Two people can agree ...and if the two are parents, then that may seem to go smoothly. Several individuals can agree ...communities can agree, and combined communities in agreement can bring a majority consensus within a nation. But, none of that will have lasting value if not agreeing to acknowledge God as the center.
I finished reading the book, entitled, The Harbinger. I've also enjoyed listening to Jonathan Cahn, as he spoke at the Presidential Inaugural Prayer Breakfast. I was very interested in what he said. Will I agree with everything he says ...does anyone agree with everything another says?
In considering this, we must also consider what is most key, and what is most important to us. I am in agreement that our nation is going astray, and I agree that we need to fix that. Our relationship with God is key, and if that is not the most important thing to you ...then I repeat what my parents often said to me, "You don't know what's good for you!"
I am not going to quote out of Jonathan Cahn's book, as I could quote so many things he said ...and I feel you should read the book, not hear it from me. I will say, that just reading Pages 226-235, of his 253 page book ---what's written there, I've somewhat heard it before, and I've even tried to communicate it myself ---but never before have I heard it more beautifully, within just those ten pages. But, I am not going to address those pages ---they are there for anyone to read. The book also mentions Solomon, in a dream ...and references his leadership role. I am going to take it to something I did not see mentioned in the book. If I attended his church, perhaps I would have heard it in a sermon, but I only attend a local church. I have never been to the East coast. But, I will travel east ...and back to Solomon's time.
We hear of God's view concerning the rule of Solomon's dad, King David. In the third Chapter of the First Book of Kings, God communicated to Solomon, "...and if you will walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David did walk, then I will lengthen your days."
This is part of Solomon's word to the king of Tyre, from the Second Book of the Chronicles: "But who is able to build Him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before Him? Send me now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver ...send me also cedar trees out of Lebanon ..." Traveling back and forth between the Books of First Kings and Second Chronicles, tell me if I'm wrong, but it appears that the house Solomon built for himself was 4 times as large as the temple, the temple taking seven years to build and his own house thirteen years. In process, the Lord said, "Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes, and execute My judgments, and keep all My commandments to walk in them; then will I perform My word with you, which I spoke unto David your father."
Each of us, each and every day, have to execute judgments ...concerning our daily lives. Back to King David, he had the children of Israel ...the individual tribes, or family groups, in charge of the storehouses, the works of the field & tillage of the ground, the vineyards, supervision over the olive trees and sycomore trees in the low plains, over the cellars of oil, over the herds and flocks and camels, the army, the counselors ....you get the picture. It appeared the David had the children of Israel all working together.
I don't know, but it seemed that King Solomon did much to engage those who were not the children of Israel ...not only for work or employment, but also with obtaining extra wives, and engaging in the activities of those wives and from whence they came ...inclusive of their idols. He replaced much of what was established ...exchanging the good for something that was not good at all.
Second Book of Chronicles: "And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the low plains in abundance." I would think there would have been an abundance of work in his own country. But that's just my thoughts.
I don't think it is wise to do business with countries who use child and slave labor ...keeping the wealth for themselves, and not helping the conditions, no advancement for those who do the hard work. I also know this used to be common in our own country. But, if we've improved and moved away from these practices, we should not then make profit from other nations who still thrive on operating under these practices.
I also don't think it wise to operate under practices of promiscuity ...even if a king feels it is common practice. Both making alliances with nations we should not, and having relations with those we should not ....both erode the fabric of a society. Yet, they are symptoms of the real problem. The kingdom was divided after Solomon ...and that was for the very reasons that God warned against. And I believe we should heed the same warnings.
I've heard it be said that all believers form a different sort of holy nation of believers ...who have no geographical boundaries. Yet, believers live in families, the most important of units ...and families live in communities, they attend churches, schools, and parents attend to work. Often we take for granted the safety and security of those communities. But our communities have organized functions run by government ...inclusive of a police force and fire department. Just like I have to make daily decisions throughout my week ...governments have to make decisions also. We mostly take for granted that they will make sound decisions.
Politics becomes a very bitter subject, and we often don't like to discuss it. It often is corrupt and vicious in certain limited locales. But, mostly we trust others to educate our children ...decide what is offered and influence how they think. We depend upon associations and ideologies, which are either defended or challenged. And when things go much awry, who are the ones to try to point everyone back in the proper direction ...if not the group of believers.
It's been said that we can become more heavenly minded than earthly good. Jesus said to witness to the world. The world that his apostles were witnessing to had a long time coming about ...through everyone "doing what was right in their own eyes" as read throughout the Book of Judges. The warning were also stated, but not heeded as in the reign of Solomon. They were told not to let it happen, over and over they were told. We are not to let our society totally fall apart so we can witness to others of our kindnesses. We do not merely continue to try to be nice, and say the ones who aren't so much ...that they will eventually just come around. If things do get bad, we can strive to be proper witnesses, but I think it would be preferable that things not get so bad.
For years the Pro-choice movement has been denying that a fetus is a life, even with ultra-sound showing undeniable graphic detail of how much abortion kills a life. Now, finally, there is admission that the fetus is a life ...but they are saying, what does it matter. The same thing was said concerning the deaths at Benghazi ....stating that at this point, what does it matter. In New York, just recently, a college participated in a game called "Abortion Battles". The students put balloons under their shirts, and stabbed at each other with plastic knives, while chanting, "Kill the baby!! Kill the baby!!" The defense the media gave was that it was 'just a game'.
Our educational institutions, the media, TV, movies, and other forms of entertainment ...all contribute towards the learning and influence of our children. As our government feels they should get involved in eliminating the voice of all those who want to live the way God would have us live ...many of us who believe in God's ways do want to be heard also.
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