Life Learning Series

In external joint ventures–those that are fashioned with other philosophical communities, there is a great risk of loss of identity. When that loss of identity occurs in a servant of the LORD, the result is a separation from the way of the LORD. This will lead one into events that do not promote the righteous development of the group to which one belongs, as in the way of the LORD. The Old Testament is full of events of that sort. Here is one of those events, as involved a formerly settled relationship of the Jews with other people of the land in which they were rebuilding Jerusalem.

Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;) That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.

And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?

Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.

Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand; Wherein was written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words. And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.

Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.

For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done.

Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.

(Nehemiah 6:1-9)In all such events, there was a measure of collateral damage. That is also true for any similar events of the modern day. The greater part of the collateral damage is in the group of those individuals or organizations that are riding the coat tails of some other persons or groups. In the church, this is a multi-leveled graft; with the first level being, an attachment to societal principles. In various events of the Old Testament life of the children of Jacob, Israel provides lessons in the progression of such grafting. In the following lesson, a portion of Israel’s religious community formed a societal graft with a certain king.

 

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– Explore Collateral Damage and the Heart of God: Part Twenty-one –

Spanned degradation is how the children of Israel moved away from the principles of the LORD–as spanned across stretched out time. Spanned degradation is not a revolutionary happening; rather, it is evolutionary. Over time, there is less and less desire to counteract the increasing damage to civility in the society. We, who serve the LORD, need to take notice of the progression of degradation; from its beginning, even, to now, and onward in time.

Consider this: when the full weight of the spanned degradation that we have experienced comes to us, it will not matter if the wait is for several millennia, or if it is only for a fraction of a second; the damage that it will cause to the soul is still incomprehensible, and absolutely real. Also, as we linger in our dilemma, it becomes more and more difficult to see the way to recovery. Moreover; even when we see the way, it is even more difficult to submit our self to the remedy. The remedy is this: joining with others that have recovered from a similar degradation.

In the case where; the one to which we join, in our attempt to place a bridle on degradation, is also an entity that has previously assisted in recovery for others; this is not a servant-master relationship. Both parties in the relationship are servants of the LORD. Wherefore both sides of the connection receive its blessing from the LORD>Here is a hint of how that proceeded in the call to the other nations, as for them to accept assistance from the God of Israel, as connected to the victory that has been achieved by Israel, as in the LORD’S redemption of the mixed multitude. This is a portion of king Solomon’s petition to God, at the dedication of the House of God, in Israel.

Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name. (1 Kings 8:41-43)We need to prepare our soul for the joining with–as Solomon presented to the LORD–a stranger. Here is a paradox for those who resist submission: to the portion of service to God: there is a part of the soul of separation that must be destroyed, to prepare a site for the joining. Scripture tells of the beginning of the death of that certain part of your soul, which you might have thought, you would have forever. It is a necessary death; for, the LORD cannot abide sin in His presence. As the apostle Paul wrote:

 

– Explore Collateral Damage and the Heart of God: Part Twenty –

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