PRÉCIS ON THE AMERICAN CRISIS: TOO MUCH RUBBISH, TOO FEW LABORERS

SCRIPTURE. “And [the leaders of] Judah said, ‘The strength of the burden bearers is weakening, and there is much rubbish; we are not able to work on the wall.’” – NEHEMIAH 4:10, AMPC

KEY TERM: “RUBBISH.” ‘Aphar’ [וְהֶעָפָ֖ר]: “From a root word meaning, ‘Dust of powdered gray;’ clay, earth, mud; ashes, ground mortar; ‘the remains of a destroyed city;’signifies utter defeat and humiliation; the base material of a human body to which it returns; indicates self-abasement; waste or rejected matter; any thing worthless; mingled mass; confusion.”

QUOTATION. “Civilization is not the creation of its outlaws but of men who have worked hard in the sweat of their brows, building on the past – against the outlaws, the immoralists, the advocates of violence and death. In obedience to Natural Law and by the grace of God, a few good men have stemmed the blood-dimmed tide in every generation, ‘though now it seems to some as if, at last, we were going under.’” ― JOHN SENIOR, The Death of Christian Culture, 1978; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘And Judah said’ — That is, the Jews now dwelling in Judah; to wit, some of them, being partly terrified by their enemies, and partly wearied with continual labour: ‘the strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed’ — The labourers have wrought so long and so hard that they are quite spent; ‘and there is much rubbish’ — More than we are able soon to remove: ‘so that we are not able to build the wall’ — Being forced to spend our time in removing the rubbish, and therefore we must desist for a season. Can Judah, that warlike, valiant tribe, speak thus? Active, leading men, have many times as much to do to grapple with the fears of their friends as with the terrors of their enemies.” – JOSEPH BENSON, Notes on the Holy Bible, 5 vols., 1811-1818; edited

DK’S TAKE. Today’s morning (May 30, 2024) was quiet and reflective, and as I began to speak to the Lord in our morning devotions, I once again felt a tear form up as I asked a Question. “Lord, why am I feeling a Great Sadness more and more these days? I had hardly finished the Question when “Nehemiah 4:10” flashed in my consciousness, a verse I do not know at all.

In this brief reflection then, I believe that true followers of Christ in America are experiencing a Great Lament as one would at a funeral honoring the death of a treasured loved one. So, what is it that we Christian Confessors are feeling down deep in our souls?

• The Death of Friendships that we have had for decades.
• The Death of Vision that has sustained us in our Church attendance.
• The Death of the Church itself as we discover its many sins.
• The Death of the Nation as she collapses under the weight of Immorality.

THE GOOD NEWS. Yet, beloved, had we not been ‘Spiritually Awakened for This Present Darkness by the Blaze of the Light of Truth,’ we would not have been able to See the Real Christ and His Real Canon. Nor would we now be hard at work reordering our steps to Rebuild the only True Wall worth building:

‘The Kingdom of God and its Holy City!’

No longer subject to the futile efforts of hopelessly cobbling together our decaying human towers, we are now free to focus upon our THREE-FOLD COMMISSION:

(1) “Learn to do right! Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless, plead for the widow’…(2) External religious worship religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world…(3) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” – ISAIAH 1:17; JAMES 1:27; MATTHEW 298:19-20, NKJV

We all clear, beloved? No saving of a nation nor a political party, but rather: ‘The Rescue of the lost, period!’