"Freedom Of Religion?"

"In the thirty-eight year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned over Israel twenty-two years.  Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him.  He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him.  He set up an altar of Baalim the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria."       I Kings 16:29-33

A king like Ahab does not just appear on the scene, on the contrary, he is summoned.  He is summoned by socio-political forces that have ripened for his malevolent appearance.  He is nurtured in secret by powers and influence that defy description.  He is the agent of dark powers that harbor dark (nefarious) tidings.  He is carefully tutored in the art of dubious designs.

Ahab was the son of Omri a king that proved to be an able devotee of the practice of evil before the eyes of the LORD.  Ahab watched the ways of his father until his DNA could replicate his actions and behavior with enviable pedigree. The successor of Omri would not disappoint the legacy of his father.  Omri would indeed continue to reign in Israel through his son Ahab.  Omri, however, failed to realize that evil is not strength, but  the robe of fiendish mediocrity worn by tediously clever men and women.

When Ahab came to power the northern kingdom of Israel suffered the coming of a malignant presence. Ahab "... considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat ... also married Jezebel ... and began to serve Baal and worship him."

The cult of Baal was embedded in the land of Canaan, and the people of Israel fell under its seductively appealing and ominous spell.  Under the leadership of Ahab and Jezebel the country was forced into Baal worship.

Baal worship became the state religion, and those who failed to follow the religion of the fascist state could find themselves in great trouble.  If the king worshipped Baal so must his subjects.  No class of individuals were to be excluded.  Forced worship enjoined by the state is not freedom of religion, it is state-sponsored religion that demands collective observation.

The king had the power to impose fiat (creation) laws upon the will of the people.  If they did not follow his fiat decrees the king could take their properties or their lives.  But the kings of Israel were not suppose to be like other pagan kings.  They were suppose to be men of faith, and therefore men of God.  That ideal is not in this picture.

Yahweh worship was overthrown in favor of a cultic deity that polluted the body politic of the people.

There is a very powerful message in this passage for us today.  Politics itself is a religion, and when wedded to the Jezebel of social fascism the torchlight of freedom begins to flicker and may die.  What immeasurable hubris leads an individual to believe that he may by fiat decree, or wipe out, the hard won freedom of others? What is missing in the souls of men who shatter lives in think tank game theories?

We have learned that our freedom of religion teeters on the edge of oblivion in the brave new socialist state. We must look to God for instruction at this time.  The foolishness of the 'race myth' must be set aside if we are to prosper in the new kingdom.  As a believer in the Ieosus it is time to renounce the state sponsored cult of race.  It has only created hate and suspicion.  When the Iesous comes will he find faith among us?

There are ominous sink holes appearing all over the surface of the earth.  The planet is suffering and convulsing over the blood shed and evil that is taking place.  The planet is groaning and sighing over the lies that can no longer be hidden.  Lies may 'cover up' a situation, or so it may seem, but the consequences thereof are immediate.

There are no hidden sins.  There are people who believe that lying actions can be hidden, but they too know that to bury something alive will reap a dire harvest.  However, according to the Graphe (Word) of God the hearts of the sons of men are set to do evil because judgement is not immediate.

Judgement delayed is not judgement thwarted.  The internal malignant decay that follows fast upon the heels of those who have practiced evil points to a future reckoning.  Of course in an impersonal universe where the things that are emerged from Chance and Necessity one can dismiss the language of judgement.

A careful look into the deeds of persons tell another story.  The soul can create havoc within itself and the proliferation of prescription medications to plea bargain peace within lets us know that the world at large is not telling the whole story to the manipulated masses.  This was the case in the days of Ahab.  The masses are always told carefully constructed stories as positive reinforcements in order to control their collective consciousness.

Please notice that Ahab whose name means 'brother of the father or resembling the father' answered his name, and added more evil to the house of Omri by marrying Jezebel.  Jezebel's father Ethbaal was a King and Priest of Baal in Sidon.  Ahab joined himself to Jezebel and her father Ethbaal whose name meant 'living with Baal.'  The descent of the northern kingdom of Israel into radical darkness was assured by this relationship.

Ahab was truly living with Baal and the kingdom would suffer terrible days because of his blind and reckless leadership.  Baal was a nature deity who was suppose to be lord over the fertility of crops and livestock.  He was worshiped through sex acts which were suppose to arouse him to provide fruitful harvests for the coming year.  But during the dark days of Ahab and his princess Jezebel Yahweh moved among his people in extraordinary power through his prophets so all knew that Yahweh truly ruled over all including Baal.

Yahweh moved in power in order to show both king and people that He is Lord of all.  Even arrogant madmen who presume practical atheism with regard to the true God in order to worship the works of their own hands could not deny this power.

In the Book of Daniel there was a king who believed that he was "king of kings" but his out of control arrogance brought him into a direct confrontation with the real "Kings of Kings" and the real King of Kings took the mind of the arrogant and misguided king.  For seven years the great king of Babylon had the mind of an animal and he lived like an animal and ate like an animal.  At the end of seven years the arrogance had left him, and he realized that there was only one  who is truly and really God.  This king could only look up to heaven and the King of All Kings mercifully restored his mind.

God even showed mercy to Ahab when he repented and confessed his sin to God!

We have a great God and he shows mercy to those who forsake sin.  Are you ready for real Freedom of Religion?  Then start by cleansing the temple of the heart and God will take care of the external things.  The spirit of Ahab has infected many today, but that spirit can be overcome by coming to the Iesous and confessing to him your need of His wonderful help. Amen  

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