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Surely at the command of the LORD it came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the LORD would not forgive. 2 Kings 24:3-4
How did Manasseh shed innocent blood? “Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.” 2 Kings 21:6
Not Like Other Sins
The slaughter of innocent blood is not just like other sins for it is unique in its gravity. If the shedding of innocent blood is just like other sins then why was Manasseh forgiven yet judgement still came upon Judah as a nation?
"They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, and it did not come into My mind.” Jeremiah 7:31
“You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.” Leviticus 18:21
Profanes the Name of the Lord
The shedding of innocent blood is such a grievous sin for it profanes the Name of the Lord. Why? For it is a mockery of the all atoning sacrifice of the Lamb of God and treads underfoot the blood of the covenant. There remains “but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries of God.”
They shed innocent blood--the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. Psalm 106:38
Pollutes The Land
This is the only sin of which it says it has polluted the land - making it infertile. Even though Manasseh repented, the judgement of God was still upon the land. As a result Judah was carried away into captivity even as her sister Israel also had been.
Innocent blood cries out from the ground (land) and its cry will not go unrequited. It is a national sin. Thus God could pardon Manasseh an individual - but He could not pardon the nation unless the nation repented.
It is a landed sin - thus it is like no other. “Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.” Numbers 35:23
Its Voice Cries Out
He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground.” Genesis 4:10 “so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel...” Matthew 23:35
There is nothing more righteousness than innocent blood for it has not yet been tainted.
A nation or a people that will not defend the rights of the most innocent - the children in the womb - lies under a curse and it or they cannot prosper for their righteous blood cries out as a witness against them.
Then He Will Hear
As we call out in repentance for the shedding of the innocent blood of our children may we hope that it is not too late for our land - nation - to be healed. “then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Authentic repentance is much more than just saying “I am sorry” with no change of behavior. “Repent, therefore, and turn again, for the blotting out of your sins,” Acts 3:19 Repentance must come full circle or it is only remorse - I am sorry I got caught. The mere assuagement of guilt feelings is not repentance. It might make one feel better for awhile - but it will produce no lasting fruit of repentance.
For a nation (ethnos) to repent there must be a change of behavior. If we continue in our same patterns we need not expect times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. All that remains is to be carried off into captivity as the nation of Judah was.
“It was because of the LORD's anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence.” 2 Kings 24:20
“One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.” John 9:25
Do not let the mission get ahead - eclipse - the vision or we will lose our way.
There may be light, but it will be pseudo - a phantasm - nothing more than a will-o’-the-wisp that will only lead astray.
The vision determines the mission - not the other way around. The mission is unsustainable without the vision. The vision is unattainable without the mission. Vision shows the way - mission makes the way.
Democratic or Republican
A democracy is mission oriented - focusing on the immediate only promising quick fixes while doomed to exhaustion and failure. Her call is that of the siren’s song. She squanders the legacy of future generations leaving them bankrupt. Illusionary... It will only produce the bitter fruit of disappointment. As to stewardship it is prodigal - creating insecurity. It is lethargic.1
A republic is vision oriented - harnessing the required resources toward the goal and is thus self-rejuvenating for it always sows back creating a return on investment. It guarantees a legacy for future generations to build upon - a firm foundation. Substantive... It produces the luscious fruit of hope - which will not disappoint. As to stewardship it is faithful - creating security. It is vigorous.
That is why the Republic of the United State of America has survived as long as it has. But we are now facing a crux - will we head off into oblivion or will we fulfill to the utmost quota our destiny?
Disillusionment or Disenchantment
If we are disillusioned the illusion remains, but if we are disenchanted the spell is broken. Disillusionment produces disappointment - disenchantment leads to hope.
“Disillusionment keeps us inside the paradigm, trying to fix the broken thing, and disenchantment, moves us outside the box, and that is when real change and transition take place.” William Bridges via Doug Small
Are we persuaded - or are we deluded?
“because I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day.” 2 Timothy 1:12
“T'was blind but now I see...” John Newton
1 If we are sitting around trying to figure out what to do next that is ample evidence that we have succumbed to the illusion.
We are longer the outcasts of fear - we are seated at the covenant table of God the Father who has accepted us in His Beloved Son.
“So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD; and David stayed at Horesh while Jonathan went to his house.” 1 Samuel 23:18
Although Jonathan along with his father Saul were now dead - the covenant was still in effect. Jonathan’s covenant brother was now David the King - no longer an outcast. So the survivor implored...
A Remnant
David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Samuel 9:1 God always has a covenant remnant - ‘Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.”’ Romans 9:27
Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.” 2 Samuel 9:3b (Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. 2 Samuel 4:4)
We are lame (with fear) in our feet - we are unable to come to Him - He must come to us. 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" Ezekiel 37:9
He Bids
When He bids us come He also provides the means to come. Mephibosheth was not the only son of Saul remaining - but he was the one chosen. “We are not chosen because we are choice - we become choice as a result of being chosen.” D.A. Carson
“So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.” 2 Samuel 9:5
“Oh God, grant what Thou commandest, and command what Thou dost desire,” St. Augustine What the King commands He provides the will to do and the corresponding strength. For we are born again not by the exercise of our “free-will” but by the will of God.
"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” John 6:37
Love Conquers
For love conquers fear every time. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” 1 John 4:18
“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” 2 Samuel 9:7
Later when vengeance was exacted on the remaining sons of Saul for what he had done to the Gibeonites there was one who was spared. “But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the LORD that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.”
A Seed
So that a seed may sprout it is the chosen ones who remain as it was with Mephibosheth who was a son of covenant. In the Biblical narrative the ones that are taken are the ones that are destroyed. “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” John 13:1
Chosen ones - you are children of the Covenant cut on your behalf by Great David’s Greater Son. And He decrees to you - ‘This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”’ John 18:9
As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.” Isaiah 59:21
Solus Christus
“For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.” Romans 8:19 The longing of creation is for its regeneration. The chosen instrumentality of God for this purpose is a royal priesthood - that is kings and priests.
Then he said, "These are the two anointed ones (sons of the oil) who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth." Zechariah 4:14 Literally they are Joshua the Priest and Zerubbabel the Prince. It is not so much who they were, but what they are. They are the implements of God to establish the place of His Presence in the earth with a view to the regeneration of all things - both in the heavens and on the earth.
Shekinah
Of course it was under them that the Second Temple was built - but it had not the Presence of God as the First Temple had under Solomon. Yet it was a harbinger of the day when the Shekinah of God would enter its chambers in the Person of the Son of God. Still in the purpose of God it had to be laid low as it was in 70AD so that the people of God would no longer mistake a building for the true residence of His Presence which was to be His people - “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9
Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things [regeneration], when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Matthew 19:28
There was a brief glimpse of this 160 years before Christ under the Maccabean dynasty who served both as priests and kings - but it was only a foreshadow of what was to come. “The hundred-year reign of the Maccabean priest-kings may be seen as a distant cousin of the thousand-year reign of the Messiah’s people, the “reigning priesthood,” in Revelation 20:6.” Wright, N. T.. The Day the Revolution Began (p. 128). HarperOne. Kindle Edition.
Please understand that this reference is not about a futuristic period of time - but about the present reality of the Messiah’s current reign. The number 1000 signifies infinity - a rule without end. As to the Book of the Revelation it is a benediction - the bestowing of a blessing. "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." Revelation 11:15
(This was a kind of John the Baptist era (intertestamental) - preparing the way for the ‘Millennial’ Kingdom. For his father was a priest and his mother was of the Davidic line - a king.)
Reign
“and made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign on earth." Revelation 5:10 “the future of redeemed mankind is not one in which the earth is discarded or eliminated. As the earth is an integral part of God’s creation, the renewal of creation includes the new earth as well as the new heaven.” Philip E. Hughes
The Reign of Christ is authenticated by Kings and Priests. They represent its present reality. This is just not about restoration which is looking back to the way things used to be - but about regeneration, looking forward to the way things will become. “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3:13
“In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.” James 1:18
There is no greater witness to God's goodness than that which is written upon the dome of heaven, even the regeneration of man. As the old creation was "by the Word" (John 1:3; John 1:10, et seq.), the new is by Him also, the Logos, the Word of Truth, and that by means of His everlasting gospel, delivered in the power of the Holy Ghost. So tenderly is this declared, that a maternal phrase is used--God brought us forth in the new birth; and though "a woman" may forget "the son of her womb" (Isaiah 49:15), yet will He "never leave, nor forsake" (Hebrews 13:5). Charles Ellicott
Oneness
The two - sons of the oil - must work hand in hand for they are one in purpose. “to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity (oneness) of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
As Christ prepared to arise from the Covenant Table of Blessing this petition burst forth from His soon to be wounded heart to the Ancient of Days. “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” John 17:20-23
Oneness is a function - not just a demonstration. It is organic - not organizational. It is of the heart - not of the head.
Our purpose is singular - one! That is to be image-bearers of the First Born of all creation. “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;” Romans 8:29
“the reign of the infinitely gracious Jehovah is the hope of mankind, and when they all yield to it the race will have its paradise restored. The very globe itself may well be glad that its Maker and liege Lord has come to his own, and the whole race of man may also be glad, since to every willing subject Jesus brings untold blessings.” The Treasury Of David - C.H. Spurgeon
Soli Deo Gloria!
“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of government … ” Article IV Section 4, of the Constitution
We are slowly being boiled to death and we don’t even realize it. Several of our current slate of presidential candidates have announced their intention to abolish the Electoral College if elected. Since this is a foundational tenant of our Republic this is nothing less than an intention to dismantle that which has stood in good stead for well over two centuries. In effect they are announcing an attempt at a coup.
THE IDEA
Eric Metaxes writes - “For such a thing to happen is typical of ideas in history. Once they become settled or codified into institutions, the temptation is to look to the institution that was created by the idea and eventually to forget the idea and mistake the institution for the idea.” If You Can Keep It - The Forgotten Promise Of American Liberty - p. 183
We have lost sight of the grand idea - vision - of a Republican Form of government that was birthed into reality by our Founding Fathers. A Republic is the only guarantor of a government of “We the people...” for it protects the rights of each individual. A democracy gives sway for the rights of the few to be trampled under the feet of the majority. This results in the usurpation of the grand organic idea for the doddering bureaucracy of an all encompassing institution. In short the Grand Republican Idea lies prostrate beneath the jackboot heel of suffocating grinding institutional “democratic” socialism.
“I predict future happiness for Americans, if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”
― Thomas Jefferson
INJUSTICE
I could never quail to note that the first ones to suffer injustice under such a regime would be the most vulnerable - the unborn person. For the devotees of “democratic socialism” maintain they have no rights - that is the right to life. This is a travesty of unimaginable proportions.
In a furious attempt to build a better furnace the fire on the inside has gone out and no one notices. There is no longer any heat or light but we continue on our way beguiling unaware of what has transpired. By giving heed to the alluring siren call of free this and free that our Republican Liberty has been dashed upon the treacherous rocks of enslavement. The debris of the idea lies awash - being tossed to and fro by the unrelenting waves of deception.
REAL LIBERTY
Alexander Hamilton asserted that "We are now forming a Republican form of government. Real liberty is not found in the extremes of democracy, but in moderate governments. If we incline too much to democracy we shall soon shoot into a monarchy, or some other form of a dictatorship." Hamilton, in the last letter he ever wrote, warned that "our real disease…is DEMOCRACY."
Even Fox News has fallen into this pitcher plant of malaise for they are calling their election coverage “Democracy 2020.”
“I am a Republican, a black, dyed in the wool Republican, and I never intend to belong to any other party than the party of freedom and progress.” Frederick Douglass
“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.” Psalm 89:14 “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.” Ezekiel 16:49
“Social” Justice is a hand up. It is liberation. It allows you to dream your dream. “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (Social justice is a commonly accepted term but it is non-Biblical. In the Bible it is just justice.)
True freedom comes through earning your stuff. “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8
Justice causes one to turn toward God as Provider who will supply all of our needs according to His riches in Glory - and for His purpose. .
It engenders the worship of the One True God.
And He never did say that His provision would not be spelled w.o.r.k. “...but those who work hard will prosper.” Proverbs 13:4 NLT
In a Republic freedom is guaranteed and initiative is encouraged. Our Founding Fathers who formed our Republican form of government had the foresight to see what would make this nation a great bastion of free-enterprise.
Contrary to what socialist would say this nation along with its plethora of humanitarian enterprises is the greatest benefactor this world has ever seen.
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Socialism is a hand-out - or a hand down. It is oppressive - bondage - enslavement. It steals your dream. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;...” It creates despondent dependency from which there seems to be no escape.
Free stuff is not freedom. It creates a form of serfdom to the supposed benefactor from which true freedom can never be attained.
Socialism is ‘a turning away from the living God to worship idols; that this results in giving to the idols—“forces” within the creation—a power over humans and the world that was rightfully that of genuine humans; and that this leads to a slavery, which is ultimately the rule of death itself, the corruption and destruction of the good world made by the Creator.’ Wright, N. T.. The Day the Revolution Began (p. 86). HarperOne. Kindle Edition.
It is the worship of the creature (idolatry) rather than the Creator Who is Blessed forever.
“Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.” 2 Thessalonians 3:2
In a democracy freedom is forfeited and enterprise is quashed. Thus we have “democratic socialism.” For democracy is the breeding ground of socialism - it was abhorred by our Founding Fathers.
Socialism is a facade - hiding the true intent of its supposed adherents. “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; John 12:5-6
An abdication of responsibility or a revolution of purpose!
As evangelicals might we no longer determine our success - or worse yet, our worth - by how many souls are saved to go to heaven when they die or how many exhilarating services we have within the confines of the “church house” - but rather how many beings are called and commissioned to make a difference where they live right now with a vision toward the new heavens and a new earth. This vision if fully embraced will lead to a drastic change in our mission for vision determines mission. And to authentic discipleship.
DELIVERED
What does it really mean to be delivered from the domain of darkness and to be translated into the Kingdom of His Dear Son? It has to mean more than just to have a change of address from hell to heaven. After all the Son in His instructions on prayer urged that our entreaty to the Father would be that His will be done on the earth as it is being done right now in the heavenly realm.
"The New Testament, with the story of Jesus’s crucifixion at its center, is about God’s kingdom coming on earth as in heaven. This is, after all, what Jesus taught his followers to pray. That is a rather obvious piece of evidence, though people regularly ignore it in practice." Wright, N. T., The Day the Revolution Began (p. 40). HarperOne. Kindle Edition.
HIDDEN JEWEL
Possibly the most hidden jewel of the Reformation is Luther’s Doctrine of Vocation. To say again: “The doctrine of vocation is one of the greatest—though strangely neglected and forgotten—teachings of the Reformation.” It is most certainly no avocation.
“Vocation, says Luther, is a “mask” of God: We see only the human face, performing ordinary tasks in everyday life, but behind that calling, through which we are blessed, God himself is hidden, giving his gifts.” Gene Veith - The Gospel Coalition
May we no longer ascribe to the erroneous concept of being bi-vocational. It is all God! I refer to myself as being omni-vocational. “For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.” Colossians 1:16 There are no exceptions!
“PARA-CHURCH”
May we with one voice sound the death knell of “para-church” for church is not something we go to - it is where and who we are in Him. “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:22-23 The church is not a place - it is His Presence.
In Him every day is sacred - a Sabbath. In Him every place is consecrated - holy unto the LORD, as a field devoted - an Ebenezer. In Him every believer is sanctified - a Royal Priesthood. The voice spoke to him a second time: "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." Acts 10:15
ASSIGNMENT
“Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.” 1 Corinthians 7:17 Each of us has an assignment in this current life to which the Lord has called us. Paul had an assignment in his life that was more important than going to heaven until his course had been fully run. Each one of us also has a foreordained call from our Faithful Father that we must not neglect. “For we are His workmanship (masterpiece), created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
We are not called to escapism - we are called to stewardship. If we are looking forward to the return of Christ as we should, it must not be enshrouded in a false concept of rapturism - but at the joyous prospect of the regeneration of all things.
REGENERATION
Where did He say He was going to take His disciples and us (John 14:2)? The Fatherhood of God which is where He came from and to which He was returning. This place of abiding was going to come to them as a present reality - not an ethereal existence in the bye and bye (John 14:23). In this present age we are His image-bearers that He might be the First of a great company.
“I am suggesting that in the Bible humans are created in order to live as worshipping stewards within God’s heaven-and-earth reality, rather than as beings who, by moral perfection, qualify to leave “earth” and go to “heaven” instead.” Wright, N. T.. The Day the Revolution Began (pp. 77-78). HarperOne. Kindle Edition.
And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration (renewal of all things) when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Matthew 19:28
