Katrina:The Rejection of His Word
by Brad Scott
I am sure that I speak for many of you when I say that the tragic results and aftermath of hurricane Katrina has given me such a heavy heart. This heartbreaking event brings to this land a good taste of similar disasters that have taken place in "far away" lands in the past. Let me begin by stating a typical disclaimer that is spoken in sincerity, but none the less a common introduction to similar articles. The prayers and support of WildBranch Ministry goes out to all those who are currently displaced, disoriented, discouraged, disillusioned, dismayed and dispirited in the affected areas of this hurricane. WildBranch pledges it's spiritual and physical support of all those whose lives have now been dramatically changed by this catastrophic event.
I have been reading many articles and reports on this event and the reasons for it these past few days. There has been much research done on the perhaps not so coincidental occurrence of "natural" disasters in the United States that have followed on the heels of our government's treatment of Israel. Although the consistency of these events over the past 50 years has not been 100 per cent, the relationship between our response to Israel and the ever increasing intensity of weather related events is noteworthy. However, my heart is growing increasingly heavy over the response of America to, not only what we would call "natural" disasters, but our progressively apathetic attitude toward September 11th, as well. I believe that our government's response to Israel plays only one part of a more serious problem that America's religious system has abandoned long ago. I have spoken before about the changing paradigm of America's attitude toward the Word of God, and that our national behavior comes from our national philosophy which comes from our national religion. Most of our nation, in it's immediate response to 9-11, retreated to it's well established religious systems for comfort. We now chose to serve those systems with much more vigor and zeal. This lasted for awhile, but soon "church attendance" leveled out again and we all went back to the status quo. The wake-up call of 9-11 was NOT a cry from the Creator to return to our religions with more commitment and determination, but rather a call to turn from our wicked ways (Divre-Hayamim Bet (2 Chronicles) 7:14). This we did not do, because most of the religious people in America are not informed that there is a need to do such a thing. After all, we are a Christian nation. The Christ, we proclaim, turned us from our wicked ways when he nailed the commandments to the cross. I will be blunt for it needs to be so. All that religious America did after 9-11 was to temporarily commit to serve our previously established and well-oiled religious systems with more sincerity than before 9-11. Because we did NOT repent and turn to the God of Israel, we soon slumbered our way back to the attitudes we had before 9-11.
I am sure that if many of the Israelites living in the times of the Kings and prophets could see that the good and evil conditions of their times were directly tied to the righteous or unrighteous rule of their leaders, they might have repented and turned back to the God of Israel, and not to the religious systems of their time. The Word of God makes it very clear why a nation suffers or prospers. The Word of God makes it very clear why a nation can, on one hand, produce the greatest good this earth has ever seen, while at the same time be producing and exporting the most immoral activity imaginable. The truth is that America eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and not from the tree of life. This is why we can accomplish such good one moment and such evil the next. This past few days and the coming weeks we will once again witness some of the greatest outpouring of love, compassion, heroics and bravery we will ever see. But we will also see widespread looting and all kinds of criminal behavior, to be soon followed by apathy and the status quo.
How our nation treats Israel is only one part in this play. While I write this Gush Katif in Israel is being bull-dozed and the homosexual community is lamenting the fact that their annual lovefest in New Orleans may have to be postponed. I know you have heard and seen this before, but I am going to quote the prophecy of a nation that does not obey the God that created it.
Devariym (Deuteronomy) 28:15-62But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of YHVH thy 'Elohiym, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. YHVH shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. YHVH shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. YHVH shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron ... YHVH shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed ... every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will YHVH bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of YHVH thy 'Elohiym.
Quite frankly, the more laws we pass validating homosexuality and abortion, the more we allow an out of control Supreme Court to make our laws. The more our society mixes pagan holidays, the quicker we run God out of our schools. The more tolerant we are of evolution and keep thumbing our nose at God's holy Sabbath, the more accelerated our demise. God will not be mocked. We WILL reap what we sow. What we are going to find out in these last days is that the ongoing "let's agree to disagree" debate on the validity of God's laws and commandments is not a matter of who wins the theological dispute. IT IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH!
Devariym 30:19-20I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love YHVH thy 'Elohiym, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which YHVH sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Blessing and supporting Israel, (Seed of Abraham) and then being blessed is a law from God. The families of the earth shall receive the blessing commensurate with blessing Abraham. The best way (the only way) for American Christians to bless Israel is to obey the God of Israel. Otherwise, our confessions will be overtaken and contradicted by our actions, which is taking place as we speak every time we see an Israeli child being dragged from his or her home. Watch what happens if we continue to give up more land to the so called Palestinians. Our zealous support of Israel will wane when the times get tough. Much of our religious support of Israel is based upon getting Jews back to Israel so the church can be zapped out of their nikes and can watch the destruction of Israel from front row seats. I have news for those who believe they will not be left behind. Your continued rejection of God's Torah may indeed place you in a position of being taken away.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 24:36-42But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
It seems to me that there may be a direct connection in this section of Mattityahu with the Hebrew word for the remnant. This word is sha'ar (שאר) and means those who remain. Hmmmmmm.
ARE YOU SAYING THAT GOD CAUSED THE HURRICANE TO DO THIS?
Let me begin with the conclusion, the answer is an emphatic NO! I know that the subject of who did this or who is doing that, is a controversial issue with conclusions being drawn many times from anecdotal sources. But, I do have a very definitive view of YHVH concerning this subject. I will state my premise first and then set out, I pray, to show my conclusion from Scripture. There are a number of scriptures that I call pillar scriptures. Those revelations that I consider to be foundational, and must be satisfied when confronted with other scriptures or proposals about theological issues. I believe that God is perfectly good, righteous, holy and the epitome of love and mercy.
Luke 18:19And Yeshua' said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
1Kefa (1Peter) 1:16Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
1Yochanan (1John) 4:8He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
God is wholeness and completeness, He is all the fruit listed in Galatians 5:22. The adversary, however, is the epitome of evil, wickedness, destruction, chaos, disease and depression. He encompasses all that is wrong in this world. I believe that the pattern for God's goodness and hasatan's wickedness is established in the first four chapters of Bere'shiyt (Genesis). I have yet to see these patterns fail. Because of the serpent's deception of Chavah (Eve) he (satan) was to eat dust all the days of his life. Eating the dust is an idiom in Hebrew and in English. It is an idiom for death. I believe it refers to death and all that goes with death. The pattern of the adversary begins here. He is the prince of death and destruction. He is the thief and he steals, kills and destroys (Yochanan 10:10). He makes the world like a wilderness, opens not the house of his prisoners, and destroys it's cities (Yesha'yahu (Isaiah) 14:17).
I believe and teach in my Bere'shiyt series what I consider to be a very fundamental concept, a concept of God that Orthodox Judaism has traditionally shared. The Word of God cannot be separated from God. God is His Word. God is not doing one thing, while His Word does another; they are one in the same. I also agree with other Rabbinic teaching that when the Scriptures state that God redeems something or destroys something, that it is actually His Word performing what it was lawfully designed to do. In other words, it is not actually God casting down destruction, but rather the natural result of the circumventing of His Word. God has set natural and spiritual laws into motion in the beginning. When those laws are violated, there are ramifications according to the laws of like kind, knowing this ahead of time (that is why I love YHVH so much. He knows so much more than me). He pleads to us to keep His laws, to keep His Torah, for He knows the dreadful results of disobeying them. The unique writing style of Hebrew expresses the results of defying God's Word by declaring that God did it, because God cannot be separated from His Word. His Word is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. His Word is alive, and according to Yesha'yahu 55:10-11, it will not return unto Him void, it or He, will accomplish what He sent it to do. It is this writers opinion that the book of Hitgalut (Revelation) reveals a world that suffers the prophesied rejection of God's Word. It reveals a Creator who takes His loving, merciful, longsuffering hand OFF the world and those who dwell in it, rather than a God exacting revenge or pouring out judgment likened unto the Greek gods reclining on the clouds tossing lightning bolts at unsuspecting lovers cavorting on the beach with flowers in their hair. I believe that the darkness and destruction to come is purposed in hasatan, and that it is his destiny and function. It appears that the adversary is turned loose on the world and it's inhabitants, to meet out that which is his condemnation after the fall, to crawl on his belly and eat the dust of the earth.
So, what is the bottom line to all this? Well, if America is going to suffer the ramifications of turning it's back on Israel and the land that is rightfully theirs, then it will be because America has abandoned the Word of God that reveals that truth. It will be the results that YHVH prophesied would happen in Devariym 28. Our dominant religious systems would agree that God will not be mocked. What they do not understand is that the Word of God will not be mocked. I believe that the tragedy we are currently seeing is God's last plea to America. Repent and turn from your wicked ways and I will abate the waters, forgive your sin and heal your land.
Shalom Alecheim! ◊