DO SOMETHING!

A tragedy has occurred. Twenty children and six teachers were killed outright by a gunman at an elementary school in Connecticut.

Now the media and the powers that be in our government cry “We must do something!”

What is being incessantly proposed with the loudest voices is to further restrict guns and gun ownership.

The President did not pass his civics class in high school, apparently. Maybe that is why he has kept all his school records “closed.” The President talks transparency, and does the opposite. The Vice-President is no wiser.

They both chose to ignore (I’m sure they really did not forget) that the Constitution contains a Bill of Rights. The SECOND AMENDMENT states that the right of individuals to bear arms “SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.”

Just what is it that our utterly irresponsible media, the President, and others clamoring loudly against gun ownership, don’t understand about those simple words, “SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED”?

It appears to me that all those individuals joining in the clamor must have failed their reading class too.

Notice that the President and his supporters never direct their attention to the root of the problem. That would not forward their agenda.

Which means, as I see it, they have no interest in solving the problem.

I just now completed my work of expanding the cross references for 1 Corinthians. I came upon a most interesting cross reference to 2 Chronicles 12:14 today,

2Ch 12:14 And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.

THAT IS THE PROBLEM.

Thoroughly unpacking 2 Chronicles 12:14 may assist everyone to begin to see how to solve the problems that need to be addressed.

This verse is a Divinely Inspired assessment of the fatal flaw behind the failures of King Rehoboam.

The failures of King Rehoboam are paralleled by the failures of our current President and Vice President.

What first drew my attention to this verse today is that I noticed it is a cause/effect relationship verse. I had not noticed it before, so I added this verse to my now quite extensive list of such verses given in my note at Psalm 9:10 in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and also in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible.

In 2 Chronicles 12:14, the stated CAUSE is “he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.”

The stated EFFECT of that is “he did evil.”

Our nation has departed from the high moral and spiritual ground possessed and sanctioned by the Founding Fathers, the writers and signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

When we are on the wrong road, insisting on going further on the wrong road won’t get us to where we ought to be.

The best way to more fully “unpack” 2 Chronicles 12:14 is to consult the cross references that pertain to this verse.

The verse reads:

2Ch 12:14 And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.

The cross references read, as I now expanded them today,

14. he did evil. 2 Ch %19:3. 1 K +*12:8. 14:22-24. Pr 11:10, 11. 12:5, 26. 17:4. 24:20, 24. 25:5. 28:4, 12, 28. **29:2, **12, 16. because. Ps +**9:10n. he prepared. Heb. he fixed. ver. 1. 2 Ch 11:16. *19:3. *20:33. 27:6. 30:19. 1 S 7:3. 1 K 15:14. 1 Ch 29:18. Ezr *7:10. Jb 11:13. Ps 57:7mg. 78:8, 37. 112:7. 1 C **15:58. 16:13. his heart. Ps +*119:80. Pr +*4:23. to seek. Dt 5:29. **17:18-20. Ps *105:3, 4. Is +*45:19. **55:6, 7. Ezk 33:31. Mt *7:7. Lk *11:9.

he did evil.

2Ch 19:3 Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God.

This verse contrasts with the verse we are studying, as indicated by the “%” symbol. But it shows that King Jehoshaphat, though he had significant flaws mentioned in 2 Chronicles 19:2, nevertheless was partly on the right track.

2Ch 19:2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD.

The Bible specifies the evil that Rehoboam did. One would have to study the full context as well as associated verses identified by cross references, but a very significant reference is 1 Kings 12:8,

1Ki 12:8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:

Rehoboam’s problem was that he could not withstand the influence of those of his own generation, those he grew up with. The younger men whose advice he followed were not blessed with the wisdom of the older men whose advice he ignored. The result is that the nation of Israel was divided into two kingdoms.

In our own day our nation seems “split down the middle,” and I often wonder how so many voters could possibly choose an inferior candidate for the office of President. But people are blinded by prejudice, ignorance, and lack of discernment, and are swayed by the mainstream media, not reality.

Like Rehoboam, our own President has chosen very poor advisors. He is headed the wrong direction, and there seems no one in sight that has the wisdom to provide the President the proper guidance and advice, someone the President would respect and listen to.

Our President has stated that he reads the Bible every night. I trust this is still so. If he could read the Bible with insight, that would be a significant source of valuable guidance and advice.

1Ki 14:22 And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.
1Ki 14:23 For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.
1Ki 14:24 And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
1Ki 14:25 And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:
1Ki 14:26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
1Ki 14:27 And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king’s house.
1Ki 14:28 And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.
1Ki 14:29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
1Ki 14:30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.

Notice in this account, among other things, that the wealth of the nation was stolen, and brass was substituted for gold. In our nation our money is constantly being devalued by the actions of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury, and the failure of Congress to even address the problem of the burgeoning national debt at all. The Senate has not done its main Constitutional duty for three years or so for it has not passed a budget.

Notice the rise and toleration of the Sodomites in Israel. That is going on in our country too, and marks another aspect of the evil that has been wrongly tolerated.

Notice too the mention of continuing war “all their days.” That is an evil afflicting our nation today as well.

Pro 29:2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

Pro 29:12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.

Pro 29:16 When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall.

he prepared.

2Ch 20:33 Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers.

1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

his heart.

Pro 4:20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
Pro 4:21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
Pro 4:22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
Pro 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

to seek.

Deu 17:18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
Deu 17:19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
Deu 17:20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

Isa 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Luk 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

That is a sampling from the cross references which serve to shed light upon, amplify, and explain 2 Chronicles 12:14.

How does this relate to and impact answering the question, “WHAT IS TO BE DONE?”

First of all, all of us, from the President himself to the humblest individual in the nation, need to seek guidance from the proper sources. We all need to divorce ourselves from our private agendas, and get back to truth and reality. You cannot solve a problem by repeating past mistakes.

Second, all must honor and follow the provisions written in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. We ought also to follow the moral laws of the Bible, the only source of the Higher Law our founding documents were based upon.

Third, we must address the problems we face now. Stop manufacturing crises to advance our own political agendas. Currently, efforts to restrict guns and ammunition do not address the problem: guns don’t kill people; people do. Passing laws in violation of the Second Amendment serve to disarm law abiding people and make it harder for law-abiding individuals to defend themselves and families. More laws won’t solve the problem because criminals by definition don’t obey the laws!

Somewhere I have record of a Supreme Court decision that flatly stated that if a law is invalid on its face because it contradicts the Bill of Rights or the Constitution, we ought not to obey that law.

What kind of individuals are committing the mass killings in schools and other venues? In almost every case, these individuals are on medications that have warning labels indicating the terrible side effects the medications have on some individuals. Young people below the age of 25 are especially vulnerable to these side effects. Therefore, get off the subject of gun control which has nothing to do with the problem, and solve the problem of giving medications which produce these side-effects in individuals.

Let us also get rid of the absurd notion that there ought to be “gun free” zones anywhere in this country. Gun-free zones are an open invitation for cowards to commit mass murder as we have seen repeatedly.

Fourth, Paul wrote of the power of the Gospel of Christ, “for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” In Paul’s day, that included everyone. In Paul’s day, he spread the Gospel of Christ in a very hostile environment, and according to his enemies, “turned the world upside down.” Paul did that without the benefit of the printing press, mainstream media, or the Bill of Rights! He did it by the power of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and in response to the direct call of our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 9:15).

Government, and especially more government, is NOT the answer. The answer is to get the Good News of the Gospel out to every individual so that they can be saved. When Christ enters the life of an individual, that life is dramatically changed. Paul wrote at 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 a list of terrible sins that will keep any and all who practice them out of heaven. Some of those sins are very popular today, and even “protected” by the Government. But Paul wrote of those who practiced those sins in their lives, “but such were some of you.” Once they became saved they no longer practiced those sins. The power of the Gospel delivered individuals in Paul’s day from the terrible sins he listed. That deliverance is still available today to any one who will repent and believe the Gospel.