Through the inspiration of God, King Solomon, one of the wisest men to ever live, wrote this:

There is nothing new under the sun.
~Ecclesiastes 1:9

In our humanness, we seem to never learn from others’ mistakes. We somehow think “it will be different this time.” Indeed, there is nothing new under the sun. We simply continue to repeat what has not worked well for those who came before.

Over and over in the book of Judges the Israelites drifted from God’s commands, only to meet with tragedy and hardship. The Lord’s mercy and grace drew them back into obedience, yet the entire cycle repeated itself over and over throughout all generations.

Fast forward to today and we have all kinds of examples in which we repeat the foibles of those who came before us. For example, though Hitler came very close to eliminating the Jewish people, we turn a blind eye to the same blatant antisemitism that marked the beginning days of Hitler’s reign of terror.

Those in the West seem to miss the significance of such atrocities perpetrated by an evil regime. I dare say we are witnessing it again in a different realm. Just as Hitler’s ideology slid into European culture and targeted the Jews, social justice wrapped in Islamic ideology is sliding into both Europe and America. In fact, some say Europe is already lost. Islam has taken over, and radical Islamists have now sunken their claws into America. Consider…

It was once called an “Islamic Revolution.” Today it’s called “social justice.” The resemblance between Khomeini and Mamdani is not accidental – it is strategic. In 1979, Khomeini promised: Free electricity, free water, justice for the poor, and a fight against corruption. In 2026, Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, promises: Free housing, free transportation, social justice, and a fight against the “rich.” The same method. Selling a young generation a utopia wrapped in the word “free.” Khomeini used the Iranian left to rise to power – and then eliminated it. Mamdani is using the woke generation to take over the city. This is exactly the “red–green alliance”: An extreme ideology disguised as social progress. Back in 1979, Western intellectuals were convinced that Khomeini was bringing “liberation.” In Iran, they realized the mistake only when it was too late. History does not always repeat itself in the same way. Sometimes it simply changes its language, slogans, and target audience. And the question is not whether New York will become Tehran. The question is why the West keeps falling in love with the same ideological mechanisms – each time in a new package. (Idit Bar)

History does have a way of repeating itself, and just as King Solomon declared, there is nothing new under the sun. Yet just as God answers in ways we do not expect (see yesterday’s post), our enemies (both real and spiritual) bring about similar results in ways we do not expect. History repeats, but in different ways.

Same song, second verse.

Do we really “keep falling in love with the same ideological mechanisms” wrapped in new packages? Or do we simply fail to acknowledge and yield to God’s sovereign will and guidance? The Israelites would not have repeated the cycle of rebellion, hardship, return had they simply followed the One who promised to lead them.

Is it any different for us? Must we always recommit the same mistakes of generations past? To avoid doing so requires our utmost commitment to God and His Word. So, here is an idea: What if we all commit to spend at least 30 minutes per day in God’s Word, seeking His will? Would it make a difference? I suspect it would.

Will you give it a try?