One of the things about ancient Israel is they didn’t get to pick their kings. You already know that, but do you KNOW that? The king got to pick which of his sons would be the next king. Sure, there were assassinations. Sometimes one son would get ticked off at not being chosen and would kill the rest of his family so he could be king after his dad died - and sometimes he wasn’t willing to wait that long. The king is dead. Long live the king.
When the nation of Israel, before the divided kingdom, asked for a king “so they could be like the other nations,” that was an insult to God. The entire purpose of God’s People was to be different - set aside for His purpose. (“Set aside” is a good definition of “holy.”)
SIDEBAR:
When the bible repeats a word or phrase it’s for emphasis. The original writing translated as “gold, pure gold” was really “gold gold.” So imagine what the angels in heaven mean when they call Him “holy, holy, holy.” If “holy” means set apart, as in one in a million (for instance), “holy, holy, holy” means one in a million of a million of a million. 10^18, for the mathematicians out there. But remember, in God’s case even one in a trillion of a trillion of a trillion doesn’t do Him justice.
The attitude of the kings back then affected the attitude of the people. If King Smith decided he’d worship the Lord, the people would worship the Lord. If King Jones worshiped a duck, the people would worship a duck. The king influenced the people.
In America, it’s the opposite. We get what we vote for.
To be sure, the process is a bit more lengthy. We don’t suddenly get presidents that worship ducks. But if we have a left-leaning and right-leaning duck worshiper running for president, does it matter which one we vote in?
So, Mark, what do we do about that?
Think of the folks who run for president. Where did they come from? Chances are they were governors, senators, House representatives. And where did they come from? From even “lower” offices, and they came from even “lower” offices. The people on your school board are cutting their teeth for the next elective office. So if you’re upset about the quality of candidates running for U.S. Senate, ask yourself if you voted for anyone in the last fifteen elections for alderman or village council. Turnout for those elections is in the low double-digits, or even single digits.
We don’t have kings. But we do have a ruling class put there by We The People. Until the people take responsibility for the problems of the nation, we’ll continue to have duck worshipers telling us the latest duck is the best duck for us.
We all know ducks can’t save us. Only Christ can do that. Despite all the false prophets in Washington, District of Corruption, telling us everything is going swimmingly, that duck don’t float. The solution to the big problem is to pray, and then vote how the Lord would have you vote.
“Well, that’s a wasted vote,” people would say. But think about it. If your vote is between two poor candidates, isn’t voting for one of them even more wasted? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to worship a duck.
Or a social media star.
The commandments say we should have no other God before Him. That doesn’t just mean He’s first in our life. One commentary I read specified “before Him” would mean “in front of Him.” So if you are a Christian, even saying “good luck” is putting another god in front of Him. Buying a lottery ticket means you trust a billion-dollar jackpot more than you trust Him. If God wanted you to have a big bank account, you’d have one. Nothing on the Earth could stop it. But He put you where you are for a purpose.
I’ve struggled with that for years. I post messages, in the past I posted them on social media, and the number of people who read them dwindled to nearly nothing. But if that’s where God put me, so be it.
I only hope I remember that in a few months when despair rears its ugly head again.
When we pray, we should ask for God’s mercy on us and our nation. There are so many people suffering in America, it’s incomprehensible. But simply praying for that and doing nothing is futile. The bible tells us that if we wish someone to be well, and do nothing, it’s worthless. Like all those ducks on social media posting a graphic of a flag and telling their worshipers they stand in solidarity with the people of some nation or other.
As I mentioned last time, we should all be picking up extra nonperishable food. Don’t forget water. If what’s coming is worse than the COVID lock downs, it won’t be just toilet paper that’s in short supply. If the power gets cut by the bad actors I brought up, municipal and private pumps won’t operate. Do you feel like trudging to the nearest lake or river to drink . . . that? Even if the power stays on, what about replacement parts for the system? Remember the backlog in the supply chain? That would affect maintenance of the water system. We could be without drinking water for quite a while.
In addition to prayer, we also need to help others. One of the reasons Christianity took over the Roman Empire was because a plague in Rome sent everyone running to the hills. Everyone, that is, except the Christians who stayed behind to nurse the sick. Many of them died, and Christ honored them for their selflessness. Even so, the people who survived saw what Christians did and wanted what they had.
Even in tragic times the Word will prevail. Assyria took over the northern kingdom, Babylon took over the southern kingdom. Eventually someone will take over America unless Christ returns in power and glory first.
But in that case HE will be taking over America.
This country cannot save you. Social media ducks cannot save you.
Only He can.
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