Meditations

Does anything ever, “just happen”? I would think there are those who believe, at times, they do. But do things just happen in the realm of men when it comes to evil works. I would think not. Perhaps it is a good course of thought to consider that intent always proceeds content. In the past history, God looked and saw that the wickedness of man was great and every imagination of man’s thoughts of his heart was evil, only evil. Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Because of the wickedness of man, the wickedness of his heart, and the wickedness of his life and conversation, which was so general, and increased to such a degree, that it was intolerable; as such, God could have wished, as it were, that he had never made him, since he proved so bad; not that repentance, properly speaking, can fall upon God, as he never changes his mind or alters his purposes, though he sometimes changes the course and dispensations of his providence(opinion). This is speaking by an anthropopathy(= the attribution of human emotion to a non-human being, generally God), after the manner of men, because God determined to do, and did something similar to men, when they repent of anything: as a potter, when he has formed a vessel that does not please him, and he repents that he has made it, he takes it and breaks it in pieces; and so God, because of man’s wickedness, and to show his aversion to it, and repented of his making him; that is, he resolved within himself to destroy him, as in the next verse, explains:
Genesis 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. and it grieved him at his heart; this perhaps, should be understood by the same figure as before, for there can, no more be any uneasiness in his mind than a change in it; God a perfect Being, is uncompounded, and not subject to any passions and affections. Being grieved is said to demonstrate his great hatred to sin, and abhorrence of it.
All this being said it might be apparent to anyone in study that the intent of man’s heart is prior to the content of his actions. The intent of the heart of an evil man brings into content, events which are evil. Such minds grieve the Father in heaven. Such minds must realize that they are in the hands of the Potter who when grieved may providentially have the intent proceeding the content of his action.

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Jer 18:5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
Jer 18:7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it.
Jer 18:8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
Jer 18:9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it.
Jer 18:10 If it does evil in my sight, that it obeys not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
Jer 18:11 Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now everyone from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.
Jer 18:12 And they said, there is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will everyone do the imagination of his evil heart.
Now let it be asked. Is the intent of the hearts of those who inhabit this country and this world any less full of evil imaginations and the content which is following is to walk after their own devices and do; everyone having the imagination of an evil heart. More than once God has brought judgment to a world with such imaginations and with such intentions proceeding the content of their actions. With that proven in history and empirically verifiable, in this day and time, would one think that the mind of God does not have intentions to break the marred pot? Would one ever begin to think that the God of then is different than the God of now? Or that the content of his actions will be any different than the content of his actions in times past in which the minds and actions of man were just the same; with only the names, dates, and locations being somewhat different.

So, to conclude:
Intent always proceeds the content in the actions and results of the actions of men. Evil Men devise evil intentions which brings about evil content as a result.
Intent always proceeds the content in the actions and results of the actions of God. Providentially God intentions brings judgment in content as a result and answer to the evil intentions and evil content of evil men.

David