When Vashti, Ahasuerus’s queen (book of Esther) refused to come show herself with the royal crown during the celebration of the king’s power and the riches of his kingdom, it was suggested by one of the kings wise men (because the king had asked what should be done according to the law about this matter) that this thing done by Vashti the queen would cause other women of the kingdom to dishonor their husbands, and that this thing was also a wrong done to all of the kingdom.
No one to my knowledge called the one who suggested this to the king, a “queen-a-phobic” or a “wife-a-phobic”, nor am I aware of any that suggested that the recent actions of Vashti the queen would have no affect upon their culture.
We need to keep spreading the word where we can.
We can see that if the present trend continues there will be many offences due to worldly perspectives that cause customs and laws to change in such a way as to favor the carnal desires of the ungodly.
As the offences abound more and more due to a degrading society, the need will abound more and more for those who will be willing to plead on behalf of those who are sinned against and this will be a wonderful opportunity for the church to bring in the gospel.
Something happens when another party pleads on behalf of another. I’ve seen it before, though such a thing I’ve seen very rarely.
When someone did it for me it was as if a royal carpet was laid out and the king of glory came in. Suddenly I was treated as royalty and the matter was resolved saving me money and giving me a fair deal. Justice was done and it wasn’t me that did it. The one that was my enemy willingly agreed, conceeding to another. It was amazing.
We can be a part of that process, if we are spiritual. (Gal 6:1)
My matter that was resolved was with a telephone company and some charges and service problems. As I was on the phone and not much being heard, another voice came on the line. Now there were three of us. It was a service worker who was working on the line. He began talking with the other telephone employee. They got along fine. He was aware of my problem and explained it in a way that made sense to the telephone employee that I was trying to convince and not having much success in so doing.
To this day I wonder if it was an angel.
Knowing what we do today about the gospel of Christ…I’m wondering what king Ahasuerus’s reaction would have been if one of his wise men who knew the times and law and judgment, would have suggested that someone go to Vashti, letting her know about the seriousness of what had happened and what was being suggested to the king, and also try to convince her that she might find grace from the king if she will come to him and confess her wrong, repenting of it and also be willing to do so before the people at another feast of the king. It might also be suggested that the king forgive her and tell the people that what makes a queen beautiful are such qualities as repentance…etc..
“Elton John: Where Prop 8 went wrong”
NEW YORK — Elton John, accompanied by his longtime partner, David Furnish, had some choice words about California’s Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage that passed on Nov. 4. In December 2005, John and Furnish tied the knot in a civil partnership ceremony in Windsor, England. But, clarified the singer, “We’re not married. Let’s get that right. We have a civil partnership. What is wrong with Proposition 8 is that they went for marriage. Marriage is going to put a lot of people off, the word marriage.”
John and Furnish, and their two cocker spaniels, Marilyn and Arthur, were in town for Tuesday’s annual benefit for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
“I don’t want to be married. I’m very happy with a civil partnership. If gay people want to get married, or get together, they should have a civil partnership,” John says. “The word ‘marriage,’ I think, puts a lot of people off.
“You get the same equal rights that we do when we have a civil partnership. Heterosexual people get married. We can have civil partnerships.”….
Some would argue that “civil union” vs. “marriage” is a matter of samantics, but same sex couples had the right to a civil union prior to Prop 8. Why do they want to have marriage when they have the same rights in a civil union? Its an infiltration. They’ve already infiltrated the public school systems, higher education. The radical gay activists have waged war against the traditonal family unit.
There should be no doubt that God wants us to pursue justice. Through His prophet, He said, in Amos, the 5th Chapter, verses 23-24:
“Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream.” Sure seems like a call to action to me.
As Christians, we should render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s (the state, the gov’t) BUT render unto God what is God’s. So if Caesar tells us to do something, as long as it doesn’t violate God’s laws, or the spirit of His laws, we can obey Caesar, but if the status quo violates God’s intentions, we must obey God instead and work to change that status quo.
Of course, people can be on opposite ends of an issue, and both be convinced they are pursuing “righteousness” and “justice.” Where is the standard? Our standards come from the Holy Scriptures; others will have other yardsticks — but we live by faith.
And our faith, if deep, will produce action.
This case is not over because it will probably be be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. There is still hope.
But I think Dr. Brown is insightful when he comments that John the Baptist was imprisoned for objecting for Herrod’simmoral behavior when he declared, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
In Herrod’s case, what was legal was also moral. Herrod, eventually killed the messenger, but never disputed the law. In California, the response to “It is not lawful…” is to simply change the law!
Judge Vaughn Walker sees the objection to gay marriage as a matter of “private morality” being imposed by the voters. As it is written, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:5.)I am also reminded of Isaiah 5:20 which says – “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness,who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”
So there is both spiritual blindness and the possibility of God’s wrath. We who are not blind should respond with both these things in mind.
Some thoughts:
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” [Leviticus 18:22]
“If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” [Matthew 5:29-30]
“…But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.” [Matthew 19:11-12]
“Do not let the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD speak, saying, “YHWH has utterly separated me from His people”; Nor let the eunuch say, “Here I am, a dry tree.” For thus says YHWH: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, even to them I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.” [Isaiah 56:3-5]
“Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” [Hebrews 13:4]
Obviously eros, attraction, and libido are powerful motivators of anyone. It saddens that there apparently are many who have not encountered the love of God through family and marriage, and seek to substitute its yoke and intimacy with some other ideal of connection other than that which God has blessed.
When I look at Esther 1:16 & 17, I find that I wish there were more justices like Memucan.
There were 7 principal men under the king in the book of Esther, 7 princes who knew law and judgment, men who were aware of the times.
We have 9 judges on the Supreme Court of the Federal government. I hope they are somewhat familiar with the Bible, else how will they stand against the darkness?
If they trust that America is still one nation under God, and that God is king over all that he has made, shouldn’t they do what’s right?
If homosexual cival unions are a sin, it’s a sin against all the judges who believe that God is over all and that the United States is one nation under God. Not only that but if homosexual cival unions are a sin, and it’s happened, then it’s a sin against all people of the United States.
If all the people of the United States are wronged, isn’t it incumbent upon the judge who is to decide the matter, and shouldn’t he make a decision that prevents the sin and the wrong, or at least does not give the sin license to practice the wrong?
May God awaken the Supreme Court justices in Jesus’ name. Let’s pray that he does. May they not be found sleeping.
Just got done reading the Jesus Manifesto by Dr. Brown. Certain points hit me more than others. Dr. Browns opening about years of “toothless Gospel preaching” stuck a chord. It alarms me because I expect more from the church. How do we deal with our brother and sisters? The world does not accept the authority of the Bible. It seems to me we need to speak boldly against the “toothless Gospel preaching”. Dr. Brown is right when he comes down hard on churches who imitate the world to win the world. We should continue to speak out.
We should also continue to speak out to the world. Certainly, continuing to preach the gospel is essential. But again, it cannot be a “toothless Gospel”. It can’t be ceap grace. A few decades ago Dr. Karl Menninger wrote a book entitled, “What Ever Happened to Sin?”. It seems we can ask that same question today. Increasingly, the culture is not recognizing homosexuality as sin. Recent court opinions upholding gay rights only reinforce this view. But this is only the most recent attack. The psychiatric community has urged that homosexuality should be accepted for years. Now the truth of the matter is that eventually the psychatric community will recognize that failing to distinguish between male and females in relationships is not inconsequential. The problem is what to do in the meantime. The problem is that the problem is not only one of homosexuality, but a world view which has resulted in the statistics quoted by Dr. Brown.
I could not agree more with Dr. Brown we need to take a stand. Dr. Brown’s Manifesto, however, is only a first chapter. I wish he might write further.
Doug,
God willing, I will be writing further. Thanks!
I have been reading a book that dovetails with the conversations on Line of Fire these last couple of weeks regarding what is going on in our culture (both Christian and worldly), and what we, as believers are called to do about it.
If I may share a quote –
“We (Christians) have accepted secularism’s challenge to fight on secularist ground, with secularist weapons and secularist umpire, before a secularist audience and according to the secularist book of rules . . . Hastily we try to plug the gap by . . . ‘explaining’ our cause, but doctored to the secularist mentality. It is high time to shift our ground.” (Harry Blamires – “The Christian Mind – How Should a Christian Think”, copyright 1963, pg. 117)
The author goes on to say that we need to “set about reconstituting the Christian mind by taking for granted the authoritative, God-given nature of the Christian faith, and re-establishing in ourselves an unfaltering sense of the objectivity of Christian truth . . . ”
Sounds like revival and discipleship to me and I encourage you and your staff, Dr. Brown, to keep sounding the call . . . keep being that voice of sanity, explaining and bringing light to the insanity around us. It is making a difference in my life as it has given me ways to think through things that feel wrong but I haven’t had the words to express . . . and I find that I am entering secular conversations confidently, sharing Godly truth. That’s a yeah, God!
And Doug, I think that’s also what we need to do if we find ourselves in a church where there is a “toothless gospel” being preached – enter conversations confidently, with Godly truth.
De 28 32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand. 41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.
If the salt has lost it’s savor…
We (believers) were the culture not too long ago. The subculture was made up of nonbelievers. It only takes one or two generations of indoctrination to loose the culture to the other side. We sent our children to secular schools, let them be bombarded by hours of TV, and left them to judge for themselves who they would befriend. Believers gave the culture away without much of a fight. It is not likely that the god of this world will give up as easily.
Do we have the backbone to home school, get rid of secular media, and be proactive in choosing our offspring’s playmates (even church youth groups produce unrighteousness)? Do we have the guts to just say no to anything that is remotely out of line with a scriptural lifestyle? Will we take the responsibility to teach the word to our children all day long and live it in front of them?
We can hold out hope for a “Josiah” type revival in our county’s near future, but I would suggest an “Elijah” type determination to turn our hearts to our children and children’s hearts back to us. If we are not radically taking up this mantle, we have no chance to change our culture. There is a reason why YHWH called Israel to eliminate all the inhabitants of the promised land. If we allow even a small contingent of secular/humanist/atheist/worldly ideas to occupy our households we will lose the battle for our family, not to mention our culture.
1 Samuel 8 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations… 10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. 11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. 13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers… 17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. 18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day. 19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 20 That we also may be like all the nations;
Yes, we need to change our culture. We need to start at home or the battle is lost already. If we do not start at home we will end up like Samuel, and the people will choose a secular king to replace YHWH, all because we are too busy to raise our children. Will we let the culture raise our children? I hope not.
We have to shine whatever light we can.
When Vashti, Ahasuerus’s queen (book of Esther)
refused to come show herself with the royal crown during the celebration of the king’s power and the riches of his kingdom, it was suggested by one of the kings wise men (because the king had asked what should be done according to the law about this matter) that this thing done by Vashti the queen would cause other women of the kingdom
to dishonor their husbands, and that this thing was also a wrong done to all of the kingdom.
No one to my knowledge called the one who suggested this to the king, a “queen-a-phobic” or a “wife-a-phobic”, nor am I aware of any that suggested that the recent actions of Vashti the queen would have no affect upon their culture.
We need to keep spreading the word where we can.
We can see that if the present trend continues there will be many offences due to worldly
perspectives that cause customs and laws to change in such a way as to favor the carnal desires of the ungodly.
As the offences abound more and more due to a degrading society, the need will abound more and more for those who will be willing to plead on behalf of those who are sinned against and this will be a wonderful opportunity for the church to bring in the gospel.
Something happens when another party pleads on behalf of another. I’ve seen it before, though such a thing I’ve seen very rarely.
When someone did it for me it was as if a royal carpet was laid out and the king of glory came in.
Suddenly I was treated as royalty and the matter was resolved saving me money and giving me a fair deal. Justice was done and it wasn’t me that did it. The one that was my enemy willingly agreed, conceeding to another. It was amazing.
We can be a part of that process, if we are spiritual. (Gal 6:1)
My matter that was resolved was with a telephone company and some charges and service problems. As I was on the phone and not much being heard, another voice came on the line. Now there were three of us. It was a service worker who was working on the line. He began talking with the other telephone employee. They got along fine. He was aware of my problem and explained it in a way that made sense to the telephone employee that I was trying to convince and not having much success in so doing.
To this day I wonder if it was an angel.
Knowing what we do today about the gospel of Christ…I’m wondering what king Ahasuerus’s reaction would have been if one of his wise men who knew the times and law and judgment, would have suggested that someone go to Vashti, letting her know about the seriousness of what had happened and what was being suggested to the king, and also try to convince her that she might find grace from the king if she will come to him and confess her wrong, repenting of it and also be willing to do so before the people at another feast of the king. It might also be suggested that the king forgive her and tell the people that what makes a queen beautiful are such qualities as repentance…etc..
“Elton John: Where Prop 8 went wrong”
NEW YORK — Elton John, accompanied by his longtime partner, David Furnish, had some choice words about California’s Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage that passed on Nov. 4.
In December 2005, John and Furnish tied the knot in a civil partnership ceremony in Windsor, England. But, clarified the singer, “We’re not married. Let’s get that right. We have a civil partnership. What is wrong with Proposition 8 is that they went for marriage. Marriage is going to put a lot of people off, the word marriage.”
John and Furnish, and their two cocker spaniels, Marilyn and Arthur, were in town for Tuesday’s annual benefit for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
“I don’t want to be married. I’m very happy with a civil partnership. If gay people want to get married, or get together, they should have a civil partnership,” John says. “The word ‘marriage,’ I think, puts a lot of people off.
“You get the same equal rights that we do when we have a civil partnership. Heterosexual people get married. We can have civil partnerships.”….
Some would argue that “civil union” vs. “marriage” is a matter of samantics, but same sex couples had the right to a civil union prior to Prop 8. Why do they want to have marriage when they have the same rights in a civil union? Its an infiltration. They’ve already infiltrated the public school systems, higher education. The radical gay activists have waged war against the traditonal family unit.
There should be no doubt that God wants us to pursue justice. Through His prophet, He said, in Amos, the 5th Chapter, verses 23-24:
“Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream.” Sure seems like a call to action to me.
As Christians, we should render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s (the state, the gov’t) BUT render unto God what is God’s. So if Caesar tells us to do something, as long as it doesn’t violate God’s laws, or the spirit of His laws, we can obey Caesar, but if the status quo violates God’s intentions, we must obey God instead and work to change that status quo.
Of course, people can be on opposite ends of an issue, and both be convinced they are pursuing “righteousness” and “justice.” Where is the standard? Our standards come from the Holy Scriptures; others will have other yardsticks — but we live by faith.
And our faith, if deep, will produce action.
This case is not over because it will probably be be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. There is still hope.
But I think Dr. Brown is insightful when he comments that John the Baptist was imprisoned for objecting for Herrod’simmoral behavior when he declared, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
In Herrod’s case, what was legal was also moral.
Herrod, eventually killed the messenger, but never disputed the law. In California, the response to “It is not lawful…” is to simply change the law!
Judge Vaughn Walker sees the objection to gay marriage as a matter of “private morality” being imposed by the voters. As it is written, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:5.)I am also reminded of Isaiah 5:20 which says – “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness,who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”
So there is both spiritual blindness and the possibility of God’s wrath. We who are not blind should respond with both these things in mind.
Some thoughts:
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman.
It is an abomination.”
[Leviticus 18:22]
“If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”
[Matthew 5:29-30]
“…But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”
[Matthew 19:11-12]
“Do not let the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD speak, saying, “YHWH has utterly separated me from His people”; Nor let the eunuch say, “Here I am, a dry tree.” For thus says YHWH: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, even to them I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.”
[Isaiah 56:3-5]
“Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”
[Hebrews 13:4]
Obviously eros, attraction, and libido are powerful motivators of anyone. It saddens that there apparently are many who have not encountered the love of God through family and marriage, and seek to substitute its yoke and intimacy with some other ideal of connection other than that which God has blessed.
When I look at Esther 1:16 & 17, I find that I wish there were more justices like Memucan.
There were 7 principal men under the king in the book of Esther, 7 princes who knew law and judgment, men who were aware of the times.
We have 9 judges on the Supreme Court of the Federal government. I hope they are somewhat familiar with the Bible, else how will they stand against the darkness?
If they trust that America is still one nation under God, and that God is king over all that he has made, shouldn’t they do what’s right?
If homosexual cival unions are a sin, it’s a sin against all the judges who believe that God is over all and that the United States is one nation under God. Not only that but if homosexual cival unions are a sin, and it’s happened, then it’s a sin against all people of the United States.
If all the people of the United States are wronged, isn’t it incumbent upon the judge who is to decide the matter, and shouldn’t he make a decision that prevents the sin and the wrong, or at least does not give the sin license to practice the wrong?
May God awaken the Supreme Court justices in Jesus’ name. Let’s pray that he does. May they not be found sleeping.
Just got done reading the Jesus Manifesto by Dr. Brown. Certain points hit me more than others. Dr. Browns opening about years of “toothless Gospel preaching” stuck a chord. It alarms me because I expect more from the church. How do we deal with our brother and sisters? The world does not accept the authority of the Bible. It seems to me we need to speak boldly against the “toothless Gospel preaching”. Dr. Brown is right when he comes down hard on churches who imitate the world to win the world. We should continue to speak out.
We should also continue to speak out to the world. Certainly, continuing to preach the gospel is essential. But again, it cannot be a “toothless Gospel”. It can’t be ceap grace.
A few decades ago Dr. Karl Menninger wrote a book entitled, “What Ever Happened to Sin?”. It seems we can ask that same question today. Increasingly,
the culture is not recognizing homosexuality as sin. Recent court opinions upholding gay rights only reinforce this view. But this is only the most recent attack. The psychiatric community has urged that homosexuality should be accepted for years. Now the truth of the matter is that eventually the psychatric community will recognize that failing to distinguish between male and females in relationships is not inconsequential. The problem is what to do in the meantime. The problem is that the problem is not only one of homosexuality, but a world view which has resulted in the statistics quoted by Dr. Brown.
I could not agree more with Dr. Brown we need to take a stand. Dr. Brown’s Manifesto, however, is only a first chapter. I wish he might write further.
Doug,
God willing, I will be writing further. Thanks!
I have been reading a book that dovetails with the conversations on Line of Fire these last couple of weeks regarding what is going on in our culture (both Christian and worldly), and what we, as believers are called to do about it.
If I may share a quote –
“We (Christians) have accepted secularism’s challenge to fight on secularist ground, with secularist weapons and secularist umpire, before a secularist audience and according to the secularist book of rules . . . Hastily we try to plug the gap by . . . ‘explaining’ our cause, but doctored to the secularist mentality. It is high time to shift our ground.” (Harry Blamires – “The Christian Mind – How Should a Christian Think”, copyright 1963, pg. 117)
The author goes on to say that we need to “set about reconstituting the Christian mind by taking for granted the authoritative, God-given nature of the Christian faith, and re-establishing in ourselves an unfaltering sense of the objectivity of Christian truth . . . ”
Sounds like revival and discipleship to me and I encourage you and your staff, Dr. Brown, to keep sounding the call . . . keep being that voice of sanity, explaining and bringing light to the insanity around us. It is making a difference in my life as it has given me ways to think through things that feel wrong but I haven’t had the words to express . . . and I find that I am entering secular conversations confidently, sharing Godly truth. That’s a yeah, God!
And Doug, I think that’s also what we need to do if we find ourselves in a church where there is a “toothless gospel” being preached – enter conversations confidently, with Godly truth.
De 28
32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand.
41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.
If the salt has lost it’s savor…
We (believers) were the culture not too long ago. The subculture was made up of nonbelievers. It only takes one or two generations of indoctrination to loose the culture to the other side. We sent our children to secular schools, let them be bombarded by hours of TV, and left them to judge for themselves who they would befriend. Believers gave the culture away without much of a fight. It is not likely that the god of this world will give up as easily.
Do we have the backbone to home school, get rid of secular media, and be proactive in choosing our offspring’s playmates (even church youth groups produce unrighteousness)? Do we have the guts to just say no to anything that is remotely out of line with a scriptural lifestyle? Will we take the responsibility to teach the word to our children all day long and live it in front of them?
We can hold out hope for a “Josiah” type revival in our county’s near future, but I would suggest an “Elijah” type determination to turn our hearts to our children and children’s hearts back to us. If we are not radically taking up this mantle, we have no chance to change our culture. There is a reason why YHWH called Israel to eliminate all the inhabitants of the promised land. If we allow even a small contingent of secular/humanist/atheist/worldly ideas to occupy our households we will lose the battle for our family, not to mention our culture.
1 Samuel 8
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations…
10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.
11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers…
17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
20 That we also may be like all the nations;
Yes, we need to change our culture. We need to start at home or the battle is lost already. If we do not start at home we will end up like Samuel, and the people will choose a secular king to replace YHWH, all because we are too busy to raise our children. Will we let the culture raise our children? I hope not.
Shalom