Sadly, I have been watching the news of lot lately. So, it has been difficult for me to keep world news out of this blog. Today, is the day I no longer contain myself. As I read Ezekiel 7, I read that the LORD will unleash His anger upon the land! The LORD will do it. The land; the people; will be devastated for their sin. That is the whole land, everyone, for all the people have sinned. Sometimes, I think we need to keep a closer watch on our own sins, rather than the alleged sins of others.
We keep threatening war. Well, not actually war. We continue to threaten to spank the Assad regime if they do not confess, repent, and turn over their chemical weapons. We will assist Al Qaeda supporters in bringing down those in power in Syria. We will assist those who attack; who would attempt to destroy every Christian in the land. At least, that is my take on it. President Obama has decided to wait and see if President Putin's diplomatic intervention works, before we decide for sure if we will spank Assad.
I'm not so sure who needs to be spanked here. First off, Assad has pretty much admitted that they have chemical weapons. But, he has not admitted to using them on his people. So, where is the evidence that it is he and not the rebel forces that need a spanking? Are we so sure that the rebel forces do not have and did not use chemical weapons and try to pin it on the government to glean support for their side? Another part of the problem that I see is: who put us (U.S.) in charge of administering spankings to those whom we "think" may be responsible? I am not even so sure if the horrific deaths are actually our government's real and first concern. Is the trouble in Syria or if it just a ruse to redirect our attention from all the troubles we have at home; that would be our own sins. Although admittedly not as horrific as the massacres by beheading or the dropping of deadly chemicals upon the people; they are very real issues that need to be dealt with. But, how do we decide who is guilty in a country where there is such violence? Is any party not guilty?
Today, I am praying that President Putin's diplomatic efforts pay off and we can avoid getting involved in any more civil wars; that we can avoid supporting any more groups that will come back and attack our cities here in this country once we have given them more power (today is the anniversary of 9-11). That we can totally avoid helping those who belong to the very same groups that we have been fighting (how many of our troops have died fighting rebel forces of the same ilk?) in other countries in that region.
If all of the news reports are half-way true, Syria is one major mess. There are very few who can claim innocence. I just do not understand who or what we would be aiming missiles at. Certainly we wouldn't be dropping missiles on chemical weapons stores that would kill even more people, would we? Then what? Airstrips, where there are more civilians working? How many more people would die with this spanking?
The LORD will deal with us all according to our conduct. May we not hear this word from him:
“The end! The end has come
upon the four corners of the land!
The end is now upon you,
and I will unleash my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct
and repay you for all your detestable practices." (Ezekiel 7:1 NIV)
May God bless President Putin's efforts toward peace.
God's Peace - Pr. J
