Detroit Riots of 1967

Winston Churchill said in a speech in 1948, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

While we were in the thickets of the roits, there was a nightly curfew. You could not go outside after a certain hour. I remember one particular day, my neighbor, about three houses down the street, yells out the door, “They’re getting ready to turn off the water.” My mother ran into the house and started filling up pots and bowls with water. The city never did turn off the water.

Much has been written about the causes of the riots that took place in the summer of 1967. When something like this happens, people focus on external reasons and neglect the spiritual root causes.

We have to look much deeper than racism. We have to look much deeper than the plain causes for the roits. There is plenty of blame on all sides.

We have to consider the spiritual climate of the city, the state, the nation, and the world in 1967. The war in Vietnam was raging. We were in the middle of a sexual revolution. The drug warfare in the inner cities was tearing up families and communities. Racial tension was ripping the nation apart.

We have to go back and look at how God created the system. God created the system to operate from the inside out. In other words, in Genesis 2:7, God formed Adam’s body from the dust of the ground. Then he breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and man became a living soul. The miracle of creation, as far as Adam is concerned, came after he was formed from the dust of the ground.

When God breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, that was when the miracle occurred.

The Garden of Eden was set up on the same principles. A river flowed out of Eden, the city of God, into the garden of Eden to water it. The spiritual flows into the natural.

One river flowed out of the city of Eden into the garden where Adam was situated. The river became four fountains that flowed into the earth. Genesis 2:10, says

“And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.”

These four fountains became four rivers and flowed into the earth. So you have the city (community) of Eden River flowing into the garden of God. It was designed to water the earth.

You have one community (heaven) watering another community (earth)

The spiritual condition of a community always flows into their natural physical environment.

The river was cut off in the days Adam because of sin. The earth began to experience famines and natural disasters.

We see examples of the river of Eden flowing in various places throughout the Old Testament. The Old Testament is a prophetic shadow picture of God’s creation and future plans. For example, the apostle Paul made reference to the river flowing to the Israelites in the wilderness, 1 Corinthians 10:2-4,

“And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”

The river was restored on the day of Pentecost, Jesus received the promise of the Father and poured him out, the Spirit of Life, Acts 2:33.

Jesus said in John 7:37-38, those that on him out of their innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. In verse 39, the Bible says,

“(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet gloified.)” (KJV)

Again, Ephesians 1:3, the apostle Paul says, ‘We have been BLESSED with all spiritual BLESSING of heavenly place.’

We have 4000 years of human history in the Old Testament of the Bible. We have 2000 years of human history since the New Testament was written.

When the wrong sacrifice is made; a door is opened for Satan to come in and destroy.

Adam ate the forbidden fruit. This fruit was his sacrifice. This act if disobedience opened the door to the knowledge of good and evil. Adam’s choice and action affect the next generation; his two sons, Cain and Abel.

Notice how God dealt with this situation before Cain killed his brother Abel:

“And the LORD said unto Cain, why art wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou does not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shall rule over him.” Genesis 4:5-7

Cain persisted in the old order of the sacrifice of fruit. Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice by which he obtained a witness that was righteous (Hebrews 11:4).

Abel prospered because he had the blessings of heaven upon his natrual physical land.

Cain didn’t enjoy that same range of blessing, and he became depressed and angry. God spoke to Cain and told him what to do. God said, ‘If you want excellent, if you want my blessings, you must offer the right offering.’

At this point, people often miss it. They do not take into consideration that man was created for partnership. He is not an independent agent. Man functions under a contract, of which is called a covenant.

Jesus offers eternal life based on the New Testament, a new covenant, a new contract.

“And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Matthew 26:27-28

If any man is or was ever an independent agent, God could NOT legally hold him accountable for his choices. Noah and his family were saved from the flood that destroyed all life on earth based on the grace of God! See Genesis 5:29

Noah preached for 100 years while he was constructing the Ark until the day it started to rain. God shut Noah into the ark and would not open it.God started over with a covenant with Noah and his family, Genesis 9:8-9

I would like to take a deeper dive in the 1967 rebellion. People who are angry and disconnected from God, as was Cain, oftentimes time infect others with their negativity. I wonder to this day what happened to those people who threw rocks at the police cars and incited violence! Their actions caused innocent people to become victims of violence.

The seeds that were sown that summer night in July 1967 have reaped continuous harvests to this day.

Grace & peace!