How Deserted Lies the City

King David of the Bible placed his life in the hands of a personal, loving and faithful God. As happened many times in his life, when all seemed hopeless and lost he would kneel before his God: “In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me: I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The Lord is with me: he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.” (Psalm 118:5-7)

Compare the abiding faith of David to the stupendous claims of so many of our modern leaders who insist on staking everything on the belief that they have been called to power to not only save the whole of mankind but the planet earth as well. These contemporary Caesars may give lip service to God, but their deepest faith rests on their own power to build castles in the sky while commanding the seas to recede. Who needs God when man can construct paradise here on earth? For many of our leaders, it would be too humbling to admit the need for God: such an admission might preclude the possibility of building temples to their own greatness.

When viewed from the sweep of Biblical history, we see that the modern Caesar represents nothing more than mankind’s ancient and persistent rebellion against the presence of God in the affairs of man:

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “’In the pride of your heart, you say, “I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas.” But you are not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god.” (Ezekiel 28:1-2)

Many of the national leaders of our time have fallen for the same old false promise that has tempted and diverted mankind from the very beginning of written history. Here is God’s judgment against the ruler of Tyre: “…your heart has grown proud.”(Ezekiel 28:5) The hearts of our political and business leaders have grown proud indeed. Perhaps a little more knowledge of the warnings of the ancient prophets of Israel might steer some of these self inflated potentates away from the dangerous consequences of their impossible dreams: “How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave.”(Lamentations 1:1)