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Are walls really immoral? Not to God |
Contrary to pronouncements from Pelosi and the pope, the Bible is very pro-wall! |
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by Joseph Farah
“He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.”
- Proverbs 25:28
You’ve heard House Speaker Nancy Pelosi say it over and over again: “The fact is, a wall is an immorality.”
A wall is an immorality? Where might God have ever proclaimed such a thing?
But Pelosi is hardly alone. The pope is also decrying walls. He says, "builders of walls sow fear" and "divide people." He adds, "We know that the father of lies, the devil, prefers a community divided and bickering."
One thing I’d like you to notice is that both Pelosi and the pope live behind BIG WALLS. Most of the rich and powerful do. But the wall President Trump is trying to build is designed to protect ordinary Americans who can’t afford to build their own.
It’s all well and good for men and women to make pronouncements about right and wrong. But what we say to each other is simply a matter of opinions. Only God determines what is evil and what is good.
What does God say about walls? Has God spoken on the subject? What does the Bible say?
Could it be there is a biblical precedent for President Trump’s call for building a wall for national security?
The Bible is a book that has plenty to say on many subjects. Indeed, God has some strong opinions about walls – but they have little in common with the pronouncements of Pelosi and the pope.
Israel had good kings and bad kings throughout its history – sadly, more bad than good.
But 2 Chronicles 14 tells the story of good King Asa who “did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.”
One of those things was building fenced cities in Judah. What was the result? “[T]he land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the Lord had given him rest.”
Encouraged by the building of security walls throughout the country, Asa decided to go even further – constructing more “walls, and towers, gates, and bars . . . because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So, they built and prospered.”
Did you hear that? These walls didn’t sow fear, they brought rest, peace and prosperity. In other words, they helped Make Israel Great Again.
Of course, it wasn’t just walls that did this. Asa had three other things going for him – faith in God, a very strong army of 300,000 from Judah and 204,000 from Benjamin, “all mighty men of valor,” and towers, gates and bars to supplement the barriers.
One day, a far greater foreign army from Ethiopia invaded Judah with a host of “a thousand thousand.” It would seem like an army of 500,000 would not have much of a chance against an army of a million.
So, Asa went out to meet the Ethiopians in battle. But before he did, “he cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let no man prevail against thee.”
Can you guess the result?
That’s right. The Lord smote the Ethiopians. They fled Judah and did not return. In fact, we’re told Judah “carried away very much spoil.”
Do you know what that means? Ethiopia paid for Judah’s walls.
Apparently, God does not agree with Nancy Pelosi and the pope – at least on walls.
The God of Israel also commanded His children to build walls around His city of Jerusalem – in the day of Solomon and again in the day of Nehemiah and Ezra.
Walls are important to national security all over the globe today because we live in a fallen world. Someday, though – and this is really good news -- God’s Son, our Messiah and King, is going to return to Israel where He will rule and reign over the entire world, restoring it to perfection. His Kingdom will be like the Garden of Eden, we’re told in Isaiah and Ezekiel.
There’s nothing immoral about walls in a world where self-defense is necessary, according to God. But, in His kingdom, we won’t need walls to protect ourselves.
In fact, Isaiah 60:11 has this to say about God’s holy city of Jerusalem at that time: “Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.”
So many Gentiles will be coming to see the Lord in Jerusalem, they’ll have to keep the gates open night and day!
Isaiah 50:18 tells us: “Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.”
In fact, he tells us in Isaiah 26:1, there will be a hit song that will be sung in Judah: “We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.”
What does that mean?
Well, interestingly, the word for “salvation” in Hebrew is “Yeshua.” How do we say that name in English? That’s right – Jesus. In His Kingdom, nobody’s going to mess with Jesus-Yeshua. He’ll be the only defense we’ll need.
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