God and government

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King Jehoshaphat models to us how to point a nation to God. II Chronicles 17-19 shows us 2 things this king did to ensure his appointed leaders were accountable to God and led the people into righteousness.

Jehoshaphat established a national teaching ministry – he sent out leaders into all the land to teach the law of God. This strategy brought peace and rest to the land. Now this sounds good, but I know you are asking how this would work. How can a political king start an itinerant teaching ministry? And really should he? The key is to remember the context. You have to remember during this time God’s law was the law. The teaching of the law was spiritual in nature for sure, but was also practical and civil as well. Remember what Adam Clarke said, “We may presume that the princes instructed the people in the nature of the civil law and constitution of the kingdom.” We have a tendency to think the Bible is spiritual and not practical. If the princes or state officials did not teach civil law and the constitution, then who would do it? The whole idea is to take leaders and have them teach the nation. How much does the common person really know about our American Constitution and the process of law? Do you see what Jehoshaphat did here? It is a reformation of knowledge. Many people do not know what the Constitution actually says; nor do they realize when our laws are being abused by those in power. The abuse goes unnoticed because of the severe lack of knowledge. It is the responsibility of political leaders to teach and inform people about civil law and the Constitution. This may seem a little silly, but think about it. Many leaders are working the system, not teaching truth. What Jehoshaphat did was turn the tables; he educated the people, and made the leaders accountable. Yes, this is a radical idea, but one that works and honors God. When we know how our system of government is supposed to work, then we understand how far our leaders have taken us away from the original intent. Who among our political kings will make themselves and others accountable?

Jehoshaphat appoints judges and holds them to high standard. In America we have a system of judges, both in the lower and higher courts. But do we hold them to a high standard? Jehoshaphat insisted on upright behavior and judgment. Do we hold our judges and our other leaders to a high standard? A few months ago a congressman posted lewd photos of himself online. Surprisingly this leader of ours had several inappropriate relationships with women online. When you think there is no accountability, then you will do things that lack all restraint. Now, this does not mean all members of Congress act this way, but our society seems to be littered with this type of deplorable behavior. Let me quote from the Federalist papers. If you have forgotten what the Federalist papers are – they are a collection of 85 articles written to promote the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. These essays were written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay and were published in 1787 and 1788. From The Federalist No. 78, Hamilton writes:

According to the plan of the convention, all judges who may be appointed by the United States are to hold their offices during good behavior; which is conformable to the most approved of the State constitutions and among the rest, to that of this State. Its propriety having been drawn into question by the adversaries of that plan, is no light symptom of the rage for objection, which disorders their imaginations and judgments. The standard of good behavior for the continuance in office of the judicial magistracy, is certainly one of the most valuable of the modern improvements in the practice of government. In a monarchy it is an excellent barrier to the despotism of the prince; in a republic it is a no less excellent barrier to the encroachments and oppressions of the representative body. And it is the best expedient which can be devised in any government, to secure a steady, upright, and impartial administration of the laws.

I must ask what constitutes good behavior? I believe our founding fathers knew what that meant. But I do not think we do. Just as Hamilton says, if we are to have a steady, upright, and impartial administration of our laws, then we have to have leaders of good behavior. Not in a religious way, but by promoting righteousness and upright principles and behavior. We all know the behavior of some of our leaders is a disgrace and embarrassment to our country. And we will continue to suffer the consequences as a nation until someone decides to reform our political leaders. Jehoshaphat insisted on righteous behavior and judgment. I implore you, please stand up and take responsibility to reform our nation. Friends, God is not impressed. Just as Jehoshaphat held his leaders to a very high standard, so does God. He holds all of our political kings to a very high standard. We are failing. It is time for reformation.

Jesus Standing at the Door

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Heaven Opened

Recently I was at a corporate prayer service and during worship and prayer I got an impression of Jesus standing at the back door of the sanctuary. I have “seen” this kind of thing before, so I prayed for him to come in to the house. But he waited… and waited… and waited. He never came in! I asked and asked, I pleaded, but he would not come in. I believe God is working, after all, the Holy Spirit shows up Sunday after Sunday. So, he is working, but I think he is wanting to take the Church into a “fullness” of the Spirit. We must approach God in a way that is in agreement with his Spirit. The way we go about our worship or prayer can invite or detract from this agreement.

The main focus of the Church should be to pray and reach out to the lost. We must pray for a harvest, this is God’s heart. While God may be showing up every week, he wants much more. Have you ever thought ministry time was distracting. Let me clarify, when ministry time is about “us” instead of God, then we are settling for less than what God wants. The whole idea of ministry is to get help (receive ministry) or help someone (give ministry), but if this is not what God is wanting to do then we are missing him. What I am saying is if there is too much “us” and not enough of Him, then what is the point. We settle for the good by sacrificing God’s best.  We need to let go of what we need and focus only on Him. Does this mean getting rid of ministry time? No, of course not! But it does mean we need to be led by the Spirit and not assume we must do this. Consider this, what if God ministered to people directly with no need of another person? What if people fell on their face before the great and awesome God and he touched them. We rush to minister, but this could be because this is all we know. We rush to meet a need of our own or of another, but what if God did something different? Can’t the great I AM decide what is best? Instead of assuming we should seek Almighty God.

Many times what we find in church is people talking about what God is doing in their life. That’s fantastic, but maybe we should be humbly coming before God’s throne, not focusing on ourselves and what we think we need, but only on the heart of Jesus. Essentially the good things that are happening are robbing us of the great things God really wants to do. We are doing a lot of different things in the Church today, but are our thoughts and attitudes where they need to be – in agreement with God.

To be honest, I am scared to death. I am afraid that the God of the universe is standing at the door of his house and not coming in. I think to go higher we have to change – our hearts, minds, and emotions. The spiritual life always progresses in levels, and the Church is pushing up against a new level. To push through this new level, we need to change. What we do, how we do it, and above all our attitude toward the perfect and holy God.

The Sovereign Power of Adonai Yahweh

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Ezekiel deals with the ancient city of Tyre more thoroughly than any other prophet. Three chapters (26-28) are devoted to this ancient Phoenician city, located on the Mediterranean Sea. Iain Duguid says that these three chapters in Ezekiel are three separate prophecies with one message, or put another way the same message is given in three different ways. I want to look at chapter 26, but before doing that I think it is best to understand a little about Tyre. Daniel Block tells us that Tyre was different from any of the other nations. Tyre was different because Tyre was a territorial state that was divided up into a series of political units. Each political unit had its own capital and reigning monarch.

Isaiah, who prophesied well before Ezekiel, writes of Tyre, “the bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth” (Isaiah 23:8) King David formed a trading alliance with Tyre (2 Samuel 5), and we all remember Queen Jezebel, who was the daughter of the king of Tyre. The influence of Jezebel on Israel helps us understand how worldly and idolatrous Tyre was. And we know that five of the Hebrew prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Zechariah) strongly denounced the city for its idolatry and gross wickedness.

So what does Ezekiel have to say in chapter 26? Quite simply Ezekiel is announcing the judgment of God on Tyre, including its total destruction. We may step back and say, okay this sounds like Old Testament prophecy. But let’s not be shortsighted. After all, is this prophecy simply God’s punishment on a pagan and idolatrous nation? Well, I think there is more to it. The primary revelation we can see from this chapter is God’s absolute sovereign power, his omnipotence.  

When looking at the overall structure of the text, we can easily see what the prophet is saying. Ezekiel 26 is divided into 4 sections.

1)      Vs. 1-6 – general terms of God’s judgment

2)      Vs. 7-14 – Identification of the human agent who God will use to bring the judgment (Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon)

3)      Response of international observers

4)      The absolute and full destruction of Tyre

In looking at this structure, you find a repeated use of the first person. Three of the four sections contain this repeated linguistic usage. The first and last sections contain the most uses of the personal pronoun, “I”, and the chapter uses this language 14 times in the chapter. This type of language shows how very direct God is, which demonstrates his absolute power. Let’s take a look at some examples of how powerful God’s words are:

  • Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you (vs. 3)
  • Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (vs. 7)
  • And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. (vs. 13)
  •  I will make you a bare rock. You shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, for I am the Lord; I have spoken, declares the Lord God. (vs. 14)

In addition to the extensive use of the first person, Ezekiel uses the words Adonai Yahweh (Lord God) 6 times (vs. 3, 7, 14, 15, 19, 21). Adonai Yahweh is used at the beginning of each of the four sections and twice at the beginning and end of the 2nd and 4th sections. Again, what does this structure mean? When you have two names of God back to back, it is there to show emphasis. This unique structure of language emphasizes God’s power and his direct intervention in human history. God is sovereign over nations and world events.

The third section of the chapter displays this principle in a powerful way. “ Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground and tremble every moment and be appalled at you.” (vs. 16) As we read these verses in Ezekiel, we can sense the political and economic shaking of nations as God removes a lofty enemy. The surrounding princes literally stopped governing to lament the downfall of Tyre. This demonstrates the influence of Tyre, but also shows how God shakes and moves nations. Charles Feinberg writes that there were political, commercial, and religious ties between Tyre and the surrounding nations, and the fall of Tyre would have been considered a world calamity. The sovereign power of Adonai Yahweh can throw mountains into the sea. And at the times when he does this our world stops.

In Daniel chapter 5, we find another example of God shifting and moving nations. King Belshazzar held a feast and used the Temple vessels to drink wine and praise the gods of Babylon. Immediately God wrote on the palace wall, announcing his judgment. By the end of the chapter we find the kingdom changing hands to the Medes and Belshazzar is killed.

So when we read these passages, what should we gain in our thinking about God? Does he still move nations, does he still lift up kings and put down rebellion? We have a tendency to believe the stories in Ezekiel and Daniel, but not apply them to today. After all, how could God be controlling the mess we are in? God’s sovereign power is absolute. His power never has nor ever will change. Let us never be fragmented in our thinking, for God is always moving nations. No one can hold back his hand. There is no authority he cannot touch and put down. God’s sovereign power created the universe out of nothing, so he certainly can control leaders of nations. Take heart, for God is in control. He changes the times and seasons and does as he wills.

Arthur W. Pink writes, “My God is infinite in power! then ‘I will not fear what man can do unto me.’ My God is infinite in power, then ‘what time I am afraid I will trust in Him.’ My God is infinite in power, then I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep.”

Wild Grapes

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My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. Isaiah 5:1-2

Isaiah chapter 5 starts off with a love song (vs. 1), a parable of God’s vineyard and how he has taken such great care to cultivate it. In Isaiah’s song there are five things that God does for his vineyard – five things that he does to care and cultivate this vineyard that he loves – his people.

Five things God does for his vineyard

1)      “My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.” (Isaiah 5:1) The location of a vineyard is vitally important to its success, just as the location of a nation is important. This verse poetically refers to Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey. God planted his vineyard in a very specific place, a rich, fertile land that stood apart from other nations.

2)      “He dug it and cleared it of stones” (5:2). Whenever you prepare a garden (or vineyard), you must carefully prepare the ground. God carefully prepared the ground by digging it up, overturning the dirt and chopping it up. Through this process he would remove all the rocks and stones that would lie in the way. This is a necessary process to produce fruit and God had taken these steps. He take dug up the earth of his people, preparing them for growth, and he cleared the path, removing obstacles that stood in the way of having fertile ground.

3)      “planted it with choice vines” (vs. 2) – This is an interesting phrase and there seems to be more to it than one might think. Adam Clarke mentions that this verse could be referring to Sorek, a valley known to the Israelites. Clarke writes:

Sorek was a valley lying between Ascalon and Gaza, and running far up eastward in the tribe of Judah. Both Ascalon and Gaza were anciently famous for wine; . . . And it seems that the upper part of the valley of Sorek, and that of Eshcol, where the spies gathered the single cluster of grapes, which they were obliged to bear between two upon a staff . . . this part of the country abounded with rich vineyards.

Again, God cultivates his vineyard by planting it with the choicest vines that are rich beyond measure. All this care should produce the best of fruit.

4)      “he built a watchtower in the midst of it” (vs. 2) – What tower is this? Many think this is a symbol of protection. God having his watchman look out for the fruit from a tower. And while this is a worthy interpretation, Clarke offers another idea. He suggests that this tower is actually the temple or sanctuary of God. That God has built his temple in the midst of the land. And while we cannot be sure of this interpretation, what Clark is saying pinpoints a much deeper care for God’s people. The tower not being just a building, but a sanctuary. This has a much deeper meaning and not just due to the spiritual nature of a temple, but would imply that God’s presence is in the midst of the people.

5)      “hewed out a wine vat in it” (vs. 2) – Jesus uses the parable of a vineyard in the New Testament. In Mark 12:1 it states, “And he began to speak to them in parables. ‘A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.’” Notice the words “dug a pit for the winepress”. And this is the meaning. A winepress contains two vats or troughs, an upper one where the grapes are crushed and a lower one where the juice flows. God made a place where the fruit would be transformed into fermented wine. If there was only the upper vat, then the wine would contain the impurities (grape shells, etc.) from the grapes. God made a way for the fruit of the vineyard to produce pure wine.

These are the five things God has done in his vineyard, but the end of verse 2 explains what happens in spite of his great care and cultivation. After all the careful planning, digging, and building, God expected to reap a fine harvest, but the text says, “he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.” (5:2) Wild grapes is an interesting translation; for the modern reader it does not quite give us the same idea as the writer likely meant. When we think of wild grapes or berries, we tend to think of a vine growing in the wild. It does not give the essence at all of what the prophet meant by “wild grapes”. II Kings gives us an example of what is meant here. In chapter 4 it talks about eating wild gourds:

One of them went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and cut them up into the pot of stew, not knowing what they were. And they poured out some for the men to eat. But while they were eating of the stew, they cried out, “O man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it. II Kings 4:39-40

The wild grapes mentioned were poisonous, bad, not fit for eating; the very opposite of good grapes. Referring to these wild grapes, Clarke writes, “not merely useless, unprofitable grapes, such as wild grapes; but grapes offensive to the smell, noxious, poisonous.” A couple of other examples from scripture that use the same imagery are found in Jeremiah and Deuteronomy. “Yet I planted you a choice vine, wholly of pure seed. How then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine?” (Jeremiah 2:21) And Deuteronomy 32:32-33 states, “For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of poison; their clusters are bitter; their wine is the poison of serpents and the cruel venom of asps.” All these images give a clear picture of what is meant by wild grapes. Not simply a different vine growing in the wild, but a dangerous, bitter and poisonous vine.

It is not surprising that God very pointedly asks the question why. Why did his vineyard yield these poisonous grapes? After all his care and cultivation, why do his people yield sour grapes? God calls on the people’s sense of justice, and says, “judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it?” (Isaiah 5:3-4) God is beside himself asking what more could he do. He has blessed his people and cared for them, yet still they give him bitter fruit.

We should carefully ask ourselves, is God calling to our sense of justice? Is he asking, where is the good fruit he cultivated? And if so, what is our response?

The War of the Kings

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In Dale Ralph Davis’ book on 2 Kings, (The Power and the Fury), he mentions something we all learned in literature class. He talks about foreshadowing – a pattern found many places in scripture. Davis’ prime example is that when King Jehoash breaks down the walls of Jerusalem and plunders the wealth of the temple and palace, this is foreshadowing what is to come in 2 Kings 24 with the more famous King Nebuchadnezzar. Now while this foreshadowing is a worthy example, I am drawn to Genesis where we first see this kind literary foreshadowing.

We all know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, but what about the foreshadowing of such judgment. Doesn’t God warn before he destroys? In Genesis 14, we have the first war. It is correctly referred to as “the war of the kings.” Five kings rebel against what appears to be the king of Elam, who had three other kings at his side. So these 9 kings war against each other, but it is no contest. The king of Elam and his allies put down the rebellion. Among these rebels is none other than the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah. As part of the spoil, the goods and the people were taken from Sodom and Gomorrah, including Lot and his family. The back half of this story may be more familiar to you because it is when Abram rescues Lot and the people with him.

What is so fascinating about this story is that it is a mere 4 chapters from the total destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18. When we find this foreshadowing pattern we often see an event that is similar to what comes later. The kicker is what happens in the future is almost always much worse. There is no doubt the war of the kings is but a shadow of what was coming with the fiery divine judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.

The next question you are probably asking is, what does this have to do with me? It is fair to even ask if there is any application whatsoever. If God uses foreshadowing in the Old Testament, does he not use it today? I want to turn momentarily back to Dale Ralph Davis because he answers this question vividly.

“we have had in recent years a rash of school and work shootings – a student or a worker goes into their respective school or workplace and begins mowing down their colleagues. . . We have had, off and on, a rash of scandals in the highest levels of our government. We have been attacked by terrorist, dramatically at home, more routinely overseas. Are these God’s foreshadowings to awaken a nation that has no knowledge of God, that by its courts and legislation has guaranteed a culture of death for thirty years, that revels in rampant immorality, and cuddles and caters to those who glory in their sexual perversions? Is God shouting at us and we are not hearing?”

While Davis uses the Socratic method, it is painfully clear what he is saying! And if what we have been seeing in our land over the past 30 years is a foreshadowing or warning of things to come, then where does that leave us? To be sure this can cause fearfulness, but what of honesty. What about asking these important questions? Are we honest enough to say that God is actually sovereign and we are not in control? Are we brave enough to say that we are heading to a shadowy future? Well, let me be clear. I do think we are on the brink of destruction; however, we are very close to painful chastisement. It is possible we are about to see things we have never seen before. Judah and Israel did survive exile, but it was quite painful. Daniel, who was a prophet at just such a time, writes about something extraordinary that is likely foreign to our arrogant, Americanistic view. “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever” (Daniel 2:44). We should never confuse the kingdom of God with the kingdom of America. As we as a nation move further and further away from God’s design, we find ourselves in the same place as earlier gentile nations. We have become like Babylon, Persia, the Greeks and Romans, simply put, a nation that will be broken in pieces by the kingdom of God.

Righteous in their own eyes

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“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25

Several times in the book of Judges you see this statement. It describes this time in the history of Israel. At the end of this time God called a prophet – it was a time of transition and God needed a prophet who would walk in His ways. The leaders and the people were doing what was right in their own eyes, but God had a plan that would bring them back. I Samuel chapter 2 tells of a man who comes to Eli and prophesies that God is about to cut off his house, but that he will raise up another.

“And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.” I Samual 2:35

This was Samuel. God raised him up in a very low point in Israel’s history. The people were in a spiritual crisis. God often raises up faithful leaders in a time of crisis to help His people and transition to a new day.

“Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.” I Samuel 3:1

“And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord. And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.” I Samuel 3:21-4:1

What we can draw from this is that when God’s people choose to do what is right in their own eyes and not listen to God, there is no word or revelation from Him. Before God called Samuel the word and vision were rare, but after God had established him as a prophet, God appears and His word comes forth.

Even so, as Samuel was the first prophet to Israel, they still did not listen and obey. When Samuel is old the leaders ask for a king so they can be like other nations. Even after Samuel painstakingly tells them what will a happen. The leaders refuse and must have their king. They had rejected God as their king (I Sam. 8:7-8). It makes you wonder why they have not learned their lesson, even after 400 years of judges.

Let’s fast forward to the time of Jeremiah. Jeremiah prophesied about and lived through the Babylonian capture and exile of Jerusalem. Jeremiah was dealing with a people who would not listen as well, but also something that is very prevalent in our own day.

“Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations?” Jeremiah 7:8-10

“But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.” Jeremiah 7:23-24

Time and time again God came to His people, but they refused to listen. The continued to sin and even worse, they came before Him in His house proclaiming, “We are delivered”.  Can you image going out and offering sacrifices to other gods and then going to church and pretending everything is fine? Will God not judge you and I for such behavior. He judged Israel – he punished them, destroyed their land, scattered them. Are we to think that today is any different? Will God continue to put up with a generation of people claiming everything is great – just be happy, God loves you. Are we that thick-headed? Are some of the behaviors in Christian culture today that different than what the Jews did? Will we learn from them?

Yes, I know you are thinking that “Well, I do not worship foreign gods. I have not murdered my brother.” Well, the focus might better be on what do you love more than God. Who have you spoken to harshly. Do you show love more than anger? We really need to get very personal with God and dig down deep and allow Him to purge our soul.

It has become very popular in our culture to just come as you are with no requirements to live a holy life (which God clearly requires). When I was growing up, it was no uncommon to hear what you would call a fire and brimstone sermon. You would never hear that today. I am not saying everyone should be condemned. But I do think there has been a big cultural shift – everyone doing what is right in their own eyes.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1 This is an extraordinary verse – we are not condemned if we are in Christ. But have we as a culture shifted into the idea that we are delivered no matter what we do. Does the Bible teach that? No, it absolutely teaches the opposite. Are we truly in Christ if all we ever do is make excuses and say “you cannot judge me”. When will we learn? In Christ there is no condemnation, but there surely better be repentance. It all starts with repentance. Does God discipline those who are repentant? No, he disciplines those who refuse to listen and obey.

We need to peel back the veil of our heart and honestly show God all of what we are. He already knows, but we have to come to Him in honesty and say this is who I am, please change me. My heart is yours. Look at the very depths of your soul – the darkest part of who you are and examine them before God. Yes, it is scary. But frankly, God’s judgment is far more deadly.

I pray Lord Jesus that I would give you my heart, every part of it. The deepest, darkest and most hidden part of me that no one sees; take it and purge me. Clean out my heart and soul. Remove from me any blemishes; remove anything that is not of you. I only want you in my soul, only you, Lord Jesus, only you. Give me a soft, obedient heart, full of your faithfulness and righteousness.

Danger of Prosperity Preaching

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Recently I was talking with a friend who was telling me about his church and the pastor there. It is a well known place, and I was astonished how many people attended. He talked about the ministry and mentioned some other well known ministers and how big their churches were. After listening I explained that many of the churches that have a huge following are taught what I call “prosperity gospel”. I went on to tell my friend that the problem is not that all of what is preached is not true, although some of it is, the problem is, it is unbalanced. If we teach only the parts of scripture we like, are we teaching others how to be holy? I told him I was a “hardliner” because I believe in teaching all of scripture and that when we continue to teach fluff each and every week, it produces very weak Christians. Put plainly, how we will deal with hardship, which will come, if all we ever hear is that we will have a blessed life now. Teaching prosperity alone is not only cornering what is easy and comfortable, it is dangerous. My friend did mention that one minister was no more than a motivational speaker. And he is right! How can we even call ourselves Christians when we are not willing to say what Jesus did? Jesus told his disciples that they would be persecuted. Jesus was not a cotton candy teacher – he proclaimed the truth.

I told my friend many people do not realize how great the need is for teaching the whole counsel of God. We live in America where we see all kinds of cultures and beliefs show up in one place. How are people supposed to know the truth if it is never taught? In the beginning of Vaughan Roberts book, God’s Big Picture, he writes about the ignorance of the Bible. He writes, “A few decades ago everyone would have known about Joshua and the walls of Jericho. A large proportion of children went to Sunday school, and the rest still received a grounding in the main stories of the Bible in class. But those days are gone.” If Roberts is right, then we have a serious problem! This means not only is there a great gap in knowledge of the Bible. It also means that people will not know when they are being led astray. Isn’t this what was happening just before the Reformation. Then, people did not know what the Bible said because they could not read it (it was in Latin), but now they can read it but choose not to. And to make matters worse many high profile preachers that are influencing many, many people are preaching false or at best incomplete theology. This is creating a dark age, where true knowledge is becoming scarce.

Listen to what the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel have to say:

“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’ But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word?

I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.

 “Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 23:16-18, 21-22, 30-32

From Ezekiel:

Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: ‘Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord. Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words. Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken?

“‘Because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?”

 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury.  I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. Ezekiel 13:2-7,10-14

This last verse is Ezekiel is very important. God shows us that he will remove the whitewash and lay the foundation bare. While this seems frightening, it is a good thing. This means he will rebuild again on a solid foundation. As we think about the damage the prosperity gospel is doing in our culture, remember, God will remove the whitewash. And he will lay the foundation bare. If God is indeed going to strip us bare, it is so he can rebuild on a pure foundation, the foundation of Jesus Christ!

And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:25-27