#587 Memshalah Rule, Dominion Part 1

Studying the Bible should be an exercise in changing me, not a prescription for argument or debate. It is poor timing if this is what brings us here, the chance to embarrass someone else, to lift up ourselves and it is with blind eyes and deaf ears that we are not ourselves humbled in the journey. I have found that there is nothing off limits to God's word and it will shape and change my mind on so many things, how I live, how I interact with others, how I vote and how I die. I was discussing politics with some of my friends and they asked that I write why I vote the way I vote, or how I see it as a Christian, and I said I would do it after I finished the Chronicles, because the last few books have had much about government. 

So first off, let me be clear, that as a Christian I don't believe God to be a Republican or a Democrat. God is Holy and there is no party that represents that, He is omniscient and we are at best seeking and learning, He is omnipotent and no matter how big a government may get, God is sovereign and infinitely so. Christian responsibility in voting requires that I vote not on where candidates are from, color of skin or party affiliation, but rather on the issues at hand. Reading the Bible and acknowledging God as the author and moral bar for good and decider of what is evil, affects the way I approach and decide on the issues. 

Okay, so let's go back to the time of the fall and start from there, that innocence is no longer a viable option, for it is lost. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. Romans 5:12-14

The reality of sin and death was in the world ever since the fall, and those that would cry unfair because it was in Adam that all die, feeling robbed of that opportunity to stand on their own, well keep in mind it is also in Christ work and death that we may live. Freedom from sin comes also by One, through Christ alone, not by your own works. Adam is the top of all the DNA in this world, the first man, father of all men, and so the degeneration of the line. It is helpful to understand this as we move forward with government, for all were made in them image of God, Adam is the father of all human beings, and even science is catching up to the Bible in this, showing that there is a common ancestor of all who are alive today. When we stand before each other, we are looking at each other, there is no lesser version of human life, we are all made in God's image and all belong to God. This is that truth which men stated early in our Republic that "all men are created equal." 

Now where there was no law, sin existed but was not called sin. Regardless of what we call a thing, we know when someone hits us that it hurts, when people take what we worked for or had in our lodging, it did not make us feel good. It says before the flood that the earth was filled with violence, and God does not here give the law, but shows His holy and just wrath against sin. Violence has long been a means to a wanted end. If I am bigger than you, stronger, sneakier or come with more force and technology then all can be mine. Violence and the fear of violence has been a great decider of who is in power among men since Cain became the first murderer. He got what he wanted, he avenged his ego. 

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Genesis 6:11-13

So before Moses or the law written on tablets, God recognized what was sin and He hated it. Why is that? Why does it matter? Why did He decide certain things to be sin that men did not, for men without God even develop a kind of golden rule, or rules of consent. Men find order better than disorder, but their consciences are also able to be seared, damaged. 

For it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the Law who will be declared righteous. 14Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the Law, do by nature what the Law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the Law, 15since they show that the work of the Law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them.…Romans 2:13-15

When I use to say there was no God, literally hoping against hope that there was no God, I still liked for others to hold such a high moral standard, religiously. We all proclaim "right" or "wrong" and have an ideal of fare. "That's not fare," was one of the first full sentences my children could speak, right after the words "no" and "mine", often followed with a fist or pulled hair, they were monsters straight away. My way of describing these things then was a need for rule of law, and that we were ever developing or "evolving" as a race, you know, it takes a village to raise a child and all that stuff. I held the ideal that those that govern should be "good", whatever that is, and that they should do what's "best" for society, whatever that was. Problems:

Numero uno, whether I wanted to acknowledge the Bible's reason or not, it seemed that all men were flawed and could easily make wrong decisions that would negatively affect others. Their innate ideals of right and wrong could also be flawed or affected by other competing forces towards change, ie greed, power or bad information. 

Next, even if you found someone who was not as prone to ignorance, greed, violence or pride, he may not remain the rule. In a monarchy you could have the meekest king, who was then followed by the most arrogant son. In a socialist country you could have a wonderful fairy tale of an idea that gives way to a corporate tyranny. Unchecked capitalist would sell their mother for a better position in the market. Anarchy has no order and the hope of human goodness in any of these will just allow the bully to reign. You are ever just inches away from collapse, a new generation, an ideal.

Men as the moral high bar, what could go wrong? We sit down and decide what is good for all of us or at least the many. Society decides good and bad, right or wrong.

As listed above, men are all flawed in that they do not know every outcome or have all knowledge.

Human Depravity, all men are capable of doing what the Bible would refer to as evil whether they call it that or not. So where we may decide as a majority that a thing is good or right, those that are opposed are wrong based on being the minority. "Fare" because that's how the majority decided we play the game. 

Cannot be an absolute moral standard if there is no Creator. Rule of law comes down to rule of power, who has the biggest guns, greatest technology. They that are able to control will be able to rule. 

If society or culture decides right or wrong, then are those who differ from us in another society right or wrong? Is the dictator who starves his people right? Is the cartel who buys politicians and kills people for money right? Or is that just right for their society? Nazi society decided it was okay to kill Jews, take what they have and redistribute it to other Germans. Slave owners decided that calling people less than human, sub human or lower on the caste, made for some great free labor, advancing the society of plantation owners, allowing them to become big, rich -and powerful. 

While societies can make progress in a direction that seems to allow for the betterment of more peoples, the same societies can select groups to go against. The same mouth that can speak good for one may also dictate evil for others. We are ever only a generation or less away from change, and it may not work out so well for you or yours next time around. 

God let the whole earth know His stance against sin during the flood, against human pride, delusion and tyranny at Babel. He made a covenant with Abraham, reaching out to him from among all the peoples of the earth, and he spared his relative Lot when He showed His righteous judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah. We still haven't seen the law, but we have seen that God is just and that He has passed judgment on sin. I could see the vanity of men even when I wanted to be an atheist, but this question I had for God, why? Why do you hate sin and call these things sin? Why do you care? This is a harder question, because you can see human depravity, you can see death, disease, the supposed results of sin. You can see men strike, kill, belittle and hate other men. You can see men violate other people's space, break into homes where people just want to be left alone, at peace. You can see men violate the space of women, and we have come to call it rape. You can see men kill babies and we have come to call that a woman's choice,and the last doesn't even bother you, society has spoken, culture has deemed this okay.

For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, "I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite. Isaiah 57: 15

Lord, are you not from everlasting?

My God, my Holy One, you[c] will never die.

You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment;

you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.

13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;

you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.

Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?

Why are you silent while the wicked

swallow up those more righteous than themselves? Habakkuk 1: 12-13

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with  the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.4 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. Exodus 34:29-30

For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.” Isaiah 8: 11-15

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12: 4

Why does God hate sin? It is an issue of His very essence. He is Holy, HOLY, Holy. I won't even pretend to wrap my head around something like that. For if You are the inventor of the finite, the Creator, then that means You exist outside of the finite. If you are infinite and You are Holy then You are infinitely so. Me asking is like darkness asking light, "please come close to me but don't send me away." There are some things that belong to our ignorance, but everything else is arrogance. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. I will stop here and tomorrow continue with the law, breaking down the issues and the reasons.