Angels are normally very patient beings, but on this particular day, Moshe was pacing back and forth before the Lord, clearly agitated.
Finally, with a bow, he began. “Lord, I do not understand why you do not judge them. They have forsaken your word, mocked your name, and willfully forgotten everything you did to make their land great.”
“Yes, they have,” the Lord replied. ” And yet you know me well enough to know that I always do right. But you always have been more of an experiential learner, and I love you, so here is what I am going to do. For 24 hours, I want you to observe them closely. After that time, if you still believe they need to be judged, I will place them in your hands to do so.”
With another bow, Moshe was off. His Lord had commanded it, and he would do it. He raced to Earth faster than a thought and set to once again observing the people of America, this time more closely than ever. He flew down city streets unobserved, sat in on university classes, dropped in on the political halls of power, made his way through suburbs and down country lanes, watched television shows, listened to popular music, and even went to church.
The 24 hours went by so very quickly. And as he bowed before the Lord once again, his first two words were “I understand.”
“Do you?” the Lord asked with infinite kindness.
“Yes, Lord, I believe I do. In Psalm 106:15-16 you said, ‘They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel: but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.’
“You have given them what they want. They have decided that children should not be disciplined, that it is old-fashioned and unenlightened. In the absence of discipline, they are behaving in antisocial ways that previous generations would have never tolerated. And where there was once a father and mother in the home to look to for an example of how to behave, that family unit itself is now dispensed with at every turn.
“Self-sacrifice used to be promoted by everyone. But self-sacrifice has been replaced by self-indulgence. In fact, soldiers and police officers are now reviled in many circles, and self-indulgent stars and starlets are lionized. This will eventually result in no one wanting to serve and protect, leaving them vulnerable to their enemies.
“Preachers are now ridiculed openly, and many of them have stopped speaking the truth for fear of seeing their congregations dwindle away. College professors go even farther, actually railing against the concept of absolute truth, thus producing a people who do not hesitate to lie to each other, ruining everyone’s trust, severing necessary bonds.
“Abortion has claimed the lives of countless millions of would-be taxpayers and, at the same time, the government is spending more than it can ever possibly hope to repay in order to give people all of the things it has convinced them they deserve for free. They ceased to be a melting pot of nations, and now are a fractious assemblage of nations within a nation.
“People have loyalty to political parties that supersedes any loyalty to what is right, so leaders are re-elected no matter how badly they behave. This results in a system where they have willingly subjugated themselves to people who are often unfit to rule.
“I understand, Lord, I do. There really is no need at all to judge them; they are doing it to themselves.”
Bo Wagner is pastor of the Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, N.C., and the author of several books which are available at wordofhismouth.com. Contact him at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.