RAIDERS

*

“Raiders shall raid Gad,

    but he shall raid at their heels.

This particular prophecy does not apply to most of us in the short term. Gad was the seventh son of Jacob. His mother was Leah’s servant Zilpa. Leah gave him the name Gad which means fortunate or lucky. And we are certainly fortunate, not because we are lucky but because we are blessed. Of course, Leah was saying she was blessed. And we too can be a blessing.

But the name Gad sounds like the word attack or raider. And Jacob says that though raiders will attack him, he will raid at their heels. God does make promises of justice to us. But the ultimate fulfillment of such promises does not come in this life. 

One of my heroes of history was John Huss. Some years ago we visited Prague. We came into the town square where there are monuments to Huss. But our guide did not mention him. I told her Huss was one of my heroes. She said, “But he incited the people to riot.” She did not mention, and probably didn’t know that Huss kept the nobles from rioting until the authorities burned him at the stake. I am pleased that Pope John Paul II apologized for the evil done to Huss by the church, but that was almost 600 years after his martyrdom. 

We will not find complete recompense for wrongs done to us in this life. But in the new Earth that will come with the new Heaven all things will be made right and all justice will be fulfilled.

*With apologies to Las Vegas.

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CAN YOU SEE THE HARVEST

John 4:35

“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? 

Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest.”

Can you see the harvest with its urgent joy?

Can you see the harvest with its pressing grace?

Every moment threatens its eternal loss.

Hail and drought and locusts risk a dying race.

Sin and pride and ignorance steal away their hope. 

The harvest time is near. This is our one chance

To open men's hearts to divine romance. 

Will you join the harvest for the souls of men? 

Will you join the harvest ere all hope is lost. 

Pray for those whose lives are wasting in the field. 

Telling them of Jesus will be worth the cost. 

Showing them the Savior who can change their lives. 

The harvest time is here. It’s our only chance

To open their hearts to divine romance. 

This poem was published in I AM, Poetic Reflections Through The Gospel of John.

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A PEOPLE OF JUDGMENT

Surely the most tragic of the declarations of Israel as he was about to die is the prophecy of Dan.

“Dan shall judge his people

    as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way,

    a viper by the path,

that bites the horse's heels

    so that his rider falls backwards.

18 I wait for your salvation, O LORD.

Genesis 49:16-18

We are all pretty good at pointing out the sins of those around us. And there is certainly plenty of sin to see. That would be serious enough if verse 16 were all of this prophecy. The name Dan, means judge or possibly judgment.

“Dan shall judge his people.”

This prophecy pictures Dan much like Jesus described the Pharisees. As we look at passages like Judges 13 we see that the tribe of Dan was among the most wicked. There are always those among us who bring judgment to light because of their own sins. We have no shortage of those whose sinful lives highlight the judgment of God upon America.

Years ago Ruth Graham said, “If God does not judge America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” We are a culture in which sin is deeply ingrained. It often seems impossible to do anything that does not bring us under the judgment of God.

But we should not miss the most positive statement in all of these blessings. It too was given for Dan. In verse 18 Jacob says,

“I wait for your salvation, O LORD.”

God poured out all of His righteous judgment upon Jesus on the cross. All Jacob could do was wait and hope for God’s salvation. It has been made available to us. I do not know if God will obliterate our beloved country because of the wickedness of our hearts, or if He will show us undeserved mercy. But I do know that in your life and mine God offers redemption though we deserve judgment for our sins.

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A VISION IN THE NIGHT

 

“And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: 

a man of Macedonia was standing there, 

urging him and saying, “Come over to 

Macedonia and help us.”

Struggling with God’s call and timing

    Listening, testing, praying, trying

Hints of paths that might be right;

    Casting fleeces—spiritual lots,

Straining, seeking heaven’s sight,

    Tying our souls in nervous knots;

    Searching here, looking yonder,

    Watching for our Guide we wander,

Knowing the seed but not the field;

    At every turn we’re forced to stop.

In aching hope we’re made to yield.

    Is this the place or is it not?

    Finally in frustration’s burning torment

    Comes a vision in the resting moment.

A man in foreign face and garb,

    Calls from camelback or city bus.

He makes His words a piercing barb, 

    “Come over here, help us, tell us!”

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