A few days ago, my family celebrated the birthday of our son. Yesterday my wife and I celebrated the anniversary of our wedding. Lots of memories this week.
The American flag flies precariously out of an office window at the New York Customhouse at the World Trade 6 building at ground zero. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Today, though, we do not celebrate. But we do remember. We remember the senseless loss of life that occurred eleven years ago. We recall the passengers and crew of four aircraft that were hijacked and intentionally crashed. We remember the thousands of people that died on the ground at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. We remember.
What will we do with the memory?
For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
Psalm 90:7
Moses, says Matthew Henry, “taught the people of Israel to acknowledge the wrath of G-d to be the cause of all their miseries.”
With such acknowledgement, the Psalmist turns to G-d asking Him to be reconciled to His people (v.13) and finally:
And let the beauty of the Lord our G-d be upon us, and establish thou the work of our hands upon us. . .
v.17
The prerequisite for the blessing of the Lord is acknowledgment of our own unrighteousness before Him. Country/Bluegrass singer Charlie Daniels wrote in his blog that America will come to its knees, either in prayer or in ruin. Today, as we remember the loss of American lives at the hands of a foreign enemy, we must also acknowledge our responsibility to turn from our own unrighteousness and seek the righteousness of G-d through Y’shuaJesus.
The Book of Micah is prophesy of judgement for various wrongs. In Chapter Two, Micah says:
Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds!
Micah 2:1
In one of my Bibles (The Matthew Henry Study Bible, Henderson Publishers), the chapter heading is “Wicked Deeds of the Rich.” Hummmmmm. Reading the chapter through, I don’t necessarily see the iniquities spoken of as devised by the rich. Why has this been added as a chapter heading? This reminds me of Jaro, who told me to only read the King James Version Bible, and only one without chapter headings. Jaro is quite a character. I met him in Dallas, Texas, a few years ago during the time when I “went into the Highways,” working for a long-haul flatbed trucking company out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was “stuck” in Dallas awaiting a load. Jaro was living in his car and, at the moment, staying in a truck stop. He said his mission was to bring truth to various people in ministry. He knew to whom he was being sent, and was awaiting the time to approach the current “assignment.” We talked for quite a while on Saturday about various things. I wasn’t quite sure why I had been brought together with him, as it seemed he didn’t exactly have ears to ear, but rather only a mouth to speak. He confessed he didn’t know he was going to meet me, so didn’t exactly know what message I should receive from him. He did say that, at first, he thought perhaps I was a person like himself; as he was the only real Christian he’d encountered. Part of our conversation was him baiting me with questions, refuting my offerings, and telling me his interpretation of the Bible. In the course our talks, I listened and came to understand I’d not really be giving him anything, so the journalist in me simply interviewed him, allowing him to get into his staunch beliefs. Eventually we parted company, cordially, though he gave me some things that I must do in order to achieve salvation. Yeah, well, one does meet a lot of interesting people along the road.
It does seem, however, that Jaro was correct on one point: don’t read the chapter headings. It’s that the chapter headings are misleading. Chapter headings seem to be subjective interpretations of the editor/publisher of a particular Bible. It’s the same way with the various comments that are often included. While the comments in this Bible are based on Matthew Henry Commentary, they are still edited for space. And just because Matthew Henry is from an earlier age, doesn’t mean he had it all correct, either.
In another Bible, the Book of Micah is introduced with a paragraph on the themes found in Micah. It says that Micah had a strong sense of the need for justice in society, courts, in the marketplace, and in political leadership dealing responsibly with power and authority. The bad times that had befallen Israel were a result of iniquities such as forsaking of justice. This seems like a fair viewpoint, too. Later in the introduction the words “social justice” are mentioned. Social Justice. When I hear social justice I think of all the preaching done over the last several years on the “Social Gospel.” Bringing justice to our world, our lives, is the theme of many churches in America these days. It coalesces nicely with “redistribution of wealth” that is being pressed upon us from some in leadership today. When we combine this thought process with the chapter headings that tell us that the rich are wicked, it leads up to a “Robin Hood” mentality. The rich are evil. Let us take from the rich.
What Micah cried against was iniquity PERIOD. He didn’t necessarily have a problem with the rich, it was with those who devise wicked schemes to take property away from people. Yes, some rich do this. Some in government have done this. Russia under Stalin. Germany under Hitler. Some are still doing this today. Some under the banner of social justice and others under the banner of religion. It is not social justice for a poor man to take a rich man’s car; it is theft, iniquity. If we applied social justice to our educational system, we would reduce an “A” earned by one student to a “B” so that a failing student can receive a passing grade that he/she didn’t earn. Is this what we’d call “Just”? No, that is iniquity.
And that’s Micah’s point. Iniquity was so entrenched that G-d allowed judgement to befall Israel.
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Matthew 24:21,22
The Destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Despite various trials and persecution—tribulation—we learn from the Bible of G-d’s continued concern for His Elect. G-d demonstrated it, and recorded it to encourage us. G-d has been straight with us. Take Matthew 24, for instance. The disciples have commented on the Temple. These disciples are beginning to understand that thought Y’shuaJesus is Messiah, it’s not as they’d expected: He isn’t yet the Messiah who came to conquer. These disciples have yet to understand entirely Y’shuaJesus’s role as a suffering servant Messiah, either. So when they commented on the Temple, Y’shuaJesus seized this moment as an opportunity to share a little insight with them. He could easily have introduced the subject with something like: Hey, remember when I sent you out in pairs to preach? I gave you power, told you everything would be alright. Well, there’s a future coming that’s gonna be a bit hairy. There’s some things that will happen before I establish my Kingdom on Earth. There are gonna be some trials and suffering amongst y’all.
Matthew Henry commented on the question the disciples asked about when the destruction of the temple was to take place: “But Christ, in his answer. . . looks further than their question, and instructs his church, not only concerning the great events of that age, the destruction of Jerusalem, but concerning his second coming at the end of time, which here he insensibly slides into a discourse of, and of that it is plain he speaks in the next chapter, which is a continuation of this sermon.”
Zephaniah describes these particular times in this way: “Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.” Zephaniah 3:8,9.
Lord Bless, Keep, Shine upon those who are counted as His Sheep. May the rest of the peoples be stirred to seek the LORD before His indignation and fierce anger are poured fully poured out upon the Earth.
Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen. Psalm 44:11
After World War II, many of the Jewish people scattered about the world returned to the land that had been home to their descendents. When the British administrators of that land departed, the Jews were left to fight for their land. Despite the difficulties involved, Israel was reborn. I’ve heard it said by Jews in Israel that there, at least, they belong, for as prosperous as they may have been elsewhere, they were still second-class citizens.
A “True-Born” Gentile Believer renounces his or her worldly citizenship, accepting the second-class status of Christian. In fifty-one nations on Earth, to do so is illegal, and punishable in many of those countries by death.
The True-Born Believers, Gentile and Jewish, are scattered throughout the world. Perhaps we aren’t being slaughtered each day, every day, where we live. Perhaps we think it can’t happen, either. Such were the thoughts of millions of Jews in days prior to Germany’s reign of terror, the days leading up to Kristallnacht
“Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, or Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of coordinated attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938, carried out by SA stormtroopers and civilians. German authorities looked on without intervening. The attacks left the streets covered with broken glass from the windows of Jewish-owned stores, buildings, and synagogues.” (from Wikipedia)
In the days of Noah, people were living ordinary lives, going about their business as if nothing was about to happen. Noah preached righteousness, and followed G-d’s plan preparing for the waters to rise and engulf a world turned against the LORD, the One True G-d.
He [is] the LORD our God: his judgments [are] in all the earth.
Psalm 105:7 King James Version (KJV)
Bagels with cream cheese and lox (cured salmon) are considered a traditional part of American Jewish cuisine (colloquially known as lox and a schmear). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A good breakfast. I enjoy sitting in a diner and having a nice omelette. It’s even better when served with a poppyseed bagel, toasted, that I slather with butter. Ummm. Good. I’ve often thought that if there were no place close by to have a good breakfast, I wasn’t meant to live there, and should move on.
An open Bible. Better than the breakfast is the Bible, open on the table before me. Reading it. And occasionally someone will comment, nicely, about this. Sometimes omeone will begin a conversation with me, which I thoroughly enjoy. I can only remember one time when someone laughed about my choice of morning reading. But, at several inches over six feet in height, it’s no wonder.
Today it’s BB’s Bagels. The diner is built to appear like a 1950s-style roadside diner. It’s often packed with people enjoying breakfast, or just a bagel and coffee. There are an endless variety of conversations to listen to, if I choose. The ceiling is low, painted panels, with a recessed channel the entire length made with stained wood strips. A row of lights illuminate the counter area. Tables with chairs and booths make up the remainder of the seating area. While in the American Fifties, the metal chairs would be chromed, here they are painted black, matching the torn, worn, Naugahyde-covered booths.
Looking out the window, I look out across an outdoor seating area. A breeze plays with newly sprouted leaves on the trees lining the road. The morning sun reflects from windshields and chrome on cars and trucks passing quickly headed to some destination I can only guess. If not for the style of vehicles, and the clothing worn by waitresses and customers, I could be back in America’s Baby Boomer year. From our perspective today, those were the “Good Ole Days.” Days of endless summer. Days filled with laughter. They were the days before, while in school, we practiced diving beneath our desks while the teachers pulled the blackout draperies across the wall of windows in our classroom. Before the “Cold War” that consumed us. That was before we learned about “Free Love.” That was before we learned to die in jungles a long way from home all the time questioning “What are we fighting for?”
We thought that hard work would always bring prosperity. That the Good always win, Evil always loses. We thought we were righteous, and we carried that thought in our actions around the world. We sent dollars to feed those less fortunate, less blessed. We sent missionaries to save a people who didn’t know the truth. We thought that would keep our economy growing.
But we were wrong. We thought we were immune to the judgements of a Holy and Triumphant G-d.
Sitting on the torn, worn Naugahyde-covered booth, looking out on a perfect day, having enjoyed my omelette and bagel, and a second cup of rich, bold coffee, I could easily forget the trials of a nation of people who think they “are all that. . .” That is to say, a nation of people who think they deserve the fruits of their labor. In churches across America, the cry is “Pray for our Nation.” We quote “If my people will humble themselves, pray. . .” and we think that will do it all. We think our economy will rebound and everything will be alright.
I think, rather, we should say, “We tried,” and follow that in humility, in honesty, saying, “But we tried on our own.” We need now to say, “The LORD is G-d and we kneel before the Lord Y’shuaJesus saying, “Come, Lord, Come!”
PS I walked out of the diner to an overcast sky. The cool, humid breeze feeling like a storm coming. Only a patch of blue left open to the sun, where it shined on the spot I could see from inside.
Perspective!
Lord Bless, Keep, Shine upon us that we may know You!
Jonah’s Song 