Forty Years in the Desert
After the Israelites passed through the Red Sea and out of Egypt, Moses went up Mount Sinai and received the Law. The people, however, fashioned a golden calf and worshiped it. Though they were only days from the Promised Land, they wandered in the desert for 40 years before actually entering it.
Jesus Christ began his public ministry around the year A.D. 30. Forty years later, in the year A.D. 70, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.
Forty years, one Biblical generation, that’s how long the Israelites wandered in the desert before their chastisement came to an end and they entered the Promised Land. That’s also how long the Jews had to recognize the Messiah before the old sacrificial system came to an end.
Next year, 2013, will mark the 40th anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion for any reason, or for no reason, during all nine months of pregnancy and launched the Culture of Death into high gear.
This year, 2012, we will have a decision to make as we elect a President. The incumbent, Barack Obama, is the most anti-life President in the history of this country, by far. It would have been nice to see him square off against Rick Santorum, heroic as a defender of life. As it stands, however, Mitt Romney is running as a pro-life candidate, and no one can doubt he will be a stark contrast to President Obama.
Now I am no professional Biblical scholar and I am certainly not a prophet. I’m not checking my Mayan calendar or selling a “code” that identifies the Second Coming.
But I do find it very interesting that Inauguration Day is January 20, exactly two days before the 40th anniversary of Roe. For 40 years the blood of countless children has been spilled. And now we find ourselves at a point of no return. Our society either reclaims the principle of the sanctity of life, or it collapses. Will this 40-year mark be the end of our chastisement and the beginning of a return of the Culture of Life? Or will it bring destruction because we choose not to repent and yet again worship the idol of the Culture of Death?
We’ll find out in November.
