Welcome to another edition of the LKP Treasure Trove
In many lands, people celebrate a day of independence, when their country was freed from the rule of one foreign nation or another. Here in America, the Fourth of July marks that celebration. Fireworks are shot into the sky, cookouts are held, and great fun is had by many, but the truth is, Independence Day has nothing to do with True Hebrews, because, like Scripture says, we are still among the foreign nations that enslaved us; we are still in the lands of our enemies. In today’s story, Antwon will explore this very topic.
Independence Delay
Antwon was walking his chocolate Lab through the park when he spotted three of his Gentile neighbors. They attended the luxury, lakeside charter middle school that was nestled among a golf course, two posh country clubs, and three gated communities. Antwon, on the other hand, was forced to attend a different public school that had bars on the windows and looked more like a prison than a high school.
Antwon only saw his neighbors at the park most Sundays, since their street, which was mere blocks from his, was exclusive and ritzy. He lived on a poorer avenue, and people from his block didn’t mingle with people from theirs outside of communal settings like the park. Normally, he would be in school on a day like this, but that particular Wednesday happened to be the Fourth of July, a major U.S. celebration, and his dog needed to be walked in his favorite setting. That meant another trip through the neighborhood park, despite what day it was.
“Hey, Antwon,” Heidi shouted with a wave of the hand. Her friends Timmy and Duncan, who sat next to her, waved as well.
Antwon narrowed his eyes and shook his head slightly as he offered a half-hearted wave in reply. He saw the three little American flags they were holding in their hands, and he noticed some of their adult family members getting ready for a serious cookout. And two grownups were readying fireworks for what looked like a planned show later that night. Knowing what he knew, he didn’t want to have any part of this activity. But Samson, his chocolate Lab, kept leading him toward the three younger tweens.
“Happy Fourth, Antwon,” Heidi said with a broad smile when Samson sat near her.
Antwon averted his eyes and said, “I don’t do the Fourth.”
“C’mon,” said Duncan, “Every American celebrates the Fourth. You are American, right?” Duncan chuckled and shot a glance at his two friends.
“I’m Hebrew Israelite,” Antwon said sternly, “and my ancestors were still slaves to your ancestors when they celebrated independence. In fact, when this nation’s leaders claimed to have freed us from slavery on paper, that only forced them to find other ways to enslave us, through hard labor, segregation, Jim Crow laws, lynching, oppression, mass incarceration, discrimination, and a lot of other things that still happen to my people today. You youngsters should research this stuff. Beyond that, we’re still in the land we were forced to come to as captives, so how are we independent? Look, I gotta go.”
NOW, WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Will you continue to celebrate this nation’s Independence Day when independence hasn’t truly come to the people of Israel, Yah’s chosen? When Yah stirred Cyrus the Great to proclaim that the people of Judah were to be released from Babylonian captivity, return to their homeland in Jerusalem, and rebuild their temple and homes, that was true independence. The people of Judah were allowed to go back to their ancestral land and carry on with their customs, which centered on the worship of Yah, as recorded in Ezra chapters 1 and 2. Ezekiel chapter 37 tells us that true independence will come to the people of Israel again, and that time is directly ahead of us.
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