Desperation Divides

Luke 22:24 ‘And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.”

The land of Ronx was blessed. There was milk and honey and everyone had more than they could ever want. Peace and prosperity reigned and there was no partition among the people, one nation indivisible.

A warning then came. A group of stragglers from another nation in the south came into the land of Ronx and spoke of plague and pestilence. They told tales about the evils that had befallen their once prosperous land.

Proverbs 17:17 ‘A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.’

 A great counsel was organized. Some of the most learned and respected men and women assembled. They called themselves the Congrats. It was an odd thing indeed for no one in Ronx had ever heard of such an assembly. These elder statesmen, with a smile of reassurance, warned that it was in the best interest of the nation that the Congrats be allowed to use their collective talents to preserve the state. The people of the land of course, not knowing any other way to alleviate their fears, trusted the Congrats to do what was best.

1 Corinthians 6:4 ‘If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are the least esteemed in the assembly.’

The respected Congrats erected massive storehouses. People of the land willingly tithed some of their great bounty each month to the community warehouses until they were overflowing.

Genesis 41:35-36 ‘And let them gather all the food of those good years that come and lay up corn. . .And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine. . .’

Slowly, a few people began to report that they were losing crops in the southern end of the kingdom. These people of course moved north towards the storehouses. The Congrats smiled and welcomed them into the cities. Foods from the storehouses were given to these needy souls.

Amos 8:11 ‘Behold the days come, saith Yahweh our Creator, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of Yahweh.’

Gradually the famine, as feared, began to gain momentum. More and more people were coming north for food. The Congrats realized they had a major problem. The tithing had decreased due to the number of farms being lost. There was not enough coming in to replenish the storehouses. There was just no way everyone could keep enjoying all they were accustomed to having.

Matthew 15:36-37 ‘And He took the seven loaves and the seven fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to His disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat and were filled. . .’

The Congrats had some hard decisions to make and make them they did. Everyone in the nation of Ronx would have to ration themselves a bit and those who were still enjoying bountiful crops would have to give a little more to offset the losses.

This decision caused some friction. The blessed ones who were not touched by the famine saw no reason why they should have to scale back and eat less, while giving more to those who had been unlucky enough to lose what they had. The community warehouse did not help them. They were tired on giving to it.

James 2:6 ‘But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you and draw you before the judgment seats?’

The Congrats had no choice. They used some of the wealth in the warehouses to fund a new branch of Congrats called the Antennas. It was the Antennas duty to collect and enforce whatever tithes were ruled appropriate by the Congrats. People everywhere hated to see the Antennas coming. Many hid their bounty from the Antennas and often pretended that the famine had come upon them also, even when it had not. Lying to the Antennas became an occupation for some.

Luke 2:1 ‘And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.’

All of this improvement in collections however did not help. The storehouses were quickly growing empty and the huddled masses who were pressing more and more northward in search of salvation began to be more assertive in their demands to have basic necessities. Many of these poor hopeless souls had abandoned their homes and had nowhere to live. They raided the emptier warehouses for shelter and food.

Proverbs 6:30 ‘Men, do not despise a thief if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry.’

The Congrats had to do something for this unlawful mass of people was a threat to the stability the Congrats wanted to maintain. The Congrats ruled swiftly, and using more of the little wealth left in the community storehouses, created another arm of administration called the Implements. The Implements had the authority to quell the noisy uprisings and guard the remaining community storehouses from those trying to break in and steal food.

Ruth 2:16 ‘And let fall also some of the handfuls on purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.’

 In a not so surprising move, the untouched, fearful of their own interests, assembled themselves together and went directly to the Congrats. The untouched decided to separate themselves from that which was common by giving themselves a new name. They called themselves the Capitals. The Capitals had been secretly raising their own barns and they agreed to give the Congrats enough tithes from their own personal stores to feed their individual families. The Congrats were relieved to hear this. They were only human after all, and the famine had adversely affected them as well. They and their families were weary and tired of the rationing.

Luke 12:18-19 ‘And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry.’

In exchange for these rations, the Congrats agreed to invest more of the Implements time patrolling and protecting the private interests of the Capitals rather than any of the community interests. The state-run warehouses were no longer as vital to their common interest. Also, the Antennas would have to be called off and directed elsewhere. The private warehouses would be forever exempt from making any further payments to the community storehouses. The community was on its own.

Luke 11:42 ‘But woe unto you Pharisees! For ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of the Creator: these you ought to have done, and not leave the other undone.’

The Congrats conceded. The Capitals, Congrats, Implements and Antennas all stood to benefit from this bold stroke of learned compromise. The unnamed starving mob of Ronx that remained would just have to make do; after all, in the judgment of the wisest and most respected men, this is what was best for everyone in the nation.

Matthew 23:14 ‘Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye devour widows’ houses and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.’

Some smaller farms did alright for a while but the thirsty Antennas began showing up at their places with more and more regularity, demanding more and more tithing for the community coffers.

The Implements nearly disappeared in the places where they were most needed and crime rose as desperate people stole from desperate people.

The Congrats kept meeting on a regular basis. They made a good show. They promised change and assistance and even took the time to create a new law now and then. Despite any of the changes however, a majority of the people in the land of Ronx suffered grievously and many died from a lack of nourishment and housing.

And then, as is apt to happen in nature, the sun began to arise again and the plague and pestilence were staved off by time. Trees began to bud forth with fruit and the awful diseases which were so common were hardly spoken of. Nature provided a means of salvation and people were able to stand on their own again.

Hebrews 13:5 ‘Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’

The Congrats smiled and took all the glory. They stood up on pedestals, patted each other’s back, and praised the people for their resilience and patience.

The Capitals stepped forward with their great abundance and erected statues and houses of worship to the dedicated men and women of the Congrats. As farms began to sprout up all over the country, the community warehouses began to overflow with tithes again. Everything seemed right and wonderful. There wasn’t much reflection on the things done wrong. No one wanted to learn from the past.

Matthew 3:1-3 ‘In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.’

One wise man sojourned into the midst of this bountiful land. This stranger without a farm or any vested interest in the nation of Ronx examined what he saw and spoke about it. He warned that the Capitals had barns bigger than the state. He noticed that the Capitals paid no tithes. He realized that the Capitals told the Congrats what to do. He was concerned that the Congrats controlled the Antennas and the Implements. No one cared to hear it for everyone had enough again.

Matthew 4:17 ‘From that time Yahshua began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

The Capitals called this one a troublemaker and ordered the Congrats to have him silenced. By an act written on parchment, an act they called Patriotism, the Congrats bestowed on the Implements the unquestioned authority to remove any troublemakers without any appeal.

Matthew 26:57 ‘And they that had laid hold on Yahshua led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.’

The stranger disappeared and only a few dared to remember what he said.

The Acts 2:2-4 ‘And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.’

And suddenly, as does happen, people began to whisper. There were dire warnings of a new pestilence and a new plague, of famine, disease and war. The Congrats called an assembly.

2 Peter 2:17-18 ‘These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest. . .For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness. . .’

The land turned faithfully to the Congrats for these were the established ones, the wisest and most respected men and women who would know what to do for the good of all the people of Ronx.

2 Peter 2:19 ‘While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption. . .’

The Congrats rose up on their pedestals, patted each other’s backs, and smiled at the people. “Yes, have faith in us. We know exactly what to do.”

2 Peter 2:20 ‘For if after they had escaped the pollution of the world through the knowledge of Yahweh and the anointed Messiyah Yahshua, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.’

Selah