Learning from Ancient Israel

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Exodus 1:8-10

8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, "Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; 10 come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land."

NKJV

The book of Exodus begins 400 years after the end of Genesis.  At the end of Genesis, we find the people of Israel, numbering around 70, escaping to Egypt in order to escape almost certain death due to a massive famine.  While Genesis ends with Pharaoh gladly accepting Joseph’s family into the country, 400 years later under a different Pharaoh, the now large Israeli population living in Egypt find themselves living under the oppression of Egyptian slavery.  After petitioning Pharaoh for permission to leave to worship their God, God plagues Egypt with 10 plagues climaxing with the killing of the first born in Egypt. 

After the parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of the army of Egypt, Israel receives the law from God at mount Saini.  After wandering in the wilderness 40 years, Israel finally enters the Promised Land and prospers while living in obedience to the law of God, given them on Mount Saini.  Unfortunately, however, their obedience was short lived and the nation began its downward slide, climaxing with the nation living under Babylonian and Persian captivity. 

After returning to the land under the edict of Cyrus the King of Persia, the Nation of Israel once again finds itself under Roman rule.  The nation of Israel has historically had a pattern of prospering under obedience to God and suffering when they do not live in obedience. 

The United States was established when the authors of the Declaration of Independence declared their belief in the unalienable God given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  These men went on to establish a Constitutional limited government with the role of protecting these God given rights and not as the granter of these rights. 

Throughout its relatively brief history, the United States has thrived as long as it adhered to the principles of the Declaration of Independence, by taking on the limited role of protector of the citizen’s God given rights.  Unfortunately, however, the United States has little-by-little began abandoning these godly principles, taking on the role of granter of rights, and now finds itself in a state of cultural and national decline. 

Even though the United States is not living under oppression from a foreign oppressor, the citizens of the nation sadly find themselves living under oppression from their own government.  The government no longer limits itself to the role of protector of citizens’ God given rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness and instead views its role as one of promoting equality.  Under this role, government has established programs designed to bring equality by oppressing producers of the nation through progressive taxation and redistributing it to those deemed less fortunate. 

Through promotion of political correctness, people deemed by government to be of a privileged class, race, or gender are oppressed, threatened, or even sued in an effort to bring equality with those government deems to be of an oppressed class, race, or gender.  This is in complete contrast to the Declaration of Independence which states the belief that all men, and at the time of the writing of the Declaration this meant mankind, including women, are created equal.  

This effort of government to achieve equality has failed leaving the nation with massive debt due to costly failed government programs and economically destructive regulations and taxation.  However, I believe it is not too late for the nation to reverse this destructive trend. 

Elections are a time when the citizens of the nation have an opportunity to determine the direction the nation will take.  Many issues face the United States this election but the real issue at stake is will the nation continue its current decline brought on by big government continuing its efforts to achieve the illusive utopia of equality or will we end this failed trend and return to the Godly principles which made the nation great. 

Currently, I am supporting Ted Cruz for the GOP nomination to run against the Democrat nominee for President.  However, should candidates like Donald Trump or Marco Rubio win the nomination I will support them over either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.  This is because both of these candidates firmly believe in government’s role to achieve equality through bigger government.  With any of the GOP candidates, we have an opportunity to return to what made the United States great.  I also support the Article 5 Convention of States provision as a firewall to stop and reverse an out of control oppressive federal government. 

Please join me in supporting the eventual GOP nominee for President of the United States so we can begin the return to what made the United States great before it is too late.