Thursday, February 1, 2018
Praise the Lord! How good to sing praises to our God! How delightful and how fitting! The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem and
bringing the exiles back to Israel. He
heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them all by
name. How great is our Lord! His power
is absolute! His understanding is beyond
comprehension! Psalm 147:1-5(NLT)
Representing the people of the United States, last month
President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the Capitol of
Israel. That unexpected announcement
raised more than a few eyebrows around the world; it created a controversy
storm that will have tsunami-like waves of criticism and pushback for the
foreseeable future. Now, that’s not
unusual for America’s most controversial president since…well, the last
administration. Controversy is the
medium in which world politics swim, and some political fish have bigger gills
than most.
Now, I’m not a politician, per se; neither am I a political
science scholar. What I am this morning
is a man sitting at his keyboard in the wee hours of the morning considering
the actions and words of another controversial, historic leader, Nehemiah, who led
Israel to rebuild Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity. Nehemiah’s words in Psalm 147 are an outburst
of praise from a heart so overflowing with gratitude and emotion you can just about
feel the release of joy and unburdening of his heart.
It is easy to get all excited about a comeback. Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonian
Empire. The city walls were in ruins and
those carried away had spent seven decades in prison camp. Just the idea of re-construction was like a
dream. Yet it happened. In Nehemiah’s account we read that because of
the people’s willingness to work, the project was completed in less than two
months[2]. With today’s labyrinth of building codes, permits,
and labor issues you can hardly build a doghouse in that time.
Now, I’ve never found any place in Scripture where the United
States of America is listed. I see nothing
in prophecy about anyone named Trump (unless, perhaps there
is a play on words for the instrument Gabriel will use to signal the end of
times J).
But what we do see in Scripture and history is a constant,
continual, immutable commitment of God to His promises. And those promises center on His special
people and the city of Jerusalem. Given
the President’s lack of familiarity with Scripture and faith issues, or even
the rudiments of theology, it is an oddity to see him willingly spend his
political capital to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. However, if you look at some of the other
surprises in Holy Writ concerning the City of David and how God displays His
Sovereignty over the affairs of humankind, it becomes less surprising that He
would use a dumbed-down version of “faith” to remind the world Who is really
in charge!
· Didn’t God use a floating axe-head to
display how nothing is ever lost? (2
Kings 6)
· Didn’t God use the little city of Ai
to defeat Israel’s mighty army because one of Israel’s soldiers had secretly
sinned? (Joshua 7)
· Didn’t God use a talking donkey to
startle a prophet? (Numbers 22)
Who is to say God didn’t inspire a flamboyant politician to
focus our attention once more on what will be the center of the end of this
evil age?
For You Today
Someone wise once said that the Kingdom of God was
already a present reality.
It is the job description of every follower of Jesus
Christ to build that Kingdom as if He’s not coming back for a thousand more
years…and to live each moment as if He is coming back today.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a
blessed day!
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