Yes! I Am He!

THURS., OCT. 19, 2000, 9:21 AM
OFFICE, PULLIAM

Yes, I Am He, the Yahweh of this Old Testament story of Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, and all the others mentioned. I did care particularly about these Hebrew folk, AND I cared about all the other humans here, those who saw Me in different ways, and even those who didn’t relate to Me at all. This Scriptural account sounds as though I was the God of only the Jews (and I even told them that), but My “Style” is almost entirely Both/And.

The Jews were “My people,” but I allowed (or even caused) many of their men to be killed… and then I arranged it (often in mystical ways) for them to be the slaughterers. It seems to you, as you progress in this story, that I was not much bothered by deaths, and thus you wonder (and rightly, I admit) why I seem to be unable or unwilling to reduce and limit the human population in this time, now, when the threat to the earth’s ecosystem increases, certainly yearly.

You wonder what the reaction would be if your President… or either, or both, of the now contenders, would declare that I, the Lord God, had ordered some action that took the lives of many people, who seemed to be “enemies.” Your country presumably has no real “enemies” now, but you do have the power and the means to take the lives of some who seem like “opposition.”

You see quite a contrast in how I was… and how I was portrayed. While the dominant theme of Christianity in this era is that I want peace, no killing, and long life for everyone, in this Samuel story I seemed to approve of killing… and the punishment of My own people for what seem like minor “infractions.” I seemed to want My People to prevail over their enemies, but when they didn’t “shape up” as I wanted I let their enemy prevail.

And why were they, “The enemy”? Because they acknowledged and worshipped “another God.” And I tell you that I Am, in many forms and in many modes. I still Am Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, the God of the Old Testament. I also Am Allah, as I came to Mohammed, the spiritual ancestor of the “other Middle Easterners.” I also Am God Who came in Jesus, the Christ, the fulfillment, by living on earth as a Human, of relationship with many of you humans.

And I come to Asians and Africans in yet other ways, some more natural and some more “supernatural.” So when I say, “I love diversity” (and you have heard this repeatedly, haven’t you!?) I exhibit this. Just as skin colors are in a wide range… and so are languages spoken (and in which I have spoken…for, remember, in this Scriptural story of Me and you I did not speak in English, but I came to you now in this relatively “modern” language.”) Some babies are born with incredible capacities to survive and thrive, without modern medical means, while, at the other extreme are babies who don’t survive the in utero time or who die of complications in early life. Modern medicine does “save” some, but many of such lives are continued only with complex, expensive medical care. So, yes, I must say that modern medicine is a blessing, but rather clearly a mixed one, as I see this earth scene.

Thus, one way of evaluating Me as the Yahweh God of Samuel, Jonathan, and Saul, is as one both directly and indirectly involved in the balance of life here in the earth. By your assessment I was more willing to cause or allow deaths than I am now. And you can well pose the question, “Am I a better God now than I was then?”