Deception in the public square - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my heart and mind in Micah 6:16,

"You have observed the statutes of Omri and all the practices of
Ahab's house; you have followed their traditions. Therefore I will
give you over to ruin and your people to derision; you will bear the
scorn of the nations."

We read of these two kings of Israel, Omri, and his son, Ahab in 1
Kings 16. In verse 25 we read, "But Omri did evil in the eyes of the
Lord and sinned more than all those before him." In verse 30 we read,
"Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of
those before him."

The Lord's indictment against Israel was against the northern kingdom
as a whole, as well as the southern kingdom, not just a few folks. And
now it will suffer its destruction at the hand of the Lord. The folks
followed the practices and accepted the societal norms of the wicked
kings Omri and Ahab. The Lord is careful to specify many of the sinful
ways the people adopted as their lifestyle: cheating one another,
lying, child sacrifice, Asherah poles, witchcraft, and on and on. This
adopted lifestyle clearly pointed to Israel's abandonment of her God.

Was it just a few culprits? Was it just that someone might sneak into
the marketplace, cheat an unsuspecting customer and then steal off
into the night? As we read the book of Micah, as well as the other
contemporary prophets of Micah, we learn that it was the nation that
had embraced this direction. No need for liars, for idolaters, for
cheats and practitioners of the horrific religious rituals to sneak
off after doing their deeds as the nation had adopted these things as
an acceptable lifestyle. They had become convinced by their own hearts
that this was the way to live life. I suspect as the nation
degenerated, it did so with the thought that this direction was the
new way to go for the new age, the best way to go. Was the "hope and
change" slogan employed? Was it thought this direction was the "higher
road", a direction the well-informed and well-connected evolved to?

How does an entire nation allow itself to be deceived and to drift
into the terrifying hands of our God of justice? Didn't they have
Moses? Didn't they have the prophets the Lord was sending them? Did
they not have the Scriptures to keep them focused on what God desired
from them? Did they not have the patriarchs of faith to look up to?

Here is the horrible truth of mankind: we have inherited a sinful
nature and live in rebellion to our Creator. From the garden of Eden
we have become corrupted such that our hearts deceive us into
anything. No matter how bizarre, no matter how ridiculous, no matter
how foolish, our hearts deceive us into pursuing whatever corrupted
mindset our sinful natures are capable of. Israel is merely a
parade-ground example of where the deceiving hearts of all mankind can
take us. She had all the benefits of God's covenant people, and yet
they allowed themselves to be deceived. And it cost them. It cost them
dearly.

This is not an issue of intelligence, not an issue of education or
information. It is, at its beginning and at its end, an issue of the
deceitful heart. Through Micah and the prophets, reality set its
collision course with the Israelites. Although Israel thought she was
on a good path, they placed themselves squarely in the cross-hairs of
God's judgment of them.

God didn't ask them if they considered his coming judgment fair. He
didn't poll the folks, and he didn't consult with them. Our Creator,
as ultimate reality and in spite of the Israelites own self-deception,
turned his fierce anger toward his own people. And, he didn't check in
with anyone else to see if he should do so.

The parallels to our own day, of course, are striking. It doesn't
matter what you think about anything and it doesn't matter what I
think about anything. When it comes to perceiving reality correctly
and making decisions as to whose perspective should prevail in the
public square, God needs to be consulted. Our hearts are deceptive,
our hearts are corrupt.

For those "Christians" who feel we should not impose our beliefs on
others as we decide how to live life in our nation, they have a couple
of things they need to resolve in their own deceived minds: Jesus
Christ is not to be thought of in terms of an imposition on anyone.
Jesus Christ is truth: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6. As such, any
notion, both within the church walls as well as outside, in the public
square, must be reconciled with him. Otherwise, we are living the
whims of our own deceived minds. And, we may just have to pay for it,
as the Israelites did. If you doubt me, just ask any Israelite of
Micah's day.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

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Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com