Exodus 23 concludes the laws given to Moses; The Lord shares His promise of completing the mercy He began, by sending an angel ahead into Canaan.

One of my favorite writers today is David Brooks, and his recent book, The Road to Character, has challenged me in many ways. In a related essay, among the many points Brooks makes is that ?religious frameworks no longer organize public debate . . . We have words and emotional instincts about what feels right and wrong, but no settled criteria to help us think, argue and decide.?

Dr. Eckman leads continued discussion of God’s civil laws, as He sets up a system of justice, restitution, accountability, and equity.

The Syrian Civil War is now in its 7th year and shows no signs of ending soon. In my opinion, this war has exposed the depths of human depravity like no other recent conflict. Allow me to defend this proposition.

Having given the Ten Commandments as His Moral law, the Lord then provides Civil laws to build a society based on justice, accountability, restitution, and equity.

During the recent failure of Congress to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA; aka Obamacare) with a scaled down medical entitlement, few noticed one of the key elements of both the ACA and the revision proposed by the Republican Congress. That key element is Medicaid. Let me explain. Medicaid was created more than 50 years ago as a part of the Medicare program advocated by Lyndon B. Johnson and passed by the Congress in 1965. Medicaid was designed as a small program to cover poor people?s medical bills. But over these past five decades, Medicaid has surpassed Medicare in the number of Americans it covers, for it provides for the medical needs of one in five Americans (74 million people) from the womb to the grave. How has it grown into this bureaucratic behemoth?

The Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, & Tenth Commandments, as God lays down his framework on the sanctity of intimacy, material stewardship, truth, and motive.

The familiar term ?secularism? is often used today to define the ideology of western civilization, for it refers to the absence of any binding theistic authority or belief. Theologian Albert Mohler further defines its companion, ?secularization,? as ?a concept and a sociological process whereby societies become less theistic and they become more modern. Secular societies therefore drift toward conditions where there is little if any theistic belief and the rejection of any binding authority at all.?

The Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Commandments, with in-depth discussion of God’s plan for work & rest, the submission to authority, & the sanctity of all life.

As 2017 unfolds, Israel, the only functioning democracy in the Middle East, is doing well. Its economy is growing at 3.2% per year. The main opposition party to Benjamin Netanyahu?s Likud Party is in disarray. In terms of its foreign affairs, Israel enjoys a positive relationship with Russia and its ties to both Africa and Asia are the best ever. Although absolutely no progress has been made in resolving the issues with the Palestinians (a major sticking point during the Obama years), Israel now enjoys a better relationship with the United States under Donald Trump. . . But Israel is increasingly anxious about two major developments in the Middle East. Each poses an existential threat to the state of Israel.