Hup, 2, 3, 4! Hup, 2, 3, 4! (Poem)

God, through Jesus, is organizing a massive,

diverse army of committed, well-trained soldiers.

Here’s how and why.

Hup! 2, 3, 4! Hup! 2, 3, 4!

Hear the global cadence,

Of armies preparing for war,

Readying their ordnance,

For many battles near and far,

In their way, no hindrance!

Across our world today,

Military prowess is being honed,

For some pending foray:

--Some political intent to jawbone,

--A people to subjugate,

--A leader to dethrone!

Ponder with me if you will,

How armed forces organize and deploy,

And the ranks-and-files they fill,

The strategies and tactics they employ,

How diverse are soldiers’ skills,

And organization of their convoys.

Now let’s take a peek at the start-up source,

To see how militaries begin,

And morph into a mighty fighting force,

With an exceptional discipline.

Then in a split-screen view let’s reinforce,

How with this, God’s army will fit in.

The real core of all armed forces,

Is a soldier, grown from just a recruit.

Grilled through weeks of basic courses,

He learns to obey, a skill, and to shoot.

Then to active duty he switches,

Where he becomes skillfully resolute!

God’s also building a force well-armed,

And with just a recruit He begins,

With each new recruit, satan’s alarmed!

Training starts with forgiveness for sins,

By God’s Word this recruit is transformed,

By God’s Spirit Who underpins.

His daily Christian practices,

Is basic training for this recruit,

Learning well The Lord’s promises.

With righteousness as his prime pursuit,

It permeates all purposes.

He’ll slip and fall, yet remains astute.

When basic training one day will be stalled,

Of what comes next, he is quite prescient,

Away from this life he then will be called.

Before The Lord, his spirit is present,

As to his grave his body will be hauled.

Into reserve status he’s then patient.

But one day, not so far in the future,

To active duty he will be ordered.

With Jesus, Earth’s atmosphere he’ll puncture,

The post-tribulation world thus captured.

This soldier will serve as a glowing figure, ^*

Guardian of righteousness, re-cultured.

Hup! 2, 3, 4! Hup! 2, 3, 4! Hup…

The cadence of righteousness on the march,

God’s army’s basic training warm-up,

Preparing for Christ’s Millennial watch.

Though we die, from our graves we’ll all rise-up,

Serving a thousand years, as His ‘top-notch!’

As just a recruit all of this started,

And ends with a glorious promotion!

Trained for service before we departed,

Then raised in time for Christ’s Earth invasion!

This point’s for you in what I’ve imparted:

Embrace Christ’s military induction.

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^* And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:2-3)

--Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. (Matthew 17:1-2, Luke 9:28-29, Mark 9:2-3)
--Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we (the righteous in Christ) shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. (1 John 3:2)

The Curse on Canaan (Q&A)

See the Q&A Series here

Q: What was the curse God put on Canaan? Was it related to him becoming a black person, and if so, did all black peoples descend from him?

A: Thanks for your questions. I believe it is always good to ponder any Bible-related topic, but this pondering should first start with understanding exactly what is written in The Bible about the topic, and then researching what is written about related topics. Otherwise, we would simply be ‘shooting from the hip’, or going on hearsay, which is always ill advised.

God did not curse Canaan, the grandson of Noah. Noah, himself, cursed his grandson. Also, the curse had nothing to do with skin pigmentation. Skin pigmentation is closely related to the geographical location of people and their descendants. See: Tropics

This story of this curse is found in Genesis 9. After the global flood, God blessed Noah and his 3 sons.(verse 9:1) From these 4 men and their wives, all post-flood humans would descend. Noah became a farmer, planted a vineyard and drank the wine therefrom. One day, Ham discovered his father drunk and naked in his (Noah’s) tent, and he looked upon his father’s nakedness, then told his brothers about the ordeal. The brothers honored their father by going into the tent backwards, covering their father, and refusing to look upon his nakedness. When Noah sobered up and learned of what happened, he cursed Canaan, Ham’s youngest son, saying:

Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants he shall be to his brethren. Blessed be the Lord, The God of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem; and may Canaan be his servant.

The curse was expressly on Canaan, to debase him in the lowest of servanthood terms (servant of servants), with no clear or implied mention of his descendants. The notion that this curse applies to relationships between the descendants of Noah’s sons is not expressly indicated in the wording of the curse. Nevertheless, the unsubstantiated, popular notion is that this curse on Canaan implicitly sets the stage for conflicts between his descendants and the descendants of his uncles, including between the descendants of Jacob, Esau and Ishmael. The Bible does not support such a link. Rather, history in general reveals this ole familiar poetic pattern among people groups:

Millennia of history bespeak,
Of ebbing flows of the strong and the weak.
Victors’ conquests over the vanquished.
Lives that in hopelessness are languished.

This dance of oppressors and the oppressed,
Turns when the oppressed grow, and then protest.
As they grow in strength, their future successors,
Eventually become ...the oppressors!

So over protracted periods of time, various peoples groups have typically exchanged roles regarding who is strong versus weak, who are the victors versus the vanquished, and who are the oppressors versus the oppressed. This will likely continue to unfold until the end.

That said, it is both interesting and curious how The Bible describes Noah’s grandsons. (Genesis 10) It names the sons of Shem, Ham and Japheth, but it takes an interesting turn or unique approach in describing the sons of Ham by their Canaanite descendant sub-groups: the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. (Genesis 11:10-32) This may well have been Moses’ (and God’s) way of signaling to readers of Genesis to ‘keep an eye on these highlighted people groups as stories across The Bible unfold!’ Some of these Canaanites (their collective group name) settled in lands that God later promised to Abraham and his descendants through Jacob. This promise of a major land transfer helped to set the stage for the troubled history between these groups, including conflicts that continue today.

It is also noteworthy that: 

o The Lord affirms, ‘In that day (The Millennial Reign) there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.’ (Zechariah 14:21) Some versions of The Bible interpret the word, Canaanite, in this verse as a merchant, trader, or spiritually unclean person, Jew or Gentile.

o Ancient Jews mixed with Canaanites, including Judah (Jesus’ ancestor, not by blood) who married and had children by a Canaanite woman. (1 Chronicles 2:3)

Warnings Unheeded (Poem)

Wear a mask, wash hands often, and socially distance!

We have all heard this a thousand times by now,

Because the Covid-19 virus remains potent.

Basic warnings so many still ignore. wOw!

Seeming to believe a virus will distinguish,

Which states are politically red and which are blue,

So red states’ folk could minimize lock-down anguish.

Voila! More infections and deaths from this now ensue!

Shut down the economy, stay at home, quarantine!

For months, the whole world struggled to follow

this sage advice,

Till folks went stir crazy with their stay at home routines.

Money scarce, bills piling up, lengthy shut downs

won’t suffice!

Many folks across the world resisted.

Crying, ‘The cure is worse than the problem!’,

Many took to the streets and rioted,

Some even with weapons. Oh how gruesome!

Thus folks in red states pushed to return to normality,

Thinking ‘the virus targets denser, blue populations.’

We ponder from whence comes such public health mythology,

As the virus now fulfills all experts’ predications!

Ahhhh! The price we pay for not heeding sound warnings,

When we only rely on what’s in front of our eyes.

Consequences of decisions we’ll be mourning,

Because in response to sage advice, we were unwise.

In many areas of life, warnings go unheeded,

Because of our independent, rebellious streak.

In our spiritual DNA, pride is deep-seated.

Thus, facing its many temptations, we are so weak.

Repent of your sins, shun evil, live righteously, for…

The day of The Lord’s reckoning is at hand!

But since worse judgments have yet to wash up on our shore,

‘Unheeded!' That is how we stamp this command.

In His Grace The Lord ramps up judgments 'portentive',

With blows that are like ‘shots across the bow’.

But to gradual ascents, we’re not attentive.

Thus, deeper into sinfulness we plough.

We are all inclined to not account,

Untoward things in our lives, as those God allows,

When righteous principles we discount.

Oh, to be more vigilant to things He employs.

With warnings unheeded, are you content to live,

Head buried deep in the sands of life, spiritual?

C’mon~

Let’s imagine in life, to these we’re attentive,

Side-stepping avoidable judgments, subsequential.

Blindspot, lane departure, flat tire, forward collision,

Airbag, battery, key, check engine, and traction control.

Just a few of today’s faithful driving companions,

Warning sensors on your car’s dashboard and center console.

Today, the sheer number of sensors may seem excessive.

When they are flashing, ignore them at our own peril.

Minor problems can become major repairs – expensive!

Respond wisely, we drive confidently, not fearful.

Think…

What’re the dashboard and center console of your life, so rare?

And what are the key sensors thereon displayed?

If to God’s Bible, they are not connected, this I share:

By the world’s faulty sensors ...you will be swayed!