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REFLECTION: “When I begin…”
God’s plans will not be disrupted!
The first step in a programme can be significant. Where will it lead? Will the programme move smoothly ahead as planned, or will subsequent steps stall and cause the programme to be disrupted?
In our personal lives we may have a course of action before us with a specific goal at the conclusion. For one reason or another that programme may have to be modified or even abandoned. Unanticipated circumstances may cause a re-think and a modification of the original plan. Events which are totally outside of our control may result in a project never coming to fruition. On a much grander scale – perhaps in the realm of human government – a project may be announced. The government behind it will have carefully planned what it intends to do, but opposition from the public may put a brake on those plans.
An interesting turn of phrase is found in the Bible in 1 Samuel 3:12 where we read, “When I begin, I will also make an end” (KJV). The words “I will” indicate determination to fulfil a certain plan. The “end” is in view from the beginning, and assurance is given that when the plan gets into operation it will reach its conclusion. These words are not from a determined but fallible human being who is expressing confidence in reaching a desired goal. Rather these are the words of the Lord God who is not subject to human limitations. In this verse God speaks of beginning something which He guarantees will come to the conclusion which He has in mind. What is all this about?
A MESSAGE TO SAMUEL
The words were spoken by God to a young child named Samuel who was (as it were) serving as an apprentice in the tabernacle – the place of worship in Israel. At a time when the voice of God had fallen silent on account of the indifference of the priesthood, the Lord spoke to Samuel and revealed to the boy what He was about to do. “The ears of every one” who heard the message would “tingle”, God declared, because they would hardly believe it possible (1 Sam. 3:11). The Lord had already warned Eli, the elderly priest, of what He was going to do on account of the sin of his sons. Eli had not taken the message to heart sufficiently, so the time had come for God to act. God was about to begin His work of judgment, and when the process began it could not be halted. The assurance given by God can be seen in His words, “When I begin, I will also make an end.” With perfect control over subsequent events, God made it clear that once started His work of judgment it would proceed as He had determined. No brakes could be applied by any other agency to cause a delay. The goal He had in mind would be reached just as He intended. Subsequent events recorded in Holy Scripture prove the veracity of this statement.
AN ONGOING PRINCIPLE
It may be asked why an event from thousands of years ago should have any relevance today. The simple answer is that God is Eternal and has not changed. Principles which have a significant bearing on our situation today can be deduced from this incident. To begin with, just as in Samuel’s day, God has already given warning of coming judgment – but those warnings have, by and large, been ignored. Indifference prevails all around. The moral decline witnessed in society (particularly over the last 50 years) warrants divine intervention.
Make no mistake: God is going to intervene in the events taking place on our planet. His “wrath” has already been “revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Rom. 1:18). The Bible reveals that which is to come as His righteous judgment is poured out – especially in the book of Revelation. This is where that verse applies: “When I begin, I will also make an end” (1 Sam. 3:12). Once those judgments (depicted as the “seals” of a book being broken) begin, nothing will stop them. The judgments will get worse and worse as the world reels under the effects of the Great Tribulation, a time of unparalleled suffering. The judgments will come to an end when Christ returns to this earth in righteousness and glory.