How was your week? I hope it went well! There's been a lot of things coming to light recently, haven't there? Things that were once presented as one way, as facts even, have turned out to be the opposite. Yesterday's "conspiracy theory" has become today's truth, even in the mainstream media. The question is, will we learn from that? And by we, I mean the collective public "we."
Obviously, the you and I "we" have the "cheat sheet" so to speak, to help us navigate this sort of thing. We just need to make sure we're learning the right lesson and also applying it to how we live and interact with the world going forward. We've looked at the topic of trust in the past, and we focused on placing trust in YHWH, but it's possible to place trust in multiple entities, isn't it? So this week we're focused on trust in man. You can probably see where this is headed...but let's dive in!
Not surprisingly, scripture has quite a lot to say about trusting in man. It actually covers more scenarios than you might think. Of course, it tells us it's better to trust in YHWH than in man (Psalm 118:8), but in the event the reader places men in positions of power in a separate category, one in which he or she thinks the person should be more trustworthy based on their position, it goes on to say it's better to trust in YHWH than them as well (Psalm 118:9).
It goes even further though, and outright says DON'T put your trust in man, whether they are in power or not (Psalm 146:3, Isaiah 2:22). And what's the emphasis made in this verse? What is the basis for its warning? Salvation. Man, mortal man, doesn't have the power to save. He or she also won't necessarily be able to carry out that which he or she promised. Not only is it possible they may decide there is a change in their priorities that leads them to not meet their promise, but they also could just up and die before they're able to carry it out! (Psalm 146:4)
Is it just the random person on the street, or people placed in power we should not place our trust in? Unfortunately, no. And it's worse than you might think. Now, before we look at this passage it's important to understand the context, because at first glance you may see it as not being applicable. However, given our current geopolitical circumstances, and I'm sure you see it either locally, or at least somewhere close to you nationally, it's more applicable now than it has been in the past, and it's only going to get worse.
If you turn to Micah 7, and your Bible has titles above its chapters, you might find that it says something like "Israel's Misery," or maybe "Sorrow for Israel's Sins." Reading that, you may get the impression that this chapter is solely for Israel, and looking at the previous chapter you see that it is referencing Israel-related events. However, read chapter 7 and you'll find that you can place our current situation as almost identical to that of Israel.
As a majority, Godly people have disappeared from the earth and people are always trying to get something out of each other (verse 2). We find that people in power, both politically and judicially, are blackmailed, bribed, or abuse the system to become rich (verse 3). So, what was Israel told to do in this situation? To not trust their friends, or even those who they were closest with like their spouse or family members (verses 5-6). Their enemies were in their own homes (verse 6).
Now, like I said, it's important to check the context, so don't think we're supposed to isolate ourselves from everyone we know in fear of being taken advantage of, or worse. This is a prophecy, and there is a reference to it by Yeshua (Matthew 10:34-36, Luke 12:51-53). Essentially, He said He came to fulfill what verse 6 says. But what does that mean? Why would He come to create dissention even among families? If you start back in chapter 5, you'll see this prophecy starts with Yeshua's birth (Micah 5:2), so really what was being prophesied was what Yeshua's ministry, and subsequent crucifixion, would do. And ultimately, due to His rejection, it resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem.
So, while our situation is similar, in terms of what we see in the world right now, it doesn't mean we should look for traitors or untrustworthy people around every corner, or in the bedroom down the hall. We do need to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves, though (Matthew 10:16). And this means we need to be cautious in every situation, especially to determine if there are reasons for someone to have ulterior motives. Usually this means them looking to get something.
Let's take, for example, the pharmaceutical companies. The most recent vaccine was initially touted as being effective not only to prevent infection, but also transmission. Turns out neither of those claims were ever true. They were just said to get people to take the shot. They knew the claims were false based on their efficacy studies (which is not the same as effectiveness, by the way) and the fact that they never even did testing for effect on transmissibility. And what of the statements that it "prevents severe hospitalization and death?" More vaccinated individuals are being hospitalized and dying now than unvaccinated, so that one didn't pan out either. I find it interesting that statements like, "it would have been much worse if he/she weren't vaccinated," are identical to the one the fraudulent Dr. Edward Jenner made to the father of the boy he "vaccinated" for smallpox in 1811.
This page on statistical significance recounts a case where a pharmaceutical company omitted three adverse reactions which ended up enabling their drug to be approved and resulted in 23,800 cardiovascular events, with the drug eventually being withdrawn from the market. Yes, the pharmaceutical company did their own safety and efficacy testing in both of these situations...a bit of a conflict of interest for a company that wants to make money, don't you think? That's definitely an ulterior motive.
But we still have independent governmental approval agencies, you might say. Well not only can they not make an accurate assessment with fraudulent data, they can't make a proper assessment if they have ulterior motives as well. You would have to be there behind the closed doors to know what those motives are, but when you have an actual independent agency call for the recall of a vaccine based on the over 40,000 deaths it's linked to and your own "independent" governmental agency takes no action, there has to be an ulterior motive.
These organizations/companies have been built up in society to be trustworthy, even to the point of people being cancelled simply for questioning that trustworthiness. This is why we really do need to take scripture seriously when it says not to trust in man. But it's not just a matter of trusting such people for products or services they deliver. We're also warned not to trust in others for protection, like Israel was warned against with Egypt (Isaiah 31:1-3). Ever try your hardest and do your best on something only to be disappointed when you didn't get the proper recognition? We also shouldn't trust in man to provide the recognition we're due, rather we should work as if we're working for YHWH directly (Colossians 3:23), because we can trust Him to give the proper reward.
Truly, we are told what will happen if we put our trust in man and turn away from YHWH (Jeremiah 17:5-6). It results in our being cursed. It's not all doom and gloom, though! We are given promises of blessings for trusting in YHWH instead of man (Psalm 40:4). Proof of this is recorded in Daniel's account of being thrown into the lion's den. For this event, we like to focus usually on Daniel's standing up for his religious freedom, but if you read closely the reason Daniel was spared from the lions and the ones who had him thrown in (and their families) were torn apart before they hit the floor was because he trusted in YHWH (Daniel 6:23-24).
So, as you go through this week, and especially as the world gets worse and worse, try to identify all the things you're putting your trust in man over vice in YHWH. Is it protection? medicine? vaccines? recognition/reward? knowledge? justice? wisdom? assistance? Be conscious of what ulterior motives someone or some organization has that may result in them trying to take advantage or you. Then you can ensure you're aware of what's happening and ask the Holy Spirit to help you fight against it.
Shabbat shalom and God bless you!
-Rob and Sara Gene
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