Opus 2026-244: Another Case Ignored

I know a fair number of believers who like to ignore the if/then portions of scripture.  It would make sense to assume that the word “forever” means forever.  Generally that would be true but how often have you used a word like that and known that it probably is not literally true.  How many young lovers have promised to love someone “forever”?  Have you seen the acronym “BFF”?  You can always hope but probability not.

We run into this in scripture when people talk about the “forever” promises made by God to David, Solomon and Israel in general.  The thesis is that God will never turn His back on His chosen people.

What do you do with this?

2 Kings 23:27 (KJV) And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.

What fascinates me is the people who claim to want to take scripture literally but they only do it when it meets their system.  God is going to do with Judah, the southern kingdom, what He did with Israel, the northern kingdom.  In case you were not paying attention, at this point in scripture they have been relegated to the dust bins of history for a couple of hundred years.  Even today we still wonder about the Lost Tribes.  He is also promising to do away with Jerusalem.

It is necessary for us to allow figures of speech to be figures of speech.  Take for instance this statement,

1 Chronicles 14:17 (KJV) And the fame of David went out into all lands; and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations.

I have no confusion myself what this means.  I also know what it does not mean.  I don’t think that the Olmec got the message.  I doubt if China read the memo.  Obviously it is a figure of speech.  Go to the NT.

Luke 2:1 (KJV) And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

Again, I don’t think that the Bantus of Africa got the word.  We all understand that this means all of the Roman Empire, not what it says.

Think of all the cultural statements we make.  Ancient cultures were no different.  Have you noticed how often the number 40 comes up?  Does it mean a literal 40 or is it a similar statement that I might make at the doctor’s office, “I have been waiting forever.”  If we lived in ancient Israel we might say, “I have been waiting 40 days.”

Always read with your mind turned on. It sometimes also helps to listen to others.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-181: The Man, the King

Recently I heard a Bible lesson in which the speaker related how Saul was a bad king and David was a good king.  Relatively speaking that is true but he added that David was the best of the kings of Isreal.  You may have heard that other places.  It is a common teaching but I am not sure it is accurate.

Consider this statement about Josiah,

2 Kings 23:25 (KJV) And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.

It seems to me that this is praise for Josiah as king that places him above David if you were making a ratings list.  Notice it speaks of him as king.

We often hear this quote about David,

Acts 13:22 (KJV) And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

Here Paul is quoting Samuel,

1 Samuel 13:14 (KJV) But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him [to be] captain over his people, because thou hast not kept [that] which the LORD commanded thee.

The point I would make from this is that God is speaking of David the young man.  This is the David of Goliath fame.  This is the David that refused to kill Saul in the cave.  This is the young, idealistic man before Bathsheba and Uriah, before Tamar, before Absolom.  It is not praise for him as king but for his heart as a man.

David was a man after God’s own heart.  That does not mean he was a king after God’s own heart.  This may not be a great theological point but it is a point.  I might point out that Josiah’s sons did not turn out any better than David’s, and don’t get me started on Solomon.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-289: Plow and Crown: The Pendulum Swings

My fear is that the republic established in 1787 is coming to a close.  It isn’t that it was not a great dream.  It isn’t that it was not successful for a time.  Remember the words attributed to Benjamin Franklin, “A Republic, if you can keep it.”  In the conflict between the ruling classes of the crown and the masses behind the plow it was a big step forward for the masses  The masses seem to be making a statement two hundred years later:  They are not willing to keep it.

Recently we had the failure of the recall in The People’s Republik of Kalifornia.  I will concede that the vote was rigged.  That is the only way you could have so lopsided a count, or is it?  Could it be that the masses of residents in the Republik are actually on board with the largess of socialism?  Could it be that they have made a choice to reject responsibility for their own lives, believing that the almighty state will meet their every need from the resources of someone else?

I am afraid of the answer.  I am afraid that the virus of virtual income will take hold in the rest of the country.  Keep in mind that this is the state that brings you Nancy Pelosi.  She comes from the district that, as the meme says, will allow you to defecate on the sidewalk but arrest you if you are not wearing a mask while you do so.  It is her district that allows the proletariat to liberate up to $950 worth of merchandise from a bourgeois store shelf and refuse to call it crime.  Keep in mind this is the state that elected Kamala Harris as a senator.  Do you have any more questions?

Look at the great tyrants of history.  Adolph was elected.  Genghis Khan was elected, sort of.  FDR was elected four times.  There are always voters or spear carriers behind every successful despot, that and government checks.  If there aren’t then they are not successful for long.  I just finished reading II Kings in the Bible.  It is amazing how many kings of Judah and Israel only reigned for a few months.  

(2Ki 23:31 KJV)  Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

It seems that their servants would do them in if they were not happy.  It didn’t take an army just an angry nanny and the butler.

The big change is not that we have more people lusting for power.  The change is that the peasants in the pews are now willing to support their lust because they think they will get a cut.  They actually believe that the electric cars, and now electric lawnmowers, will somehow draw their charges from unicorn farts and giant windmills.  They all want to be on the side of the one who passes out the spoils.  They don’t think about what happens when the elites run out of other people’s money; and food, and TV’s, and gasoline,....

Stay tuned, it will be a wild ride.

homo unius libri