The Sixth Commandment – Part 7

Good Day to each of you reading this column on the Sixth Commandment.

I hope this day finds each of you well and refreshed from the weekend.

My wife took a ride yesterday after our Bible lesson to see the country and get out for some fresh air. As we drove around the countryside, we both admired the beauty of God’s landscape and laughed about the article from last week’s column on gardening.

We have been married for quite a while and it’s as though we know each other’s thoughts before the word was said—I guess this is ESP—I am so blessed to have a good wife and partner and thank God for her each day. I do hope that if you are married, that you feel the same way—Tell her how much she is loved and appreciated.

This reminds me of a haunting story many years ago—My friend, Dick in Virginia and sales associate were talking one day about our spouses and he shared the following—He and his wife had been married a long time and Dick was closing in on retiring and they were going to the northeast USA to see the leaves turn colors in the fall. His retirement was just a few weeks away that July and he said they couldn’t wait to go on the trip that September. Dick said they had put off and put off the trip through the years due to family, work and various activities that came up unexpectantly. Unfortunately, that trip never came about as Dick’s wife died in her sleep just before Dick was retiring. He told me not to put off tomorrow and to make sure that my wife was my first priority—Wise words from a good friend.

Ambiguous Thoughts—

If man evolved from monkeys & apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes?

If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation?

Where do Forest Rangers go to “get away from it all”?

If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages?

Would a fly without wings be called a walk?

Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them?

Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?

If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him that he has the right to remain silent?

Why do they put braille on the drive-through bank machines?

What was the best thing before sliced bread?

How is it possible to have a civil war?

If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown too?

Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?

Can atheist get insurance against acts of God?

Things that make you go hmmm? Maybe or maybe not, but we do need some laughter and hope these bring some laughter to you reading this column.

On to the lesson—Baal and other gods have invaded our lands—We have established who Baal is and how this particular god was used in the lands of Israel and Judah and other countries found in the Old Testament. Do you not think that history repeats itself in your land?

Look around and see what is happening—As I wrote in the last article, sex trafficking of a minor is a 150-billion-dollar market—And this is growing throughout the world—This is not contained to a country but throughout the world and those who partake are drinking from the cup pf evil.

Let’s tackle the issue of the killing of unborn babies—What is the difference between Baal worship or the killing of a child back then and killing of the child today? Look at God’s laws or Ten Commandments—The sixth commandment is very clear—Thou shalt not murder—Murder is murder that includes allowing the murder of full-term children.

Sit down and read Exodus 21:22-23, Jeremiah 1:5, Luke 1:39-45—God and God only is our creator and giver of life. Look closely at Jeremiah 1:4-5 (NIV) The word of the Lord came to me (Jeremiah) saying, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet. The NIV version breaks down verse 5: God knew you, as hew knew Jeremiah, long before you were born or even conceived. He thought about you and planned for you. When you feel discouraged or inadequate, remember that God has always thought of you as valuable and that he has a purpose in mind for you.

It is true, here in the USA that our Supreme Court ruled in 1973 of legalized abortion (Roe v Wade) and that there have been 60 million legal abortions since 1973. Turn to 2 Kings 16:3, 21:2-6 and Jeremiah 32:35 and look at the references as to how God views the killing of innocent children.

2 Kings 16:3 shows that King Ahaz sacrificed his son in the fire to Baal. This was a Baal practice of the Canaanites whom the Israelites were supposed to drive out of the land. We find in 2 Kings 21:2-6 that another king named Manasseh did exactly what the Lord told him not to do—(a) followed detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. (b) rebuilt high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed, (c) he erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, (d) he built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put my Name, (e) in both courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to the starry hosts, (f) he sacrificed his own son in the fire, (g)  he practiced sorcery, divination and consulted with mediums and spiritualists.

Now turn to Jeremiah 32:30-35 (NIV) The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but provoke me with what their hands have made, declares the Lord. From the day it was built until now, this city has aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove it from my sight. The people of have provoked and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done—they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. They set up their abominable idols in the house that bears my Name and defiled it. They built in high places for Baal in the valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech, though I never commanded, nor did it enter my mind, that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.

Fellow Christian, what is it going to take to awaken? Are you living in a country that practices large scale abortions? God says that he knew you before you were in the womb and yet we have people taking the lives of unborn children.

Yes, Baal worship in the form of abortions is rampant in the USA—Was it different in Rome? No, Paul wrote in 2 Timothy about the same culture as our modern time. So, you see, history does repeat itself and with history repeating itself so will ramifications upon our people.  

As we close, turn to Micah 3: 1-4 (NIV) Then I said, “Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice, you who hate good and love evil; who tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones; who eat my people’s flesh, strip off their skin and break their bones in pieces; who chop them up like meat for the pan, like flesh for the pot?” Then they will cry out to the Lord. But he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done.

Please heed the above verses—Turn to Genesis 18: 20—33 – As you look at the city and country that you live in, would you be able to find fifty righteous people or has your city become a people of hating good and loving evil?

Until the next time, may God bless you and you, in turn, thank God for each and all things! Jeff