Today’s Scripture Reading (August 30,
2017): Nehemiah 9
Former
Vice-President Al Gore admits that one of the most criticized moments of his
2006 documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” was the graphic that showed the flooding
of New York because of Climate Change, flooding that might even reach the 9/11
Memorial and Museum site placing the National Memorial under water. In his
promos for his 2017 follow-up documentary “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to
Power,” the former Vice-President talks about the flooding of the Memorial site
because of Superstorm Sandy in 2012 claiming that his prediction came true. And
that is sort of the truth. The National
Memorial site did flood, although Gore’s prediction seemed to lean toward a
more permanent invasion by the Atlantic Ocean, returning the 9/11 Memorial Site
to the ocean, than just the temporary flooding
of the site as a result of a superstorm.
Still, the
warning is one that we need to heed. Maybe it is doubtful that we will see the
total decimation of our world by climate events in our lifetime, although we
might. But there is ample evidence that disasters directly related to Climate
Change, and our actions which have
furthered that change, will be borne by our children and grandchildren. And, at
least for me, that is a problem. I do not
want my grandchildren to wonder why I did not care for them enough to do
something – anything – to slow the process. I live in an oil dependent area of
the world, and yet I know and understand that we need to move away from oil dependency.
We have to find environmentally neutral ways of living our lives. And Gore is
also right, we either have the technology,
or we are on the verge of having the technology to make the change. The only
question is whether or not we have the will to make the change. We must hear
the warnings, or those that follow us are only going to suffer.
The Priest
Samuel warned Israel about their wish for a king. Samuel felt that Israel’s desire
for a king was one of the great failures of his life. Yet, as the Priest and last of the Judges grew older, the people
made this request - “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now
appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have” (1 Samuel
8:5). Samuel’s response was clear.
This is what the king
who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and
make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his
chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of
thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his
harvest, and still others to make weapons
of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
He will take the best of your fields and
vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his
officials and attendants. Your
male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take
for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When
that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but
the Lord will not answer you in that day” (1 Samuel 8:11-18).
At first, the Kings were the brothers to the
people, and Israel put up with them. But time had passed and now centuries
after the death of Samuel, the people were finally feeling the full impact of
his warning. And so they cried out in their distress, hoping that maybe God
might change what was happening. But Samuel, after centuries, had been proven
more right than Samuel ever wanted to be. This
was the full penalty of their sin. And it was a penalty that God would not
quickly remove.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Nehemiah
10
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