The End Time Church: from the Cathedrals to the Catacombs

By Dan L. White

Copyright ©2016 by Dan L. White, all rights reserved.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB) which is in the public domain.

Chapter 7

“No King in Israel”

Israel couldn’t control themselves enough to stay out of trouble.

Have you ever known anyone like that?

How about yourself?

After Moses and Joshua, the period of the judges lasted over three centuries. For much of that time, Israel was either oppressed by foreign kings or fighting with themselves. Their times of blessings and peace were limited because their obedience was limited. They followed their own hearts, instead of God’s heart.

(Judges 2:19)
“they didn’t cease from their doings, nor from their stubborn way…

They couldn’t control themselves enough to stay out of trouble.

So how could Israel stay out of trouble? How do you control the people?

Maybe Israel’s problem was that they didn’t have a strong king to control them.

Four times the book of Judges mentions that in those days there was no king in Israel.

The first two times involved the idolatry of a self appointed Levite priest. Levites were the tribe chosen to serve at the Tabernacle and later the Temple, but not all Levites were priests. Some had one job and some had another.

(Jdg 17:1-3)
There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me. I took it.”

His mother said, “May Yahweh bless my son!”

He restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, then his mother said, “I most certainly dedicate the silver to Yahweh from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a molten image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.”

This seems like a weird family. First, the son stole a jackpot from his mother. Second, when he gave it back she praised him for returning it, but didn’t mention his thievery at all. Third, when she got the silver back, she wasted it by turning it into an idol.

All that is kinda different.

As happened before with Aaron and Gideon, this woman used her rogue religion to worship the true God. She dedicated the silver images to Yahweh. She intended for her religion to bring her closer to God, when it got between her and God.

(Jdg 17:4-5)
When he restored the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to a silversmith, who made a carved image and a molten image out of it. It was in the house of Micah. The man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

They really got religious, with multiple idols, a priestly ephod garment like the high priest wore when he communicated with Yahweh, and one son — ordained by them — as priest.

And they had the individual freedom to do all that. Again, they did not do those blasphemous things because they were trying to be carnal. They did them because they were so carnal. They were out of control. There was no king to control them, and left to themselves they went wild, without meaning to.

(Jdg 17:6)
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.

This statement is often taken to mean that Israel’s problem was that they didn’t have a king. As we have seen, Israel did have a king.

Psalm 149:2
Let Israel rejoice in him who made them. Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

He was the only king they had, and Yahweh the King purposely set them up that way. But Yahweh their king gave the people the individual freedom to obey or disobey, to be blessed or cursed, to live or die.

So when it says “there was no king in Israel,” it cannot mean that their problem was they didn’t have a king at all and that what they needed to control themselves was a human king.

What Israel did have was the individual freedom to do what they wanted. No human king forced them to do his way. Each person chose his own way, to do whatever was right in his own eyes, and followed his own heart. And that heart led these Israelites to set up their own religion, with religious paraphernalia and their own self made priest.

However, then they found a far better alternative for priest — an actual Levite. They knew that Levites were the one tribe specially set apart to be servants to Yahweh at the Tabernacle. Priests had to be Levites, but most Levites were not priests. And this one Levite, who just happened by, was a Lollapalooza Levite.

Judges 17:7-10
There was a young man out of Bethlehem Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he lived there. The man departed out of the city, out of Bethlehem Judah, to live where he could find a place, and he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he traveled.

Micah said to him, “Where did you come from?” He said to him, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem Judah, and I am looking for a place to live.”

Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, a suit of clothing, and your food.”

So the Levite went in.

This Levite was not a priest of Yahweh, and it is not a good sign that he was just wandering around the country, looking for something to do. So when he was offered the opportunity to be a priest, he took it. The pay was good. (Later he became a televangelist.)

(Jdg 17:10-13)
The Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons. Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

Then Micah said, “Now know I that Yahweh will do good to me, since I have a Levite to my priest.”

With all that religion, Micah was certain that he was going to heaven, so to speak! His intentions were good. He meant for his actions to bring him closer to God.

However, Micah ignored what God actually said. Micah’s religion was based on what he wanted to do, instead of doing what God wanted. Therefore his religion did not bring him closer to God, but only got between him and God.

Any number multiplied by zero equals zero. Good intentions from a bad heart equals bad actions. Good intentions are good only if they lead to obedience to God’s word.

At the beginning of the next chapter, still in the middle of the story of the idolatrous priest, the phrase “no king in Israel” occurs again.

(Jdg 18:1)
In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.

This was early in the history of Israel in the Holy Land, not that long after Joshua’s time. Dan still did not have their land, so to get Yahweh on their side, they stole the counterfeit priest.

(Jdg 18:2-6)
The children of Dan sent of their family five men from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said to them, Go, search the land. They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; and they turned aside there, and said to him, Who brought you here? and what do you in this place? and what do you have here?

He said to them, Thus and thus has Micah dealt with me, and he has hired me, and I am become his priest.

They said to him, Ask counsel, please, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.

The priest said to them, Go in peace: before Yahweh is your way wherein you go.

All of this is just a bunch of baloney! This ‘priest’ was not a priest at all. He had no direct access to God. He only had some religious accouterments, but for the Danites that was good enough!

So then they stole the priest who stole the priesthood.

(Jdg 18:13-20)
They passed there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah. Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered, and said to their brothers, “Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and an engraved image, and a molten image? Now therefore consider what you have to do.”

They turned aside there, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare. The six hundred men girt with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. The five men who went to spy out the land went up, and came in there, and took the engraved image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men girt with weapons of war.

When these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the engraved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

They said to him, “Hold your peace, put your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?”

Since the priest had taken his position because of the pay, when he was offered a better position, he took it.

The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the engraved image, and went in the midst of the people.

Notice that this ‘priest’ is stealing Micah’s stuff!

All this religious stuff was a total farce. It was worse than nothing, because instead of getting people closer to God, all the religious garb actually hid God from them. But this religion looked so good — as religion usually does! — that those Israelites were about to fight each other over it!

(Jdg 18:21-31)
So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the livestock and the goods before them. When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near to Micah’s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan. They cried to the children of Dan. They turned their faces, and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you come with such a company?”

He said, “You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what more do I have? How then do you say to me, ‘What ails you?’”

The children of Dan said to him, “Don’t let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall on you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household.”

The children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

They took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burnt the city with fire. There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with any man; and it was in the valley that lies by Beth Rehob. They built the city, and lived therein. They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel: however the name of the city was Laish at the first.

The children of Dan set up for themselves the engraved image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. So they set them up Micah’s engraved image which he made, all the time that God’s house was in Shiloh.

With this move, Dan then had their own religion, stolen from Micah, who had stolen his mother’s silver to start this whole charade. But this religious system linked directly to Moses!

The problem is —

Big Problem! —

The priesthood was through Aaron, not Moses. Moses was a great guy, and he did have direct access to God, but Moses descendants were not priests. That was not the way God set it up! Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses had no more right to be a priest than did Yogi Berra, but it sure looked good.

So the first two instances of ‘no king in Israel’ are in that apostate priest example. The people had free choice as to what they would do. No king limited their personal freedom. Their actions were solely their own responsibility. No one forced them to obey.

So they didn’t.

The other two mentions of ‘no king in Israel’ involved the great sin of Gibeah of Benjamin, when they wanted to rape a male visitor, and did rape and murder his concubine. The tribe of Benjamin was almost wiped out by the other tribes of Israel because of their perversion. That whole story begins with this statement:

(Jdg 19:1)
It happened in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehem Judah.

Then after the tribe of Benjamin was nearly exterminated, except for 600 men, the story ends with this.

(Jdg 21:25)
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

There was no human king, with his wealth and taxes and burdensome bureaucracy and standing army. So after the war with Benjamin, the army disappeared. Everybody went back home.

(Jdg 21:24)
The children of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they each went out from there to his own inheritance.

Matthew Henry Commentary: Though God was their King, every man would be his own master, as if there was no king.

Every man would be his own master! But that requires every man to somehow master himself!

With the freedom and responsibility of individual obedience without government oppression, Israel failed to control their human natures. The people of Gibeah were about as evil as people can get, repeating the sins of Sodom. Under the government of God, they had the morals of Gaymorrah. During the period of the judges, each man did that which was right in his own eyes — instead of doing what was right in God’s eyes.

(Pro 3:5)
Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding.

(Isa 5:21)
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

They did what was right in their own eyes, and what was right in their own eyes was wrong, and no king forced them to do right. God let them choose what they would do and they chose evil.

(Ecc 8:11)
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

The big point of “no king in Israel” is that when individuals had the personal freedom to do what they wanted, they wanted to do the wrong thing.

They did not intend to do wrong, but without seeking God with their whole hearts, they could not help but do wrong because of their own hearts. Their evil was not just something they did. Their evil was who they were. Astoundingly, this was the family of Abraham, the Father of the Faithful, yet they were inherently evil.

Where does that leave the rest of us?

So how do you control the people?

Israel couldn’t control themselves enough to stay out of trouble. Those who would be kings themselves often say that Israel needed a human king to control the people. Many people agree. They read those four verses with those four words “no king in Israel” and think that Israel’s problem was that they needed a human king.

And that’s exactly what carnal Israel thought.

The End Time Church: from the Cathedrals to the Catacombs

By Dan L. White

Copyright ©2016 by Dan L. White, all rights reserved.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB) which is in the public domain.

Chapter 6

Seeking What You Can’t See —
With Your Whole Heart

So how do you follow an invisible God? How can you see what your eyes can’t? How can you be led by a King you can’t see?

Answer?

You have to look really, really hard.

Deuteronomy 30:9-14
Yahweh your God will make you plenteous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, for good; for Yahweh will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers; if you will obey Yahweh your God’s voice, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law; if you turn to Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul.

For this commandment which I command you today is not too hard for you or too distant. It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, and proclaim it to us, that we may do it?” Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, and proclaim it to us, that we may do it?” But the word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

Israel had trouble following the God they couldn’t see. The invisible God can be seen, though, by seeking Him.

Rom 1:18-23
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them. For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse.

Because, knowing God, they didn’t glorify him as God, neither gave thanks, but became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things.

The invisible things of Him are clearly seen —

Clearly seen —

Through the things that are made.

God can be seen in his creation and we can know he is there, here, everywhere.

Israel should have known that more than anyone. They were God’s chosen people. He personally recited the Ten Commandments to them and gave them a personally inscribed copy. However, somewhere along the line they missed the obvious. They did not see Yahweh God.

Why not?

Israel didn’t see God because they weren’t really looking for him.

They had no image of Yahweh to look at. They had no human government to control their lives. They were led only by the invisible visible God. However, only by seeking God with their whole heart could they find him.

The whole heart.

Jer 24:7
I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Yahweh. They will be my people, and I will be their God; for they will return to me with their whole heart.

Seeking God with the whole heart can never be a half-hearted effort.

Just before Israel entered the Promised Land, Moses told them that in the future they would forsake God and then he would forsake them. After their suffering, though, they would again seek God, and then they would do it with a whole heart.

Deu 4:27-29
Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations, where Yahweh will lead you away. There you shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God, and you shall find him, when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Notice — you shall find him, when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Jeremiah prophesied at the time of the fall of Judah, and he told them that after a long period of captivity, they would again search for God — with all their heart.

Jer 29:10-13
For Yahweh says, “After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says Yahweh, “thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future. You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You shall seek me, and find me, when you search for me with all your heart.

Notice — You shall seek me, and find me, when you search for me with all your heart.

David followed God with his whole heart, but Jeroboam didn’t.

1Ki 14:7-9
Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: “Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you prince over my people Israel, and tore the kingdom away from David’s house, and gave it you; and yet you have not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in my eyes, but have done evil above all who were before you, and have gone and made for yourself other gods, molten images, to provoke me to anger, and have cast me behind your back;

Jehoshaphat sought Yahweh with all his heart. His son Ahaziah did not.

2Ch 22:9
[Jehu] sought Ahaziah, and they caught him (now he was hiding in Samaria), and they brought him to Jehu, and killed him; and they buried him, for they said, “He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought Yahweh with all his heart.” The house of Ahaziah had no power to hold the kingdom.

Hezekiah sought God with all his heart and prospered.

2Ch 31:20-21
Hezekiah did so throughout all Judah; and he did that which was good, right, and faithful before Yahweh his God. In every work that he began in the service of God’s house, in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.

Josiah turned to Yahweh with all his heart, all his soul, and all his might.

2Ki 23:25
There was no king like him before him, who turned to Yahweh with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; and there was none like him who arose after him.

In all those examples, do you see a pattern?

When Israel sought God with their whole heart, they found him and were blessed. When they did not, they did not find him and they were cursed.

Usually, though, Israel was wholehearted —

Only when they were deep in the hole, in the pit of despair.

Why did Judah seek God with their whole heart when they were in great distress?

That’s when their hearts were humble and hungry. When they were in dire straits, then they straightened out. The urgency of emergency put their priorities back in order.

Psa 34:18
Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.

Psa 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Ecc 7:2-4
It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men, and the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the face the heart is made good. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Joel 2:12-13
“Yet even now,” says Yahweh, “turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.” Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to Yahweh, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.

Seeking God with a whole heart comes from a humble heart. Not seeking God with a whole heart comes from a haughty heart, when you do what you want to do, instead of what He wants you to do.

Psa 4:4
Stand in awe, and don’t sin. Search your own heart on your bed, and be still.

Most of the time Israel was very religious. Most of the time, they did not seek God with their whole heart, and their religion helped cover that up.

When they did not seek God with their whole heart, sure enough, they didn’t find Him. When you don’t seek God with your whole heart, then you wind up following your own heart.

Pro 3:5
Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding.

And following your own heart, this is what you’re left with.

Jer 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?

Gen 6:5
Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Gen 8:21
Yahweh smelled the pleasant aroma. Yahweh said in his heart, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake, because the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again strike everything living, as I have done.

Mar 7:21-23
For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Joh 2:23-25
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name, observing his signs which he did. But Yeshua didn’t trust himself to them, because he knew everyone, and because he didn’t need for anyone to testify concerning man; for he himself knew what was in man.

If you don’t follow God with your whole heart, you’re left with your own heart. That’s what Israel was left with when they did not seek God. Following their own hearts, they got totally out of control. Then they thought that good was evil and evil was good.

However, the deceptive part is that when Israel was not seeking God with their whole heart…

They were often very religious about it!

They thought they were seeking God through their religion, but in reality their religion was keeping them from God. Formal religion is the garb of half-heartedness. It covers hypocrisy with a cloak of churchiness.

During Samuel’s time, Israel lamented after Yahweh. They knew they were not close to God and they lamented after him, yearned for him, cried out for him.

So then why weren’t they close to him?

1 Samuel 7:2-4
From the day that the ark stayed in Kiriath Jearim, the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after Yahweh.

Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you do return to Yahweh with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts to Yahweh, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”

Then the children of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served Yahweh only.

Israel often mixed pagan worship with Yahweh worship. Apparently they thought that any religion was good religion. Their pagan religious traditions did not help them get closer to the true God.

Seeking God with your whole heart means obeying in everything you know. If you’re mostly obedient, then you are disobedient. Obedience is obedience only if you are wholly obedient.

Israel is not alone in having great difficulty following the invisible visible God. That’s why so many are so outwardly religious, wanting to put something they can see in front of the God they can’t see. Israel used idols, an ephod, a snake, and even the temple to be religious. Today people use statues, big buildings, ceremonies, liturgies, vestments and church organizations to be religious. All these things cloak the invisible visible God.

Everybody should be able to see the invisible God in the things He has made.

Most don’t see Him. The difference in seeing or not seeing is seeking. If you don’t seek, you won’t see. If you’re not looking for God, you won’t find Him. If you are looking for him, you will find him, only if you seek him with your whole heart.

Most of all, seeking God with your whole heart means never putting someone else between you and God. Your personal guidance must come from your personal God. Religious bureaucracies are no better than government bureaucracies. Seeking God means seeking God.

You.

Him.

Whole heart.

As Christ quoted Moses: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind,” Mat 22:37.

So how do you follow an invisible God? How can you be led by a King you can’t see? How can you see what your eyes can’t?

You have to look really, really hard.

If you seek him with your whole heart, you can clearly see him in the things he has made. You will see that he has made you and you will see where he wants you to go. No religious authority has to tell you what to do with your life, because you have a personal connection to the Life Giver. He is your king, but he is not to be taken lightly. He is not just one of the boys. You only find him when you seek him with all your heart, and nothing else comes first.

Here is an example of whole-heart God seeking.

(Daniel 9:1-19 )
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the offspring of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years about which Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years.

I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and petitions, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to Yahweh my God, and made confession, and said,

“Oh, Lord, the great and dreadful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from your precepts and from your ordinances. We haven’t listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

“Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but to us confusion of face, as it is today; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, who are near, and who are far off, through all the countries where you have driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against you. Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness; for we have rebelled against him. We haven’t obeyed Yahweh our God’s voice, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. Yes, all Israel have transgressed your law, turning aside, that they should not obey your voice.

“Therefore the curse and the oath written in the law of Moses the servant of God has been poured out on us; for we have sinned against him. He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us, and against our judges who judged us, by bringing on us a great evil; for under the whole sky, such has not been done as has been done to Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come on us. Yet have we not entreated the favor of Yahweh our God, that we should turn from our iniquities, and have discernment in your truth. Therefore Yahweh has watched over the evil, and brought it on us; for Yahweh our God is righteous in all his works which he does, and we have not obeyed his voice.

“Now, Lord our God, who has brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have gotten yourself renown, as it is today; we have sinned. We have done wickedly. Lord, according to all your righteousness, let your anger and please let your wrath be turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a reproach to all who are around us.

“Now therefore, our God, listen to the prayer of your servant, and to his petitions, and cause your face to shine on your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. My God, turn your ear, and hear. Open your eyes, and see our desolations, and the city which is called by your name; for we do not present our petitions before you for our righteousness, but for your great mercies’ sake. Lord, hear. Lord, forgive. Lord, listen and do. Don’t defer, for your own sake, my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

That is a humble, hungry heart.

Having access to the Creator of everything is an unfathomable opportunity. You wouldn’t expect this opportunity to be something you can do while you’re multitasking, would you?

No.

Frail, physical people can find the incredible spiritual God only with wholehearted effort.

(Matthew 13:44-48 )
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls, who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some fish of every kind, which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach. They sat down, and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away.

The bad fish are half-hearted. They did not sell everything to buy the treasure in the field or to buy the pearl of great price. They tried to buy at a bargain rate.

People are seekers or sneakers. Seekers want God more than anything else. Sneakers want God, along with everything else.

Israel thought they had a government problem. They actually had a God problem. Israel seldom sought their invisible King with their whole heart, so finally they just decided to dethrone him.

That happens when people don’t seek God with their whole heart. They think they have a government problem when they have a God problem. People who look directly to the King don’t want another king. People who don’t, do.