Exodus 32:1
"And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him."
When Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, it troubled the people of Israel. The people couldn't see the reason for the delay; as a result, they allowed it to stumble them. Moses was gone for forty days. This probably seemed like a long time to the people, but a short time to Moses. Certainly it was a short time related to the outworking of God's plan for Israel. And, yet...
The people gathered together to Aaron, and had him make them a golden calf. This sinful impulse came first from the people, not Aaron. Even so, Aaron succumbed easily to the pressure. The episode of sin described in this chapter happened because the people demanded it. This is an example of where it is not good to rule by democracy and to give the people what they want. It is very popular and fashionable right now in this juncture of American life to throw other people's hard earned money around to curry favor and buy a vote. If only Ol' Aaron could see things now!
Furthermore, when it comes to ministry, it can be so dangerous to start with what people want or what they feel they need. Instead of being fed the truth and living by it, people expect to be entertained and to have their ears tickled by their pastor. After all, it's not about how high you jump, but how straight you walk.
Also, be mindful that God's delay is not necessarily a denial. His ways are not our ways (Isa. 55:8-9). The people wanted gods to go before them. They knew the Lord led them out of Egypt and they knew the Lord God had revealed Himself at Mount Sinai. Yet, they were willing to trust a god they could make with their own hands to finish what the Lord began with His hand. Isn't that something? We want to finish God's work in us! We're truly an arrogant and reprobate bunch.
Consider Paul's dealing with the Galatians: "Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" (Galatians 3:3) It is possible to begin the Christian life trusting Jesus, and then to begin to trust self or one's own spirituality. Following our own gods is no better for us than it was for ancient Israel.
And so, instead of leaving this uncomfortable uncertainty with God, instead of waiting, Israel turned to the flesh. God tells us "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)
When Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, it troubled the people of Israel. The people couldn't see the reason for the delay; as a result, they allowed it to stumble them. Moses was gone for forty days. This probably seemed like a long time to the people, but a short time to Moses. Certainly it was a short time related to the outworking of God's plan for Israel. And, yet...
The people gathered together to Aaron, and had him make them a golden calf. This sinful impulse came first from the people, not Aaron. Even so, Aaron succumbed easily to the pressure. The episode of sin described in this chapter happened because the people demanded it. This is an example of where it is not good to rule by democracy and to give the people what they want. It is very popular and fashionable right now in this juncture of American life to throw other people's hard earned money around to curry favor and buy a vote. If only Ol' Aaron could see things now!
Furthermore, when it comes to ministry, it can be so dangerous to start with what people want or what they feel they need. Instead of being fed the truth and living by it, people expect to be entertained and to have their ears tickled by their pastor. After all, it's not about how high you jump, but how straight you walk.
Also, be mindful that God's delay is not necessarily a denial. His ways are not our ways (Isa. 55:8-9). The people wanted gods to go before them. They knew the Lord led them out of Egypt and they knew the Lord God had revealed Himself at Mount Sinai. Yet, they were willing to trust a god they could make with their own hands to finish what the Lord began with His hand. Isn't that something? We want to finish God's work in us! We're truly an arrogant and reprobate bunch.
Consider Paul's dealing with the Galatians: "Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" (Galatians 3:3) It is possible to begin the Christian life trusting Jesus, and then to begin to trust self or one's own spirituality. Following our own gods is no better for us than it was for ancient Israel.
And so, instead of leaving this uncomfortable uncertainty with God, instead of waiting, Israel turned to the flesh. God tells us "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)
An End Run Around the Constitution
Obama is motivated not just by kickbacks. His actions are consistent with his rhetoric. He states that the overarching principle directing his personal and political life is his sense of social justice. There is every reason to believe him. His actions and demeanor are consistent with a man who believes that his goal is of such high purpose that it justifies all manner of subterfuge and end-runs around Congress and the Constitution.
One cannot peer into the soul of one's fellow man, but certainly Obama's demeanor, rhetoric, and actions are consistent with an understanding of Obama as a man who is convinced that he has a superior vision for America. Obama seems every bit the moralist. He works for his just society with what appears to be moral conviction. During his years as a community organizer in Chicago, he saw the great inequities in American society -- inequities which, along with bigotry, he attributed to the American capitalist system. The people on the bottom rung, and especially their children, don't have a chance.
For Obama the cure is more government, more regulation, more intervention, and less individual freedom.
For instance:
1. Obama's failed proxy war on the 2nd Amendment viz-a-viz Eric Holder's debacle of a program in "Fast & Furious". The Obama Administration is stonewalling this investigation by declaring executive privilege.
2. Obama's end run around the American people and the legislators they have elected by having the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declare carbon a toxic pollutant, despite the fact that all life on the planet is basically carbon-based. But fascists can never be swayed by facts and Obama has shown that when it comes to imposing his self-righteous agenda he isn’t particularly squeamish about violating the principles of the Constitution or the rights of the people. Rather than just fine industry, the EPA ruling gives that agency the power to impose limits on the amount of carbon and other so-called “greenhouse gases” that can be released into the atmosphere.
3. Obama's violation of the law through the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] and the enactment of its de facto amnesty through his executive order, something the citizens of this country have opposed for decades. The outrageous announcement is that he will be granting backdoor amnesty to nearly 1 million young ILLEGAL aliens. Faced with falling support for re-election, he is making a play to boost his popularity among Latinos by doing yet another end run around Congress and the Constitution. What’s most troubling about the President’s announcement is that there was no debate, no opportunity to examine the policy, and once again he has completely circumvented the checks and balances in our Constitution. Unable to pass the Dream Act for the past two years, he has ordered his DHS to halt deportations and, in the next 60 days, they will begin handing out two-year renewable work permits to ILLEGAL youths. Just a coincidence, we are led to believe that this action that couldn’t pass the Congress LEGALLY will be enacted just in time for a presidential election. The coincidence deepens with the realization that the Department of Justice has blocked states from removing unqualified voters from their rolls, also in time for the election. The only consistent Democratic voters appear to be foreigners, dead people and multiple voters.
4. Obama's signature legislation that he signed back in March 2010. ObamaCare is designed to take away Constitutional freedoms and replace them with Maoist-style restrictions, and big, authoritarian government. This monstrosity of an abomination needs to be repealed. It was drafted behind closed doors; rammed through the reconciliation process; purchased with tax payers money by bribing recalcitrant and wavering congressmen (think Corn Husker Kickback, Louisana Purchase & the like); and sealed with a deadly kiss by a spineless Chief Justice John Roberts.
One cannot peer into the soul of one's fellow man, but certainly Obama's demeanor, rhetoric, and actions are consistent with an understanding of Obama as a man who is convinced that he has a superior vision for America. Obama seems every bit the moralist. He works for his just society with what appears to be moral conviction. During his years as a community organizer in Chicago, he saw the great inequities in American society -- inequities which, along with bigotry, he attributed to the American capitalist system. The people on the bottom rung, and especially their children, don't have a chance.
For Obama the cure is more government, more regulation, more intervention, and less individual freedom.
For instance:
1. Obama's failed proxy war on the 2nd Amendment viz-a-viz Eric Holder's debacle of a program in "Fast & Furious". The Obama Administration is stonewalling this investigation by declaring executive privilege.
2. Obama's end run around the American people and the legislators they have elected by having the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declare carbon a toxic pollutant, despite the fact that all life on the planet is basically carbon-based. But fascists can never be swayed by facts and Obama has shown that when it comes to imposing his self-righteous agenda he isn’t particularly squeamish about violating the principles of the Constitution or the rights of the people. Rather than just fine industry, the EPA ruling gives that agency the power to impose limits on the amount of carbon and other so-called “greenhouse gases” that can be released into the atmosphere.
3. Obama's violation of the law through the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] and the enactment of its de facto amnesty through his executive order, something the citizens of this country have opposed for decades. The outrageous announcement is that he will be granting backdoor amnesty to nearly 1 million young ILLEGAL aliens. Faced with falling support for re-election, he is making a play to boost his popularity among Latinos by doing yet another end run around Congress and the Constitution. What’s most troubling about the President’s announcement is that there was no debate, no opportunity to examine the policy, and once again he has completely circumvented the checks and balances in our Constitution. Unable to pass the Dream Act for the past two years, he has ordered his DHS to halt deportations and, in the next 60 days, they will begin handing out two-year renewable work permits to ILLEGAL youths. Just a coincidence, we are led to believe that this action that couldn’t pass the Congress LEGALLY will be enacted just in time for a presidential election. The coincidence deepens with the realization that the Department of Justice has blocked states from removing unqualified voters from their rolls, also in time for the election. The only consistent Democratic voters appear to be foreigners, dead people and multiple voters.
4. Obama's signature legislation that he signed back in March 2010. ObamaCare is designed to take away Constitutional freedoms and replace them with Maoist-style restrictions, and big, authoritarian government. This monstrosity of an abomination needs to be repealed. It was drafted behind closed doors; rammed through the reconciliation process; purchased with tax payers money by bribing recalcitrant and wavering congressmen (think Corn Husker Kickback, Louisana Purchase & the like); and sealed with a deadly kiss by a spineless Chief Justice John Roberts.
Beating A Dead Horse
And, why, pray tell, am I belaboring the point? Why am I beating a dead horse?
Because the people of this great Nation have failed to wait for God's best and His will. That's why. Instant gratification is something the American culture has lowered and debased itself to. And, the pandering, cynical politician know it and are using it to their gain. We are as much fault as the politicians doing end runs around the U.S.Constitution.
The Declaration of Independence states it plainly -
"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
Can I ask you something, Reader? Do the politicians in D.C. have our consent for conducting the people's business the way they are? They claim to know better than we do, but do they really? Did we give them that consent to think for us? I believe that our silence was interpreted by these fool that we condoned & consented to their decisions. The best way to show them our discontent is at the ballot box and by staying in contact with our elected officials when issues, policies, etc. that we disagree with come up for votes. We cannot afford to let them off the hook after election. Even the best intentioned elected official can go astray in D.C.
All these might make for a hopeless case against doing something, though. But, no fear, consider what God's Word says -
Proverbs 16:5 says, "Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished."
Proverbs 16:12 declares, "It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness."
Proversb 29:3 states, "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn."
Proverbs 29:12 indicates, "If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked."
Here's a sobering quote from the tyrant of tyrants, Adolf Hitler: "What luck for the rulers that men do not think."
Because the people of this great Nation have failed to wait for God's best and His will. That's why. Instant gratification is something the American culture has lowered and debased itself to. And, the pandering, cynical politician know it and are using it to their gain. We are as much fault as the politicians doing end runs around the U.S.Constitution.
The Declaration of Independence states it plainly -
"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
Can I ask you something, Reader? Do the politicians in D.C. have our consent for conducting the people's business the way they are? They claim to know better than we do, but do they really? Did we give them that consent to think for us? I believe that our silence was interpreted by these fool that we condoned & consented to their decisions. The best way to show them our discontent is at the ballot box and by staying in contact with our elected officials when issues, policies, etc. that we disagree with come up for votes. We cannot afford to let them off the hook after election. Even the best intentioned elected official can go astray in D.C.
All these might make for a hopeless case against doing something, though. But, no fear, consider what God's Word says -
Proverbs 16:5 says, "Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished."
Proverbs 16:12 declares, "It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness."
Proversb 29:3 states, "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn."
Proverbs 29:12 indicates, "If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked."
Here's a sobering quote from the tyrant of tyrants, Adolf Hitler: "What luck for the rulers that men do not think."
So, What Can I Do?
1. Repent and Pray. See II Chron. 7:14; Jer. 6:16; I Thess. 5:17
2. Vote and Stay connected with your elected officials. Prov. 29:18
3. Get Involved In A Ministry At Church. Acts 20:28; I Cor. 12:12-26; Heb. 10:25.
What people need isn't more Government; they need Jesus Christ. Be a light in a dark and dying world (Matt. 5:16).
I Know I Need Jesus Now!
Sources: Washington Post; Washington Examiner; Washington Free Beacon; Canada Free Press; David Guzik; Quotes.com
3. Get Involved In A Ministry At Church. Acts 20:28; I Cor. 12:12-26; Heb. 10:25.
What people need isn't more Government; they need Jesus Christ. Be a light in a dark and dying world (Matt. 5:16).
I Know I Need Jesus Now!
Sources: Washington Post; Washington Examiner; Washington Free Beacon; Canada Free Press; David Guzik; Quotes.com
