If you were going to build a dwelling place for the majesty of heaven would you pattern it after something that was repeatedly abandoned and turned into rubble? It is illustrative of human mediocrity and the preference for mingling minor and major matters.

And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.

Jeremiah 3:16

Not a few people have adopted a gold-plated box of Sinai as the symbol of their mental integrity. Was there no golden box available? We know there was not. When God arranges for the gold-plated box to be forgotten, and the rebellious and undisciplined choose it for the symbol of their reasoning capacity, they are clearly at home in the fireplace of lies.

Some nations think they are above their neighbours, beyond examination but Isaiah’s God told him otherwise.   Isaiah is riveting and unforgettable in his evaluations of his own nation  from the very first chapter of his prophecy.  All the rosy talk about national treasures, grand civic institutions, and massive  strides in executing justice is simply a lot of hot air.  Perish the  thought that I am being negative: negative is the dynamic in the so-called Judeo-Christian worldview and general morality across the globe.  That defence force or armed forces complex that the nations depend on is – not will be – trash, pure and simple.  If you have ever seen a few minutes of rain cripple a major city you know it is not an idle threat when the armies of all the nations are threatened with utter destruction.

Your armies are trash

1) Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it. 2) For the Lord’s indignation is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to slaughter.

Isaiah 34:1-2

Why the destruction of armies is a thing

“Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 

Exodus 15:4

Nuclear backfires are the blind of event that make Murphy’s Law reliable and Goliath’s weapons and armour ridiculous.

Slingshot accuracy and decisiveness

Nations use their armies to oppress, harass and maintain their hold on the lives of their own citizens and it is therefore not surprising that they use them against heterogeneous populations. From the Pacific to the Atlantic we see evil’s ugly head rising in the name of security and self-defence,  and it is often way more selfishness than any common virtue.  Law and order is the rubbish that vicious and ruthless criminals propose as their nation’s guiding light instead of actually building stable lifestyles and equal opportunities for their people.

The David and Goliath story is comfort enough without invoking miraculous intervention.  We had better get ready for the felling of big trees by snall axes.

Isaiah 34:8 assures us that Yahweh has a day of vengeanc, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. It is that simple!

Birds and lilies are the pioneers of switching between strength and weakness. The ease with which they forage or depend on the Ultimate Provider is noteworthy.

Remember! Telling ourselves and our children concocted community stories, even over centuries, does not change our responsibility to take our places individually with courage or faith in the Unseen.

24) Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25) And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? 26) If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? 27) Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

Luke 12:24-27