Job 9:13
God does not turnback His Wrath,
Under which Rahab’s Cohorts sink down.
(Written July 4, Posted ?, Job 184)
Independence Day is our most loved national holiday as it is in the middle of summer and its hot. Maybe there’s a little national pride to it, but almost no one is trapped in school or trapped in depressing weather. We are at a lake with friends doing boating things ourselves this year. Many people do not like to dwell on it, but our country was founded based on freedom from state religion and having a say in how we are governed. The same issues are dominating our country now, only the people yelling and screaming do not agree with most of the rest of us on how to follow God or to make rules on how we interact.
Turnback was also restrain, withdraw, or relent. Wrath was also anger or fury. A variation on this stitch was that the subject was a little g god and the idea was that even a little g god could not avert the anger of Yahweh. I mention it because it seems plausible, but I feel the subject is Yahweh and follow the norms.
Cohorts was also helpers, allies, and the currently popular minions. Sink under was also bow beneath, cower, lie prostrate, stoop, bend, and brought below. Cohorts give a little bit of responsibility to the individuals rather than just put it on Rahab, and sink under feels more encompassing than the other more physical options.
I will review the Rahab aspect of this another time, but two ideas flow from this today. The first idea is the reverse of the sentiment that a rising tide raise all ships. The trouble in our country is lowering the outlook for everyone, not just the rich, not just the poor, but everyone in between as well. The second is the idea that any one is innocent. Our condition and our relationship to God are both individual. Yes, children are worldly dependent on their parents or guardians, but they pick their own attitudes.
Our media is predicting a recession with the passion that is helping their prediction come true. Prices have risen because people have more to spend. People have more to spend because income has risen. As the government decreases its contribution to income in some areas, it will flow to others. The taxes have to flow somewhere and the politicians have to flow money to those who will vote them back into office. Any change in money flow will be missed by the individuals are not in position to take advantage of the money flow: the poor, the indebted, those without restraint.
In many issues bound up in the turmoil, a common denominator is the lack of personal responsibility. Our government has taught dependence on it rather than on our own efforts or our own decision making. Our country was based on key rights like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We limit the actions of people to protect these rights. According to these ideals: People cannot kill others. People cannot kidnap others. People cannot limit our pursuit of happiness if it does not infringe on the rights of others.
Our country has passed rules that violate these freedoms and the people who put those limits in place try to keep them in place. But a wrong is still a wrong. Not letting people love who they want is a wrong. Letting people act out a personal desire at the expense of other is wrong. I could point to individual issues like who we bake cakes for or who can marry who, but in the end, God has given each of us a path of our own and sticking to it can cause conflict.
Following God will eventually led to conflict and it should be the role of the government to protect us from others choosing a negative consequence for our pursuit of God’s call. But God will not call us to do evil in His name. Only those actions that glorify Him will be the ones He calls us to. Bombing a clinic will never be ok. A man beating a women will never be ok. The list goes on, but today we celebrate the good our country was put in place by God to do. Conflict is inevitable, but if done right, it will glorify God.