Tag Archives: crime and punishment

June 13, 2018

Don’t Play Red Rover With God

By Anthony Baker
Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered. – Proverbs 11:21

I don’t know if saying “I love this verse” is the right and proper thing, but it does cause me to smile. Reading it brings a sense of comfort, sort of like God whispering in my ear, “Don’t worry, I’ll handle this.”

Mankind hasn’t really changed since the days when they decided to build a tower to the heavens and make a name for themselves (Gen. 11:4). They believe that if they can just come together, hand in hand, they can do anything. It doesn’t hurt to make a music video, either – just ask Michael Jackson.

Unfortunately, even though we humans do good things when we are unified, we tend to think the collective power of organized masses can overturn the laws of God.

Our modern versions of the tower of Babel take the shape of poll numbers, protests, million-man marches, voting majorities, screaming at the sky, and tens of thousands of pink ______ hats. They look like celebrity award shows, hashtags, and fabricated crises. All are meant to unify. All are meant to push an agenda.

Much of the time the agenda is to silence the voice of God, overturn His law, or throw Him out completely.

Yet, even though a recent survey stated that a majority of Americans (61%) are linked hand-in-hand in support of abortion, God says the wicked will not go unpunished.

When I was a kid we used to play a game called “Red Rover.” The idea was to line up in a line and hold hands, then send a kid from an opposing team into the line in order to break through. We would all line up and then call out to the opposing team to send a kid of our choosing, and if the kid didn’t break through, he was ours. We’d say, “Red rover, red rover, send Bobby (the weak kid) on over.”

No one ever yelled out, “Red rover, red rover, send Goliath on over!”

But the wicked are hand-in-hand, screaming at the sky, saying with a loud voice, “Red rover, red rover, send YHWH… the Great I Am… the Lion of the tribe of Judah… Elohim… Mighty God on over!”

“Though hand join in hand,” the wicked line of rebellion will not hold.

And I can’t help but grin.

Below is a cute video depicting how Red Rover works.

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Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Fools, Justice, The Righteous, The Wicked

October 4, 2017

Rough Justice

By David

Proverbs 29:15 

The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
To discipline a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child. (NLT)

I have memories of being disciplined as a child at home and at school. There were times when I thought that the punishments were unfair, but there were times when I knew I deserved what I got. Some punishments are no longer legal in the UK, such as the use of corporal punishment in school. In my junior school if the headmaster caught a pupil standing outside a classroom having been sent out for some misdemeanor then his overly large hand usually made contact several times with the backside of the offending pupil. It didn’t matter that the pupil had already been punished by being sent out from the class. At secondary school punishment was more brutal with the use of the cane, again against the backside of an offender. The cane inflicted significant damage breaking the skin. A caning was known as the ‘cuts’ for good reason. One caning was sufficient for me to make sure I never received another.

Detentions were another form of punishment. The ultimate sanction and one level below a caning was the ‘headmaster’s detention.’ When a teacher gave a headmaster’s detention details of the offence were recorded on a special form that had to be taken home and signed by a parent, then returned to the school where a lengthy after school detention took place under the supervision of the headmaster. The signing of the form meant that parents were fully aware of the sins of their offspring, often resulting in further punishment at home because of the shame/disgrace brought upon the family.

The punishments I hated the most were the punishments when I was blamed for something someone else had done. Adults also face miscarriages of justice, and there are men and women who have served years in prison for crimes they did not commit. A television program in the UK called ‘Rough Justice’ has resulted in a number of people being freed from jail, often many years after they were convicted despite being innocent.

It is easy to forget that rough justice is what Jesus faced after his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane on trumped up charges. Those responsible for the events leading up to his execution, and especially the man who signed the execution order, were all fully aware of His innocence. Jesus may have died a shameful death, but He didn’t bring shame to His Father at any point during His life or death. In dying a shameful death Jesus brought glory to God and made a way for our shame and disgrace to be removed from God’s memory. Because Jesus accepted rough justice we do not have to face justice at all. And the name for that is grace.

3 Comments   |  tags: , | posted in Justice, Mercy

December 23, 2013

Rough Justice

By David

Proverbs 29:15 

The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
To discipline a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child. (NLT)

I have memories of being disciplined as a child at home and at school. There were times when I thought that the punishments were unfair, but there were times when I knew I deserved what I got. Some punishments are no longer legal in the UK, such as the use of corporal punishment in school. In my junior school if the headmaster caught a pupil standing outside a classroom having been sent out for some misdemeanor then his overly large hand usually made contact several times with the backside of the offending pupil. It didn’t matter that the pupil had already been punished by being sent out from the class. At secondary school punishment was more brutal with the use of the cane, again against the backside of an offender. The cane inflicted significant damage breaking the skin. A caning was known as the ‘cuts’ for good reason. One caning was sufficient for me to make sure I never received another.

Detentions were another form of punishment. The ultimate sanction and one level below a caning was the ‘headmaster’s detention.’ When a teacher gave a headmaster’s detention details of the offence were recorded on a special form that had to be taken home and signed by a parent, then returned to the school where a lengthy after school detention took place under the supervision of the headmaster. The signing of the form meant that parents were fully aware of the sins of their offspring, often resulting in further punishment at home because of the shame/disgrace brought upon the family.

The punishments I hated the most were the punishments when I was blamed for something someone else had done. Adults also face miscarriages of justice, and there are men and women who have served years in prison for crimes they did not commit. A television program in the UK called ‘Rough Justice’ has resulted in a number of people being freed from jail, often many years after they were convicted despite being innocent.

It is easy to forget that rough justice is what Jesus faced after his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane on trumped up charges. Those responsible for the events leading up to his execution, and especially the man who signed the execution order, were all fully aware of His innocence. Jesus may have died a shameful death, but He didn’t bring shame to His Father at any point during His life or death. In dying a shameful death Jesus brought glory to God and made a way for our shame and disgrace to be removed from God’s memory. Because Jesus accepted rough justice we do not have to face justice at all. And the name for that is grace.

1 Comment   |  tags: | posted in Justice, Mercy