When President Obama spoke at the prayer vigil
at Newtown, Connecticut on December 16, 2012 he began by
referring to Scripture. His words were
meant to provide comfort to survivors by pointing out the transitory nature of
earthly life and the eternal nature of heaven for those whose lives were taken. The following was taken directly from the
transcript of his address.
“Do not
lose heart. Though outwardly we are
wasting away…inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are
achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but
on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is
eternal. For we know that if the earthly
tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in
heaven, not built by human hands.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:1
To address the calamity in Newtown, it would be well
to follow the example of the president and refer to the Bible for
understanding. Much can be learned about
God’s standard of righteousness and justice and His dealing with His people
from both the Old and New Testaments. There
are those who believe the Old Testament is now irrelevant; however, the New
Testament definitely affirms the Old Testaments’ relevance in the present age.
“For
whatever things were written before were written for our learning…” Romans 15:4a
When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth he described the
major events that happened to the Jews during the forty year period beginning immediately
after the Exodus to just before entering the Promised Land. As Paul recounted those events he stated:
“Now these
things became our examples…Now all these things happened to them (Israelites) as
examples, and they were written for our (present age) admonition (instruction),
upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians
10:6a, 11-12
In other words, the standard for God’s
righteousness and justice is the same today as it was for Israel 3,500
years ago.
Just before entering the Promised Land of Canaan,
Moses gave the Israelites very explicit instructions on how to obtain blessings
by choosing obedience rather than curses for choosing disobedience.
“Now it
shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to
observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD
your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.” Deuteronomy
28:1
“But it
shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to
observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you
today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you…” Deuteronomy
28:15
During the lengthy discourse describing
the curses for disobedience, reference was made to the future besiege of Jerusalem which would
begin approximately 800 years later.
“The LORD
will bring a nation against you from afar…They will besiege you at all your
gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down
throughout all your land…” Deuteronomy 28:49a, 52
Notice the significant wording, ‘The LORD
will bring’. In other words, the LORD would
be more proactive in the impending disaster than simply allowing it to happen. Notice further the reference to ‘your high
and fortified walls, in which you trust’.
The people, having strayed from God’s instructions, placed their trust
in what they themselves devised and built instead of trusting God for their protection.
The attack and besiege would be so
terrible that both fathers and mothers would resort to cannibalism. The victims would be their innocent children.
“You shall
eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom
the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which
your enemy shall distress you. The
sensitive and very refined man among you will be hostile toward his brother,
towards the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he
leaves behind, so that he will not give any of them the flesh of his children
whom he will eat…” Deuteronomy 28:53-55a
Such desperate behavior as cannibalism is described
in four books of the Old Testament. Note
the most unlikely type of man, i.e. ‘the sensitive and very refined man’ would
resort to such a horrible practice. The
participation of the wife and mother in such a practice is then described in verses
56-57 which is even more graphic.
There didn’t seem to be a clear cut direct
cause and effect relationship between the curse and the offense resulting in
confusion as to why innocent children would suffer so hideously.
The seriousness of disobedience is then
described further.
“If you do
not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book…
then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary
plagues…also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book
of the Law, will the LORD bring upon you until you are destroyed.” Deuteronomy
28:58-61
Notice again the words, ‘observe all the
words of this law’ and ‘the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants’. The LORD would also bring on Jerusalem ‘every sickness and every plague’
that men had not imagined i.e. ‘which is not written in this Book of the Law’.
History subsequently recounted the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian king
and the deportation of the Jews to Babylon
for seventy years.
Near the end of the seventy year captivity
the prophet Daniel sought understanding of Israel’s profound suffering.
Then Daniel fell on his knees before God
and confessed the sin of Israel.
“And I
prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, ‘O Lord, great and
awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with
those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have
done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your
judgments…O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face….” Daniel 9:4-7a
Daniel confessed that the sin of Israel was they
had rebelled and departed from God’s precepts and judgments. He acknowledged that God was righteous while Israel was to
be put to shame for their behavior. The
Hebrew base for ‘righteous’ is the same as the base for ‘just’, i.e. that which
is right and just according to God’s absolute standard.
“…Yes, all
Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your
voice, therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses…have been
poured out on us…” Daniel 9:11
Then Daniel acknowledged the curse that had
befallen Israel
was exactly as had been announced previously by Moses centuries earlier.
“And
He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us… by bringing upon us a
great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has
been done to Jerusalem.” Daniel 9:12
Daniel acknowledged several significant
issues, i.e. God confirmed His warnings relative to the curse that would follow
disobedience; God brought on the disaster; and the disaster was of a magnitude never
before experienced.
Daniel continued praying:
“As
it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we
have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our
iniquities and understand Your truth.”
Daniel 9:13
Daniel realized that Israel had not
previously acknowledged nor confessed their sin which would open the door for
them to turn from disobedience and pursue the truth.
Then Daniel asked God to forgive and
restore His people.
“O
Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury
be turned away from Your city Jerusalem…O
my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations…for
we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds,
but because of Your great mercies. O
Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive...” Daniel
9:16-19a
Daniel asked God to forgive all Israel
for their sin of departing from God’s word.
Daniel acknowledged that forgiveness would be based on God’s mercy and
not on Israel’s
‘righteous deeds’.
Was Daniel’s prayer received and
acknowledged?
“Now while
I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel,
and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God…yes, while I was speaking
in prayer, the man Gabriel…being caused to fly swiftly... And he informed me…
and said, ‘O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand…for
you are greatly beloved…’” Daniel 9:20-23
Then Gabriel explained to Daniel exactly
what would happen to Israel
in great detail from that time forward because Daniel sought wisdom and was
loved by God.
The foregoing should aid in not only understanding
the disaster in Newtown, Connecticut but should also shed light on
the disaster of 9-11-2001.
There are many suggestions being offered relative
to the Newtown tragedy
aimed at preventing a repeat of such a great disaster. Three proposed remedies include legislating new
and stricter gun control laws; recognizing behavior in an individual which
might be construed as potentially dangerous; and addressing the new
culture/environment which is seen as conducive to violence.
Such myopic ‘solutions’ can be likened to Jerusalem’s ‘high and
fortified walls, in which you trust’.
Then, as well as now, people relied on their own perceived defenses for
any possible attack instead of simply trusting and honoring God by obeying His
instructions.
One contemporary writer drew attention to
the inconsistency of America’s
societal rationale by stating: “The tragedy of the events at Newtown is that twenty of their precious
innocent children were taken without their mother’s consent while millions of
innocent children are taken under the protection of Roe vs. Wade with the
mother’s consent.”
Recall this article began by proving via
Scripture that God will deal with His people in the current age in the same
manner as He dealt with Israel
in centuries past. That doesn’t mean
that people will necessarily resort to cannibalism, but it does mean that
continued disobedience to God’s laws and precepts will result in unspeakable
disasters.
Is there anyone in leadership in this
great nation who like Daniel would publicly acknowledge and confess America’s sin
of disobedience to God’s word and pray for forgiveness and restoration? Or does anyone in leadership even recognize
how far we have strayed as a nation from God’s word? And in sad reality, is there any leader in
the ‘church’ that has the boldness to stand up and proclaim the truth?
Sadly,
it appears that political correctness i.e. the desire to please men instead of
God, has taken its toll and silence will be the rule of the day.
This great nation provides the freedom to
accept or reject Biblical teachings even while considering the Bible’s proven
historical record of prophetic accuracy and warnings of the future.
Does America really know her righteous
and just God? Or has America’s ‘new norm’ replaced
confidence and trust in the very source of her blessings.
Will America choose life, or…
