Sometimes our nationalism and our faith confront one another and cause a conflict in the soul. Surely that happened to the Israelites on the eve of their entrance into Canaan. That evening the Levites gathered the people and pronounced curses on those who were, or who would be, involved in various sins. Upon announcing those curses the Levites instructed the people to say Amen, meaning they agreed with the curses being pronounced upon them. I read those curses today in Deuteronomy 27:14-26. One of those curses pricked my conscience: “The one who denies justice to a foreigner, a fatherless child, or a widow is cursed.’ And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’” (Deut. 27:19). My nationalism bumped into my faith. Some things sure are hard to say Amen to.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 22:25:52 +0000