt Die, and Not Live
“In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Set thy house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live” (Isaiah 38:1).
What would you do if Jehovah told you to “set thy house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live”? In essence, Jehovah tells mankind that very thing. After the transgression of Adam and Eve, “Jehovah God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken” (Genesis 3:22-23). From that day forward, every man born of woman will die. Life and death, today or tomorrow, is inevitable. What will you do?
The Apostle Paul said, “godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8). As you pursue the latter, the former will tend to itself, but of the latter, you must prepare. This is one area of life where no one can escape their individual responsibility.
Jeremiah said, “Let us search and try our ways, and turn again unto Jehovah. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens” (Lamentations
Similarly, the Apostle Paul said, to the Corinthians “Try your own selves, whether ye are in the faith; prove your own selves. Or know ye not as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed ye be reprobate” (2 Cornthians 13:5), and in like manner, to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul said, “So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13).
How does an individual try themselves? (1) By looking into the word of God: “Oh that my ways were established to observe thy statutes! Then shall I not be put to shame, When I have respect unto all thy commandments” (Psalms 119:5-6). (2) By standing ready to have your heart searched by the God of heaven: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my thoughts; And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalms 139:23-24). (3) By submitting to the precepts of God: “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: Therefore I hate every false way” (Psalms 119:103-104). (4) By allowing God’s word to direct one’s path: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path” (Psalms 119:105).
Remember the words of the Apostle John, saying, “To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7). ret
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