Today we have been inundated with the news of our elected Pres Obama in seeking to derail the DOMA Act. Interestingly he has done so in "secrecy" lest the conservatives reach out to derail his search to be an all - inclusive society. But, what is so disturbing is that it was done "in secret". So how are we to react? I think we just need to turn to a chapter in Jeremiah again for the lesson to be learned. Truly hindsight is 20/20.
Jer 38 is the story of the waffling Zedekiah. To be king means you listen to wise counsel, you heed the counsel and then assess the proper action. Zedekiah listens to counsel, who wanted permission to silence Jeremiah. Zedekiah much like Pilate washes his hands of the whole situation. However, once the deed has been planned and Jeremiah has been placed in a cistern to die, he rethinks his decision but has no way out of this dilemma. Enter Ebed-Melech, a true servant of God who pleads for Jeremiah's life. Once freed, what does Zedekiah do? He seeks "secret counsel" from Jeremiah. He promises protection for Jeremiah. What does Jeremiah do? He wisely listens but makes the decision once again to share with him what God has said: yield to the Babylonians and you will live and this city will be saved from fire. How does Zedekiah respond: I am fearful of the men of Judah. Thus he has listened but not heeded the true prophet's words. He has witnessed the accuracy of all what Jeremiah has said in the past so it was not like this was not measurable witness! Yet, Zedekiah's fear of man led him to listen but fail to heed the warnings. End of story: The last sight Zedekiah had was the execution of his sons by the Babylonians before they put out his eyes. Brutal, yes. You wonder if as he sat in the Babylonian jail cell he recalled the words of Jeremiah and said to himself: why did I not listen to Jeremiah? Why did I think my way was best? Why, why why? Because hindsight is truly 20/20.
We are living in a disoriented age. We call truth error, we call what is right wrong. We see sin but ignore it. Why? We are like Zedekiah: we are "afraid" of the Judahites. We have moved full circle from the godly standards of our forefathers to the time warp of what Jude wrote: Ju 1:18 “In the end time there will come scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires." We can read, hear and totally ignore the Word of God, because we think we "know better" than God. Paul wrote in Rom 1:25 "they exchange the truth of God for a lie" and we are seeing it before our very eyes. God said in Gen 2:24 and Mar 10:7 man..shall cleave unto his wife"... When God created marriage He made it Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve!
If we were to interview Zedekiah today he might tell us: listen, heed and follow the words of the Lord. Truly hindsight is 20/20. If the DOMA act is removed from the law, as Pres Obama seeks, we will surely see the lasting effects of in in the generations to come. The children will not know nor will they understand the beauty of marriage, they will be confused. God is not the author of confusion~ He is the author of order. Why are we so willing to accept what God has wisely instituted? Because we are like Zedekiah, we think we "know better" and disregard the word that is before us. We listen, we ponder, and we choose our own way.
Today on the Tapestry Blog my friend Sue wrote about this beginning even now:
http://blog.bible.org/tapestry/ Truly as Sue says "YIKES!" What a confused world we are bringing before our children's eyes. Who is charge here? Where are the righteous parents? Where is wisdom? We are fast becoming a nation of "fools" The EBD defines the contrast: a moral rather than an intellectual quality. To be "foolish" is to be godless Ps 14:1
Truly hindsight is 20/20.
