Tuesday, May 31, 2011

First Amendment Trumps Sharia in Dearborn

Andrew Bostom, one of the featured speakers at our upcoming national conference, posted some great news over the weekend (see below).

Thanks to the efforts of our friends at the Thomas More Law Center, a judge ruled the free speech rights of a Christian evangelist trumped the efforts of Dearborn, Michigan to, in effect, impose sharia law’s suppression of free speech.

Note especially the highlighted portion below regarding attitudes among Detroit-area Muslims regarding the imposition of sharia law.



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http://www.andrewbostom.org/blog/2011/05/29/first-amendment-trumps-sharia-in-dearborn/

First Amendment Trumps Sharia in Dearborn
Posted By Andrew Bostom On May 29, 2011

[1]

Robert Muise, Senior Counsel for the Thomas More Law Center: Teaching us how to solve the problem of Sharia

A seminal, if ominous report [2] released May 17, 2011 by the Center for Security Policy described fifty appellate court cases from 23 states which involve conflicts between Islamic law—Sharia [3]—and American state law. Nothwithstanding the delusive mindslaughter [4] on display across America’s political spectrum which denies Sharia [5] encroachment in the US, the CSP analysis revealed [2] that,

Sharia has been applied or formally recognized in state court decisions, in conflict with the Constitution and state public policy.

But the grim, seemingly inexorable, progressive acceptance of Sharia-based mores in the US—despite this totalitarian [3] religio-political “law” being antithetical to American law—was at least temporarily reversed late last week, in of all places, Dearborn, Michigan. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled [6] 2:1 on Thursday May 26, 2011 (in GEORGE SAIEG, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITY OF DEARBORN; RONALD HADDAD, Dearborn Chief of Police ) that Dearborn, and its police department, violated the free-speech rights of a Christian evangelist by barring him from handing out leaflets at an Arab-American street festival last year. The court’s two judge majority opinion concluded [6],

On the free speech claim, we REVERSE the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendants and its denial of summary judgment to the plaintiffs. We thereby invalidate the leafleting restriction within both the inner and outer perimeters of the Festival.1 The restriction on the sidewalks that are directly adjacent to the Festival attractions does not serve a substantial government interest. The City keeps those same sidewalks open for public traffic and permits sidewalk vendors, whose activity is more obstructive to sidewalk traffic flow than pedestrian leafleting is. Moreover, the prohibition of pedestrian leafleting in the outer perimeter is not narrowly tailored to the goal of isolating inner areas from vehicular traffic. The City can be held liable because the Chief of Police, who instituted the leafleting restriction, created official municipal policy.

Elaborating on the issue of Dearborn’s liability for depriving George Saieg, an American Christian pastor of Sudanese descent, of his first amendment rights, the judges opined [6],

The City may be held liable for the restriction of Saieg’s free speech rights that the leafleting restriction caused. A municipality is liable if a constitutional injury results from a policy or custom “made by its lawmakers or by those whose edicts or acts may fairly be said to represent official policy.” Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 694–95 (1978). In this case, the City approved the Festival “subject to . . . the rules and regulations of the Police Department.” R. 47-13 (Ex. M: Council Resolution)…Chief Haddad described the leafleting policy as his department’s policy, subject only to the approval of the city council and the mayor. R. 47-11 (Ex. K: Haddad Dep. at 95–96) (stating that “the police department will supply the standards that must be met,” such as the “prohibition of individuals handing out . . . materials on the public sidewalk”). The police department’s leafleting policy, made with the authority that the City Council delegated to it, fairly represents official City policy. Therefore, Saieg may hold the City liable for violating his First Amendment right to free speech.

Most remarkably, the majority opinion of Justices Moore and Clay included a salient observation [6] revealing how these judges understood the Sharia-based objections to non-Muslim proselytization which motivated Dearborn’s attempt to abrogate Pastor Saeig’s freedom of speech—mainstream Islam’s [7] continued rejection of freedom of conscience:

Saieg also faces a more basic problem with booth-based evangelism: “[t]he penalty of leaving Islam according to Islamic books is death,” which makes Muslims reluctant to approach a booth that is publicly “labeled as . . . Christian.” R. 48 (Ex. A: Saieg Dep. at 75). Saieg believes that evangelism is more effective when he can roam the Festival and speak to Muslims more discreetly.

Roberta Aluffi Beck-Peccoz [8], Associate Professor of Comparative Law at the University of Turin, made this rather understated assessment of contemporary Islamdom’s strict opposition to the proselytization of Muslims by non-Muslims—rooted in the Sharia, and ultimately, the grave offense of “ridda,” or apostasy from Islam, deemed “treasonous” against the Muslim community, and punishable by death [7] under Islamic Law—published [8] in 2010:

Islamic States have always strongly opposed this specific freedom [i.e., freedom of conscience as per the first amendment of the US Bill of Rights, or more specifically article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights], claiming that it contravenes Islamic Law. [Note: It does, and that is why the 57 Muslim nation Organization of the Islamic Conference drafted and ratified the antithetical Cairo Declaration which insists upon having Sharia exert supremacy over all “manmade” law!]…Moreover they express fear that proselytism represents a kind of foreign interference in their internal affairs. Consistently, Islamic States do not favor proselytism; they sometimes tend to restrict it even in its lightest forms, such as the simple expression of one’s intimate beliefs…Proselytism is perceived as a major threat to the coherence and cohesion of the umma [i.e., the global Muslim community]: it can lead to ridda [apostasy from Islam] the paradigm of political treason, or fitna, the temptation, the civil war involving doctyrinal dissensions…

Even in moderate, pseudo-secular Arab Tunisia—prior to the “Jasmine revolution” which may have already empowered [9] the formerly banned Tunisian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood under Rachid Ghannouchi [10]—according to a 2010 US State Department report [11],

It was illegal to proselytize to Muslims as the government viewed such efforts as disturbing the public order.

Neighboring Morocco [12], also deemed “moderate,” aggressively deports Christians who dare proselytize to Muslims. The globally representative Sharia-based penal law (circa1982) of Comoros [13] (the Muslim archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique), for example, defines the “criminal” proselytizer as one who, “…indulges, promotes, or teaches Muslims a religion other than Islam.”

The attempt by Dearborn’s large Muslim population to enforce Sharia-based injunctions against non-Muslim proselytism confirms local attitudes documented via polling data collected in 2003, and reported during 2004. “The Detroit Mosque Study: Muslim Views on Policy and Religion,” was conducted by Ihsan Bagby an Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Kentucky and a fellow at the Institute for Social Policy Understanding—a Muslim organization. Data were gathered during the summer of 2003 and published online in 2004.

These alarming results were described on page 37 of the report [14]:


Mosque participants were asked, whether they agree or disagree with the statement, “Shari’ah should be the law of the land in Muslim countries?”

Apply Islamic Law in Muslim Lands
Strongly Agree — 59%
Somewhat Agree — 22%(i.e., collectively = 81%)


Somewhat Disagree — 8%
Strongly Disagree — 3%
Don’t Know — 8%


Such data supposedly reflected the Detroit area (read Dearborn) Muslims views of “Islamic countries,” only. But given the intrinsic, universally supremacist nature of Islam and the global umma (i.e., as stated in Koran 3:110 [15], and the Orwellian-named Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Islam [16], “Ye are the best community that hath been raised up for mankind. Ye enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency; and ye believe in Allah”), once an area has a Muslim majority it is assumed by Muslims that Islamic Law should prevail—hence the “enclave” phenomenon, now evident in the United States.

Following the issuance of the verdict, Pastor Saeig’s intrepid attorney, Robert Muise of the Thomas More Law Center, made these apposite remarks [17], which all who cherish our unique Western freedoms must heed, and support:

Everybody should be pleased. Dearborn is getting a pretty strong reputation as being the enemy of the First Amendment. As long as they keep passing these draconian restrictions that violate the rights of everyone, we’re going to challenge them.

NEW AMAZING GRACE - The Stroms


This is not meant to "replace" the old hymn in any way - but simply to bring its powerful message to a whole new generation. The video contains some of the most famous Biblical pictures ever painted - from the Sistene Chapel. The song itself comes from The Stroms' new album Healing Songs 2.

Alan Watson's new CD, 'Taking it Easy', to be released tomorrow

      The long-awaited new CD from Alan Watson is released tomorrow by Runcorn-based Sheer Joy Music. Taking it Easy  showcases a new batch of songs from the stable of Greg Scheer & Colin Gordon-Farleigh, and features the musical backing of the late Eric Pim. 
      Featured on the 5-track EP are hit songs like 'Forever Friend' and 'When I'm With You', in addition to which the first track is a song written especially for Alan, 'Anniversary Serenade', and the hum-along song 'The Happy Song'. The track-listing is completed by the evocative 'Listen to the Rain'. All in all, a great new addition to the music library of all of Alan's fans, new and old.
     Taking it Easy will be available to download, either as an album or by track, on CD Baby and iTunes in a few days time.
The photograph below shows Alan Watson in the SJM recording studio. Now in his 70's, Alan has been singing for over fifty years, professionally and semi-professionally, and continues to perform at concerts in the Cheshire and Merseyside area.

Joanne Lowe's Meditations

DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT
"And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people.  And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."
Acts 2:46, 47 (King James Version)
      I believe if we would encourage each other every day it would be a lot easier to keep serving Jesus when satan hurls his vicious poisonous darts of discouragement and lies at us.  Nothing would make satan any happier than if he could discourage us so much that we would stop serving Jesus.
      Over the last six years, I have received emails from pastors who were so discouraged they were tempted to stop pastoring their churches.  Our pastors and their families not only need our prayers, they also need encouragement.  They are human just like we are and they need to know that we appreciate them.
      If you are serving Jesus, I'm sure that you too get discouraged like I do.  We need to be encouraged every day.  Our precious Saviour has feelings and He also gets discouraged when people reject Him.  Are you encouraging someone every day?  Are you encouraging Jesus every day by your service to Him? 
      It is time we shut off the television set and get out of our comfort zones and become a daily encouragement to Jesus and to one another.  Jesus left His home and His Father for us.  Are you willing to give your life in full time service to Jesus?  He died for you.  What are you doing for Him?
Joanne Lowe

'All for Jesus, Great redeemer' : New Hymn for Today

All for Jesus, Great Redeemer  87 87
TUNE: Beecher
All for Jesus, great Redeemer,
I surrender heart and soul;
All for Jesus, all for Jesus,
He’s restored me, made me whole.
All for Jesus, all for Jesus,
I am His throughout my days;
All for Jesus, all for Jesus,
I will live a life of praise.
All for Jesus, gracious Saviour,
Till I meet Him face to face;
All for Jesus, all for Jesus,
Stand restored by divine grace.
All for Jesus, all for Jesus,
Voice and hands to Him I raise;
All for Jesus, all for Jesus,
I will sing eternal praise!
© 2011 :  Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Isaiah 12 : Songs of Praise

Following on from Chapter 11 in which Isaiah prophesied the golden age which is yet to come, this chapter is a great song of praise which describe the joy of the people when Jesus Christ comes to reign over all the earth. Every day we should express our gratitude to God, thanking Him for all that He has done and does, and praising Him because He is the One who is worthy of praise. We must also do as Christ has commanded and share the message of the Gospel with others so that they might know of His saving grace.


1 In that day you will say:
   “I will praise you, LORD.
   Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
   and you have comforted me.
2 Surely God is my salvation;
   I will trust and not be afraid.
The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense;
   he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water
   from the wells of salvation.

4 In that day you will say:
   “Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name;
   make known among the nations what he has done,
   and proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things;
   let this be known to all the world.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
   for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

Monday, May 30, 2011

'Praise and Worship' : New Hymn for today

Praise and Worship   87 87
TUNE: Wellesley
We bow down to Christ our Saviour,
We will all our praises bring;
Hallelujah! Praise and worship,
Glory be to Christ the King!
We will name Him Lord and Saviour,
Friend and brother, great I AM;
Hallelujah! Praise and worship,
Christ the sacrificial Lamb.
We will praise our great Redeemer,
We will worship at His feet;
Hallelujah! Praise and worship,
He has made our lives complete.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hearts and souls and tongues employ;
Hallelujah! Praise and worship,
Praising Him with songs of joy!
© 2011 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Great Quotes by David Wilkerson



'God has never, in the history of mankind, allowed his name to go long offended.'


'How quickly we forget God's great deliverances in our lives. How easily we take for granted the miracles he performed in our past.'


'Likewise today, some Christians are content to merely exist until they die. They don't want to risk anything, to believe God, to grow or mature. They refuse to believe his Word, and have become hardened in their unbelief. Now they're living just to die.'


'Many of those who once were so passionately in love with Christ now run about pursuing their own interests. They're burdened down with stress and problems, chasing after riches and the things of this world.'


'What is it about tears that should be so terrifying? the touch of God is marked by tears...deep, soul-shaking tears, weeping...it comes when that last barrier is down and you surrender yourself to health and wholeness.'


Riches and the things that are necessary in life are not evil in themselves. And all of us face cares and troubles in this life. The sin comes in the time and energy we spend in pursuing these things, at the expense of neglecting Christ.'

Isaiah 11: The branch from Jesse

     Assyria, just like a tree felled at the height of its power, would never rise again, whilst Judah (the royal line of David) would be like a tree chopped down to a stump. From this stump a new shoot would grow, and that new shoot would be the Messiah. He would be far greater than the original tree, and He would bear much fruit.
     The Messiah is the fulfilment of God's covenant promise that a descendant of David would rule forever (2 Samuel 7:16).
     When God judges, it will be with righteousness and justice. We may often complain that others treat us unfairly, but what about the manner in which we treat others? We say things like, "Don't judge a book by its cover", implying that people should never judge by appearance or by idle gossip, but do we stick to that ourselves or do we often judge by what we see and her rather than what we investigate for ourselves? God has appointed His Son, Jesus Christ, to be our judge because He is the only perfectly fair judge. It's only when Christ is the ruler of our hearts that we can learn to judge people and situations fairly and without bias.
     Judah, surrounded as it was by hostile powers, was desperately in need of revival of righteousness, faithfulness and justice. The righteousness that is valued by God means not only rejecting sin but also actively assisting those in need, whatever that need may be.
     Isaiah prophesies that a golden age will come, signified by his phrase that 'the lion will lie down with the lamb', and that this golden age will be a time of peace when children would be able to play with animals that were previously dangerous. Much of this would come about with the coming of Jesus, but far more would come with His Second Coming. When Christ rules the earth then there will be a peace and harmony that exceeds anything ever known previously. He speaks of a second exodus when God will bring His scattered people back to Judah, and the Messiah will come to rule the world. God will provide the way of redemption for His people.


1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
   from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
   the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
   the Spirit of counsel and of might,
   the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.

   He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
   or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
   with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
   with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
   and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
   the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
   and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
   their young will lie down together,
   and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
   the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
   on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD
   as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.
11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.
12 He will raise a banner for the nations
   and gather the exiles of Israel;
he will assemble the scattered people of Judah
   from the four quarters of the earth.
13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
   and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
   nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.
14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west;
   together they will plunder the people to the east.
They will subdue Edom and Moab,
   and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
15 The LORD will dry up
   the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand
   over the Euphrates River.
He will break it up into seven streams
   so that anyone can cross over in sandals.
16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people
   that is left from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
   when they came up from Egypt.

Joanne Lowe's Meditations

IN MEMORY OF JESUS
"For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.  After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me."
1 Corinthians 11:23-25 (King James Version )
      Memorial Day is a day in which we remember and honor those brave men and women who gave their lives for our nation.  However, there is someone else we also need to remember and honor on this day and His name is Jesus.  He didn't die for just our nation; He died for every person in the world.
      Not only should we remember and honor Jesus on Memorial Day, we should also remember and honor Him every day of our life for the sacrifice that He made for you and for me.  He died for our sins on a cross of horror and suffered excruciating pain for us.
      No one has ever been abused, ridiculed, rejected, criticized, cursed and treated as badly as Jesus was treated.  Yet, in spite of all the horrible things He endured for us, He still loves us.  What kind of love is this that comes from the heart of Jesus?  It is a tender compassionate and giving love beyond compare.
      The next time we start feeling sorry for ourselves, and this includes me, because we have been criticized, rejected and ridiculed, we need to remember all that Jesus suffered for us and just as He loves those who hurt Him, we should also love those who hurt us.
Joanne Lowe

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Joanne Lowe's Meditations

A LASTING PEACE
"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.  Amen."
Matthew 28:20 (King James Version)
      Anne Murphy wrote one of my favorite hymns "Constantly Abiding".  I am so thankful that the words in this hymn are true in my life and in my heart.  "Constantly abiding, Jesus is mine; Constantly abiding, rapture divine; He never leaves me lonely, whispers, O so kind: "I will never leave thee," Jesus is mine."
      What peace floods my heart to know that Jesus will never leave me and He will never leave you.  No matter how many trials and heartaches we have, He will always be with us.  Not only will He be with us, He will pick us up and carry us through all the dark valleys of our life.  What a precious Saviour we have!
      Heavenly Father, we thank You so much for the peace we have in the knowledge that Jesus will never leave us.  Thank You for loving us, dear Father.  We love You so much and we appreciate You.  Jesus, thank You for the peace You give us and for the assurance that You will never leave us.  Amen.
Joanne Lowe

Great Quotes by Samuel Chadwick


'There are blessing of The Kingdom that are only yielded to the violence of the vehement soul.'


'The church that is man-managed instead of God-governed is doomed to failure. A ministry that is college-trained but not Spirit-filled works no miracles.'


'The prayer life in which there are no miracles may be the greatest miracle of all.'


'Spirit filled souls are ablaze for God. They love with a love that glows. They serve with a faith that kindles. They serve with a devotion that consumes. They hate sin with fierceness that burns. They rejoice with a joy that radiates. Love is perfected in the fire of God.'


'When alone with God, be alone with Him.'


'The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayer-less religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.'


'There is no power like that of prevailing prayer - of Abraham pleading for Sodom, Jacob wrestling in the stillness of the night, Moses standing in the breach, Hannah intoxicated with sorrow, David heartbroken with remorse and grief, Jesus in sweat and blood. Add to this list from the records of the church your personal observation and experience, and always there is cost of passion unto blood. Such prayer prevails. It turns ordinary mortals into men of power. It brings power. It brings fire. It brings rain. It brings life. It brings God.'


'Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, he mocks our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.'


'Compassion costs. It is easy enough to argue, criticize, and condemn, but redemption is costly, and comfort draws from the deep. Brains can argue, but it takes heart to comfort.'


'Compassion costs. It is easy enough to argue, criticize and condemn, but redemption is costly, and comfort draws from the deep. Brains can argue, but It takes heart to comfort.'


'Destitute of the Fire of God, nothing else counts; possessing Fire, nothing else matters.'

'Jesus Lifts Me' : New Hymn for Today

Jesus Lifts Me  LM
TUNE: Abends
When I am weary, feeling bad,
When I am down or feeling sad,
When the world seems too hard to bear,
Then I find Christ is waiting there.
As I walk on life’s rocky road,
It’s sometimes hard to bear my load;
When I to God, in prayer, enquire,
Then I find Jesus lifts me higher.
Christ lifts me up, to raise me high,
Sometimes it seems I reach the sky;
Then when I see His wondrous face,
I’m silenced by His divine grace.
One day I’ll join with heaven’s choir,
To sing His praise my one desire;
Then in His light I’ll praise and sing,
In worship of our heav’nly King!
© 2011 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Isaiah 10

     A warning is given to those who make unjust laws and those who administer the law unfairly and dishonestly. Those who oppress others will themselves be oppressed. Living in a land where justice exists and is the foundation of society is insufficient. It's necessary for every individual to treat others with justice and fairness, and to treat the poor and the weak in the same manner as the rich and powerful. There should b one Law for everyone, meted out in the same way.
     You, and you alone, are responsible for the way that you treat others. It's of no use attempting to hide behind others and pass off the responsibility for your actions to them. God will hold you responsible for the way that you deal with the poor.
     God used Assyria as part of his plan to judge His people, although Assyria did not know it. Throughout history we can find examples of a similar nature where God has used situations to deal with nations and people who choose to reject Him. No matter what some people might claim, God is in control of the world which He created, and that applies just as much today as it ever did.
     Assyria's judgement came about in 701 BC when 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were slain by an angel of the Lord, and later, when the nation was conquered by Babylon, never to rise up again as a world power. Their major error of judgement was to believe that they had accomplished everything by themselves, and this mad them proud and haughty. When we fail to recognise God's hand in our lives then our perspective become distorted by our achievements. We must learn to see God working out His plan through us, and to understand that what we achieve is accomplished only by God being in control.

1 Woe to those who make unjust laws,
   to those who issue oppressive decrees,
2 to deprive the poor of their rights
   and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey
   and robbing the fatherless.
3 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?
4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives
   or fall among the slain.
   Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
   his hand is still upraised.
God’s Judgment on Assyria
5 “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, 
   in whose hand is the club of my wrath! 
6 I send him against a godless nation, 
   I dispatch him against a people who anger me, 
to seize loot and snatch plunder, 
   and to trample them down like mud in the streets. 
7 But this is not what he intends, 
   this is not what he has in mind; 
his purpose is to destroy, 
   to put an end to many nations. 
8 ‘Are not my commanders all kings?’ he says. 
9 ‘Has not Kalno fared like Carchemish? 
Is not Hamath like Arpad, 
   and Samaria like Damascus? 
10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, 
   kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria— 
11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images 
   as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?’”
12 When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. 13 For he says:
   “‘By the strength of my hand I have done this,
   and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
   I plundered their treasures;
   like a mighty one I subdued their kings.
14 As one reaches into a nest,
   so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations;
as people gather abandoned eggs,
   so I gathered all the countries;
not one flapped a wing,
   or opened its mouth to chirp.’”
15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,
   or the saw boast against the one who uses it?
As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,
   or a club brandish the one who is not wood!
16 Therefore, the Lord, the LORD Almighty,
   will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors;
under his pomp a fire will be kindled
   like a blazing flame.
17 The Light of Israel will become a fire,
   their Holy One a flame;
in a single day it will burn and consume
   his thorns and his briers.
18 The splendor of his forests and fertile fields
   it will completely destroy,
   as when a sick person wastes away.
19 And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few
   that a child could write them down.
The Remnant of Israel
20 In that day the remnant of Israel, 
   the survivors of Jacob, 
will no longer rely on him 
   who struck them down 
but will truly rely on the LORD, 
   the Holy One of Israel. 
21 A remnant will return,[b] a remnant of Jacob 
   will return to the Mighty God. 
22 Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel, 
   only a remnant will return. 
Destruction has been decreed, 
   overwhelming and righteous. 
23 The Lord, the LORD Almighty, will carry out 
   the destruction decreed upon the whole land.
24 Therefore this is what the Lord, the LORD Almighty, says:
   “My people who live in Zion,
   do not be afraid of the Assyrians,
who beat you with a rod
   and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.
25 Very soon my anger against you will end
   and my wrath will be directed to their destruction.”
26 The LORD Almighty will lash them with a whip,
   as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb;
and he will raise his staff over the waters,
   as he did in Egypt.
27 In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders,
   their yoke from your neck;
the yoke will be broken
   because you have grown so fat.[c]
28 They enter Aiath;
   they pass through Migron;
   they store supplies at Mikmash.
29 They go over the pass, and say,
   “We will camp overnight at Geba.”
Ramah trembles;
   Gibeah of Saul flees.
30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim!
   Listen, Laishah!
   Poor Anathoth!
31 Madmenah is in flight;
   the people of Gebim take cover.
32 This day they will halt at Nob;
   they will shake their fist
at the mount of Daughter Zion,
   at the hill of Jerusalem.
33 See, the Lord, the LORD Almighty,
   will lop off the boughs with great power.
The lofty trees will be felled,
   the tall ones will be brought low.
34 He will cut down the forest thickets with an axe;
   Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.