Where are we today? Is our culture a sophisticated or a savage one? A sophisticated person is defined as one who is able to understand the nuances of a wide range of principles, concepts, situations, and vocabulary. They seem to have it all together and are the opposite of anything barbaric. In society today there is a desire to appear sophisticated. A savage person is one who is cruel or brutal. Their ways would appear barbaric to us. Typically they would be a person who seeks almost any means to get what they want. When thinking of a society that is savage, what comes to your mind? Most think of tribal areas of the country where they have not been exposed to education available in civilized countries. Where modern conveniences are absent. Savages are their own rule of conduct, and no one wants to be described as a savage person.
While reading this morning I was continuing in Matthew chapter 5, where verse 22 caught my attention. Jesus was continuing His “Sermon on the Mount.” He continues to teach on how we are to treat one another. As I read through the commentaries on this verse the last two words caught my attention. The words “hell fire.” I’ve read those same words over and over in the Bible but never researched their background.
Matthew 5:22 “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”
These two words are made up of two Hebrew words that signify the valley of Hinnom. The valley of Hinnom was at one time a very pleasant area close to Jerusalem. It was formerly a beautiful place where a stream ran through this tranquil area. What it became, literally made my stomach churn as I read its description. This is a valley where the idolatrous Israelites worshiped the god Moloch. The idol Moloch was made of brass and adorned with a crown. It had the head of a calf and arms that extended wide open as if to embrace anyone. When they offered children to him, they heated the statue from within with fire. When it was burning hot, they would put the child into his arms. Soon it would be consumed by the heat. While the child was burning, they would beat drums loudly to keep from hearing their screams.
The wicked King Ahaz was the worst of all the kings of Judah. He adopted the Moloch worship of the Ammonites and Moabites. In II Kings 3:27, he sacrificed his own son. This was his oldest son, the one who should succeed him on the throne. We would consider this the most barbaric and cruel.
II Kings 3:27 “Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.”
As I finished reading this horrid story my heart was gripped with grief. I thought of how we think of ourselves as sophisticated yet no different than the savages we see in this passage of scripture. Americans can think well of themselves, superior to other cultures where education is absent and luxuries don’t exist, but we are the most barbaric of all.
We allow babies to be offered every day to the god of self. We slaughter babies because they are an inconvenience to those who live life for pleasure and refuse to take responsibility for the consequences. Abortion is legal in America. It is a process of murdering babies before, or in some cases, as they enter the world. They appease their conscious by calling them a “blob” of flesh or a woman’s right. You can rename it anything you want to, but God calls it murder.
God’s laws have not changed, murder is still a sin and it will be punished. Thou shalt not kill is still one of the Ten Commandments. The word kill, when translated, means murder.
Exodus 20:13 “Thou shalt not kill.”
Life is very precious to God. He created us in His image. Psalm 139 speaks about how God knows everything about us. David recounts all the things that God knows about him and how he has been in all his situations. When he gets to verse 14, he breaks out in praise. He reminds us that God made us, and he knew us even before anyone else had knowledge that we were on the way. God made us and loved us so much he made a way for us to spend eternity with Him.
Psalm 139:14-17 “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hidden from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!”
When we read about the horrible story of the sacrificing of babies in II Kings, we need to realize we are no different in America. There is nothing sophisticated about hiding behind doors and using a doctor to take an innocent life. It is savage and cruel. We are as barbaric as any other culture that devalues human life. We need to pray and seek to change the laws and views of abortion one heart at a time. To do nothing makes us guilty also.
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