I have long loved Patrick Henry's address to the Virginia Convention: the "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech. Someday, I want to use Benjamin Franklin's method of studying, and this speech is the first thing that I want to dive into (probably followed by George Washington's Farewell Address). But tonight, in reading to Hero from the Bible, I discovered an allusion that Henry made that makes that final, powerful paragraph even more powerful.
Here's the end of the speech:
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
Tonight, as we read in Ezekiel 13, I noticed this:
Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar:
-Ezekiel 13:10 (emphasis added)
In this chapter, Ezekiel is instructed to rebuke the false prophets that have been telling the people of Israel comfortable lies, encouraging them in their wickedness, and reassuring them (baselessly) that all is well. So the Lord sends Ezekiel, a real prophet, to tell them what the score really is: they are in serious trouble, both the false prophets, and also those who know so little of the Lord's dealings that they listen to the false prophets.
Hero stopped me, and wanted to know what "untempered mortar" is -- and that was great, because I wanted to know the same thing. Searching, we found this:
un-tem'-perd (taphel):...probably refers to mortar made with clay instead of slaked lime. In the interior of Palestine and Syria walls are still commonly built of small stones or mud bricks, and then smeared over with clay mortar. The surface is rubbed smooth and is attractive in appearance. This coating prolongs the life of the wall but requires yearly attention if the wall is to stand.
Ezekiel uses the practice to typify the work of false prophets. They build up stories and make them plausible by an outward semblance to truth, while, in fact, they are flimsy, unreliable prophecies, resembling the walls described above, which can be broken down by a push or a heavy rain storm.
-Bible Hub: Untempered
Looking at this, I realized what a strong, strong statement Henry was making about those who opposed the war.
There's a lot going on in this chapter of Ezekiel, really it's a whole section of the book of Ezekiel, and it's taken me a while to unpack it -- and I'm sure that there's more that I'll find next time I come through this section; there's just a lot in here.
In chapter 12, Ezekiel has been reproving the people: they have eyes to see, but won't see; they have ears, but refuse to hear; they are a rebellious house. The message from the Lord is this: no more vain proverbs, no more flattering divination such as they have chosen for themselves; they are to have the Genuine Article. The Lord will speak; His words will happen. No more avoiding the issue; God will not be mocked.
In chapter 13, Ezekiel turns his attention from the people at large to the false prophets that are both soothing their consciences and drawing them -seducing them is the word Ezekiel uses- into idolatry. This theme of idolatry as whoredom -as gross unfaithfulness to Christ the Bridegroom- has been a theme through Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and it continues in Ezekiel. Later, in chapter 16, Ezekiel will talk about how Jerusalem isn't like some women, driven to prostitution by extremity. No, she is the one that instigates, that seeks out lovers; although her Bridegroom has done everything for her, has protected her, decked her with jewels, and provided everything she could ever want, she has called out and "poured out her fornications on every one that passed by", dallying with the gods of every nation, not because she had to, but because it pleased her to do so. The penalty is as severe as the offense, but amazingly, mercifully, the Bridegroom wants his bride back. Then in chapter 13 the prophet turns his attention to the pretenders that claim, falsely, that God has spoken to them.
What he has to say is not complementary: he calls them desert foxes. A number of other translations render "foxes" as "jackals", which is extremely descriptive, but not at all complementary, suggesting that these false shepherds are in reality selfish, opportunistic predators. Then he lists their crimes:
Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.
-Ezekiel 13:5-6
The role of the prophet is protective: he is a watchman and a shepherd. His job is to know the Lord, to have clear communication with the Lord, and a clear and correct understanding of things as they really are, of the laws of the Lord, in order that when he sees the flock starting to turn to error, he can head them off and bring them back to safety.
But that's not what these false prophets do; they lied and they put words in the Lord's mouth: flimsy, unreliable words that cannot be relied upon, like walls made with untempered mortar that fall during hard times. These false words do have a certain "truthiness"; in reality though, it's just man's philosophies, with a bit of scripture mixed in to make it look good: false prophecy is worthless. Israel has a real prophet on the job warning of the dangers of listening to them, but they do not listen to him nor appreciate the privilege it is to have a genuine prophet of the Lord living among them.
With that background - things that I'm reasonably confident that the various delegates in the Virginia Convention would have been familiar with - the final paragraph of the speech becomes still more forceful that it appears at the first reading:
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
I read the other day that literature selections "talk to each other", and I think that's the case here, between this speech and these chapters. I love the way that, as I study the Bible more deeply, in addition to the insights about the gospel that I am gaining, and the way that it builds my testimony of and love for Christ, it adds this kind of richness to classic literature as well.
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