Learning How to do the Wrong Things Better

Inasmuch as recent polls indicate approximately 75% of Americans believe in the Bible, it is interesting to note the emphasis, or lack thereof, given to basic Biblical teachings such as the Ten Commandments. As previously noted just three of the ten are considered in our judicial system.

One of the least esteemed commandments is number 10, i.e.:

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife…nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” Exodus 20:17

There are at least six basic Hebrew words that are translated ‘covet’ in the Old Testament. Their English equivalents include desire, wish, crave, long for, lust, gain, greedy, get unrighteous gain, etc.

The precept of coveting is found in the early chapters of Genesis in the Garden of Eden.

“The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” Genesis 2:8-9

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.’” Genesis 2:16-17

Satan, however, tempted Eve to partake of that which was forbidden convincing her she deserved the perceived benefits it would provide.

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” Genesis 3:6

Eve longed for, i.e. lusted for that which God had not given to her. She acted outside of God’s will and instructions. The consequence of her actions, along with her husbands, brought on the universal curse to the earth and all mankind. We anxiously await the removal of that original curse which was caused by actions that began with ‘coveting.’

Solomon, in his Proverbs, addressed the consequences of coveting:

“…So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; it takes away the life of its owners.” Proverbs 1:19

“He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house…” Proverbs 15:27

Other Old Testament references:

“Woe to those who devise iniquity…they covet fields and take them by violence, also houses, and seize them…Therefore thus says the LORD; ‘Behold, against this family I am devising disaster…’” Micah 2:1-3

“And Achan answered Joshua and said, ‘Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done. When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighting fifty skekels, I coveted them and took them…So all Israel stoned him with stones…” Joshua 7:20-25

Now the New Testament has at least seven Greek words translated ‘covet.’ English equivalents include: to have more, lover of money, desire, jealous, envy, and greed. It is summarized as ‘longing for what has not been given.’

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness…” I Timothy 6:6-10

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have.” Hebrews 13:5

For example consider several meanings of the ‘American Dream.’ One common definition includes the current generation should be better off than the previous one. Another popular definition borrows from the Declaration of Independence.

“We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Several thoughts come to mind. Firstly I have yet to find those inalienable rights described as endowed by God in the Bible. They sound more like the rights promised to the citizenry of a well meaning democratic government. Secondly, our national government has taken it upon itself to add to the list of rights of citizens. If these additional rights are above the ability of the individual to obtain then someone else must bear their cost. Such rights are commonly termed entitlements which are funded via the redistribution of wealth which has no scriptural basis.

Next consider the objective of marketers of products and services. Their primary goal is to create a desire within the individual to obtain something not already owned. In other words the goal is to raise one’s level of contentment and redefine ‘the pursuit of happiness.’ The contemporary secular definition of success and happiness is many times measured by the level of asset ownership.

Now the curse pronounced in Eden cannot be removed until its root cause has been removed. And remember the curse was pronounced because man disobeyed God and pursued something that was deemed desirable but not a right to possess. Therefore, the major question is whether our priorities are in line with the Bible or are we as individuals and a nation becoming adept at doing the wrong things better?

"...The Best Judges Reject the 'Myth' of Impartiality."

The title words were penned by the former Boston Globe columnist Ellen Goodman. Such thinking reflects contemporary progressivism.

One of the most significant privileges of the President is to appoint high level judges including Supreme Court justices. It’s a sad commentary that most presidents will nominate judges who share ideologies similar to their own. George W. Bush during his presidency appointed John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the highest court. Then Senator Obama was displeased with Bush’s choices saying they lacked the “quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people’s hopes and struggles.” In other words, President Bush’s nominees wouldn’t ‘feel the pain’ of common people.

The Bible has much to say about the qualifications of a judge and the manner in which judgment should be exercised.

When the Jews were preparing to enter the Promised Land, Moses addressed them regarding judging and administering the law. Because the Jews were so large in number Moses couldn’t possibly hear every case himself. Therefore, judges were to be appointed to administer the law that God had set forth.

“‘The LORD your God has multiplied you…How can I alone bear your problems and your burdens and your complaints? Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you…’ Then I commanded your judges…saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously…You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man’s presence, for the judgment is God’s.’” Deuteronomy 1:9-17

Key points in this scripture include there is to be no partiality in the judicial system, everyone should be considered equally, and judgment should be done strictly in accordance with the established law.

“For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality…” Deuteronomy 10:17

“You shall appoint judges…and they shall judge the people with just judgment. You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality…” Deuteronomy 16:18-19

“And the LORD spoke to Moses… ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial…In righteousness you shall judge…’” Leviticus 19:15

When Jehoshaphat became king of Judah he set judges throughout the land.

“Now therefore, let the fear of the LORD be upon you… for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, no partiality…” II Chronicles 19:7

King Solomon echoed these thoughts in his proverbs.

“These things also belong to the wise: It is not good to show partiality in judgment.” Proverbs 24:23

“It is not good to show partiality to the wicked, or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.” Proverbs 18:5

“To show partiality is not good, because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.” Proverbs 28:21

The common denominator in all the above scripture passages is there should be no partiality shown in judging. In the Old Testament the meanings for partiality include forming an opinion or drawing a conclusion based on outward appearance. Any preconceived opinion that either favors or rejects a person or an issue is expressly prohibited. Judging should not regard who a person is and there should be no favoritism shown or preference given. The Hebrew word for partiality in these passages literally means a judge should not ‘recognize faces’ in judging.

This premise is confirmed in the New Testament.

“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” John 7:24

“For there is no partiality with God.” Romans 2:11

“But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.” Colossians 3:25

“I charge you before God…that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.” I Timothy 5:21

“My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ…with partiality…but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” James 2:1, 9

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure…without partiality and without hypocrisy. James 3:17

“And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear…” I Peter 1:17

The Greek meaning for partiality is similar to the Hebrew, i.e. to form a preference for or against a person or an issue by appearance.

So while President Bush nominated judges that issued opinions that leaned to the conservative right when judging, such appointments were chastised by the then liberal Senator Obama.

Now President Obama has issued his own criteria for Supreme Court justices.

“We need somebody who’s got the heart – the empathy – to recognize what it’s like to be a teenage mom. The empathy to understand what it’s like to be poor or African American or gay or disabled or old – and that’s the criteria by which I’ll be selecting my judges.”

Such criteria clearly violate the scriptural principle of impartiality in judging.

To attempt to ‘balance’ the Supreme Court with as many liberal leaning justices as there are conservative leaning justices defeats the entire concept of impartiality. This is another case where man thinks he has a better idea for administering justice and interpreting the law than God.

“Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.” Isaiah 5:21

“How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked? Arise, O God, judge the earth; for You shall inherit all nations.” Psalms 82:2, 8

Jerusalem, Jerusalem...

While there are numerous domestic issues that have captured our attention in recent days, there are also many foreign policy issues that should cause us great concern. There is none more important than the Jerusalem question. It is one thing for the Palestinian Authority to make ludicrous demands on Israel regarding Jerusalem, however, when our own administration makes demands on Israel relative to Jerusalem, we better take note. The current issue relates to the Israelis continuing to build housing units in East Jerusalem. The Palestinians hope to have their capital in East Jerusalem some day.

Many question why the president of the United States would bow down to Saudi King Abdullah while showing disdain for Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu. It is little wonder that president Obama’s approval rating with the Israelis fell to a record low of 4%.

There is an anti-Israel coalition at work that wants to compel Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians that would include among other things, giving up parts or all of Jerusalem. Presently the international community doesn’t recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Jerusalem is such a sensitive issue that Security Council resolutions prevent Jerusalem from being Israel’s capital. The recognized capital of Israel is presently Tel Aviv. Furthermore, the United Nations considers that Israel is illegally occupying parts of Jerusalem.

Can the future of Jerusalem be negotiated among gentile nations or has Jerusalem’s history already been written? The Bible is very clear on this issue. God gave the Israelites specific instructions about His expectations when they entered the land He was giving them to possess.

“These are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods…And you shall destroy their altars…and burn their wooden images with fire…You shall not worship the LORD your God with such things. But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place, and there you shall go.” Deuteronomy 12:1-5

The latter part of this passage states that God would choose a location within the Promised Land to establish His earthly dwelling place. He would subsequently disclose where this place would be.

One of the psalmists writing during the time of King David recorded where God’s chosen dwelling place was located.

“For the LORD has chosen Zion (Jerusalem); He has desired it for His dwelling place: ‘This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.’” Psalm 132:13-14

God then confirmed His choice to David’s son Solomon.

“And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD (in Jerusalem) and the king’s house…the LORD appeared to Solomon…and said to him… ‘I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.’” I Kings 9:1-3

God subsequently confirmed the significance of Jerusalem to His prophets Ezekiel and Joel.

“And He said to me, (Ezekiel) ‘Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever.’” Ezekiel 43:7

The prophet Joel prophesied about God’s earthly dwelling place relative to the return of Christ.

“The LORD also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake…so you shall know that I am the LORD your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again.” Joel 3:16-17

It is difficult to fathom that those who profess Christianity do not take seriously the contents of the Bible when an issue such as Jerusalem is so blatantly clear. One would think that inasmuch as Israel is still the Apple of God’s eye and the future of Israel’s real capital Jerusalem is so clearly spelled out the United States would be doing everything in her power to befriend Israel and protect her wellbeing. Cozying up to Israel’s enemies is not a viable strategy. For example, Russia is perhaps Iran’s biggest enabler and yet we are entering arms treaties with them while Iran’s goal for Israel remains the same, total destruction. We are focusing on the wrong things, according to the Bible. It is as if our nation’s leaders are trying to convince us they have a better plan. Some of our foreign policy priorities are totally contradictory to scripture. Disregarding Biblical truths will have perilous results.

Pursuing anti-scriptural teachings by our nation’s leaders is one thing but trying to convince the citizenry that they have extra-Biblical wisdom is quite another. Such tactics are also addressed in the Bible.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ...Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Matthew 23:27-28

“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.” Luke 11:52

And once again this is foolishness to those who do not place confidence in the Bible. Fortunately our nation’s freedoms allow, and in fact welcome, dissenting opinions, at least for the time being.

Comments welcome at http://bibleandcurrentevents.blogspot.com

Big Brother: Help or Hindrance

Last Sunday Christians celebrated the resurrection of Christ. The Bible states that He was resurrected to sit at the right hand of God to make intercession for us during the present dispensation of the Church.

“…If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all…It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us…” Romans 8:31-34

“Therefore He (Jesus) is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25

“For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands…but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us…” Hebrews 9:24

Since, according to Scripture, Christ died to pay the sin debt for all mankind and was resurrected to sit at the right hand of God to intercede for those He died for, it is clear God has a personal interest in each individual. It is equally clear God has intimate knowledge of each Christian and has a personal plan for each as stated in the Psalms.

“LORD, You have searched me and known me…You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path…and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me…Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? …Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” Psalm 139:1-5, 7, 16

The above words of King David confirm that God knows a person better than they know themselves. Furthermore, God’s interest in each individual and His plan for each began prior to their birth and their days were fashioned before they began.

With this Biblical wisdom, what are the ramifications of government intervention in an individual’s life? Should government try to help God by becoming involved in an individual’s personal life? For example, the drafters of the recently passed health care legislation believe universal health care is an individual’s ‘right.’ The legislation mandates that every individual must either buy, or be given, health insurance. But does God need such help?

“Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him…The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing… Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD…The LORD looks from heaven…From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually, He considers all their works.” Psalm 33:8-15

King David in the above Psalm revealed God is not only sovereign over the nations but the nations that depend on His wisdom will be blessed. The counsel of the nations that are void of God’s wisdom is considered worthless. The psalmist then reveals God’s sovereignty and care extends to each individual person’s life.

Jesus Himself confirmed that premise.

“And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.” Luke 12:29-31

This passage states it is a common thing for governments to attempt to provide benefits for its citizens that God is fully capable of providing. To make every citizen equal is a concept found nowhere in the Bible. If God’s plan for mankind was to make everyone equal then He would have created all people with the same DNA.

In the case of the new health care legislation taxes will be assessed on the wealthy to help subsidize those who may not be able to afford such health insurance. The Bible addresses the issue of personal wealth and the ability of God to handle every man’s situation.

“Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness. I traverse the way of righteousness... that I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.” Proverbs 8:18-21

“As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor – this is the gift of God.” Ecclesiastes 5:19

If then, God distributes wealth, should ‘Big Brother’ assume the authority to redistribute it? The Bible indicates that God doesn’t need help in that or any other area.

It appears that ‘Big Brother’ should have considered another Biblical passage before making such grandiose promises.

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it – lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’” Luke 14:28-30

According to the Bible ‘Big Brother’ should step aside and let God be God. The Bible clearly explains that God doesn’t need help from the government to take care of His people and in fact government should refrain from usurping authority not granted to it.

However, as far as ‘Big Brother’ getting involved in individual lives, the Bible sadly reveals that we ‘ain’t seen nuttin yet.’