By: Dale Weckbacher
Leviticus 16:29-30
29 "This shall
be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the
month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of
your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. 30 For on that day the
priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you that you may be clean from
all your sins before the LORD.
NKJV
The Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur is one of the most
important observances in Israel.
Leviticus 16 explains all of the priestly requirements for this
observance. In Israel’s history when
they had a Temple or Tabernacle, they would offer up animal sacrifices to atone
for their sins. These sacrifices
however, did not actually atone for their sins but were a sign pointing forward
to when Messiah, Jesus Christ would make the ultimate eternal blood sacrifice
for the sins of mankind (Hebrews 10:11-12).
Jesus sits at the right hand of God instead of continually standing in
the presence of God because as He said on the Cross “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
Every person, Gentile or Jew, is in need of atonement (Romans 3:23) but
today, this does not require making annual sacrifices for sins but only that we
accept Jesus free gift of salvation (Romans 10:9-10).
Failure to adhere to the Day of Atonement in Israel meant
that the nation’s sins would go unatoned.
This would mean that the citizens of Israel and foreigners living in the
land would risk dying in their sins. An
individual dying in their sins faced eternity separated from God. This is why even today, the observance of Yon
Kippur is an extremely important day in Israel.
The immigration laws in the United States may not carry an
eternal death penalty like failing to observe Yom Kippur does but in a nation
governed by the rule of law, there are penalties for breaking the nation’s laws
and in order to maintain an orderly society, these laws must be enforced. However, the Obama administration has been
negligent in its duty to enforce the nation’s laws.
The President of the United States is the nation’s chief
executive. (1) According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary an
executive of a nation is "responsible for making sure laws are carried out
and for managing the affairs of a nation.”
(2) The President is not the one making laws for
the constitution in making the President the nation’s chief executive limits
his powers to enforcing the laws passed by the Legislature.
Current immigration laws in the United States were passed by
Congress and signed by the President. The
fact that President Obama is not the President that signed the laws means
nothing for when he took office he promised to uphold and defend the
Constitution of the United States, which includes enforcing all the constitutionally
passed laws of the nation. By vowing not
to enforce the immigration laws of the United States through the granting
executive amnesty to those illegally in the country, President Obama is playing
the role of lawmaker and neglecting his constitutional duty as law
enforcer.
Unfortunately, immigration is not the only instance where
President Obama has failed to be the enforcer of the nation’s laws. Numerous times President Obama has changed
the time for implementation of mandates specifically mentioned in Obamacare. (3) When Congress passes legislation, the
President has a duty to enforce every part of the legislation. Any changes must occur in the legislature and
then be signed by the president.
Congress can and should impeach President Obama for the
commission of “High crimes and misdemeanors.”
However, there is disagreement over what constitutes a high crime or
misdemeanor. In order to understand its
constitutional definition, we must interpret it using the viewpoint of the
authors of the constitution.
To the authors of the constitution the word high did not
mean more serious but crimes applying to persons holding high office, such as
the President of the United States. They
held persons holding high office to a higher standard. As such, activities of persons holding high
office not viewed as criminal for the ordinary person can constitute a high
crime or misdemeanor for a person holding high office. (4)
Since the President takes an oath to defend and uphold the
Constitution, failure to fulfill his or her constitutional duty to enforce laws
passed by the legislative branch constitutes a high crime and is thus an
impeachable offence. However, the U.S.
House of Representatives initiates the impeachment process and since the
Majority Leader of the House has taken impeachment off the table (5) , and since the House
continues to fund Obamacare (6) ,
we will most likely spend the remainder of Obama’s term in office dealing with
Obama’s dereliction of constitutional duty.
The United States is a nation of laws and violation of the
nation’s laws carries with it a penalty.
For the President of the United States, the Constitution has a penalty
of impeachment. However, when the
legislature fails to have the spine to impeach the President, the people must
impeach the President by electing a legislature that will obstruct any plans
the President has and by electing a new president in 2016 that vows to follow
the Constitution and enforce the laws of the nation.
The United States, unlike Israel, does not have a Day of
Atonement or Yom Kippur but we do have a constitution. The occupant of the highest office of the
land, the President of the United States, must be held accountable for his or
her activities while holding office.
When they fail to fulfill their duties, they face the threat of
impeachment just as we face a speeding ticket if we choose to drive over the
speed limit. However, if the legislature
fails to impeach, the voters must turn these holders of high office out of
office. This is our mission in the
upcoming elections.
1. Hillsdale College. The Constitution of the
United States of America. [book auth.] Hillsdale College. The U.S.
Constitution: A Reader. Hillsdale MI : Hillsdale College Press, 2012.
2. Merriam Webster
Dictionary. Executive. www.merriam-webster.com. [Online]
Encyclopedia Britannica Company. [Cited: September 1, 2014.]
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/executive.
3. Levine, David
Nather and Susan. A brief history of Obamacare delays. www.politico.com.
[Online] Politico, March 25, 2014. [Cited: September 1, 2014.]
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/obamacare-affordable-care-act-105036.html.
4. Roland, Jon.
Meaning of "High Crimes and Misdemeanors". www.constitution.org. [Online]
Constitution Society. [Cited: September 2, 2014.]
http://www.constitution.org/cmt/high_crimes.htm.
5. Lee, Tony.
HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER KEVIN MCCARTHY: IMPEACHMENT OFF THE TABLE. www.breitbart.com.
[Online] Breitbart News, August 14, 2014. [Cited: September 1, 2014.]
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/08/14/House-Maj-Leader-McCarthy-Impeachment-Off-the-Table.
6. Book, Doug.
Cowardly House Republicans refuse to defund ObamaCare. www.westernjournalism.com.
[Online] Western Journalism, July 30, 2012. [Cited: September 1, 2014.]
http://www.westernjournalism.com/cowardly-house-republicans-refuse-to-defund-obamacare/.
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