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A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 


Looking the Other Way – 17 May 2007
By Mary T. Hoffman

The world is full of people who “look the other way” when confronted with a truth that they deem unpleasant and makes them uncomfortable.

In today’s society, this is most evident where other animals are concerned: Every day, round the clock, billions of farmed animals are manipulated and processed as “production units” in a system that has fallen to a level of depravity unparalleled in history.

Yet, there is no coverage in the popular media about this ever-growing living hell that God’s creatures are forced to endure; and the average person prefers lies over truth. This dominant “kill the messenger” mentality plays right into the hands of the powerful flesh and dairy industries. But God is not mocked. There will come a day of recompense.

This behavior reminds me of the Hebrew Bible account of the priest Eli who knew that his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were dishonest (1 Samuel 2:12):

12 Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the Lord.
~ New American Standard Bible

God had warned Eli about the consequences of his laxness, yet he would not correct Hophni and Phinehas (1 Samuel 2:34):

34 ‘And this will be the sign to you which shall come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them shall die.’ ~ New American Standard Bible

Then God reveals to the boy Samuel the serious future consequences of the disobedience of Eli and his sons (1 Samuel 3:13-14):

13 “For I have told him [Eli] that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them.

14 “And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” ~ New American Standard Bible

After the Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Philistines, not only did Hophni and Phinehas die on the same day, but also their father Eli (1 Samuel 4:17-18):

17 Then the one who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken.”

18 And it came about when he mentioned the ark of God that Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. Thus he judged Israel forty years. ~ New American Standard Bible

As for the obedient boy Samuel (1 Samuel 3:19-20):

19 Thus Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail.

20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord.
~ New American Standard Bible

So, “looking the other way” only prolongs the time when the truth and its consequences must be faced; and the longer it takes, the more severe the end results.

See also:
http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/index.html
http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/cattle.html
http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/chicken.html 
http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/duck.html
http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/pig.html
http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/rabbit.html
http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/bison.html 

Go on to: Spring Beauty – 18 May 2007
Return to: Resistance to the Truth – 16 May 2007
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