The Bricks have Fallen Down

On September 11, 2001, I watched in shocked horror as Middle Eastern terrorists flew two planes into the Twin Towers in New York City, the center of commerce for the world. As the school counselor, I spent the day going from classroom to classroom calming students and teachers alike, even though my own heart was reeling.  Years later, I find it ironic that those terrorist came from a part of the world where once Assyrian terrorist devastated the known world.

The following day, several national leaders in from NY and DC took to the airways.  Many of them used or paraphrased this quote from the Old Testament: 

The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.

The people who used this quote from Isaiah 10:9 as symbolic reference to America's tenacity. What they failed to read were the verses before and after the defiant verse 9.  Had they done so, I don't know that they would have used the quote.  It was said, not in gratitude, but in pride and arrogance by the Kingdom of Israel after it's first warning attack from the Assyrians.  Here is the context of the boast from Isaiah 10:8-9:

And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, "The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars."

That changes the context, doesn't it?  In later verses, 12-14, the Lord outlines what happened as a result of Israel's arrogant boast: 

[there are enemies before and behind; who] shall devour Israel with open mouth. . .

For the people turn not unto him that smite them, neither do they seek the Lord of hosts.

Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. (color emphasis added)

I ask again; are we like ancient Israel? I would like to refer you to a book written by a Messianic Jew.  It is called The Harbinger.  Cohen, the author, shows in great detail the parallels between Israel's destruction and 9-11.  He makes a compelling argument about the connections, including the hewn stone monument and the roots of the sycamore. The author states that 9-11 was our warning before the wall is breached.

As you study the Pride Cycle in the Old Testament, look at the signs of Israel's falling away.  Tomorrow we can compare the fate of ancient Israel and modern America.

©Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson, 2019