Ensign: We Shall See

All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. Isaiah 18:3

AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS 28 February 2014

A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY, SARAH! I LOVE YOU!

For the last two weeks I've been rereading the Fourteen Points stated by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson as part of a far-reaching and far-seeing plan to keep a conflict the likes of World War I (from 1914 to 1918) from ever happening again. How thoroughly the generation of Wilson, Lloyd George, Clemenceau, and Orlando succeeded is most obviously seen in the breakout and catastrophe of World War II which began just over twenty years later.

The word “covenant” appears four times throughout the Points and, if I may say so, parts of them are high sounding enough that you would think (and possibly they were, but sinful mankind had to screw them up) divinely inspired, even if “nature's God”, to quote the Declaration of Independence, isn't directly referred to. (For a full list, please refer to http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1324.html) And as for something not directly referring to God being utterly useless to us,

 

 

please refer yourselves to the Old Testament book of Esther. A covenant in Scripture is an agreement between God and human beings. And while I will not delve into how many times this appears in Scripture (twenty-five in Genesis ALONE), I will say that perhaps the reason, even if Wilson and company had been able to foresee every foreign crisis point and forestall every conflict, World War II would have happened anyway was due to our, as human beings, own shortsightedness.

The covenant between God and Noah in Genesis 9 to never again destroy the earth with a flood, the covenant between God and Abraham in Genesis 12 to receive a new promised land, and the new covenant (or “testament”, another name for covenant – yes Virginia, you read in the Bible from the Old and New Covenants) first referred to in Jeremiah 31 and fulfilled in Luke 22 at Jesus' Passover with His disciples, to give the grace of God to all the world, Jews and Gentiles, all have God as one

bargaining partner, for want of a better phrase. And because He will not break His word for then He would be untrue to Himself, it's always in force for you and me to enter into with Him. Salvation. Eternal life. Grace. Not ultimately by keeping every jot and tittle of the rules but ultimately by placing our trust in the One Who made them. Clemenceau: “God gave us His Ten Commandments, and we broke them. Wilson gave us for Fourteen Points – we shall see.”

We don't have to see, we'll know.

David

P.S. I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with all of you in my address book, and I hope to be an encourager to action too! If you find that I’m not or you want me to get lost, just let me know – thank you!

Thank You, Lord, that we can come to you in prayer and that You provide for all our needs, even when we don’t know what they are. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence there and around the world.

Thank You, Lord, for everyone in leadership and service, both here and abroad. Thank You for the opportunities we have and the promise of new life through You. I pray that we all seek and have a blessed week! Amen.