Right before your eyes: It has been one of those nights when sleep eludes me. Images of Taliban mobs flood my mind, the scenes of muzzle flash from rifles, RPGs on men’s shoulders, women fleeing in terror, Christians praying for God to make them faithful amidst what awaits them. Pictures and stories unfold before my eyes. I see the weapons Islamists brandish, see the women and girls flee and hide in terror, smell the odors of Kabul and the rest of Afghanistan. (For those who have been, you remember well the pungent odors of Afghanistan.) I can see the black beautiful eyes of  the Afghani children. I see their tragedy—defenselessness amidst the horrors awaiting them. I see my fellow soldiers left behind by their own government. I see America being transformed into a spectacle. No wonder sleep has fled. It (this sleeplessness) is an inconvenience when compared to the horrors allowed and unleashed. I grieve for what we have become. Lord, have mercy. Church, have courage. 

The same pattern: In the Old Testament book of Habakkuk, set in the 600s B.C., the prophet of God Habakkuk addresses his nation when it was in chaos. The complaint that Habakkuk expresses may be summed up simply: Why does God allow such evils to befall this nation or any nation? Why does God allow wicked nations to seem to triumph over other nations (who are also wicked)? How does God’s providence explain this? Any thoughtful person grapples with similar questions today. Amidst the nations that rage and the peoples of the earth that plot evil towards one another and at God, how long, O Lord, and why? 

First, Habakkuk’s Question: 

O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. (Habakkuk 1:2-4 ESV)

Second, the Position: 

Judah is being controlled and judged by Assyria and now Babylonian empires. Why? Because Judah, too, was wicked. God was using wicked empires (Assyria and Babylon) to judge another wicked nation (Judah) as demonstrations of His righteousness, His hatred of sin, His judgment of it, and of His—yes—providential care. In chapter three of his book, Habakkuk utters one of the most powerful statements in the Bible: “in wrath remember mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2b ESV). This is central to the Christian message. This gets to the heart of the matter: wrath and mercy, and what wrath and mercy have to do with God, with us, with questions of justice, evil, and providence. 

Third, the Answer: 

God, despite loud cries to the contrary, does answer questions about evil, about suffering, about theodicy, about providence. 

Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. (Habakkuk 1:5 ESV)

God was raising up the wicked Chaldeans, “that bitter and hasty nation” (Hab 1:6) to wreak violence upon Judah. God told Habakkuk again even why He was judging:

Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity! Behold, is it not from the LORD of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:12-14)

God was “doing a work” that He tells Habakkuk the people “would not believe if told” (Hab 1:5). Catch that? First, God was doing a work. Second, the people would not believe if told. 

So what must happen? The people must be made to experience it. Nothing teaches quite like suffering. My grandfather used to say that to me in his folksy wisdom. But that is biblical. Nothing teaches quite like suffering. 

Takeaway and encouragement: Habakkuk finally understood that the righteous shall live by faith (Hab 2:4). He makes the great confession in his prayer: 

O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy. (Habakkuk 3:2 ESV)

Habakkuk was answered by God. What was God’s response? Trust Him. Put your faith in God, in His way, in His justice, in His plan for the nations. Don’t trust in chariots and horses (Psalm 20:7). Trust the one true and living God. 

God was and is the God of both wrath and mercy. His wrath is poured out upon sin. And His mercy is poured out, too. Just like in Habakkuk’s prayer—“in wrath remember mercy” (Hab 3:2). God did, you see. Jesus the Christ took the wrath. And mercy flows to all who receive Christ alone as their Redeemer, Substitute, and only sufficient sacrifice for sin. 

A majestic hymn by the Gettys, “The Power of the Cross,” says it all:

This the power of the cross,

Christ became sin for us, took the blame bore the wrath

we stand forgiven at the cross.

—CH Pirtle

Ever walked into a beautiful church? I have, too. Georgia has some truly beautiful churches. Some are cruciform in design—in the shape of the cross of Christ from an aerial view. One of my favorites is a Presbyterian church in Hinesville, just south of Fort Stewart. The stained glass windows depict historical scenes from Scripture. The acoustic designs in the sanctuary carry the theological hymns to the ears of worshipers, week in and week out. 

I remember when I was stationed in Europe and traveled often through Germany, but also to England, France,  Austria, Italy, and Switzerland, among other places, partly to view the churches. Amazing! How one can stand in Notre Dame and not sense foretastes of heaven! We are designed to respond to beauty with gratitude.  

Be we are living in a time that has rejected beauty. Secular culture prefers the crass. Why have acoustics, arches, and spires pointed to the heavens when you can have toilets? Do you know what the most visited piece of ‘art’ is at New York’s Guggenheim? It’s called America. Know what it is? It’s a toilet. No, I am not kidding. Research it for yourself. And it’s available for patrons to use. The reason? Obviously, to use scatological functions to demonstrate their views of America. This is what we have come to. From Christian Notre Dame in Paris to the golden toilet at the Guggenheim. Why? Because of secularism. 

This is what rejection of God leads to—a rejection of the Author of beauty, the Author of goodness, the Author of truth. You are left with the scatological, with a golden toilet named for the nation whose theologians include massive influences like Jonathan Edwards, R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur, and Francis Schaeffer. Yet the secularists line up to use this ‘art’.

You see a culture given over to what the Bible calls a debased/reprobate mind. It is a culture that is upside down, in love with perversion, and enslaved to sin. Listen to what Scripture says. Hear how folly follows from the suppression of the truth of God’s revelation:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:18-32 ESV)

The Alternatives: I don’t know how much farther down the West will go. I do know history well enough to know that cannibalism and child sacrifice and bestiality are linked to Oneist paganism. I do know that I receive requests from service members claiming paganism as their religion. So don’t kid yourself; you need to be aware of the culture you are in, whether you want to admit it or not. When ‘art’ is now the scatological, when Christ is rejected, reprobation will reign. The fools are professing themselves wise. Loudly. And the evidence is present before you. How is secularism working out? No God, no objective standard, loss of civility, loss of critical thinking skills, etc. 

And yet the biblical worldview calls out to all with ears to hear:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8-9 ESV)

The beautiful, the good, and the true—antidotes to chaos.

Remember these? I am old enough to have lived through some events whose meaning altered the ways in which modern man lives. These may have changed what many now view as normative. Are there not lessons here about the temptation of giving in to fear?

Reflect upon these:

• the nuclear power plant at Chernobyl in the USSR spreads radiation over Russia and Europe (1986)
• a terrorist bomb destroys a Pan-Am 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland (1988)
• in China more than a million demonstrate in Tiananmen Square for more democracy (1989)
• Iraq invades Kuwait and seizes oil assets, igniting the Persian Gulf War (1990)
• Timothy McVeigh bombs the Oklahoma City federal building in retaliation for the Branch Davidian standoff in 1993. He’s caught and put on trial for murder (1995)
• The House impeaches Clinton for lying and obstructing justice (1998)
• On September 11, terrorists attack the World Trade Center in New York. The twin towers are hit by two jet airliners and collapse. Over 3,000 are killed. Another plane hits the Pentagon, and a fourth crashes in Pennsylvania (2001)
• “15 days to flatten the curve” after viruses from Wuhan, China are spread (March 2020)

Lessons from history? I could continue, of course, with more events. But most would agree that these events changed things. Things that were normative in our lives were jarred. They were shaken. They were upset.

I remember being scared after Chernobyl videos because media made it seem the sky was falling and we would all die of radiation soon. After the Pan-Am terrorist attack, I remember how media whipped us into a frenzy about Islamic terrorism. I remember the incessant videos of Tiananmen Square and of how one man’s courage demonstrated to the world the evils of communism and its hatred of the individual. I remember Clinton lying over and over to the world and of how truth died daily with each replaying of his lies. I remember being just off post near Ft. Stewart when Islamic terrorists flew planes into the WTC in NY, the Pentagon, and aimed others at the White House, but how one brave soul shouting, “Let’s Roll!” saved others’ lives.

And we all are still living with masks, potential jabs, “social distancing,” “the new normal,” the end of dining out in actual restaurants but having to use their drive-thrus, etc. due to “guidance” from government employees. Coronavirus has a 99.9% survivability rate, but it is being used to change the way the world lives—well, some of the world. The rules don’t apply to everyone, just to the little people.

The default position for some people is easily summed up: fear. It is sad to see. It paralyzes them. Many families are divided from loved ones over their views on taking the jab, on masks, on shaking hands, on “social distancing.” Many people have let themselves become homebound out of fear. Many students live through their computers via “online learning.” Some so-called churches still don’t assemble. Our church does assemble, and we are packed. So, take courage; there are churches about who do still gather, who do still fellowship, who do still worship, and do still gladly sit under the preaching of the Scriptures.

Encouragement: I do not wish to lose relationships over my views of the coronavirus/flu, or whether or not you believe Tony Fauci is an honest man who is actually concerned about your health, or whether you agree with me that Critical Race Theory and being ‘woke’ and all things politically correct are destroying the remaining vestiges of heretofore common sense and honesty. But I do wish to encourage you to begin where you are. Reach those in your circle. Demonstrate compassion to those the Lord brings to you. Speak truth lovingly but courageously and clearly. We are all surely sick to death of political schmoozing and posturing and condescension. To live in fear is to forfeit hope. Trust the Lord, not the media. The media make money by keeping you in a panic. They keep you tuned in and on edge for the next catastrophe. That’s not living, folks. That’s being pimped by emotional bullies. Step back, recalibrate, and recognize that you do not have to be a victim.

Historical example: One of the most moving friendships in history is that of David and Jonathan in the Old Testament. Jonathan knew that his father (Saul) was a jealous and wicked man. Jonathan recognized that David, on the contrary, was God’s man. After the Lord used David to prevail over Goliath (1 Samuel 17), we see the friendship between Jonathan and David grow: “Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul” (1 Samuel 18:3 ESV). 

Much is going on here. The two men are friends, of course, but there is a recognition by Jonathan that David is the man of God’s own choosing, the soon-to-be Old Testament king for a season, the king that God will prosper, the king who is to don the armor for war, the king who is a precursor of the Messiah-King Jesus who will come later. And look what Jonathan does as a symbol of recognizing David: “And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt” (1 Samuel 18:4 ESV).  

Jonathan, Saul’s son, should have been the one to be king after wicked Saul, but God sovereignly intervened via sovereign grace. And Jonathan recognized it, and did what was right in the eyes of God. He put his trust in God’s man. 

Connection to military life: In the Army, we soldiers are to follow the Army Values. For civilians who may not know them, here they are: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage. The acrostic LEADERSHIP is therein promulgated. Loyalty remains central to the success of nations, of armies, of organizations, of families, but ultimately to us on the individual level and how we relate to God. The language from the Army regarding loyalty elaborates on it this way: “Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit and other Soldiers.” 

A Day in the Life: I was in a conversation once with a friend who was sharing some sensitive information with me that was to remain private. But an eavesdropper was nearby. And he did what eavesdroppers do: he leaned in—like a parasite—and attached himself to information that was not for him. And how long do you think it took him to share what he thought he had learned with others of his ilk? Exactly. Not long. Not long at all. To use an expression I heard and used a lot growing up in the country, in a jiffy. Why is the world like that? Because some folks love to be busybodies, to eavesdrop, to stir things up. They are like Saul—petty, jealous, insecure people.  

Encouragement: Jonathan was loyal to David. David was loyal to Jonathan. Some folks are loyal only to their sin natures—like Saul. They may sport a carapace of honor but their shell will be unveiled in time, just like Saul’s was. He fell many times internally before he fell literally. Saul was loyal only to Saul, you see. And that made all the difference. How do we maintain hope? How do we know where to place our loyalty? How can we be loyal men and women ourselves? By recognizing and obeying the One who is “Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11 ESV). Belief is evidenced by behavior. Jonathan recognized that David, though a very imperfect man, was nevertheless God’s man. In a world sabotaging itself daily through false kings, false friends, false flags, and Sauls of every stripe, may we be people loyal to our calling as followers of the One, the Lord Jesus, who was loyal to the end, One who “sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24 ESV). 

Illustration from childhood: When I was a kid one of my favorite shows we could watch on TV was called Wild America. If memory serves correctly, it was by filmmaker and nature enthusiast Marty Stouffer, an outdoorsy guy from Arkansas with a bushy beard and a passion for all things natural. He had a way with filming wildlife that captured the raw beauty and raw battles that characterize the natural world—birds swooping down to snatch fish from a lake; bears feasting upon salmon when the fish go upstream to spawn; does nursing spotted fawns in spring and early summer, etc.

I am fortunate to be able to enjoy many nature scenes of my own due to where we live. No salmon, of course, but I have seen eagles, varieties of fish, hawks, possums, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, innumerable squirrels, countless deer, and bears. We have a couple of bears that have grown quite comfortable around humans.

Connection to today: Yesterday morning as I was looking over my notes for teaching at church later that morning, I sensed movement in the woods outside of our kitchen window. Sure enough, there was one of the black bears with his nose to the wind, sniffing and moving, following the scents.

It is fascinating to watch bears. The inside of a bear’s nose is a hundred times greater than a man’s. A bear’s sense of smell is seven times greater than a bloodhound’s. A bear can literally smell you from miles away. Conservative estimates are that black bears can smell things 18-20 miles out. Amazing. He knows you’re there, believe me.

When I watch the bears at our place, I can see their nostrils flare, imbibing the smells that mostly elude humans. They like to come eat my sunflower seeds I put out for the birds. And the deer and squirrels like to feast on the seeds, too. Then at night, the coons come and get their share. In the mornings, persistent twitching squirrels watch from the oak boughs, then scurry down when our cat is snoozing in the sun, and snatch some seeds, then scamper back up the trees and munch away, their black eyes alive as fire, alert.

For the squirrels, it’s the height from which they survey potential predators. For the raccoons, it’s their agility at night. For the whitetails, it’s their sense of smell and those radar-like ears that enable them to skirt away in a flash. But with those bears, it’s that amazing nose. It alerts them. It serves as a means to discern, to distinguish. Friend or foe? Safe or dangerous? This way or that way? Their nose knows, if you will.

Connection to what’s unfolding: I love to watch nature, to appreciate it, and to steward it. In the biblical worldview, stewarding the world is part of the cultural mandate from God. God told us we are to “subdue it, and have dominion over … every living thing” (Genesis 1:28). We are to cultivate the creation wisely. The paradigm extends to the family. Husbands and wives are to raise children wisely in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). The sovereign God who authored all of the beautiful and sometimes terrifying animals and features and sounds and smells has given us a way to know, to discern, and to distinguish.

The squirrels have their speed and that amazing ability to be up and down the massive oaks in a split second. The deer have their keen smell, nimble legs, and radar-like ears to let them know. These bears have those sensitive noses to the wind, absorbing, discerning, and distinguishing. Wouldn’t it be something if folks would return to the Word for the world, would stop putting their noses to the winds of relativism of a pagan world system, would distinguish, discern, and flourish in the way the Lord intends for those he loves? It would almost be like, well, the creation was operating according to its design by the One who knows best, its Architect.

     “This hurts me more than it hurts you.” Ever hear that when you were being disciplined by your parents? I certainly did. I remember the instruments of discipline, too: a worn brown leather belt that popped, a wooden paddle, a green limb off a willow tree from down by Granddaddy’s catfish pond, etc. There were more instruments but those are some that “impressed” me, shall we say. But now that I am much older, I look back in gratitude upon the deserved discipline. My family was raising me to work hard, to tell the truth, to be respectful, to grow up into responsible adulthood. 

     In the book of Hebrews, the writer encourages weary Christians to persevere, not to give up, not to abandon the truth of the gospel of God: justification by grace alone through faith alone in the person and work of Christ alone. 

     Why did the writer labor his point? Because the initial recipients of the New Testament book of Hebrews were predominantly just that—Hebrews, Jewish Christians prior to A.D. 70 when Jerusalem was sacked by Rome. They were being persecuted for their faith. Some were tempted to retreat, to surrender to political pressure, to bow to the wicked godless government. 

     Hebrews (as a book) speaks to a call to persevere, to not whine about the discipline believers receive, but to trust the Lord, and to be obedient and faithful—to be like the Lord Jesus. He, too, endured suffering, was betrayed by wicked men, was maligned and cursed. But he remained faithful to to the end. And just when Satan thought he had killed God, three days later, Jesus rose bodily from the grave. Despite added Roman guards, despite hyper-vigilance by the occupying army, despite all the evil forces that converged, Christ conquered the grave just as he had promised. He even appeared to hundreds post-resurrection, told Thomas to touch him and see and believe (John 20:24-29), spoke with Mary at the tomb (John 20:11-18), appeared to and spoke with the disciples (John 20:19-23). The historical examples go on and on. Luke 24 is as powerful of a Christian apologetic of the Christian faith as one could ever ask for. 

     But what I sense today among many professing Christians is a desire to not be uncomfortable. Many want comfortable Christianity. Listen to Hebrews 12:3-6 where the writer reminds Christians of the theology of suffering:

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

     “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 

Encouragement: Discipline is seldom pleasant when we experience it. “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11 ESV). 

     Persevere, dear Christian. The Lord sees. He is faithful. He is refining you and shaping you into a vessel fit for eternal glory. To be left without suffering, without discipline, would be a sign you are abandoned by God, illegitimate. Let us thank God for his redeeming grace for all who turn to him in genuine repentance and faith. 

A few years ago I was listening to a teaching from R.C. Sproul entitled, “Have You Lost Your Mind?” It was about, among other things, the dumbing down of almost everything to zero. Sproul lamented soft, shallow preaching from the Scriptures; he lamented the abandonment of logic. He lamented because emotion and personality so often trump revelation and reason. I have since gone back and listened to that teaching again and again on YouTube. It is linked for you here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMfnFg-zIJg

One of the many true statements Sproul made was this one: “We are living in the most anti-intellectual climate in the history of the Christian church.” Agreed, sir! I don’t like having to agree with that statement. I wish it were not true. But it is true. I, too, lament the sad levels to which much of the Christian church has descended.

But I study history. And I see in history that we have been here before. As Solomon wrote, there is nothing new:

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9 ESV)

The deplorable level to which cultures sink morally and culturally is not new. It is as old as sinners. So I find encouragement in the Scriptures when I see we have been here before and what happened. At the risk of getting ahead of myself, a great revealing is at hand.

Just think of Yeats’ poem, “The Second Coming”:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre   
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere   
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst   
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.   
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out   
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert   
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,   
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,   
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it   
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.   
The darkness drops again; but now I know   
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,   
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,   
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

You see it there? “[S]ome revelation is at hand,” Yeats wrote. Yeats, no orthodox Christian, saw there was a revealing occurring in his lifetime. He witnessed the West turning its back on God. T.S. Eliot saw it, too. The Waste Land, Eliot’s sophisticated lament about the consequences of secularism, is summed up in one of the title’s words: waste.

In a Bible class I teach at our church, we are looking into the gospel in Isaiah. God used the prophetic voice of Isaiah in the 700s B.C.

Listen to the words of both judgment of sin and hope from Isaiah:

And it shall be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people’s way.” For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isaiah 57:14-15 ESV)

What a juxtaposition! God is both “high and lifted up” and yet “with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.” Both. Simultaneously. That is remarkable. God is majestic and transcendent, yes, but he condescends to the humble. He is near to the brokenhearted. He is a revealing God who reveals to us our need of him and his gospel.

I have a peer at work who has a unique way with words I just love. I do a lot of listening when she has something on her mind and on her heart. But one of the most striking things she has said to me a lot over recent days is, “This is a time of revealing, chaplain. Folks are gonna see who is who and what is what, and there won’t be any hiding.”

I think she is right. It’s not because I needed her to tell me that. I knew that already from what has been revealed. As the writer of Hebrews puts it,

. . . no creature is hidden from his [God’s] sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13 ESV)

Yeats asked, “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,/Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” Well, One was born in Bethlehem, and you will face that reality. Maybe not today but you will face it. Now matters, you see. It has everlasting consequences. Why? Because the clock is ticking. Because what you do regarding the person and work of Jesus Christ is determinative. Because he is the One who was, per the Apostles’ Creed,

conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

A great revealing is at hand. A remnant was saved in Isaiah’s day. God revived (gave new life). He made a new heart for the contrite (Isaiah 57:15b). That is the gospel in Isaiah, folks. The revealing God has spoken. As Schaeffer wrote, he is there and he is not silent.

Questions: Ever doubted that the Lord was with you? Ever felt like you were insufficient for a task to which God has called you? Ever thought the circumstances you were in were so messed up they were beyond redemption? Well, you are not alone. The Bible, because it is true, describes people the way we really are. It does not airbrush us to make us prettier than we are. Consider the case of Gideon.

Historical context: 1200s B.C. The time of the judges. The Jews had been promised by God a land. But they often had weak faith. They failed to trust the Lord fully. And so they failed to live according to God’s Word to them. They were oppressed by various enemies: the Mesopotamians, the Moabites, the Philistines, and in Gideon’s time, the Midianites. The Midianites were oppressing Israel when God called him to fight in the Lord’s army, to be a warrior for the Lord. And Gideon’s response?

Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house (Judges 6:15). 

Even been there? Ever felt like, “Lord, I trust you, but I’m not up to this task”? God reminded Gideon, however, who is sovereign in warfare. 

And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man”  (Judges 6:16). 

God teaches Gideon what he teaches believers throughout church history: it’s not man’s might that saves. It’s not chariots and horses that save. It’s not human machinations and human cleverness that save. It’s the Lord who saves. 

Encouragement: If you’re a believer, and you find yourself putting out the fleece like Gideon did, and you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by circumstances, by oppressors (political, spiritual, personal, etc.) read Gideon’s story again. The Lord reminded Gideon—not just once, twice, or even three times, but repeatedly: “But I will be with you” (6:16) and “Do not fear; you shall not die” (6:23). 

Takeaway: In the NT, Paul reminds us of what he learned, what Gideon learned, and what all Christians are to learn: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25). Believers are warriors, make no doubt about it, and the battles are ultimately spiritual:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). 

We can find solace in the fact that Scripture shares with us how our predecessors likewise had weak faith at times. But we ought to see the great truth that it is not the strength of our faith that saves but the One—the Lord Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16)—in whom our faith abides. 

I keep in my pocket a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Pictured above is one of those copies. Have you ever read the documents? They were world-shaping, emancipatory, transformative documents. They remain world-shaping, emancipatory, transformative documents. The first few sentences of the second paragraph in the Declaration are profound. When you ponder what they say, it is no wonder America, in her founding principles, is the envy of the world:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, they they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. 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. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

The immediate pressing historical despot was Britain’s King George III (1738-1820). The next twenty-seven paragraphs in the Declaration list historical realities the Americans in the original thirteen colonies and more were enduring at the hands of a ruler they viewed as an occupier, one not elected by them, one who did not represent their values. He was a British citizen and Britain’s monarch. The young American patriots did not create another monarchy but a democratic republic. The people, not monarchs or plutocrats, would rule their nation by electing those who represented their values. It was to be a bottom-up republic, not a top-down monarchy/plutocracy/corporatocracy/aristocracy.

I don’t much believe what I see on the ‘news’, because most of it has become crass, juvenile, and utterly anti-intellectual. When Anderson Cooper waded into a pond for the camera in September 2018 in order to make it appear the rains from the storm Florence were hurricane-level behemoths, and camera angles made it appear legitimate to undiscerning CNN viewers that Anderson was braving the elements to bring them the truth, but then other video appeared with the realistic picture of the levels of rainfall, Cooper was again disgraced.

When it is crafted to appear that thousands of supporters have turned out for a politician when in fact there is only a handful of people in attendance, the wise person realizes that truth is not what the media monsters value. When Brian Williams lied about his helicopter coming under enemy fire in Iraq in 2013, he later, only when caught in the lies, said he “made a mistake in the recalling of events.”

I have been in some rather tense situations in various countries across the globe across many years in the military. I promise you: I can remember where I was, who I was with, what time of day/night it was, and what happened. It’s not the sort of thing one forgets. Had the helicopter I was in been shot down, I think I’d remember that clearly, if I’d managed to escape. But for the media monsters, well, “mistakes were made.”

When I read all I could stand of this week’s news, it was more of the same: Critical Race Theory being forced upon the populace by elites; women’s sports continuing to be destroyed by men who say they’re women; U.S. borders inundated with illegals; politicians not wearing their face diapers but sermonizing about how the proles must. And camera-hungry Tony Fauci, doing his best not to pass out when having to speak to Senator Paul and Congress about revelation after revelation of the corruption, about the coronavirus, about masks, about shots, about lockdowns–all for the masses but not for the politicians.

See the parallels? In the 1700s, American patriots were not as dumb or as docile or as dependent upon Britain as Britain bargained for. The patriots were a hearty lot, determined to live and to let live. I sense a similar timbre across America today. A lot of folks have had more than enough. I do not know what lies ahead for the nation. I do know that “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,” though (Psalm 33:12). But the nation, by and large, hates the Lord. Apparently, most folks think they know better. So, you’re seeing the results. I see a behemoth government, hostile to the people, thumbing its nose at the Lord, and even at those who just long to be left alone by government. We shall see what lies ahead. But as for me and my household, I don’t think that CRT, being ‘woke’, mystery shots, or face diapers are going to be the nation’s salvation. I hope the patriots will read the Declaration and Constitution again, and see why we rightly call the Founding Fathers wise. They knew their history. May we also.

Illustration: We sat in captain chairs on the dock and watched the water. It moved steadily in the canals. 500 miles of canals in the city; that was one of the city’s claims to fame. I remember bringing some of my family to Venice, Italy some years back when I was stationed several hours north of there in Bavaria, and I thought Venice had a lot of canals. Well, it does, but not as many as where we were in Florida. Beautiful boats glided by. Many of them trailed U.S. flags from their sterns. I still get emotional inside when I see our flag. It encouraged me to see almost all of the boats—huge vessels, pontoons, sailboats, speed boats, etc.—fly Old Glory. It manifested something about Americans’ unity amidst their diversity. Some folks sailed; some folks fished; some folks skied; some folks just cruised. But the nation’s colors flew high above the sea. It is an image that I keep with me. When we sat on the dock some evenings, the setting sun played upon the water and cast colors of tangerine, bronze, and flame across surfaces. The fronds of the palms waved as if by invisible hands. And narrow silver fish would burst from the canals’ water so suddenly, your heart would race for an instant. There is something about being on the water, something that speaks to one’s soul. I don’t mean in a pantheistic sort of way, of course, only that the water, to me, often serves as a metaphor for renewal and remembrance.

Segue: In Isaiah, set in the 700s B.C., we see God speaking through the prophet Isaiah to a nation about God’s own glory, about the nation’s sin, about God’s judgment of that sin, and of how the same covenant-keeping God will nonetheless redeem particular people for his new creation. Isaiah’s book is a God-saturated book of cosmic proportions wherein the Creator of all judges sin and yet redeems particular sinners. New is brought out of the old. Clean is brought from the defiled. Justice is brought out of injustice and corruption. All things are made new for those in the Lord. The word through pervades the book of Isaiah.

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Isaiah 43:2-3a).

Isaiah brought God’s message to a recalcitrant people: God was with his people to bring them through the valley of the shadow of death. The question they faced is the same all of us face as individual people: are you and I in Christ? Are we God’s people? Or are we like the masses who go their own way and reap the whirlwind of God’s judgment?

Encouragement: For mature Christians who know Scripture well, this may sound elementary, because you already know God’s revealed truth. But for the many people who will likely never pick up a Bible and read it, they likely don’t know, or they have errant views of what Scripture teaches. So here is the bottom line of Isaiah and the bottom line of the Bible: God is good, perfectly good. We sinners are not. Therefore, because God is holy, perfectly righteous and good, he must judge our sin. We either bear the penalty of that sin ourselves, or one must intercede on our behalf who is sufficient and efficient to satisfy the holiness of God. Jesus Christ, the God-man, 100% God and 100% man, was born of the virgin Mary, thereby breaking the sin bloodline, lived a perfect life, was crucified, buried, and rose again as proof of his divinity and triumph over the grave. For those who flee to Christ alone in repentance and faith, he will redeem them. Their sin is imputed to Christ as the one and only acceptable sacrifice, and Jesus’s righteousness is imputed to us sinners. In our place, condemned he (Jesus) stood. As Jesus himself put it,

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:37-40)

That is good news, folks. It is unimaginably good news for all those who are in Christ. It means that we are new creations because of God who walked through the valley, conquered through the grave, and will bring his people through to their appointed end.

–CH Pirtle