The Lord and Oklahomans

When you have no refuge,
     The Lord is your refuge
     And Oklahomans open their dorms, churches, hotels, and homes.

When you have no water,
     The Lord is the living water
     And Oklahomans build a mountain of bottled water.

When you have no hope,
     The Lord is your hope
     And Oklahomans bring blankets, hugs, miracles and boundless energy.

When you have no strength,
     The Lord is your strength
     And Oklahomans bring forklifts and strong arms and energy bars and sixteen hour days.

When you have no power,
     The Lord gives you power to become children of God
     And Oklahomans and Texans and Missourians and Arkansans and ask the rest bring utility trucks,
     And generators hum in the rubble throughout the night, dispelling the darkness.

When all is taken away,
     The Lord is your provider
     And Oklahomans break piggy banks and donate their vacations and share their showers, shelter, and southern hospitality.

When you're mad at what has happened,
     Scream and yell and pound God on the chest,
     Because the Lord hears the cry of the brokenhearted and his ears are open to your prayers,
     And Oklahomans who don't know what else to give will have a prayer for you and a shoulder to cry on.

When you've lost your beloved,
     The Lord weeps with those who mourn
     And Oklahoma does too.

    Oklahoma, tornado, Moore, disaster, May 20, 2013

A Parable on Bengazi

From 2 Samuel 11, paraphrased.
At the time when kings go off to war, the king stayed away; he preferred to lead from behind. He sent the army out, only telling the representatives of the people as an afterthought.

The king had no taste for facing war directly; he choose instead to control events from his remote palace. He partook of sport out on the lush green fields. There were opportunities to gather funds for the kingdom in the decadent city.

The mighty men soldiered on, having no respite. One evening, a heavily armed force descended upon the compound where certain warriors were located. They sent a frantic message pleading for help. When it reached the palace, it was rejected; the relief fighters were ordered to stay in their places. When the men of the city came out and fought against the king's men, some of them died.

A full account, in vivid detail, was made available to the king. It was clear that his men had been overpowered and without assistance. Missiles came from high up and struck the valiant fighters, fatally wounding them. His response was to cast blame elsewhere. His most disturbing statement: "Don't let this disturb you; the sword devours one as well as the other." (v. 25)

What astounds me is how very well the text of 2 Samuel 11 fits the details of the Bengazi attack. V. 24 might just as well say, RPG's and mortars from up high descended upon some and killed them, exactly as happened to two of the men. V. 25 almost exactly quotes one of the Democratic Congressmen's callous remarks to the deaths.

Obviously, the biblical story was about David ignoring his duty to lead his army into battle, instead preferring to lead from behind, and then becoming slave to the lusts of his flesh. Obama's lust does not appear to be sexual, but he sure likes to golf and campaign and fund raise and travel, and his actions after the attack were clearly calculated to ensure his reelection.

As for why he guaranteed the deaths of the men in Bengazi, the reasons are not yet known. It fits the biblical story too frighteningly well for me not to think that he wanted these men dead to cover something up like weapons transactions.

My prayer is that the truth will come forth on the lips of many Nathans, and that most importantly, Obama and his leadership team will repent before Almighty God. One thing is for sure- the blood on their hands will remain.