A government of hate

Isaiah tells us in the 16th chapter of his prophecy:

4-5"When this is all over," Judah answers, "the tyrant toppled, the killing at an end, all signs of these cruelties long gone, a new government of love will be established in the venerable David tradition. A Ruler you can depend upon will head this government, a Ruler passionate for justice, a Ruler quick to set things right."

It is completely ironic that I should read this chapter this morning as this country, yes the whole country, reels from the shooting in Arizona.

About the shooting, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said: ""The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on this country is getting to be outrageous. The vitriolic rhetoric that we hear day in and day out from people in the radio business and some people in the TV business ... This has not become the nice United States that most of us grew up in. It's not unusual for all public officials to get threats constantly, myself included. That's the sad thing about what's going on in America: Pretty soon we're not going to be able to find reasonable decent people willing to subject themselves to serve in public office.''

It would indeed be a good thing if we stopped shouting at each other and we began to talk to each other. We disagree on so many things, but we've reached a stage where if the left proposes something to fix one of the many, many problems we have in this country, the right shouts it down without any discussion. The right proposes? The left shouts. We are so far removed from a "government of love" the very idea is laughable. Recently a court ruled that a Christian cross at a town cemetery for veterans of war had to come down after Jewish people sued. The court ruled that violated the separation of church and state by establishing a church as the preferred one. What if we had talked it over instead of shouting at each other, what if we had talked it over instead of filling the attorney's pockets with more money? What if someone had suggested individual crosses and individual stars of David on the graves themselves? Nah. Nothing but yelling will do.

In Isaiah's words, we see that Moab will be destroyed, Damascus will become a pile of dust and rubble, no sign of any government will be left in Ephraim, the springs of Nimrim will dry up, the Philistines will be beaten, the Assyrians will disappear, and Babylon will be no more. For those who took God's people captive, God forecasts gloom mixed with a high amount of doom.

The question is, what makes us (America) think we're different? Why will we be protected, saved, brought through an unsettled future? Why are we God's people, as clearly some believe? Is it scriptural? Is there some place in the Bible where we are called out to become Zion?

The Moabites were secure, right up until the moment they disappeared from Biblical scholarship, sometime around the time of the Persian captivity.

The point is this: 250 years is a couple of pages in the scriptural record. America is promised no more than any other nation. If we continue on the road we're on, clearly there will be a judgment and clearly that judgment will be a poorly received one.

See if this description of Moab rings any bells: "We've heard -- everyone's heard -- of Moab's pride, world famous for pride -- arrogant, self-important, insufferable, full of hot air."

Substitute the United States for Moab, and that's exactly the nation that the world sees today.

It is time, friends, where one person at a time we begin to change. It is time to sacrifice, cutting the deficit. It is time to be better stewards before we go broke(R), it is time to take care of the world's environment before it is gone.

Isaiah wrote, "I'll join the weeping. I'll weep right along with Jazer, weep for the Sibmah vineyards. And yes, Hesbon and Eleleh, I'll mingle my tears with your tears! The joyful shouting at harves is gone. Instead of song and celebration, dead silence."

A government of love sounds ridiculous. A government of hate sounds worse, and that's what we have.