Take The Road To God When At A Crossroads – Especially When Governments Are Involved

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”’ (Genesis 15:1)

The world is at a crossroads of sorts; there is starting to be a shift from the one-world government agenda, led by the World Economic Forum and the liberal movement that most Western European governments have been led by, to the more conservative and nationalistic movement as what happened here in the United States, Argentina, and El Salvador, among others.  Though many of the European governments currently in charge seem to have moved toward changing the outcomes of future elections in their favor (in France and Romania, the arrest of conservative political leaders; in Germany the changing of coalitions to keep the conservative party out of parliamentary power), the conservative movement is gaining traction.

The perception for many is a stronger, nationalistic government (such as our current ‘America First’ administration) is better in the long run for peaceful and balanced relationships and cooperation with our global neighbors.  There appears to be a greater push to resolve current conflicts in Ukraine and between Israel and Iran without resorting to further military conflict.  Though it is our prayer that these resolutions can be achieved, it must also be backed up by ‘the big stick’ of military might should a nation believe it can ‘bully’ another through military means. 

Governments are not meant to serve themselves or an elite few, but to provide a ‘commonwealth’ for the people who entrust their government to provide common services.  It is not that we should be against government, but that we should stand up against those governments that attempt to diminish free will and impose restrictions upon the people.

One such example is found early in the Biblical record.  In Genesis 13, we find Abram wanting such peace after entering Canaan in the Negev region, where the Lord told him to go emigrate to (settling near Bethel) after he and Sarai departed Egypt.  His nephew Lot accompanied him there, but soon Abram’s vast livestock was competing with Lot’s considerable livestock and quarreling began among the two camps.  Abram did not want a fight to break out, so he sat down with Lot and he proposed Lot take one side of Canaan and whatever Lot chose, Abram would take the other side.  Lot decided to move east into the plains of Jordan so Abram moved westward. 

This made peace between the two family members, but the overall peace was short lived.  In Genesis 14, King Kedorlaomer of Elam, aligned with three other kings, fought the five kings that were in the Sodom/Gomorrah region, which included the territory Lot took ownership of.  The Kedorlaomer-led faction defeated the Sodom/Gomorrah faction and also captured Lot and his possessions.  None of these kings were of God, and the Kedorlaomer faction was more wanting to subjugate the kingdoms and their people to a ‘my way or the highway’ rule rather than allowing free will as Abram and Lot were accustomed to enjoy.

Abram, receiving word of Lot’s captivity, amassed a fighting force of 318 men to get Lot back.  Abram (later Abraham) led the men and chased down and soundly defeated the four armies (or the alliance of the four kings led by Kedorlaomer whose men comprised one big army) to get his nephew Lot back after being taken along with the treasures of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Abram and his men not only defeated this army but also captured all of their ‘ill-gotten’ booty as well as freeing Lot and likely others who were held captive and gave Lot back his possessions. 

After this victory, Abram was paid a visit in the Valley of Shaveh by the Most High Priest of God, Melchizedek, who was also the King of ‘Salem’.  Salem. meaning ‘peace’, is an earlier name of what later became ‘Jerusalem’.  The ‘Jeru’ added to ‘Salem’, according to some scholars, came from Abraham’s act of ‘abiding’ or obeying God in the sacrificing of Isaac in the area of Salem (thus Obeying or Abiding to the God <(Jehovah or ‘Jeru-‘> of Peace <Salem> = Jerusalem).  During this visit, Abram gave a tithe of 10% of everything he had captured to Melchizedek for a tribute to God. 

The king of Sodom then told Abram to keep the treasures but to release his people.  But Abram, again selflessly, returned not only Sodom’s people to him but the treasures that belonged to the Sodomites (minus the 10% given to Melchizedek as a tithe).  The only thing Abram took was the food that was consumed and the payment to his men as their share in the booty captured.  To start Genesis 15, God tells Abram, to paraphrase, that He has Abram’s back.  God identifies with Abram in this exchange as El Shaddai, or God Almighty or God the Omnipotent. 

God proclaims He is in control as He has all the power.  All that Abram will need comes from God!  Earthly governments THINK they have the power to control but only God HAS that power.  God delegates to governments limited power that is to be bound by their righteousness pursuits.   A good government will use this power entrusted in them by God for the good of the people.  Unfortunately, in the nature of sin, governments (particularly the leaders or entrenched bureaucrats within the governments) will begin to abuse this power to gain more control than is necessary, often for greed and to consolidate more power for their own selfish needs

This is not a call to stop paying taxes, take off your license plates, and declare anarchy against our governments.  God has placed governments to provide guidance and help achieve common goals (think paved roads, national defense or our first responders in firemen and police).  But this is a reminder to be vigilant and safeguard our freedoms, and be always thankful of the freedoms and the rights the Lord has given us, and never take them for granted.  Like Abram, we can take a stance for Righteousness, but we must recognize God and continue to perform Righteous acts with taking that stance.