JUDGES: Godly or Ghastly – Part 2

Good Day to each of you reading this column and I do hope that God has blessed you and refreshed each of you—In fact, if you wish to read a great Psalm, take a few moments and read Psalm 91 to be refreshed.

Take the time out of your day to read this Psalm not once but three times and allow each word to be fully realized. When reading the Bible, we all various chapters and verses that speak to us and affect our lives daily and this chapter is what I call my life insurance policy and what a wonderful life insurance policy that it is.

Did you know that we have angels guarding our lives? (Psalm 91:11,12) God refers of an angel guarding us in times of fear and disaster also in Psalm 34:7 and in Hebrews 1:14 God’s angels are ministering spirits who serve those who will inherit salvation as well as protecting the helpless Matthew 18:10.

Need I digress, but in today’s turbulent times, we need the Insurance Policy of all Policies and that Psalm 91 with God as our author and executor.

So, let’s turn to Judges/Ten Commandments/ and their relevancy and see where things began.

Do you remember when we use to say the pledge of allegiance to the flag and prayed in the public school? Presently, teachers, principals or other students cannot lead students in prayer. If a student wishes to have a silent prayer at any time, then he or she can do so here in the USA.

One can turn to School prayer – Wikipedia

I think this article helps clear up the beginning and present stage of public prayer and is useful for both reading and understanding. Please take a few moments to review as I wish to add the following paragraph for you to read from School prayer—Wikipedia:

The United States Supreme Court: A Political and Legal Analysis discussed the results of a 1991 survey, stating that: “The Court’s school prayer decisions were, and still are, deeply unpopular with the public, many politicians and most religions organizations. 95 percent of the population believe in God and some 60 percent belong to a religious organization. In a 1991 opinion poll, 78 percent of Americans support the reintroduction of school prayer.”^[12] As a result of public support for school prayer in the United States, The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States reports, “the public’s support for school prayer was translated by various state legislatures into statutes aiding religious schools and practices.”^[13] Analysis of multiple polls since the 1970s by sociologist Philip Schwadel showed support for school prayer dipped slightly but remains popular with the majority of Americans, with a recent 2011 poll showing 65 percent support.^[14]

Prayer is personal and not be paraded about – look to Matthew 6:5—And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. There is a place for public prayer, but to pray only where others will notice you indicates that your real audience is not God.

Here, in the USA, we can pray in public, which I am thankful for, and as an example, when we go out to eat in a public place, we bow our heads and ask for God’s blessing for the meal served and for those who prepared and served the meal. In my many years, no one has come to us and said we offended them or infringed on their rights.

As we move forward to the decision to remove the Ten Commandments from public schools, let’s refer to the following article to assist us from Wikipedia:  In Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39 (1980), the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a Kentucky statute was unconstitutional and in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, because it lacked a nonreligious, legislative purpose. The statute required the posting of a copy of the Ten Commandments on the wall of each public classroom in the state. While the copies of the Ten Commandments were purchased with private funding, the Court ruled that because they were being placed in public classrooms they were in violation of the First Amendment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_v._Graham is the link to read the complete article.

In less than two decades, both state-school prayer and the Ten Commandments cases were taken to the US Supreme Court and were banned.  Madalyn Murray’s lawsuit, Murray v. Curlett, contributed to the removal of compulsory Bible reading from the public schools of the United States, and has had lasting and significant effects. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_prayer

Let’s review—on one side we have God’s Ten Commandments shown in our schools and the right to pray and lead in prayer to a group of fellow students and on the other side both rights have been taken away. Is this not correct? The men and women of the US Supreme Court make the law and we are to abide by those laws.

Turn to Deuteronomy- 4:8 (NIV) And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? The NIV version goes on to say, Do the laws God gave to the Israelites still apply to Christians today? God’s laws are designed to guide all people toward lifestyles that are healthy, upright, and devoted to God. Their purpose was to point out sin (or potential sin) and show the proper way to deal with that sin. The Ten Commandments, the heart of God’s law, are just as applicable today as they were 3,000 years ago because they proclaim a life-style endorsed by God. They are the perfect expression of who God is and how he wants people to live.

But God gave other laws besides the Ten Commandments. Are these just a s important? God never issued a law that didn’t have a purpose. However, many of the laws we read in the Pentateuch were directed specifically to the people of that time and culture. Although a specific law may not apply to us, such as animal sacrifice in worship, the timeless truth or principle behind the law does. Jesus said, I did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill the law.

I can’t tell you that our judges today in the US court system are godly or ghastly, but I can say that not one of the judges have brought forth the re-instatement of the Ten Commandments in public schools and prayer put back in public schools.

Since history repeats itself, for those of you who are age 60 or older, do you remember students with guns in school? Did you have a police officer at your school? Did students threaten physical violence or death upon fellow students, teachers or the school officials?

As for discipline, if you acted up then you were sent to the principal’s office and then when you got home, you received more discipline. Back then, teacher’s taught and parent’s disciplined and both were instrumental in the shaping of a child.

Finally, for those of you parents who don’t believe in spanking a child—Here is what God says—Ephesians 6:4 (KJV) And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Proverbs 13:24 (NIV) He who spares the rod hates his son: but he who loves him is careful to discipline him. Proverbs 19:18(NIV) Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death. Proverbs 22:15 & Proverbs 29: 15 & 17 support discipline and the bringing up of a child. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the child should be beaten, bludgeoned or provoked to wrath, but that we, as parents, should nurture and guide our children. Lack of discipline put’s your love, as a parent, in question since it shows your lack of concern for your child’s character development.

Finally, God disciplines each of us when we sin because he loves us—Turn to Hebrew 12: 5—11 and read each verse and then ask the question—Who loves his child more—the father who allows the child do what will harm him or the one who corrects, trains, and even punishes the child to help him learn right from wrong? Great question from the NIV version.

May God Bless each of you as I look forward to hearing from you and sharing God’s word.

Jeff