Tuesday, September 13, 2016
A horrible and shocking thing has happened in this land—the prophets give
false prophecies, and the priests rule with an iron hand. Worse yet, my people like it that way! But what will you do when the end comes? Jeremiah 5:30-31(NLT)
Whenever Jeremiah entered the room it
was never a sign that the party was about to kick the fun level into high gear. Known as the weeping prophet, he was
probably not invited to many frat parties or fundraisers anyway. However, when JHWH sent a prophet to do his
job it wasn’t for a few laughs or just an evening’s entertainment to please the
crowd. A prophet’s words were meant to
send a wakeup call!
These words of Jeremiah’s should have
done the trick.
In that day the leaders of Israel
were corrupt and falsely proclaiming to the people that even though the sins of
the nation were a stench in God’s nostrils, everything was OK and the false prophets
were agreeing with the leaders. The
people didn’t need to worry, everything was under control…go back to sleep, it’s
all good.
Thirty years later Ezekiel echoed
Jeremiah’s warning:
“This will happen because these evil prophets deceive my people by
saying, ‘All is peaceful’ when there is no peace at
all! It’s as if the people have built a
flimsy wall, and these prophets are trying to reinforce it by covering it with
whitewash! Ezekiel 13:10(NLT)
The leaders of Israel didn’t listen
to Ezekiel any more than they listened to Jeremiah. The party continued, with the people lulled
into a deadening white noise of how invincible we are, and how
great we are, and we are just fine…go back to
sleep.
Largely there is the same kind of flamboyant
charlatanism on the political scene in America today. We are supposed to trust our leaders to lead
us in the ways of freedom and justice. We
are reassured because the party conventions are slick and showy, proclaiming
that it’s
all good…and we should go back to sleep for another political cycle;
not to worry!
But, back to reality – God is looking
down at both the malaise of the citizenry in America and the disingenuous
chicanery of political bigwigs clawing their way to
the White House with mud-slinging in every direction, and JHWH shakes His head;
whatever happened to the promises of Plymouth Rock?
From One Nation Under God[ii]:
Alexis de Tocqueville was the famous 19th century French
statesman, historian and social philosopher. He traveled to America in the 1830s to
discover the reasons for the incredible success of this new nation. He published his observations in his classic
two-volume work, Democracy in America. He
was especially impressed by America's religious character. Here are some startling excerpts from
Tocqueville's great work:
Upon my arrival in
the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that
struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the
great political consequences resulting from this new state of things.
In France I had
almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in
opposite directions. But in America I
found they were intimately united and that they reigned in common over the same
country.
Religion in
America...must be regarded as the foremost of the political institutions of
that country; for if it does not impart a taste for freedom, it facilitates the
use of it. Indeed, it is in this same
point of view that the inhabitants of the United States themselves look upon
religious belief.
I do not know
whether all Americans have a sincere faith in their religion – for who can
search the human heart? But I am certain
that they hold it to be indispensable to the maintenance of republican
institutions. This opinion is not
peculiar to a class of citizens or a party, but it belongs to the whole nation
and to every rank of society.
In the United
States, the sovereign authority is religious...there is no country in the world
where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men
than in America, and there can be no greater proof of its utility and of its
conformity to human nature than that its influence is powerfully felt over the
most enlightened and free nation of the earth.
In the United
States, the influence of religion is not confined to the manners, but it
extends to the intelligence of the people...
Christianity,
therefore, reigns without obstacle, by universal consent...
I sought for the key
to the greatness and genius of America in her harbors...; in her fertile fields
and boundless forests; in her rich mines and vast world commerce; in her public
school system and institutions of learning. I sought for it in her democratic Congress and
in her matchless Constitution.
Not until I went
into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did
I understand the secret of her genius and power.
America is great
because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will
cease to be great.
The safeguard of
morality is religion, and morality is the best security of law as well as the
surest pledge of freedom.
The Americans
combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their
minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other.
For You Today
If indeed America is to be “great”
again, it will not be because we are led into great djeals with other nations,
or more organized government run programs; greatness is too connected
with goodness
to fall victim to sleeping while the new emperors prance around naked.
God may be patient, but there is an
end to every road that leads away from Him.
America’s greatness will be found in returning to God…and in no other
way!
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