As we continue to Count the Omer, today we reach Day #45. In the "Sodom Countdown" conversation between Yahweh and Abraham, we see this counting begin when Abraham asks God if only five are missing from his original 50 request, would God still destroy Sodom if there were
45 righteous people left?
Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt Thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And He said, If I find there
forty and five, I will not destroy it.
~ Genesis 18:28
We know the rest of the story. Abraham continued counting down until he reached 10. I've always wondered what would have happened had he went down to just ONE righteous person in Sodom. At no point, did God say: "Hey Abraham...knock it off already. How many times are you going to annoy Me with this same question?" I'm sure there is a deep spiritual meaning as to why Abraham stopped at 10. One can't help but wonder how long we should keep pressing in asking for more of God's Mercy on our nations. Maybe at some point, more Mercy becomes counter-productive and leads to an even worse destruction if evil is simply left to run rampant without Judgment. Only God knows this answer.
In any case, the number
45 has become associated in scripture with PRESERVATION. Genesis Chapter
45 is about God's plan to PRESERVE the Jewish people through Joseph's trials, tribulations and temporary reign in Egypt:
And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ~ Genesis
45:7
The earthly symbolic opposite of "preservation" can be seen by the destruction caused in weather-related disasters. Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Cyclones and Floods get a lot of media attention these days, as does the false science narrative of "global warming." While unsettling photos of roofs torn off and debris strewn streets can be very dramatic, there is actually a natural phenomenon that destroys a vastly greater amount of homes each year. This has been described as the "single greatest economic pest" of the entire world! Wow...What force of nature could possibly do more structural damage than violent storms, winds, flooding and wildfires combined, you may ask? The answer is: TERMITES.
Termites are nice and quiet while they chomp down your house. You can barely notice them. They don't seem to be bothering anyone at first. However, if left unchecked, your home's very foundation will crumble into a worthless heap of rubble. They need to be aggressively confronted and resisted by constant treatment, awareness and vigilance.
In a societal analogy, Islamist Terrorists are as easy to spot as violent weather. They crash planes, deploy suicide bombers, slit throats and shout "Allahu Akbar" while attacking anyone in sight. They are readily identifiable as destroyers of society. Human Secularists, on the other hand, can probably be described as "nice and quiet guys." According to their philosophies, they want everyone to just be happy and do their own thing. They believe man's reasoning reigns supreme. They bring us pleasant sounding terms like "fair share," "wealth equality," "choices," "public option," and "civil discourse." All of these ideologies sound so reasonable. In fact, so NICE!
However, it doesn't take long for these policies to slowly eat away at our foundations with more ominous sounding follow-up words such as: "mandate," "penalty," "requirement," "control," "compliance" and "enforcement." Apparently, if they want everyone to "play nice," the government will have to impose it. History shows us that when we hand over our freedoms to a nanny or police state, we will soon find ourselves in tyrannical bondage. Then, when the violent societal winds of anarchy start to blow, we will fold like a termite-ridden house of cards. The Bible has something to say about "niceness" as well:
For even your brothers and the household of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you, even they have cried aloud after you. Do not believe them, although they may say nice things to you. ~Jeremiah 12:6
This scripture is a warning to believers about those who are claiming kinship. Too many of today's churches are overly concerned with nice-sounding sermons about social justice. Instead, they are insidiously dealing treacherously with God's people. Their focus is mainly for their own popularity and profit. Like termites, they thrive in sandy soil...Soil that is no longer on a firm Rock-solid foundation. They are the proverbial house built on sand described in the Bible. Likewise, they will fall with a great crash (Matthew 7:27).
Jesus/Yeshua has been depicted in many ways throughout the last two thousand years. However, "nice" would never be an accurate description of Him. Jesus didn't mince words. He told one of his best friends "Get thee behind me Satan." Can you imagine how well that would be received at your next family dinner party? As for government officials, he showed disdain...calling Herod a "fox" and telling Pilate he had no power over Him that God didn't ordain.
Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."
~John 19:11
This verse reminds us that the religious leaders and apathetic Christians are guilty of the greater sin for the failures of our society than the politicians. Yeshua reserved his most scathing pronouncements for religious phonies calling them VIPERS and SNAKES.
You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? ~ Matthew 23:33
To those that used the Temple of God as a personal profit-making venture, He flipped tables with more passion than The Real Housewives of New Jersey. He aggressively confronted evil and sin! He didn't restrain Himself with the concern that perhaps someone may get offended. In fact, He said: If your hand offends you CUT IT OFF. If your eye offends you GOUGE IT OUT! (Matthew 18:8-9). In Strong's concordance, one of the shaded meanings of the Greek word "offend" here means "to make indignant," "to cause displeasure." The Greek word is "skandalizo" the root from which we get the word scandalous. Jesus SCANDALIZED society with His words and actions. He knew that going on the offensive against evil was the catalyst in the chain reaction ultimately resulting in REPENTANCE.
One might say that shame, therefore, acts as a "preserving agent."
When we read literary classics, we can see how far Western Civilization has fallen from its original founding ideals. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 17th century life in Puritan Boston was characterized by a distinct set of societal rules. Adultery was (and should still be) shameful. While I'm not suggesting we go back to sewing a Scarlett Letter on adulterers, perhaps the days of public humiliation in the public square was the inhibition factor required to curb detrimental societal behavior with good old-fashioned shame.
We should be ashamed of how we have promoted ungodly behavior resulting in the decimation of today's family structures. Studies indicate that broken family structures are the driving force behind poverty, lawlessness and most of our societal problems. A child born and raised in a traditional, Biblically-based family structure, with a married mother and father, simply and clearly has the best odds of succeeding in life.
When will we recognize our shameful condition? Adam and Eve hid from God in the garden when they became aware of their nakedness. They recognized how far they had fallen from communion with God and were ashamed of their nakedness. They covered themselves in fig leaves. In scripture, fig trees are representative of churches. They should be producing spiritual figs or "fruit" to feed their hungry flocks.
Interestingly, Jesus cursed the fig tree on his way to Jerusalem as a "shadow-picture" for the Apostate Church. It was early in the year in Jerusalem for figs to be sprouting at that time, but Jesus cursed the tree anyway. Why? Like the First Century religious leaders, so it shall be with much of the heretical churches worldwide in the final days. For goodness sakes, by now they should be bearing all sorts of fruit! Instead, our religious organizations seem to have worldwide systemic failure.
If our churches do not begin fulfilling spiritual hunger soon, they will be cursed when Jesus makes His second appearance. There needs to be recognition of our shame and then a massive move towards REPENTANCE. More maturation time will not make any difference for those who have knowingly chosen apostasy over Truth. In fact, they will be the first to experience God's refining wrath.
For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God.
~ 1 Peter 4:17(a)
The Bible has this to say about shame:
Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; they did not even know how to blush. ~ Jeremiah 6:15
The only people who should have no shame are those who have, repented (turned away from sin), confessed and accepted Christ's covering...Those who do not continue to walk carnally.
There is therefore now no condemnation (SHAME) to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. ~ Romans 8:1
Without the Holy Spirit's purpose, which is to bring healing after the conviction of sin, everyone else should rightly feel disgusted with their wickedness!
Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
~ 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 (NKJV)
Niceness may prevent us temporarily from being publicly crucified. However, like Jesus, if we want to save the peace and security of our family and nations...
Nice won't suffice.
Prayer:
