Recusant I Am; Rebellious I Am Not
Definition: The Free Dictionary Online
rec•u•sant
(ˈrɛk yə zənt, rɪˈkyu zənt)
n.
1. (in 16th to 18th century England) a person, esp. a Roman Catholic, who refused to attend the services of the Church of England.
2. a person who refuses to submit, comply, etc.
adj.
3. of or characteristic of a recusant.
[1545–55; < Latin recūsant- (s. of recūsāns), present participle of recusāre to demur, object =re- + -cūsāre, v. derivative of causa cause]
For my purpose the Latin expresses my application: To demur, object to a cause.
demur: [noun] hesitation (as in doing or accepting) usually based on doubt of the acceptability of something offered or proposed. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
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1. Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.
9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.
10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image:
11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
{In other words: they are being RECUSANT.}
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.
14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
{They are now being directly RECUSANT to the King himself. And evidently, God Himself must have approved because they come out alive and end up changing the heart of the King.}
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It was during my devotions this morning in Daniel 3 that, for the first time ever, I came across the word: Recusant.
It was in a note I was reading from the commentary by Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1882) which said:
“Fall down - that the recusants might be the more readily detected.” {emphasis mine}
Being the curious person that I am, I hunted up the definition so as to learn a new word and figure out what the heck they meant in that short statement of a sentence.
Boy! Was I glad I did.
Why?
A few months ago at work, in the assembly room amongst other employees, I was called out by two fellow-workers as being a Rebel. And, just a couple of weeks ago I was labeled as a Non-conformist. Both instances were directly related to my stance on COVID, the booster shots, and the whole vaccine/mask issue.
When accused of being a rebel I responded by saying that I am not a rebel. Rather, I am one who will not accept at face value anything that doesn’t make sense to me until I get some answers to my justifiably valid questions.
When I was told “we all know you’re a non-conformist,” I simply agreed. End of discussion.
But …
This morning I, quite unexpectedly, came across this new word that does define/describe me.
And …
Which I think should define/describe all of God’s people in the present world environment in which we live, especially in this Country.
To which I must add,
I hope we are beginning to realize our citizenship in this country is inconsequential. Our true citizenship is in Heaven and, in the end, it’s the only place that will acknowledge us … even as our country now disenfranchises us.
We are experiencing personally a new level of estrangement like never before, right? And, I contend, that’s a good thing and it’s about time. We must untether our patriotic moorings and live within the dictates and confines of our citizenship in Heaven.
Simply and Biblically stated: We are “strangers and pilgrims.” And so we will always be, until we die or Christ comes back again for us.
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In this Country, we are rapidly being expected/required to “fall down and worship” a system that is DIABOLICALLY opposed to pretty much everything that is in God’s Word.
You ask: How so?
No government, government agency, President, Vice President, legislative body has the right to claim ownership and responsibility over our bodies which God created and, by right of creation, owns. And that’s doubly so for those who are twice-born through salvation in Christ.
We have been bought with the shed blood of Christ. He alone dispatches directives, mandates, laws that we are duty bound to adhere to … even, if necessarily, that means we stand in contradiction as Recusants regarding our country’s laws.
Sound a little too drastic?
Ever heard of the The Revolutionary War? It sounds to me like they already knew themselves to be Recusant.
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Our Heavenly Father didn’t give us two sets of rules/laws to follow. His rules/laws always reign supreme over man’s laws when they are in violation of the One who made this world. God determines, by right of creation, what is law and what is not law. End of discussion.
My point is that it’s OK to be Recusant. In doing so you are not being rebellious, regardless of what others say to the contrary. Don’t fall prey to that line of manipulation any longer.
We, in fact, are Recusant.
And …
We are because we hold to a Higher Authority that operates under a different set of Laws.
And …
We are duty bound to stand in opposition (be RECUSANT) to ANYTHING that seeks to overrule or mitigate God’s authority and Word.
When someone opposes God and His Word, they are attempting to dethrone God and Deify themselves. They are turning themselves into little gods just like Genesis told us at the very beginning would happen when a path of disobedience is chosen.
I’ll close with this.
Genesis 3
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.