I spent tonight trying to avoid the inevitable, knowing in my gut what was coming down the pike. As in the days before Josiah, the word of God has been lost in the house of God. As a result, the people perish for lack of knowledge. The signs of the times have been everywhere, but now they have climbed uphill to the "city gates."
I tried to avert my attention from the TV by running, only to have the treadmill turned toward election coverage.
I came home and tried reading one of the many required readings, only to have my attention turned towards "moral ethics" in my Biblical Ethics material. Issues like health care, abortion, states rights, church and state didn't avert my attention.
I tried going to bed... several times, but 'bella is keeping us up tonight with a wheezing cough. So, while I am listening to Becky sing to quiet 'bella's nerves in the other room, I sit and contemplate, pray, and question both how we got here and where we are going. (The song playing right now is "I have a shelter in the storm" by Sovereign Grace Music)
Some thoughts for the disenchanted and the gloating:
God removes kings; God sets up kings (Psalm 75:7, Daniel 2:21, Romans 13:1)
Yet, God (while still sovereign) gave Israel what they wanted (though he knew they were going to ask for a king beforehand). You most likely know the story--corruption in the courts, perversion in the temple, fickle people, gross idolatry and immorality throughout every stratum of Israel. "Ichabod--the glory of the Lord has departed." Saul looked good and started well... but was ruled by the people and his pride.
A further look into Israel's history--the civil war, the exiles, and captivity--show that God is the one who removes kings, but God also gives the people what they want in hopes that they will return. The prophets foretold of this fate, but the people ignored. The prophets proclaimed the truth, but the people gathered around them false prophets that spoke well-being and prosperity despite sin.
The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will (Prov 21:1) All of the Northern Kings did evil in the sight of the Lord. Yet, there were a few kings in Judah... those that remembered the ways of the Lord, those that grieved over the broken covenant, who stopped the sacrificing of children... these were the ones whom the Lord blessed with both peace and prosperity. The Lord upheld His covenant with David in spite of the nation's idolatry and syncretism.
God does all that He pleases (Psalm 115:3, 135:6, Daniel 4:35)
We've entered a historic chapter in our nation's history. Yes, the people have overwhelmingly spoken. Unfortunately, "blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" and "righteousness exalts a nation" reverberate to the core tonight. We will see the antithesis of these two statements. We will come to depend upon the sovereignty of God even more in these next 2 years while the Democrats and the Liberal left have it all--the triumvirate of power in the Oval Office, Senate and House; a majority of governors’ mansions, a majority of state legislatures, the entertainment media, the elite news media, the unions, the educational establishment, most of the philanthropic community, and increasing power over the courts.
The two years of election coverage have ended.
The rhetoric has become reality. We will soon find out what change really means.
