The Wall:
Listen, I am not a Donald Trump fan so this post is not intended to be about him. I will say this though, I have read a lot of ignorant comments about people being hung-up on the issue of "a wall". Many republican's (not just Trump) think securing our country is ideal at this time.
People who are saying this are either trying to earn a "love token award" or they do not study history and/or do not know Biblical facts.
"Walls" have been around for centuries! Just crack your Bible open and look at the maps inside it. Walls have been put into place to keep freedom and cities safe for centuries. This has been the case since sin fell upon this earth.
Walls have always been a part of making a nation, village or city secure. Many times the walls were an aid for the king's elders or military to help them keep watch over their city.
Often cities (a few that ring a bell: Jerusalem, Jericho) had multiple rings of walls and big city gates that were protected. There were times kings controlled their people this way too. Not all kings were good and not all presidents are good but the wall protected the city from other cities and other kings attacking them! They had high fences to keep holy places sacred and even more walls around the palace (sound familiar?- kind of like our president or White House today). Towers were put into place as well. The city was protected by the King's elders and military and they reported back to king. People worked outside the walls in the fields. Even poor people lurked outside the city walls but were certainly allowed in when danger was coming and those poor cities or "daughter-towns" were still controlled and taxed by the walled cities in-which the king resided in. There were markets by the city gates that helped the economy as well.
Gates were left open but when cities were going to have an attack or war they could close those gates to protect its people.
•Why Christians are having a hissy fit over a wall and protecting our country and freedom, blows my mind. It reminds me of the contrast between the foolish man and the wise man. Are we seeking favor of men or are we looking to protect our religious freedoms and our children's future and seeking favor from our Lord by wanting to protect our freedom? I am seeing many people in the church want to sound very theological and earn favor of men and earn some sort of "love" award by not standing firm in our duty to keep our freedom in this country.
Now, on the flip side, there's an obvious conversation that needs to be taking place, which is how to welcome people inside the wall. The question should not be about the wall and the safety. Clearly, this is the Jesus acting moment. How to allow a stranger to enter. How to help a refugee. How to welcome the hurting into your home or go to their home and go to their country and help them. This is another issue in-itself.
Having protection to keep freedom is not the same topic as welcoming a stranger into your home if your home is secured. Jesus even instructs the disciples to take a sword for protection (Luke 22:36), this is when the disciples take-up their lives to follow him and Jesus sends them out to disciple. God does not "require" us to lose the freedom of protecting ourselves by following Him. Will there be times we need to put our faith in front of physical protection? Sure. Will there be times we have to have faith over our own security, yes. But, Jesus never said give up religious freedom (freedom to love Him) to love people.
Sometimes we are to avoid "ungodly" people to protect our flock. Multiple scriptures talk about protecting ourselves spiritually and physically in the last days.
2 Timothy 3:1-7
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. .
We are to preserve life, and the freedom to love The Lord.
Ezekiel 33 "... 6 'But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman's hand.'
Nehemiah 4:10,13,14
10. Then the people of Judah began to complain, "The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves."......
13 So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows. 14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”