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Continuing our discussion from part one, one favorite verse which is sometimes quoted by Christians who have heard the Lord's call in their lives, and who won't allow themselves to be dissuaded from serving the Lord by the lies and tricks of the enemies of the Gospel, is the following one which was spoken by Nehemiah when Sanballat, Geshem and other enemies of the Jews tried to slow them down from their work of rebuilding the retaining wall around Jerusalem:

"And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner."


Thus, despite the mischievous tricks and deception which was practiced by their unrelenting, jealous enemies, we see that under Nehemiah's wise direction, the Jews finally finished repairing the wall after fifty-two days, as we can determine by the following verse:

"So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days."


After securing the genealogical records and taking a survey of the people who now dwelt within the secured city, it fell upon Ezra the priest to read the Laws of Moses. It was then that they discovered that they were supposed to be observing the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month. Thus, for the next seven days, they dwelt in their booths. It was several weeks later that the people of Jerusalem performed a public prayer of repentance and made a renewed covenant with the Lord to keep the Laws of Moses. The rest of the Book of Nehemiah deals primarily with the reforms that Nehemiah made while he served as governor of Judah under King Artaxerxes.

Continuing our discussion regarding walled cities during the Old Testament period, many of you will be familiar with the story of King David and Bathsheba. As you may recall, after committing adultery with the beautiful woman, David schemed to have her husband -- named Uriah the Hittite -- killed in battle. At that particular time, the Israelites, under the leadership of General Joab, were waging war against Rabbah, which was the capital of the Ammonites who dwelt to the east of Israel. After Uriah was slain in battle, notice what was said by Joab regarding the defensive wall which surrounded Rabbah:

"And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell ‭some‭ of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.‭ Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;‭ And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king,‭ And if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?‭ ‭‭Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.‭ ‭‭So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for.‭ ‭‭And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate.‭ And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and ‭some‭ of the king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.‭"


Just as the Ammonite city of Rabbah was surrounded by a wall, we find a number of other verses which describe Old Testament cities which were fortified by a perimeter wall. Following is another example:

"And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that ‭were‭ with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down . . . The matter ‭is‭ not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, ‭even‭ against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.‭"


So as I mentioned in part one of this series, it should be evident to you by now that during the Old Testament period, walled cities were the norm, and not the exception. Even during the New Testament period, Jerusalem still remained a walled city. While I have provided you with a few examples here, if you take the time to carefully study the Old Testament, you will discover that there are many more verses which discuss the walled cities of the ancient world. Please note that such fortified cities were also referred to as "fenced cities". Allow me to share a few Scriptural examples with you where this particular phrase is used:

"But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.‭"


"And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the rest ‭which‭ remained of them entered into fenced cities.‭"


"And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than ‭did‭ Absalom: take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.‭"


"And he [King Asa] built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.‭ Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about ‭them‭ walls, and towers, gates, and bars, ‭while‭ the land ‭is‭ yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought ‭him‭, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.‭"


"And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel.‭ And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken.‭ ‭‭And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;‭ ‭‭But sought to the ‭LORD‭ God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.‭"


If there is one thing which should be clear to you from all of the previous verses, it is that walled cities, fortified cities, fenced cities, or whatever you wish to call them, were meant to protect the inhabitants thereof from outside threats -- undesirables and bad people -- plain and simple. That is why that very first verse concludes with "because of the inhabitants of the land.‭" In other words, the Israelites built fenced cities in order to protect themselves from the other inhabitants of Canaan who were hostile towards them. In contrast, consider what the Lord says regarding unwalled villages in the prophecy regarding Gog and Magog:

"Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land."


Clearly then, walled cities, fortified cities, fenced cities served a very good purpose. If a particular society, city or village was flourishing, their jealous enemies surely wanted part of it. Thus, building a perimeter wall was a matter of life or death. Now, some people may argue that such practices belong to ages past, that they are outdated, and that they should no longer be applied to our modern day. "After all", they may argue, "today we live in an enlightened era of peace and diplomacy, and we are most certainly not like the savages of millennia ago." I can agree with such people to a certain extent. After all, today we have international borders which are meant to be respected by other nations; and usually they are respected, except during times of war.

But to be frank, I still have a very difficult time accepting such a simplistic mentality, and I must question what planet such people live on, or what kind of idealistic bubble they exist in. The fact of the matter is that we live in very dangerous times. We must not and should not ignore the fact that we currently possess enough nuclear, chemical and biological weapons to utterly obliterate this planet, and ourselves along with it. Furthermore, when our governments kill in a war, it is not merely by the tens, dozens or even hundreds. It is by the many thousands or millions in the long term. Even a cursory examination of the history of war in our modern era will confirm this fact. So much for the era of peace and diplomacy. We are still savages at heart who simply have in our possession more modern toys of destruction.

While we should obviously, and always, support diplomacy as a first option whenever conflicts arise between peoples or nations, at the same time, we need to bear in mind that such intergovernmental discussions are often filled with lies and deception. What are promoted as diplomatic missions can very well be fact-finding missions to discover the other party's weaknesses, in order to fortify our own position. I am reminded of the following verse that is found in the Book of the Prophet Daniel. Such deceptive tactics are nothing new:

"And both these kings' hearts ‭shall be‭ to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end ‭shall be‭ at the time appointed.‭"


Tragically, wartime mortality rates do not even take into consideration all of the other threats and evils to which modern society is exposed on a daily basis: drug cartels and drug wars, foreign-born or domestic terrorism, corruption in the banking industry, a deceptive pharmaceutical industry which caters to the rich, corrupt politicians, oppression of the poor, inner city violence, prostitution, pornography, race wars, homosexuality in all of its weird manifestations, domestic violence, drug abuse, pedophilia and child abuse, alcohol abuse, abortion, apartheid, human trafficking, etc. So maybe we should stop to consider how many of these evils can be mitigated to some degree by at least fortifying our borders. Obviously not all of them, but most certainly at least some of them.

While walled cities were viewed as the necessary norm during ancient times, today the situation has been totally flipped around. The Berlin Wall was viewed as being evil. The nation of Israel building a wall to keep out radical Palestinians is criticized by some people. President Donald Trump wanting to improve security on the US southern border by upgrading and extending the wall is described by certain parties as being unnecessary, evil and inhumane. But tell me, would you live in a house without walls? Well, in a way, your country is your house.

Contrary to the twisted narrative which is currently being promoted by the disrespectful and vicious Democrats and other misguided liberals and socialists in the United States, there is absolutely nothing wicked or wrong about a leader wanting to protect his people from threats and harm of all kinds, by securing the nation's cities, and by securing the nation's borders. As we have seen, walls for protection are in fact very scriptural. Furthermore, America has a right to protect her borders. In fact, to do otherwise is being irresponsible, and is contrary to the Scriptures, in my view. I am reminded of a verse which I share in my four-part series called "What About the Poor?". Written by the Apostle Paul in his first Epistle to his beloved son in the faith, Timothy, the verse states the following:

"But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."


While the Apostle Paul may have been referring to providing basic physical needs in the previous verse, I think in our modern day, on the national level it is also fair to include providing jobs which offer a decent living wage for all of a nation's citizens; providing an adequate, affordable health care system; and also providing ample protection from one's enemies as well. In my view, it is the duty of government to protect its people. Who can possibly disagree with this basic argument?

As we have now seen, the Israelites and other cultures of the ancient world most certainly did it. So why should we allow ourselves to be condemned for wanting to do it today as well, by supporting the president in his endeavors to build a better, stronger, more secure southern border wall? In fact, I was just reminded of what the Apostle Paul wrote in the thirteenth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans:

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake."


Clearly then, the American government is supposed to protect its good, law-abiding, hard-working citizens, and to punish evildoers; including those who try to illegally sneak into the country across the southern border. One must wonder why certain people try to sneak in illegally in the first place. Exactly what do they have to hide? Why are they unwilling to enter the country the legal way with proper documentation? Do they have a criminal history of some kind? Are they drug smugglers? Do they have bad intentions towards the citizens of the United States? Do they fear rejection at the border because they do not possess a skill set which would make them an asset to the country? Do they lack money which would make them a burden on the government from the very start? Exactly what is it that prompts them to break the law by trying to sneak in?

As you will probably already know, this is in fact part of the ongoing debate. Democrats and liberals would have us to believe that all of the people in these caravans are just persecuted victims in their own countries who are seeking asylum on American soil. Or else they are individuals who are seeking a much better life for themselves and their families, in an economic sense, in the United States.

Now, to be honest, I don't doubt that this is true in some cases. Over three decades ago, I lived in Mexico for about a six-year period. As a result, I do understand what level of poverty some of those people live in. But exactly how many of the caravan people really lived under such conditions in their home countries, I honestly don't know, because I don't know any of them personally. Yet at the same time, many of us have read the disturbing news reports which claim that there are murderers, thugs, thieves, terrorists and other societal riffraff hiding amongst the well-meaning people in the caravans. Exactly how accurate such news reports are is really anyone's guess. Everyone has their agenda, and that certainly includes the mainstream media. In fact, I stopped trusting in them many years ago. I read everything with a grain of salt.

But no matter how you look at it, in my opinion, there is just something very suspect in all of these events. What I mean by this is that thousands of people from different Central American countries just don't suddenly decide to band together, march through the whole of Mexico unimpeded, and then challenge the American government at its southern border. And it has happened not just once, but twice now; and the latest word is that a third caravan consisting of approximately fifteen thousand people is now preparing to march north from Central America as well.

My friends, someone organized these people. Someone provided them with advice, with food along the way, with medical aid when needed, and with some level of transportation as well. The idea that all of these people, all on their own, are now marching through Mexico on foot for anywhere from 1,125 to 2,500 miles -- depending on which U.S. port of entry they go to -- is a fallacy which has been purposely created by the liberal mainstream media. They are painting the picture which they want us to believe. Just like the stories of children who have been cruelly separated from their parents for long periods of time, the purpose of these current news stories is to generate sympathy with the American public, and to apply pressure to President Trump and his administration. In other words, someone with a very specific agenda is behind all of this. The latest story is of an eight year old Guatemalan boy who died while in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. No doubt the liberals will maximize this event to their advantage.

Please understand that I am not saying that everything that is currently being reported is false, or "fake news" as it is now commonly called. No doubt certain mistakes have been made along the way by the US government, and by its border patrol and customs agents. Hopefully, they are learning from their mistakes, and are improving the situation for people who are arriving from the south. However, I do maintain that the liberal mainstream media is probably overly exaggerating certain situations, for reasons which I have already clearly explained.

There are too many unanswered questions. For example, why is Mexico -- which is a sovereign nation itself -- allowing all these individuals to march right on through to the southern border of the United States, where they are causing a major problem for U.S. government officials? Another question is why the government of Mexico doesn't make a greater effort to stop these caravans while they are still at the border with Guatemala. I could be wrong, but I suspect that it may partially be due to the fact that strained relations exist between President Trump and the Mexican government. In other words, maybe they are trying to cause trouble for Trump, as payback for negative things he has said about Mexicans, not to mention his unbending economic wheeling and dealing with regards to their recent new trade agreement. Another idea worth considering is that maybe the Mexican government is concerned that if it comes down too hard on the caravaners, it will be heavily criticized by the world community.

Let me mention that this is not the only problem I have with the current situation, which has now resulted in President Trump threatening to shut down the southern border entirely, unless the Democrats provide him with the money he needs to build the wall. This latest development appears to be linked to the formation of the third caravan. In fact, as you may already know, President Trump has also threatened to cut off financial assistance to the three Central American countries where most of these immigrants seem to originate. That is, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

While such a bold move by Mr. Trump would probably alarm the Democrats and other liberals -- and undoubtedly start a new volley of criticisms against the president -- perhaps such decisive tactics is exactly what is needed in order to get this caravan situation under control. If the United States government does not put its foot down, and demonstrate that it will no longer tolerate such behavior, and say enough is enough, then the caravans could continue indefinitely.

As I have mentioned on a few previous occasions, I do not believe that the United States has been called to be the policeman of the world; even though that seems to be the role that it has taken on, or the role which has possibly been forced upon it by other nations. I suspect that it is more the former than the latter. After all, anyone who is familiar with world history of the past few centuries, is aware of the hegemonic intentions of the world's so-called "great powers". To these powers, the world is but a grand chess board, and each of these nations develops strategies to gain as much control of the board as it possibly can, using whatever means are necessary in order to achieve its objectives. It is a very dirty game.

I think most people realize that the United States cannot possibly solve all of the problems of the world. To even be in such a position as a "global policeman" is dangerous, because it forces the U.S. military to be spread out very thin all over the world, leaving the nation at home very vulnerable. From reading the news and watching a few of Mr. Trump's speeches, I get the impression that he understands the inherent danger which has resulted from the path which has been followed by previous administrations. The U.S. has given so much to the world in a military sense, and in an economic sense. U.S. soldiers have died for other nations, and billions of dollars annually flow into the economies of other nations, while the situation at home is in dire need of improvement. Thus, while Trump's approach of putting America first may seem selfish or isolationist to certain individuals and nations, I think that it makes a lot of sense, and that it is in fact Scriptural. As I shared with you earlier, the Apostle Paul wrote the following:

"But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."


But being the "global policeman" of the world is not the only problem I see. Neither do I believe that the United States can continue to serve as the "welfare agency" of the world. As I explain in "What About the Poor?", I really do have a heart for the poor, the sick, the elderly, and the downtrodden. However, we cannot possibly open the doors to every foreign Tom, Dick and Harry who wants to have a better life in the United States. Furthermore, I do not believe it is our responsibility to do so. We will wear ourselves too thin in the process. In fact, it is my view that we already have. Certain entities and individuals within the United States -- namely those who are of the Democratic and liberal persuasion -- have been so eager to open the floodgates to foreigners, that it has already hurt the American people in more ways than one.

This free-for-all approach to immigration has hurt American workers and the American job market, such as by suppressing wages. While so many native-born or naturalized Americans are struggling financially, finding it difficult to find a job which pays a decent living wage; working at part-time jobs which offer no medical or dental benefits; losing their homes, farms and life savings; wondering how they are going to even pay their next month's bills; facing some kind of medical emergency which they don't have the means to pay for; or possibly already living on the street; every single year, approximately one million new legal immigrants enter the country according to online statistics. Currently, there are close to fifty million legal immigrants residing within the United States, if the figures are to be believed.

None of this takes into account all of the illegal immigrants who sneak across the border, or who overstay their visas. Due to the very nature of their illegal status, they are willing to work for a lot less money, and thus indirectly take away jobs from legal American citizens. Opening the floodgates as previous administrations have done, has also resulted in more drugs entering the country, more violence occurring, and as I mentioned earlier in this series, other problems as well. On top of that, this incursion by illegals stresses the American health care system, and the American public school system. It is also a serious drain on public assistance programs which are meant for legal citizens who need the extra help.

Let me reiterate that the American government's obligations are to its own citizens first, and not to foreign nationals who enter the country illegally, who hope to obtain a better life in the US. Furthermore, I firmly believe that if people are not happy with the situation in their own country, then it is their job and responsibility to try to change it. If their government is oppressive and/or corrupt, then they need to try to find a way to fix it. If their national economy is lousy, then they need to work on that as well. Whatever the problem is, as citizens of their own country, they need to take the bull by the horns, and work towards some kind of a solution. If God has a person born in that country, then it must be for some reason. He doesn't make mistakes.

Let me make clear that the solution is not to head to another country where the situation may be better -- as these groups of caravaners are now doing -- and where they will expect to receive free handouts, and become a drain on the government and the economy in the process. Now, for those people who have already chosen this path, let me state the following. If you do decide to leave your native land in the hope that you will find a better life elsewhere, you need to understand that trying to tear down the door -- or port of entry -- of a potential host country by force is definitely not the way to do it. No one is going to extend a welcome mat to you if you resort to such tactics. Neither is trying to circumvent the laws of another country by sneaking in illegally, or by overstaying your visa. As we saw earlier, the Apostle Paul clearly wrote the following:

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God."


In short, if you really want admittance to the United States, then you need to obey its laws, and do it the legal way by obtaining a tourist visa, or by obtaining a green card which will allow you to live and work in the United States on a more permanent basis. If you arrive on a tourist visa, don't overstay it. Leave when it expires, or face the consequences if you are caught. To take this a step further, if you truly like your host country, then you can also follow the path to full citizenship, just like everyone else did who came before you. While the following verses are addressed to Christians, the principles they convey can be applied to anyone else as well. In a word, obey the law:

"Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing."


"They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."


"And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him."


"And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's."


"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."


"These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men."


"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king."


Please go to part three for the conclusion of this series.

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