Scripture reading: Isaiah 5:1–7

A Troubling Dream

When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3)

 

I dreamed a dream1 the other night, and my spirit was deeply troubled. I saw a peaceful village in a beautiful valley, nestled securely between tall mountains. A river meandered through the valley making everything lush and fruitful. Numerous steeples gave evidence of the faith of those who first settled in this area. I’d seen other villages in other valleys but this was the most blessed of them all. At the head of the valley I saw a huge dam controlling the upper reaches of the river. The wall of the dam was as tall as the valley itself, creating a large lake behind it which was invisible to the residents below and which had obviously been constructed by an earlier generation of valley dwellers. The dam’s wall both prevented flooding and generated electric power for everyone in the valley below.

Then I saw something that gave my spirit a jolt. An angry mob had gathered at the foot of the dam shouting slogans and carry placards. Some had sledge hammers while others had bags of dynamite. They intended to tear down the dam! Some had spray-painted graffiti on the wall: “Give us more water!” “Our forefathers were freedom-haters!” “Let the wall fall!” I even saw clergy leading prayers and reading Scripture to encourage the wall smashers. As I watched, many struck the dam with their sledge hammers, and others placed their dynamite in strategic locations along the wall.

In my dream I approached the mob and spoke to a group that had paused to rest from their frenzied labor. “What are you doing? Why are you tearing down the dam?” I had to shout to be heard above the noise. “This dam has restricted our freedom for generations and deprives us of all the water that is imprisoned behind it,” one answered. I couldn’t believe my ears. “But don’t you realize that if you tear down this wall, your village will be swept away in a flood?” Smiling condescendingly, as if he had been trained for such questions, my respondent said, “You must

1 The “dream” I relate here is not literal. It is simply a literary vehicle I’ve chosen to share the rumblings going on deep in my spirit as I witness the moral disintegration of our culture.

be a dinosaur! Our fundamentalist, puritanical forefathers used to talk like you do. But we’re wiser now. Those who built this dam were narrow-minded tyrants. They have hindered the growth and development of every citizen in our valley. It must come down.” As he spoke several large chunks of cement from the dam’s wall fell around us. “See! The wall is falling and none of your predictions of doom are coming true.”

I realized that rational discourse with this mob was impossible. They were single-minded in their devotion to tear down the dam. Only a thin layer of concrete remained to hold back the waters. For the first time, I began to think of my own safety and wondered if I would survive the coming catastrophe. As I began to look for higher ground I heard a loud boom as one of the dynamite charges exploded, sending more chunks of concrete flying through the air. People cheered with delight. But then the ground began to shake, and the entire wall began to wobble precariously.

With my heart racing wildly, I awoke with a jerk! What a relief it was to realize I had only been dreaming. But though the nightmare was over, a deep sense of foreboding remained with me for days to come. Was it only a dream?

 

The most tremendous judgment of God in this world

is the hardening of the hearts of men.—John Owen

 

point to ponder • When judgment falls on a nation, is it because of oppression from the outside, or corruption on the inside?

prayer focus • The United States.