And it Repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth. Genesis 6:6
Webster’s dictionary defines treachery as a “violation of allegiance or of faith and confidence” As an adjective, the word treacherous is defined as “providing insecure footing or support” and “marked by hidden dangers , hazards or perils”. It goes on to compare its effects to that of falling into quicksand. It is no wonder that the apostle Paul issued his stark warning to Timothy that “in the last days perilous times shall come”, giving way to ” trucebreakers, false accusers, fierce, despisers of those that are good”- in other words, treachery. The proceedings we are currently watching in the Supreme Court hearings for Judge Kavanaugh show us just how much the good are really despised. Calumny, slander, false accusations, guilt by association, deliberate distortion of the facts- they’re all there, with more to come. The same ” fishing expeditions” that the left used to go after Trump and cover their own nefarious motives in the Russian investigation are in full display here. Some might say that I’m sounding political on this issue To that point I would refer you to the video in my series on idolatry in which I discuss politics. It is there that I make the point that politics and truth occasionally overlap, and unite as an issue of morality. Then the issue becomes one of truth vs. error, good vs. evil, and light vs. darkness. And then truth acts as not only the antiseptic that sunlight provides, but as the pointed beam of a flashlight in a basement as it uncovers a nest of rats. We are now at the point in this country where we have to decide- do we treat the infestation with strategically placed trays of poison and or do we plan a day trip so as to allow the Orkin man to bomb the entire house? Are all our valuable possessions covered as we hit the button and unleash the toxic spray throughout? In the Kavanaugh inquisition, our valuable possessions include honor, decency, the equal application of the law, and the Constitution. If rats named Feinstein, Blumenthal, Booker( and, the biggest of all, Schumer), are allowed to prevail, then we may have to proceed with the latter. Or worse, we may have to start all over again. It might be time to celebrate the day of new beginnings. After all, the Lord did it when He repented of making man on the earth and sent the Flood.
The Cruelest of Ironies
There were many grievous sins of omission which led up to the 9/11 attacks in 2001. We have all heard about the hostilities between the FBI and the CIA and how they never shared information. We heard about the obtuse and insensitive flight instructors who trained the hijackers to take off , but not to land. And, of course, we heard about the many heroic acts of that day. Yet one of the saddest and cruelest of ironies may lie with the courageous passengers who stormed the cockpit of the flight over Pennsylvania. As we all know, they stormed the cockpit of that flight to save the capitol building or the White House. They did not know the target of the hijackers. If the plane hit the White House it would have been tragic, but not insurmountably so. The White House would have been rebuilt, just as it was after the British set it on fire in the War of 1812. But if they hit the capitol building, all the lawmakers of Congress and the Senate may have been killed. The houses of government, where this current display of congressional tyranny is taking place, might have been destroyed. Had the plane arrived before the Pentagon was hit, they may well have killed all the lawmakers. If they had all been killed, the country would have been so stunned that a new government would have to be formed. And the horror would have been so much more. In fact it would have been so great that maybe, just maybe, the country would have waken up to the real threat of the evil it faced. We can dream a little here, and imagine that it just might have awoken a large part of the population to their need for God. We might have seen something like a real spiritual awakening, a real repentance and return to God. After all, we all remember that brief outbreak of civility that followed the attacks. We also lament the fact that it didn’t last. In no time, we were back to our nasty selves. And instead of turning to God en masse, where did we go? To our favorite defense mechanism and idol of choice- namely, patriotism. The godless and blind men in the government were still in charge. And, being blind and ungodly, they have led us into one folly and misstep after another. The tragedy is that the deaths of those heroes who stormed the cockpit that day may have all been in vain.
God Judges in Mysterious Ways
God judges individuals and nations in many different ways. As believers we often get frustrated with His pace of doing so and His apparent “slackness”. Some prophetic ministries may point to certain natural disasters, such as hurricane Katrina, and attempt to link it to some national sin. This is valid and correct in many cases. But sometimes God judges in ways that are so subtle and exquisite, we simply observe in awe. We must stand back and declare that truly God’s ways are higher than ours. Sometimes we have to be humbled as Job was when he praised God for doing ” great things past finding out” and “wonders without number”- Job:9:10. Solomon eloquently mocks the fool who ignores the warnings of danger and goes on to be “punished” Jesus warns of being led by the blind and falling into the ditch. He constantly warned of the dangers of spiritual dullness and of “salt losing its savor and being good for nothing” Spiritual torpor in the last days was seen as a constant threat. Just as Peter fell asleep in the garden as Jesus prayed, Jesus warned us to stay awake and watch for His coming. Blindness and spiritual apathy may well be God’s instrument of judgment on America today. His greatest weapon of war may be just to leave us alone. He may just sit back and laugh at all of our hollow efforts to block our His voice by stopping our ears. He may be smiling and leading us on to ignore every red flag in our path. He could be egging us on to our destruction. After all, it would be most consistent with His character. He is on record as hating the “solemn assembly” of religious hypocrites. He is also recorded as bringing every nation on earth to battle in the war of Armageddon. Paul tells us that He “bears not the sword in vain” Even Jesus claims that He came “not to bring peace but a sword” All violations of the law will be dealt with severely.
But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully- l Tim: 1:8
Laws, laws everywhere and Lawlessness Abounds
At first glance, Paul’s statement here may seem like an oxymoron, or even nonsensical. After all, how can one use the law except in a “lawful” way? Of course we know that, after prostitution, the practice of law may be the oldest profession – and similar in so many ways. And of course it can be used in a very unlawful way. In a corrupt way. In a way that favors privilege and bribery, extortion and blackmail. And, of course, it utilizes our current social plague, political correctness. Perversion of justice has been around since Caesar cried ” et tu Brute?” as Brutus turned the knife. It all began when Cain filibustered with God asking, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” But for those who, as Paul says, “use it lawfully” it is our great defense against tyranny, and our only protection from evil people. The principle of “innocent until proven guilty” is sacred to our justice system. The spirit of this concept runs through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. One thing that astounds me today is the fact that professed Christians believe we are no longer “bound” by the law. Of course we are, and until we draw our last breath. True, we may be “saved by grace”. And it may be by faith alone that we come to Him and are justified. But that just means that we are striving to be like Christ, and know that we will mess up at times. We still have to pay for our mess ups. And God will never allow us to tempt Him with endless repetitions of repenting and being forgiven, repenting and being forgiven. True, our identity in Christ does mean that there is “no longer any condemnation to those in Christ Jesus” His grace is our safety net. But just as Jesus reminded Satan “thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God”, so are we not to abuse or cheapen His grace.
The meaning of Paul’s verse becomes crystal clear when we read the the next verse. Here he tells us that the law is designed not for righteous men, but for the “unholy and profane”. And let’s not forget their fellow travelers in sin, the “ungodly”, the “disobedient” and , the “lawless”(or, anarchist). Continuing, there are “murderers of fathers and mothers”, “manslayers” and those that “defile themselves with mankind”(necrophilia). Of current interest there are the menstealers(kidnappers, or human traffickers ). Then we round out the list with “whoremongers” and “liars” and “perjured persons”. Who would deny the fact that liars govern our culture today? Slander and character assassination is the modus operandi of not just the left, but all the spiritually dead among us. In the Kavanaugh inquisition we know that one of the litigants is either a flat out liar, a mentally unbalanced liar, or a pre-packaged operative in a well planned and well rehearsed operation. The ones pulling the strings may figure more or less instrumental then the litigant. We don’t know as yet. Our God will tell us. He is the one who reveals all the “thoughts and intents of the heart”. Treachery, calumny and personal destruction are their motivation. Deception and blindness are their instruments. Shakespeare once said, “Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive” Let us pray that our God, who is mightier than all their lies, will somehow tangle and trap them in the gooey web they have constructed for Kavanaugh- and all righteous men.