July 2, 2018
Ezekiel 2:1-5…“The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’” vs. 4
Ezekiel was minding his own business when God told him to get up on his feet and go as a prophet to the people of Israel, a nation of rebels who had rebelled against God. There is no promise that anyone will listen, but at least they would have heard a prophet. When we read stories like this we can’t help but wonder if God might one day send a prophet to our country. Or maybe that wouldn’t be necessary for us. After all we’ve got plenty of people calling themselves Christians operating in congress and in the cabinet. Maybe everything is just fine and we don’t need prophets; maybe our country is already operating in godly ways. We’ve already got the strongest military forces in the world and as long as Second Amendment rights are protected and the wealthy continue to prosper, what complaint could God possibly have? The only reason he was angry at Israel was that they were a bunch of losers and let themselves be conquered. We’re not like that at all–there’s nobody in the world who is going to push us around! For many, these are marks of American exceptionalism, a sign that we are the new people of God. For others questions remain. They wonder about kindness, humility, and justice for the poor? What would a prophet like Amos say to us? What did Jesus say?
Thought for the Day: What is American Exceptionalism all about?
0 Comments