Hail Caesar No More
Greetings in the Lord~
This week's word comes from two places in Scripture: Isaiah 14 and 2 Samuel 13. Now I've been receiving 2 Samuel 13 for a couple weeks but was not completely discerning what or who it was referring to, and as my practice, I wait until I know the prophetic meaning or significance before I post about it. Even then, there are some words that take more prompting from the Lord for me to write about, usually because its on a delicate topic or of a sober nature that people don't get excited about--especially those who run after "sweet" prophetic words like they're kids chasing the ice cream truck. Seriously. However, I do think it's interesting that the pendulum has swung the other direction in places, where people are plain sick of "ice cream" because there are so many ice cream trucks driving around all the live long day. All they hear is the noise of the trucks playing their jingle tunes that they shut their ears, go get their Bibles and eat some real meat and potatoes for a change. Fancy that. Anyway, that is another blog...
Today's word begins with Isaiah 14 and it talks about God having mercy on Israel's captivity and hardships and beginning to rebuild them again, even bringing the nations of the world to help in the process. As they get re-assembled and stronger in the land, they will even begin to taunt their former oppressor--the "king of Babylon." This is where chapter 14 gets debated in Bible scholar circles, for there are those who say the 'king' being talked about is Satan, others say it was just a prominent king on earth. I tend to see it as both--one who wanted to be worshipped in a very demonic way and was delusional about wanting to be 'higher than God;' certainly Satan fits that bill, too. So let's circumvent that debate and understand that the passage is referring to a 'king' of sorts that desires to be worshipped like a god--Caesar worship--which is a very big mistake to make. In fact, this chapter tells us that not only will God remove him from his earthly seat of power, but this 'king' will even be mocked in Hell by former evil leaders when he gets there. All of these gluttons for power lived evil lives and will "not be given a proper burial, for you have destroyed your nation and slaughtered your people." These ego maniacs were terrible tyrants that eventually reaped what they sowed.
Moving onto 2 Samuel 13 we read about the selfish, abusive and lustful natures of some of David's sons. Amnon, David's oldest, lusted after his half-sister, Tamar, and raped her instead of considering marriage, which he could have done if he really had loved her. Obviously, his vision of being a prince (having earthly authority) meant he could do whatever he wanted. Well, that wicked incident unleashed retaliating violence, murder, betrayal and attempts by David's own sons to steal the throne from King David. What a mess! Clearly, David's love of God and faith was not shared by many of his own sons. Instead, they sought the power and advantages of being a king for its own sake, and desired to be loved by the people (worshipped) more than giving glory to God. This desire for "Caesar worship" can corrupt even the most noble of people, as it is purely demonic in nature.
So what can we glean from these passages? Most of us are not in a position to be tempted by "Caesar worship," but for those who are, 2018 will be the year of their downfall. Trouble is brewing within their own bloodlines and a day of reaping what they've sown will come. See the bigger picture, the moral landscape of a society is shaped from higher ups; their ways become the ways of the land. If one demands integrity and gives voice to justice, then the people in the land learn that integrity and justice are important and begin to follow suit. But unfortunately, the same goes for evil ways. The book of Micah talks about this kind of society...and interestingly, another by-product of evil: famine.
"How miserable I am! I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest who can find nothing to eat. Not a cluster of grapes or a single early fig can be found to satisfy my hunger. The godly people have all disappeared; not one honest person is left on earth. They are all murderers, setting traps even for their own brothers. Both their hands are equally skilled at doing evil! Officials and judges alike demand bribes. The people of influence get what they want, and together they scheme to twist justice. Even the best of them is like a brier; the most honest is as dangerous as a hedge of thorns. But your judgement day is coming swiftly now. Your time of punishment is here, a time of confusion. Don't trust anyone--not your best friend or even your wife! For the son despises his father. The daughter defies her mother. The daughter-in-law defies her mother-in-law. Your enemies are right in your own household!" Micah 7:1-6
So this year I expect that people who thrive on "Caesar worship" and have those types of ambitions in their hearts--and only God knows people's hearts--will meet the strong hand of the Lord. So we can begin to give thanks to God, for He alone is worthy of our praise and worship. May the glory of God be seen all over the earth.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
This week's word comes from two places in Scripture: Isaiah 14 and 2 Samuel 13. Now I've been receiving 2 Samuel 13 for a couple weeks but was not completely discerning what or who it was referring to, and as my practice, I wait until I know the prophetic meaning or significance before I post about it. Even then, there are some words that take more prompting from the Lord for me to write about, usually because its on a delicate topic or of a sober nature that people don't get excited about--especially those who run after "sweet" prophetic words like they're kids chasing the ice cream truck. Seriously. However, I do think it's interesting that the pendulum has swung the other direction in places, where people are plain sick of "ice cream" because there are so many ice cream trucks driving around all the live long day. All they hear is the noise of the trucks playing their jingle tunes that they shut their ears, go get their Bibles and eat some real meat and potatoes for a change. Fancy that. Anyway, that is another blog...
Today's word begins with Isaiah 14 and it talks about God having mercy on Israel's captivity and hardships and beginning to rebuild them again, even bringing the nations of the world to help in the process. As they get re-assembled and stronger in the land, they will even begin to taunt their former oppressor--the "king of Babylon." This is where chapter 14 gets debated in Bible scholar circles, for there are those who say the 'king' being talked about is Satan, others say it was just a prominent king on earth. I tend to see it as both--one who wanted to be worshipped in a very demonic way and was delusional about wanting to be 'higher than God;' certainly Satan fits that bill, too. So let's circumvent that debate and understand that the passage is referring to a 'king' of sorts that desires to be worshipped like a god--Caesar worship--which is a very big mistake to make. In fact, this chapter tells us that not only will God remove him from his earthly seat of power, but this 'king' will even be mocked in Hell by former evil leaders when he gets there. All of these gluttons for power lived evil lives and will "not be given a proper burial, for you have destroyed your nation and slaughtered your people." These ego maniacs were terrible tyrants that eventually reaped what they sowed.
Moving onto 2 Samuel 13 we read about the selfish, abusive and lustful natures of some of David's sons. Amnon, David's oldest, lusted after his half-sister, Tamar, and raped her instead of considering marriage, which he could have done if he really had loved her. Obviously, his vision of being a prince (having earthly authority) meant he could do whatever he wanted. Well, that wicked incident unleashed retaliating violence, murder, betrayal and attempts by David's own sons to steal the throne from King David. What a mess! Clearly, David's love of God and faith was not shared by many of his own sons. Instead, they sought the power and advantages of being a king for its own sake, and desired to be loved by the people (worshipped) more than giving glory to God. This desire for "Caesar worship" can corrupt even the most noble of people, as it is purely demonic in nature.
So what can we glean from these passages? Most of us are not in a position to be tempted by "Caesar worship," but for those who are, 2018 will be the year of their downfall. Trouble is brewing within their own bloodlines and a day of reaping what they've sown will come. See the bigger picture, the moral landscape of a society is shaped from higher ups; their ways become the ways of the land. If one demands integrity and gives voice to justice, then the people in the land learn that integrity and justice are important and begin to follow suit. But unfortunately, the same goes for evil ways. The book of Micah talks about this kind of society...and interestingly, another by-product of evil: famine.
"How miserable I am! I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest who can find nothing to eat. Not a cluster of grapes or a single early fig can be found to satisfy my hunger. The godly people have all disappeared; not one honest person is left on earth. They are all murderers, setting traps even for their own brothers. Both their hands are equally skilled at doing evil! Officials and judges alike demand bribes. The people of influence get what they want, and together they scheme to twist justice. Even the best of them is like a brier; the most honest is as dangerous as a hedge of thorns. But your judgement day is coming swiftly now. Your time of punishment is here, a time of confusion. Don't trust anyone--not your best friend or even your wife! For the son despises his father. The daughter defies her mother. The daughter-in-law defies her mother-in-law. Your enemies are right in your own household!" Micah 7:1-6
So this year I expect that people who thrive on "Caesar worship" and have those types of ambitions in their hearts--and only God knows people's hearts--will meet the strong hand of the Lord. So we can begin to give thanks to God, for He alone is worthy of our praise and worship. May the glory of God be seen all over the earth.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
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