From 1 Samuel 8:7-9:
And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”
This warning from God, written over 3000 years ago (approximately 1000 BCE) clearly demonstrates humanity’s fall from having God as the ultimate leader. Whether we elect a president, a prime minister, have a king, or a dictator, none of these people are ruling from the throne of God’s majesty. When we add money, the idea of wealth, into the formula, we have a society that is so far removed from the concept that we are God’s people, not people from a specific area, that we no longer have the right to call ourselves people of God.
From the Christian Gloria in excelsis, are the words: For You alone are the Holy One/
You alone are the Lord/You alone are the most high. The You, of course, is God, not man. I have just recently begun reading translations of the Dead Sea Scrolls, written by the Essenes over two millennia ago. Many scholars believe that Jesus, in his disappearance from view in the Bible from age twelve to age thirty, spent a good deal of his time with the Essenes in Qumran. The Essenes never referred to a man as lord, or most high. The lord or the most high to the Essenes is God.
In my meditation this morning, I will take time to renew my relationship with God, connecting spiritually with others around the world who bring God into their lives. I never insist that people worship God, but I do extend the invitation for them to join me.
Meditating to Heal 