Bread from the Basket: Your Daily Slice

ADAR 2

Judgment

“What has been is what shall be, what has been done is what shall be done, and there is no new matter under the sun.” (Ecc 1:9)

I have been disturbed for several years by many of the comments I continue to hear concerning the subject of tribulation, persecution, and judgment. Many of the people making these comments, those who profess to have an intimate relationship with our Redeemer, Messiah Yeshua, believe that the United States is, for the most part, exempt from any of the above three mentioned. I am greatly concerned for those who are misled and deceived into believing this sugar-coated fairy tale, for it is NOT the Word of our Elohim.

Elijah the Tishbite was considered one of the greatest prophets of Yahweh, yet he lived under one of the worst kings of Israel. Because of the unbelievable wickedness and evil of the leadership of that country, the entire nation found themselves in the middle of a drought that lasted years – one that afflicted the just AS WELL as the unjust – it was not discriminating. We know from the Scriptures that during this period our Elohim did have a remnant that was true to Him (1Kin 19:18, Rom 11:4), as He will always have in every generation. And just as the rain will always fall on the just as well as the unjust, and the sun will rise on the wicked as well as the righteous (Mat 5:45), we also know that Yahweh does not ever change, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8; Mal 3:6).

In Deuteronomy 28, we find a comprehensive account of the blessings of serving our Creator, and the curse and judgment that will come upon us IF we turn away from Him, and His instructions in righteous and moral living (Torah). Brothers and sisters, Elohim will not be mocked. Yes, He is a God of love and mercy when we turn to Him in sincere teshuvah, in repentance. But when we continue to compromise on what is blatant sin, He will only tolerate it for so long, and then there is judgment.

When Judah was taken into captivity, and carried to Babylon, not all the population taken there were idol worshippers, not all had turned from serving the Elohim that had brought them out of the land of Egypt. The Scriptures tell of us of several that served the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We know of Daniel, and his compatriots, as well as the prophet Ezekiel; yet these people, though innocent, had to suffer the captivity and banishment as well.

America has many sins to atone for. Even though this country was originally founded on the principles of the Torah, on the Word of our Elohim, it has abandoned many of them, and is busy legislating more away. The slaughter of millions of innocent unborn babies – even up to the moments preceding birth - to the god of abortion is something that the Creator of life did not tolerate in ancient Israel; we think He will tolerate this now? Pornography and all its attached sexual perversions, in the form of fornication, adultery, child trafficking, bestiality, etc., how many places in the Scriptures do we have warning after warning against these sins? And very plainly, our Master tells us, “For the Day of Adonai is near for all nations; as you did, it will be done to you; your dealings will come back on your own head” (Oba 1:15) – a clear warning concerning the way in which we have dealt with the nation of Israel.

Perhaps the most sobering message to be found within the Scriptures is the one in Leviticus 18:20-30. So much of what Elohim is speaking of here is exactly what is found within the borders of this nation today and is as commonplace as a cup of coffee. Yes, I will admit that we are not the only nation to involve ourselves in these pursuits; I am, however, focused solely on the United States of America. I am not playing down the promise of change by any new administration; however, the violent and antagonistic attitude that is surfacing in our nation is not something our Creator sanctions.

For those of you who believe that all of this only pertains to the nation of Israel, let me point you towards Isaiah 26:21: “For look, יהוה is coming out of His place to punish the inhabitants OF THE EARTH for their crookedness. And the earth shall disclose her blood, and no longer cover her slain.” (emphasis mine)

I cannot ‘rebuke’ the adversary concerning any natural disasters that are happening to our nation, nor can I ‘take authority over’ satanic activity in the legislative wheels of our government. I can repent for the sins of the nation in which I reside (see 2Chr 7:14; Dan 9:3-19) and ask our Creator to have mercy on the remnant of those that are called by His Name. I can pray that His Name be sanctified once again in America, that His Kingdom be blessed, that His will be done in heaven and in America. I can pray for the Shalom of Jerusalem, and blessings upon the nation of Israel. I can thank Him, that I “live in the shelter of `Elyon, and I spend my nights in the shadow of Shaddai." (Ps 91:1). And I can pray that the great ‘falling away’ that the Scriptures speaks of (Mat 24:12) does not happen any more than it already has here in our great country.

“so is My word that goes out from My mouth — it will not return to Me unfulfilled; but it will accomplish what I intend, and cause to succeed what I sent it to do." (Isaiah 55:11 CJB)

“TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting.” (Dan 5:27)