Legend has it that the phrase “throwing baby out with the bathwater” originates from a time when the whole household shared the same bath water. The head of household (eldest male) would bathe first, followed by the men, then the Lady and the women, then the children, followed lastly by the baby. The water would be so black from dirt that a baby could be accidentally “tossed out with the bathwater”.
It is an idiomatic expression and a concept used to suggest an avoidable error in which something good is eliminated when trying to get rid of something bad. This same concept is found in the “rapture” doctrine. Once the revelation (the bath) has begun the righteous would be carried away first leaving behind those that still need a bath. As subsequent judgements plague the earth more people would come to get bathed and the waters get murky. Then at the very last the dirty water and the heathen will all be chucked out into fire and brimstone.
While the thought of sidestepping the pain and misery of the Great Tribulation is very appealing to my weak flesh I cannot simply accept this as being the way God has intended it for mankind.First let me say that I am a mere human being that was born into a sinful nature and only by the grace of God almighty and the salvation found in Jesus Christ will I be found acceptable.
I pray that you take the words to follow as one of a weary travelers discoveries and that my intentions are not point fingers at any one denomination or belief system. I find these to be the words of the Bible and without the aid of the Holy Spirit they will not make sense, with that said take a moment and pray the God will open His Holy Word and make it alive and align with what is written on your heart.
Looking at the precedent set by all the great men of God before me:
Noah – he withstood 40 years of people laughing and mocking him for building a huge boat and claiming it was about to rain. It had never rained before as the morning dew and rivers had always supplied the needed water for plants and animals. Then when the rains came Noah watched as his friends and extended family members died in the flood.
Joseph – because he dreamed a dream his brothers could not grasp they beat him and threw him in a well, as if that wasn’t bad enough he becomes a slave and is carted off miles from home. He does come into his own in Egypt but after his death the only request he had was to have his bones returned to the land of his fathers and be buried there….and they lose them.
Job – possibly the richest man of his day has everything stripped from him because of a dare. God shoves Satan’s bony finger back in his face through the strength of Job. While Job is going through all this his 3 friends tell Job to quit! Just as Job gets things into perspective he veers off and started questioning God in an unhealthy way “what did I do” and God sits him down for a “looky here young man” talk reminding him that he didn’t “do” anything and the God “did” it all. God made it all, bore it all and sustains it all…..for Jobs benefit.
Moses – after being spared death in the Nile and rising to prominence in Egypt, Moses spends 40 years removed from his position, then has to go back and deal with Pharaoh. You ever quit a job on unsavory terms and have to go back to get some paperwork or the contents of your locker or maybe go back to ask for re-employment? Talk about trying! Then he spends 40 years roaming a desert with a bunch of whiny, disrespectful, belligerent people only to miss out on the land of milk and honey.
David was chased by murderers, Jesus was beaten and crucified unjustly, and all the disciples were tortured and killed except John who was exiled away with common criminals, while the early church, the first century believers were wrapped in deer hides and fed to lions or tied to stakes, doused in oil and lit on fire as human street lamps.
None of these great men eluded the trials and tribulations of their day and neither will you or me for that matter. During the High Priestly prayer before his crucifixion, Jesus says this in John 17:15 “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”
The word keep here means “to guard (from loss or injury)” and does not mean an avoidance or removal from the evil. Jesus goes on to say in verse 18 that He has sent them into the world in the same manner as He was sent by God the Father. Jesus specifically asked that His followers NOT be taken out of the world because they had a mission to fulfill.
Numbers 23:19 tells us of the nature of God, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”
Revelation 3:10 “Because thou hast kept (G5083 to guard, watch, fulfill) the word of my patience, I also will keep (G5083 to guard, watch, fulfill) thee from the hour of temptation (adversity), which shall come upon all the world, to try (test) them that dwell upon the earth.”
Again here we see the word “keep” as a guard or helping one through, likewise we see that the temptation to come is “for all the world” and is to “try” them. Have you ever wondered who your real friends are? Those that truly know you and respect you as a person, one that is willing to look past your flaws. God has no flaws, yet in his perfection, many of us have assigned flawed thinking to God. People say things like “why would God let this happen?” Adam was the first, “Lord it was the woman thou gavest me.” God wants to purify this line of thinking so we may see Him for what He really is….Perfect! The only way this can happen is to put everyone to the test.
Berean Breadcrumbs 