Accurately Handling the Word of Truth (Part V)

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

He said, “Go and tell this people: “‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.[a] Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts,

and turn and be healed.”

Isaiah 6:8-10 (NIV) 

There’s a Bible verse I think about sometimes. Many times. It goes, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me.’”

U.S. Homeland Security "hype" video posted on X (transcript source)

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I started this series of posts back in 2020 - calling out a variety of politicians on both sides of the divide for their misuse of Scripture to justify policies and positions:

• then-Vice President Pence (August 2020)
• then-President Biden (August 2021)
• Governor DeSantis (September 2022)
• then-candidate Trump (April 2024)

I get it. I understand rhetorical flourish and echoing classic passages of literature to evoke emotion.

But we as followers of Christ are called to "be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15, NASB). What DHS (the department of Homeland Security) did yesterday is not accurately handling Scripture.

Zach Lambert (a pastor and author) summed up my feelings brilliantly last night in a X (Twitter) thread:

Using Bible verses to justify violence against immigrants is not only the opposite of what Jesus teaches, it’s also a direct contradiction to the passage cited in this video.

“Here am I, send me” was the prophet Isaiah’s response after being called by God to deliver a message to the people and their leaders. What was the message?

“Your leaders are rebels, the companions of thieves. All of them love bribes and demand payoffs, but they refuse to defend the cause of orphans or fight for the rights of widows.” Isaiah 1:23

What were these corrupt and rebellious leaders doing?

“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches?” Isaiah 10:1-3

God is sending Isaiah to warn the people, and more specifically their leaders, that if they do not turn from their corrupt ways and begin caring for the most vulnerable among them, they will suffer God’s judgment. Isaiah answers that call by saying, “Here am I, send me.”

For a corrupt government to use these verses to justify the very marginalization and oppression being condemned in this passage is the height of blasphemy.

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I wanted to come up with something wise and convicting to close this post with... I wanted to turn on my "pastor mojo" and finish with marching orders to my fellow followers of Christ.

But I'm tired. So tired of watching Biblical truth being used as a prop... by both political parties.

So, I once again leave you with this.

Pray always. Pray in the Spirit. Pray about everything in every way you know how! And keeping all this in mind, pray on behalf of God’s people. Keep on praying feverishly, and be on the lookout until evil has been stayed.

Ephesians 6:18 (VOICE)