Today’s Scripture Reading (January
21, 2016): 1 Samuel 12
On Thursday,
November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln arrived at Gettysburg
Pennsylvania. On that afternoon he would deliver one of his more memorable
speeches, a speech that has come to be known as “The Gettysburg Address.” The
speech came four and a half months after the Union victory in the Battle of
Gettysburg. The purpose of the address was to dedicate a portion of the
battlefield to bury those who had died in the battle. But what the speech
became was a short summary of the principles of human equality as described by
the Declaration of Independence. Starting with the iconic words “Four score and
seven years ago,” a reference to the start of the American Revolution in 1776,
Lincoln began to describe the founding principles of the nation in the light of
the current civil conflict that was being fought in the United States. And in
the process of the speech, he redefined the Civil War as a struggle, not just
of the Union forces against the Confederate Army, but also a fight over the
principles of human equality.
While the
speech is well remembered, there is one portion of the speech that Abraham
Lincoln appears to have changed as he was speaking that afternoon in
Gettysburg. And it comes in the conclusion of the address. What Abraham Lincoln
said, according to all of the reports that we have of the speech, is this - … we here
highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation,
under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people,
by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth (Abraham Lincoln
– The Gettysburg Address). But two words spoken by Abraham Lincoln
consistently do not appear in the copies of the speech that we have from before
Lincoln actually gave the speech – and those words were “under God.” It appears
that the words were added by Lincoln in the process of making the speech. He
wanted to remind the nation that the things they wanted to achieve could only
be achieved by a nation that existed in relationship with God. And underscoring
this relationship was important enough to Lincoln that he added it to the
conclusion of the speech.
Samuel makes the same point during his farewell address.
He provides a summary of the events that has led Israel to this point in their
history and the appointing of Israel’s first King. But Samuel also warns the
people and the king that their success is still dependent on their willingness
to be a nation which is essentially “under God.” The presence of an earthly
king did not change the fact that Israel was designed to be a theocracy – a nation
in which God was the king. And as long as the people and the king honored God,
then they would find success. But when they lost track of God, then they would
struggle.
Samuel was reluctantly giving the nation their first
king, but he refused to wash his hands of what came next. God was still on the
throne. Samuel understood that. And so did Lincoln. And, therefore, the new
birth of freedom (Lincoln) or of the nation (Samuel) could not happen outside
of God.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1
Samuel 13
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