I was late for something. (Note to new readers: This is unusual for me.)
Getting ready for church this morning, I got carried away in front of the mirror. You know how it is, ladies. 
So I drive to church, rush in, wind-blown and out of breath, and I had to sit in the balcony with the other “late people.” What would my mother think?
For some reason I was more focused on the study than usual. Something about it resonated. The pastor spoke about Proverbs 1:20-33, titled “The Call to Wisdom” in my Bible (MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV). Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, King Solomon, son of the great King David, wrote:
Wisdom calls aloud outside;
She raises her voice in the open squares.
She cries out in the chief concourses,
At the openings of the gates in the city
She speaks her words:
“How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
For scorners delight in their scorning,
And fools hate knowledge.
Turn at my rebuke;
Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
Because I have called and you refused,
I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,
Because you disdained all my counsel,
And would have none of my rebuke,
I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your terror comes,
When your terror comes like a storm,
And your destruction comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the LORD…
The pastor focused on verses 26-28, which I’ve highlighted in the blockquote. Sounds harsh, doesn’t it? Our good and glorious Creator laughs at us and mocks us? How can this be? The god of secular humanism isn’t mean; he’s nice and flexible and tolerant. In his kingdom, we can do whatever we want (as long as it’s between two consenting adults, of course).
But not in God’s kingdom. In the chapter, wisdom is personified, calling out to us in the street, but we turn away. We prefer our own will and our own standards of morality. God warns that we will suffer the repercussions of our rejection and rebellion. He will laugh at us as we suffer the consequences of our sin. He will mock us as we fear our own destruction coming to us “like a whirlwind.”
This is the God no one likes to talk about. They prefer a pacifist Jesus multiplying bread and fish over a vengeful God pouring out his wrath (which we deserve), but God is all of these things and much more.
Jesus revealed the consequences of our rejection of him as the Messiah. “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and you will die in your sin,” he told the unbelieving Pharisees. “Where I go you cannot come.” (John 8:21)
Christ is also speaking to you. Will you heed the call to wisdom and follow him, or will you die in your sins? As a just God, he must punish lawbreakers. But he is also merciful. He sent another to suffer for our crimes. I don’t know why he did that for me, but I’m eternally grateful.
Will you accept God’s mercy before it’s too late?
