Shoulder To Shoulder #1298 -- 7/4/22 ---- "Seeking The Ancient Paths (Pt 6 -- Roadmap For A Nation, A)"
Posted by: lifeunlimited1010 <lifeunlimited1010@...>
We Fight the Good Fight of Faith"
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER is a weekly letter of encouragement
Bob has written since 1997, covering many topics selected to
motivate people to be strong students of the Word and courageous
witnesses of Jesus Christ. It is a personal letter of
encouragement to you, written solely to help "lift up
hands that hang down".
"The world
will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those
who watch them without doing anything." --
Albert Einstein
“There is a common, worldly kind
of Christianity in this day, which many have, and think
they have -- a cheap Christianity which offends nobody,
and requires no sacrifice, which costs nothing, -- and
is worth nothing.”
Shoulder To Shoulder #1298 -- 7/4/22
Title: "Seeking The Ancient Paths (Pt 6 -- Roadmap For A Nation, A)"
My Dear Friend and Fellow Kingdom Seeker:
Greetings from one of the most patriotic little towns in America -- Greer, AZ!
There's nothing like celebrating American independence in "small-town
America". That's where the true spirit of freedom is found. Some of my
fondest boyhood memories of July 4th center around a big chicken dinner
on my grandparents' farm where I was born, followed by freshly churned
home-made ice cream while listening to the "menfolk" talk in the old
canvas lawn chairs under the trees, usually about whatever happened to
come to mind -- progress of crops, need to cut the hay, tales of
yesteryear, pranks they pulled on 4th of July, how "Junior Snipper"
almost blew his finger off with a firecracker, the need to help a
neighboring farmer down the road, . . . .
Then, on rare occasions when someone had enough gas in the car to drive
12 miles down to Flora, we'd throw some blankets on the lake bank and
watch fireworks that kept you guessing where some of them might land.
In the flashing light of the explosions, you'd watch volunteer
"pyrotechnic" guys scamper back and forth between home made launching
tubes made of clay sewer pipes, trying to remember which rocket needed
to go next. Then, before long, we'd hear the fire truck roar along the
park's back road so the volunteer firemen could put out the fires that
no one intended to start, but everyone assumed would happen.
Then the long slow drive home, wishing it would never end, but anxiously
looking forward to crawling in bed -- without having to take a bath.
(After all, it wasn't Saturday yet!)
So today, my 84-year-old mind basks in those memories, but now thankful
that in these modern days ice cream can be packaged and purchased
already prepared, fireworks are readily available to watch on TV from my
recliner, and all my own ancestors who helped grant and maintain such
freedom are worshiping the Lord in heaven -- all the while waiting for
my arrival.
I don't anticipate that happening anytime soon -- but you never know.
Until then, I'll keep being grateful for living in a country where such
freedoms were displayed with the splendor of a tri-colored flag, daily
freedoms to think, do, and speak without retribution, -- and a hope that
the corrupt chaos that has entered our land intent on destroying it
will soon be defeated, soundly so, as citizens like you and I join
forces to declare, "this is enough!" and declare it unequivocally every
time we attend a school board meeting, worship in church, research a
candidate, study our history -- and go to the voting booth to make our
constitutional rights known to those whose names appear on the ballots.
I've been thinking about this a lot these past weeks -- primarily in
relationship to our current national plight, the suffering so many of
our personal friends are enduring in Ukraine, and in light of this
current series I've been writing on "Seeking The Ancient Paths". I want
to address that topic again today. In that we have just celebrated our
246th anniversary of our founding fathers courageously declaring
independence from a despotic tyrant, I want to share some thoughts about
how such Ancient Paths actually create a roadmap for any nation that
has the heart go try to get back on track. And, I'll do that right
after you take a look at . . . .
THIS 'N' THAT:
+ "Greatest Revolution in Human History": That's
what President Ronald Reagan called the American Revolution. Historian
William H. Federer, host of "The American Minute" has written the
following very informative thumbnail sketch of those who willfully paid
the price for the freedom you and I enjoy today. Check his account out
at
https://americanminute.com/blogs/todays-american-minute/independence-day-greatest-revolution-that-has-ever-taken-place-in-the-worlds-history-ronald-reagan-american-minute-with-bill-federer.
You might even consider signing up for his regular "American Minute"
accounts of thousands of events that impacted our lives in some way.
+ Ancient Biblical City of Mitanni Located -- AGAIN: For
you Bible history buffs, here is an extraordinary post from Patterns of
Evidence. The ruins of the ancient city of Mitanni, have been
submerged under water since the Mosul Dam was built in 1986. However,
due to a severe drought, the water level dropped enough to expose it
again. Archaeological work resumed immediately. Even though it was a
short time before the dig was under water again, much more was learned
about a people who, according to the Book of Judges (chapter 3),
attacked Israel long ago. Read the interesting report at
https://patternsofevidence.com/2022/07/01/3400-year-old-city-revealed-by-drought/?triplesource=klaviyo&_kx=MQD2bDKvMzlz_YSnMMN_NhVFmswuxE9TakcEwSPaaIs%3D.WEfJdA.
+ Company Will Pay Birth and Adoption Expenses: What
a refreshing story!!! This company deserves to have a growing business
simply because they support life and promote traditional biblical
family values! While other companies are angrily defying the overturn
or Roe v Wade and more than 70 (and growing) government prosecutors are
declaring they won't prosecute if someone has or performs an illegal
abortion, this company stand for life and will assist its employees who
may have unwanted pregnancies to go through delivery and even adoption
procedures. More power to you!!! I don't know anything about them
other than the article, but check it out at
https://washingtonstand.com/news/as-woke-corporations-offer-free-abortion-this-company-is-doing-the-opposite
.
+ Abortion War Not Over: The lack of knowledge by
pro-life people and the distortion of facts by the pro-abortion people
are both appalling and embarrassing simultaneously. The SCOTUS opinion
did nothing to prohibit abortion. It merely did two things. First, it
ruled that Roe v Wade was a major constitutional miscarriage to begin
with, having nothing to do with abortion rights, but with a flawed
"right to privacy" argument not supported in the Constitution. Second,
in striking down the 1973 ruling, it returned the abortion question to
the individual states where it rightfully and constitutionally rests.
However, the ruling has created serious future battles, and the
pro-abortion people advocating or abortion on demand -- and hopefully
supported by federal legislation -- is now busy at work finding ways to
make abortion legal throughout the nation. The following article
explains ten tactics they are currently planning to use. Go to
https://washingtonstand.com/news/10-ways-the-left-wants-to-expand-abortion-postroe.
+ The Ten Commandments and America: For those of us
who were educated during the first two-thirds of the 20th Century, the
role of biblical principles --especially the Ten Commandments -- is
obvious. We've never doubted the fact. For others, those facts may not
be as readily known -- or even believed. Here's a brief but precise
article by William J. Federer that traces a small bit of history
concerning how past leaders felt about the significance of those
Commandments on our culture and lives. Go to
https://americanminute.com/blogs/todays-american-minute/the-ten-commandments-the-necessity-of-a-moral-and-educated-population-for-self-government-american-minute-with-bill-federer
.
QUOTES FOR THE WEEK:
> "The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have
always paid for it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the
path of surrender or submission." -- President John F. Kennedy
> "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." -- Thomas Paine
> "And they can appreciate, through personal experience, that
the really decisive battleground of American freedom is in the hearts
and minds of our own people." -- President Dwight D. Eisenhower
> " [Our Constitution] is an instrument for the people to restrain the government." -- Patrick Henry
> "Freedom is never more than one generation away from
extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It
must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." -- Ronald Reagan
> "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
> "We hold these truths to be self-evident:
that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness. - Thomas Jefferson
> "America was not built on fear. America was built on
courage, imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at
hand." -- Harry S. Truman
> "We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we will always be free." -- President Ronald Reagan
> ""Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the
judgments which the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, that
you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so
that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God,
to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all
the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged." -- Moses (Deut 6:1-2).
> "If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under." -- Ronald Reagan
> "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill,
that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support
any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of
liberty." -- John F. Kennedy
> "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." -- Thomas Jefferson
THE ANCIENT PATHWAY SO FAR:
Some of what I am about to share with you may seem to be totally
irrelevant to our series at this point, but hopefully it will make sense
to you. So, let's do a little reviewing with a little more detail
added:
When mankind was created and placed in Eden, he was a perfect being in a
perfect place walking with a perfect God Who had given Him a perfect
role, and availed him with perfect provisions. Man's only restriction
was to not eat from the Tree of the Know-ledge of Good and Evil. If he
chose to live in the shadow of the Tree of Life, he would live -- and
with the presence, blessing, and provision of God Himself; but if he ate
from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he would be alienated
from God and would die.
Questioning God’s motives, mankind did the one thing he was not to do
with the false promise that doing so would make him know what God
knows. Falling victim to Satan's deception, all he knew from his
disobedience was guilt and alienation.
>From that moment on, man was faced with a choice. Now knowing both good
and evil, he is charged with the responsibility of making daily choices
-- be obedient to the principles of the Tree of Life or fall victim to
the trickery and deception that comes from knowing good and evil.
Now, this fact is what has overwhelmingly captured my understanding. --
>From the same region in which the Garden was located emerged two
distinctly diverse philosophies of life – most clearly characterized by
two Bible characters from the same region – Nimrod and Abraham –
each one practicing opposite lifestyles based on opposite values and
subsequent systems of societal governance, introduced in Genesis
chapters 11 and 12. The contrast, frankly, is striking.
+ Pre-Nimrod:
Prior to the days of Nimrod, much had transpired in the development of
certain law codes. In the Tree of Life you find one; in the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil was the other. Since the day mankind
disobeyed God (Gen 3:1-6) those two "codes of conduct" have existed.
Following man's fall from God's presence and blessing, the development
of both "codes" is evident. It didn't take but a few years for the
conflict between the two to surface -- in the story of Cain and Abel.
Somehow in his growing up years Abel detected the remaining heartbeat of
his parents for God, perhaps noting the remorse and sadness they still
felt over their sin against God. Apparently, Cain didn't see the same
thing. At any rate, you know the story -- both men offered sacrifices
to God. Abel's, mirroring God's own act of forgiveness, remission, and
atonement through the blood sacrifice of an animal, Abel offered a blood
sacrifice from one of the animals in his herd.
Cain, however, perhaps felt the need to try to justify himself before
God by his own good intentions and hard work, and instead offered up a
sacrifice of "earthiness" and his own efforts. Apparently Abel
understood the "Tree of Life" principle, but Cain resorted to The Tree
of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" and his own sense of responsibility
to prove to God he knew the difference himself and on his own terms.
The tension between the two concepts of life became the patterns of life
for all of mankind -- carried on by Cain on the one hand and Seth
(Abel's successor) on the other. And, just as in our day, it appears
that Cain's curse progressively dominated the human culture -- so much
so that God determined to wipe the human race off the face of the
earth.
With the exception of Enoch (see Genesis 4 and 5), who was the father of
Methuselah (the oldest person to ever have lived), and who was
apparently a righteous God-honoring man who somehow didn't even
experience physical death, for "God took him, and he was not"
(See Gen 5:22-24) -- with that exception, it appears that Noah was the
only God-fearing righteous man on the earth. As a result, God
determined to wipe the entire human race off the face of the earth,
preserving only one man who still lived by faith in and obedience to
God, along with his family.
Studying the science of anthropology from a biblical perspective is an
intriguing examination. Apparently the genes of The Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil still lived on in one of Noah's sons -- or
perhaps that son's wife (we have no idea where she came from -- perhaps
from Cain's descendants?). But, which son?
There's an intriguing post-flood story about Noah's family. It's found
in Genesis nine. Following the flood, Noah built an alter and offered
an animal sacrifice to God. Then, one one broad stroke the Genesis
account shows us that Noah and his family began doing exactly what God
had instructed, and began to reconstitute and repopulate the earth.
Apparently the family was successful and began to prosper.
On this particular occasion, Noah apparently drank too much wine from
his vineyards and became drunk -- so drunk that he wasn't aware that he
had left his body uncovered. Ham saw the situation, but instead of
covering his father's nakedness, he went to Shem and Japheth. We'll
never know Ham's thoughts about the event -- whether he laughed,
"tattle-taled", or felt embarrassed -- but whatever he did or whatever
he thought, didn't sit well with Noah.
As a result, sometime after Shem and Japheth reverently and respectfully
went to Noah's tent and covered him up, Noah placed blessings on those
two sons and their descendants, while placing a curse on Ham and his
descendants. You can read about that in Genesis 9:25-27, and further
research will reveal that the descendants of Canaan, Ham's son, for
generation after generation, were in conflict with and subservient to
Shem's descendants.
The Canaanites who inhabited the land at the time the Children of Israel
(descendants of Shem) re-entered the land were constantly in an
adversarial relationship with Israel for generation after generation.
In addition, Canaan's descendants were the very people along the
Mediterranean Coast all the way to Ethiopia and northern Africa with
whom Shem's descendants experienced frequent conflict.
Keep in mind that Nimrod was also a direct descendant of Noah -- his
great-grandson, in fact (Noah > Ham > Cush > Nimrod).
Interestingly, as of this present day, no law code has ever been found
that precedes the days of Noah. The tenth chapter of Genesis records
Noah's genealogy. Why is that the case? We don't know, but I've often
wondered if there was either no law codes that had ever been written
because of man's independence and sinfulness, or if they were simply
destroyed during the Flood.
Some authorities have believed that Nimrod was a fictional character,
but his name appears far too frequently in the annals of ancient history
for that. In fact, the Bible itself repeatedly refers to him or the
land attributable to him -- all within historical and geographical
context. For example, Gen 10:8; 10:9; I Chron 1:10; and Micah 5:6. The
"Land of Nimrod" was a synonym for Assyria or Mesopotamia, from where
Abram came.
The significant thing to me is that the earliest law code ever
discovered was written After and not before the date most Bible scholars
attribute to the Great Flood -- that is, the Genesis Flood described in
Genesis chapters seven and eight. Most scholars date the Genesis Flood
at somewhere around 2400 B.C. to 2500 B.C. As far as I have been able
to discover, the earliest known law code to have been discovered thus
far is the Code of Urukagina (2380–2360 BC), followed by the Code of
Ur-Nammu, king of Ur (c. 2050 BC). Copies with slight variations of this
code were found in Nippur, Sippar and Ur, the hometown of the great
patriarch, Abraham.
Later law codes include the Laws of Eshnunna (c. 1930 BC), the Codex of
Lipit-Ishtar of Isin (c. 1870 BC), the Babylonian law Code of Hammurabi
(c. 1750 BC in middle chronology), and then the Hittite laws, also known
as the 'Code of the Nesilim' (developed c. 1650–1500 BC, in effect
until c. 1100 BC).
If you ever care to research the beginning of law codes, there are many
books to be read, research papers to be scrutinized, and internet links
to be perused. For an easy beginning to such research, this one is one
of the easiest to get you started --
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ancient_legal_codes .
+ Nimrod:
The Bible tells us that Noah lived over 900 years, so it is entirely
possible -- probable, in fact -- that he was still living when Nimrod
was born, and probably even when Nimrod began his meteoric rise to
power. Scholars generally attribute Nimrod as having lived sometime
during the 21st and 22nd centuries, B.C. His kingdom was one of the
most extensive and powerful kingdoms in the world at that time. The
Book of Genesis gives us a slight peek:
"Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on
the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is
said, 'Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.' The beginning of
his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of
Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh
and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is
the great city." (Gen 10:8-12).
If you look further down, you see references to founders of
numerous other kingdoms and cultures. Take time to read the record and
do a little research on each one. It is quite fascinating (Gen
10:13-31). I'd love to fill you in on some very interesting
discoveries, but my letter is already going to be far too long.
The primary story of Nimrod -- both in the biblical record and also in
non-biblical manuscripts -- point to an event that took place in one of
the cities Nimrod constructed as he expanded his vast domain -- the city
of Babylon. At first glance, nothing seems out of the ordinary.
However, if you study the biblical account closely, you discover that
the same driving force that led Adam and Eve to make their fatal mistake
is the same force that led to the creation of ancient Babylon.
In Adam and Eve's fall, you see what would be the driving force in all of humanity --
"When [she] saw that the tree was good for food [to take and eat] -- to "Do",
". . . and that it was a delight to the eyes [to have], . . ." -- to "Have",
". . . and that the tree was desirable to make one wise," -- to "Be".
This is the exact counterfeit copy of how God had created mankind in the
first place. Look at Genesis 1:26-27. Not only that, but it is the
pattern that the people of Babylon followed under Nimrod's rule:
"Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words.
It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the
land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, 'Come, let
us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.' And they used brick for stone,
and they used tar for mortar. They said, 'Come, let us build for
ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let
us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over
the face of the whole earth'." (Gen 11:1-4).
So, under Nimrod's reign we see the first vestiges of what today you and
I recognize as Socialism. Since I've written extensively about this in
the past, let me just list those characteristics:
1. "Nimrod" -- dominating hunter of men who will follow, obey, and do.
2. "Bricks" -- Conformity, uniformity, "sameness".
3. "Stone" -- Individuality, uniqueness, interlocking.
4. "Tar", "Mortar" -- "Matter", "Materialism".
5. "City" -- Concentrated populace, Concentration of power.
6. "Tower" -- Center of absolute authority -- Deification of man.
7. "Name for ourselves" -- Eradication of "god".
8. "Scattered abroad" -- Eradication of individualism and nationalism, institution of globalism.
So, in the story of ancient Babylon we have one of the first examples of
the end result found in the "fruit" of The Tree of the Knowledge of
Good an Evil. The ancient law codes of the past seem to have come to
full fruition for the first time in Nimrod's empire and illustrated in
Babylon.
But, there was another man -- and another philosophy -- that emerged out
of the same culture. He seemed to be the exact antithesis to
everything for which Nimrod stood. His name: ----
+ Abram/Abraham:
In past years I have been fascinated by this man who has become one of
the central and pivotal figures of the Bible. My interest was
intensified about twenty years ago when I was doing so writing and
teaching on "The Ten Wonders of Israel" -- ten things completely unique
to the nation of Israel as a cultural, ethnic, and political entity.
I remembered the limerick, "How odd of God to choose the Jews!",
and I got to wondering the same thing. I thought of the question King
Louis XIV of France reportedly asked Blaise Pascal as proof that God
existed, and Pascal answered, "Why the Jews, your Majesty, the Jews!"
That drove me back to Genesis 12, and then even further back to
Ur of the Chaldees where Abram had been born and raised. The more I
studied the question, the more I was convinced that God didn't actually
choose the Jews; rather, He chose a man -- a man through whom, ". . .
I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your
name great; And so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who
bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the
families of the earth will be blessed." (Gen 12:2-3)
An in-depth study of the life of Abraham -- both from the Bible and from
ancient non-biblical manuscripts -- will promise to be a great blessing
to anyone who choose to do so.
At this point, I want to do a "leap frog" over several centuries to when
another very significant law code was given. It was an entirely
different code than what we have seen to this point. Emanating from the
original Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, it was given by God to the
descendants of Abraham about 500 years after Abraham, a direct
descendant of Shem, arrived in Shechem in the land of the descendants of
Canaan. (Remember the blessings and curse Noah put on his three sons,
Shem, Ham, and Japheth?)
Already an old man by the time God made the promise to Abraham in
Genesis 12, Abraham fathered two sons -- Ishmael through Sarah's
Egyptian slave Hagar, and Isaac through Sarah. Isaac had two sons --
Esau and Jacob. Having sold his birthright to Jacob, Esau lost his
rightful lineage, and Jacob gave birth to twelve sons, one of whom was
Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers.
You know the story well. Joseph ended up as a slave in Egypt, and God
fulfilled Joseph's dreams, making him the second most powerful man in
Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. Following the deaths of both
Pharaoh and Joseph, the descendants of Jacob (now called Israel), became
slaves to succeeding Pharaohs. But, God's plan was not deterred.
When the timing was just right, an Israeli couple gave birth to a son
who was destined to be killed if ever discovered. He was hidden in the
bulrushes along the Nile only to be discovered by Pharaoh's daughter who
raised him as her own. Doing so made this baby a potential successor
to the throne of the most powerful man on earth.
Raised in the environment of royalty this boy, Moses, had it all. One
day at age 40 an instinctive sense of injustice threw Moses into a rage
and he killed one of Pharaoh's trusted slave masters. He fled the
scene, running eastward for days until he arrived in Midian, directly
south of where his famous ancestor, Abraham, had once lived. After
forty more years of unlearning the Egyptian ways, Moses was schooled and
prepared for the reintroduction of God's way of doing things --
interestingly right in the very environment where the ways and laws of
Nimrod now flourished in Egypt.
+ The Mosaic Law Code:
The "Law of Moses" -- or Torah as it would later be called --
came to be part of the Children of Israel's law code somewhere around
1514 to 1530 B.C. Scholars differ as to the exact time because there
were some serious discrepancies in general Egyptian history that proved
problematic to being as specific as we might have wished. Add to that
the use of various calendar forms, and there has been no serious
consensus. However, considering the probability that the Exodus took
place around 1513 B.C. and the laws of God were given to Moses about a
year later on "Jabal Musa", the "mountain of God" in ancient Arabia, the
date I am using is very likely.
The purpose of the Mosaic Law was very different from all the other law
codes written over many centuries past. It is important that we take
the time to identify those specifics. It was given specifically to the
nation of Israel (Exodus 19; Leviticus 26:46; Romans 9:4) in order to
hone them into the people from whom would come the ultimate answer to
the needs of the world.
It was also given as a means of setting the descendants of Abraham,
especially the descendants of Israel (Jacob), aside from all other
nations. Even though originating from the same environment and
geographical part of the world as the many pagan and polytheistic
leaders and their laws to govern and control people, this codex had an
entirely different motive and purpose for mankind.
The Mosaic Law was made up of three parts: 1) the Ten Commandments, 2)
the societal ordinances, and 3) the worship system including the
priesthood, the tabernacle, the offerings, and the festivals (Exodus
20—40; Leviticus 1—7; 23).
The purpose of the Mosaic Law was to accomplish what no other codex of
laws had ever done. Continuing gotquestions.org statement, it was to . .
.
1. Reveal the holy character of the eternal God -- first to the
nation of Israel, and then to the entire world (Leviticus 19:2; 20:7–8).
2. Set the Children of Israel apart from, and as distinct from, all the other nations of the world (Exodus 19:5).
3. Reveal the utter sinfulness of man (cf. Galatians 3:19) by
showing that, although other law codes may have been good, none were as
good as the Mosaic Law.
4. Even though the Mosaic law indeed good -- and holy (Romans
7:12), even it did not provide salvation for the nation of Israel or
anyone else. “No one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the
works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our
sin” (Romans 3:20; cf. Acts 13:38–39).
4. Temporarily provide forgiveness through the sacrifice/offerings
(Leviticus 1—7) for the people who had faith in the Lord, including the
nation of Israel and later the entire world.
5. Provide a way of worship for the community of faith in Israel through the yearly feasts (Leviticus 23).
6. Provide God’s direction for the physical and spiritual health of
the nation (Exodus 21—23; Deuteronomy 6:4–19; Psalm 119:97–104).
7. And ultimately reveal to all of humanity that no one can keep
the Law, but that everyone falls short of God’s standard of holiness.
There must be another answer -- a future completion of all that the
Mosaic law describes and demands.
Again, doing a little leap-frogging, we jump ahead another 1,500 years
more or less to a day when a baby was born in Bethlehem just six miles
south of Jerusalem, fulfilling biblical prophecy. Time and time again
His life, His events, and His teachings matched perfectly with the
hundreds of prophecies by Israel's prophets and fulfilled the requirements of the Mosaic Law. In fact, when
Christ came, He actually fulfilled the Law, and with His death He paid
the penalty for our breaking it (Galatians 3:24; Romans 10:4).
+ Post-Nimrod, Post-Abraham:
Now, keep these two origins of law codes in mind -- both from
the same culture, but from very different moral and cultural value
systems. The ancient codexes built around the dictatorial will and
whims of people like Urukagina, Hammurabi, and Nimrod, or the ancient
moral codes of Moses and Jesus. The two origins are fraught with two
different intents -- and two different outcomes.
Nimrod and his culture are ancient examples of today’s modern system of
centralized Socialism with equity, “sameness”, and hierarchical control
from the top. Abraham, instead, represents God-centered worship,
prosperity, and service with extraordinary freedom and righteous living.
Those two systems migrated westward where Nimrod’s model centered in the
Middle East, northern Egypt, and western Europe, and has been found in
modern history in the forms of Marxism, Nazism, Atheism, and Socialism.
Abraham’s model settled in the land of Canaan, spread around the world,
greatly impacted the part of the world where our founders originated,
and is represented today in many cultures of freedom, life,
independence, service, and peace.
Abraham’s model, on the other hand, was codified in the giving of the
Mosaic Law, explained and expanded in the teachings of Jesus, and then
ultimately brought to full bloom in the crucifixion and resurrection of
Jesus Christ that impacted the entire Roman Empire.
FINALLY:
It is necessary -- due to time and space -- to conclude today's letter
without completing the journey leading up to our founding fathers and
the amazing form of government you and I enjoy today. We'll have to
complete it in my next letter.
In the meantime, consider two things -- what God told Israel before they
left Mt. Sinai, and what impact God's Word can have on a life as
articulated by the psalmist with a passionate heart for God.
Let's do both by simply letting scripture speak for itself.
+ Deuteronomy 6:1-24 --
1. "Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the
judgments which the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, that
you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it,
2. so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your
God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you,
all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.
3. "O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may
be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD,
the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk
and honey.
4. "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5. You
shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your might.
6. "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your
heart. 7. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk
of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when
you lie down and when you rise up. 8. You shall bind them as a sign on
your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9. You shall
write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
10. "Then it shall come about when the LORD your God brings you into
the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to
give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, 11. and
houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns
which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not
plant, and you eat and are satisfied, 12. then watch yourself, that you
do not forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of
the house of slavery.
13. "You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship
Him and swear by His name. 14. You shall not follow other gods, any of
the gods of the peoples who surround you, 15. for the LORD your God in
the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the LORD your
God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of
the earth.
16. "You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested
Him at Massah. 17. You should diligently keep the commandments of the
LORD your God, and His testimonies and His statutes which He has
commanded you.
18 "You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD,
that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good
land which the LORD swore to give your fathers, 19. by driving out all
your enemies from before you, as the LORD has spoken.
20 "When your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What do the
testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which the LORD our
God commanded you?' 21. then you shall say to your son, 'We were slaves
to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the LORD brought us from Egypt with a mighty
hand. 22. Moreover, the LORD showed great and distressing signs and
wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household;
23. He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the
land which He had sworn to our fathers.'
24 "So the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear
the LORD our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is
today."
+ Psalm 119:1-7 --
"1. How blessed are those whose way is blameless, Who walk in the
law of the LORD. 2. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
Who seek Him with all their heart. 3. They also do no unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways. 4. You have ordained Your precepts, That we
should keep them diligently.
"5. Oh that my ways may be established To keep Your statutes! 6.
Then I shall not be ashamed When I look upon all Your commandments. 7. I
shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart, When I learn Your
righteous judgments. 8. I shall keep Your statutes; Do not forsake me
utterly!
"9. How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according
to Your word. 10. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me
wander from Your commandments. 11. Your word I have treasured in my
heart, That I may not sin against You.
"12. Blessed are You, O LORD; Teach me Your statutes. 13. With my
lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth. 14. I have
rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.
"15. I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways. 16. I
shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word.
"17. Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep
Your word. 18. Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from
Your law."
In my next letter, I will continue looking at how miraculous it
was that our founding fathers chose to found our nation on the
Judeo-Christian principles of the Bible instead of the many other law
codes built entirely on the values and power-mongering of pagan and/or
polytheistic models that tragically flowed from that second off limits
tree in the Garden.
When man chose to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he opened the floodgates of Satan's "Pandora's Box".
The human race has never been the same.
In Christ's Bond, By His Grace, and for His Kingdom,
Bob Tolliver -- Romans 1:11
"Now these were more
noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received
the word with great eagerness,
examining the Scriptures daily to see
whether these things were so." -- Dr. Luke
(Acts 17:11)
"A fire kept burning on the
hearthstone of my heart, and I took up the burden of the
day with fresh courage and hope." --
Charles F. McKoy
Life Unlimited Ministries
LUMglobal
Copyright July, 2022
"If Jesus had preached the same
message that many ministers preach today, He would never
have been crucified." -- Leonard Ravenhill
"The time will come when
instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the Church will
have clowns entertaining the goats." --
Charles H. Spurgeon
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