There can be no doubt that our nation has been
providentially blessed by God, which historically has been recognized by most
of its citizens.
In his
"Proclamation of National Thanksgiving" in 1789, President George Washington
wrote that "it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of
Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to
implore his protection and favor."
From the
beginning, our nation recognized God's power and sought for His blessings. Only agenda-driven revisionist historians
attempt to deny this as part of America's heritage.
In recent generations, acknowledgement of God and His
blessings has become less common in our nation, and many have utterly rejected
God.In many ways, this nation has come
to resemble the people of Israel during the period of the judges.
The people of
Israel had been tremendously blessed by God with a good, rich land, but they
soon forgot the Lord and suffered for it.
Likewise, God has
blessed us with liberty and prosperity, but our nation is quickly forgetting
Him.
THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES
Before Israel could receive the promised land of
Canaan, the faithless generation of the exodus from Egypt had to pass away, and
a new generation had to arise.
From the time they
left Egypt, Israel complained and tried the Lord repeatedly.At Kadesh, the faithless generation rebelled
against God and sealed their fate.
Israel believed the testimony of the ten spies who
said that they would not be able to defeat the people of Canaan (Num.
13:25-14:10).They did not trust God.
God prepared to destroy Israel and start anew with
Moses, but Moses interceded, and God relented (Num. 14:11-21).
God pronounced
the punishment for that faithless generation (all people age twenty and older --
Num. 14:28-29) in Numbers 14:22-23:
22"Surely
all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and
in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not
listened to My voice, 23shall by no means see the land which I swore
to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it."
The promised land
was reserved by God for the new generation of Israel.
God foretold this to the faithless generation in Numbers
14:30-32:
30"Surely
you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb
the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.31Your children, however, whom you said would become a prey --
I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected.32But as for you, your corpses
will fall in this wilderness."
After forty years of wandering, all of that faithless
generation died.Not a single man from
that generation, except for Caleb and Joshua, entered the promised land (Num.
26:64-65).
When the generation that conquered Canaan died,
another faithless generation arose.
It only took one
generation for Israel to forget the Lord.Notice Judges 2:10:
All that generation also were gathered to their
fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the
LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.
Faithlessness characterized
Israel during the period of the judges, and the people suffered tremendously
because of it.
A summary of this period of history is given in Judges
2:11-19.These generations became
progressively worse as they acted "more corruptly than their fathers" (v. 19).
Time and time again, "the anger of the LORD burned
against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered
them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that
they could no longer stand before their enemies" (Judg. 2:14).
The people of
this time would not govern themselves by God's law.In Judges 21:25, the book closes by saying, "In
those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own
eyes."
OUR GENERATION
We live in a time of moral and spiritual decline due
to ignorance of God and His word.
Surveys show that
biblical beliefs are in decline while unbiblical beliefs are becoming more
common (ref. Harris Poll from Dec. 16, 2013).
Fewer Americans
have a biblical worldview than ever before.Consider what this means.
A biblical worldview is more than just a claim of
belief in the Bible.It is a view that
sees the world according to the Bible's teachings.
A person with a biblical worldview understands that
the world's problems are caused by sin and its solutions are found in Christ
and God's word.
Very few
Americans hold such a worldview.Even
those who claim to believe in the Bible often do so superficially and do not
know what the Scriptures teach.
This decline is
the result of years of neglected Bible studies.
Individuals, parents, and families neglected their
studies and depended on others (churches, schools, etc.) to teach them and
their children.
Many churches did not teach the truth of God's word,
and the government banned the Bible from public schools.As a result, people have become ignorant of
the Bible, and they believe in the false teachings of popular media and
government schools.
From this trend
has arisen a generation who does not know God, and the results are predictable.
The historical pattern of Romans 1:18-32 is unfolding
again.Because men "did not see fit to
acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those
things which are not proper" (v. 28).
This can be seen in the expected rise of godlessness
and immorality in our culture.
Because of this moral and spiritual decline, our
nation is likely to enter into a period of hardship.
The word of God
is irresistible, and it teaches certain laws about the nations.Notice two passages:
Psalm 9:17 -- The wicked will return to Sheol, even all
the nations who forget God.
Proverbs 14:34 -- Righteousness exalts a nation, but
sin is a disgrace to any people.
As a nation that
is forgetting God and rejecting righteousness, these laws portend hardship for
us.
Typically, such hardship comes in the form of war,
poverty, famine, or disease.We may be
seeing some of this unfolding already.
This hardship may be a blessing to our nation, for it
may turn the nation back toward God just as hardship often turned Israel.However, it may destroy our nation instead.
As Christians, we need to prepare ourselves and our
families for anything that may come.
As the people of
God in Christ, we must know the Lord (Heb. 8:11), and we must faithfully
understand what is happening to the nation around us (Hos. 4:6).
Let us always be
protectors and proponents of the word of God (2Tim. 1:13-14; 2:15; 3:14-4:5).
Let us pray for
the nation (2Chron. 7:14) and its governing authorities so that we may live
tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity (1Tim. 2:1-2).
Let us not be
worried about our welfare, but instead let us seek first the kingdom of God and
His righteousness, knowing that He will provide for our needs (Matt. 6:33-34).
Let us heed the
commandment of Philippians 2:14-15, which says,
14Do all
things without grumbling or disputing; 15that you may prove
yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the
midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in
the world.
Indeed, as the
nation descends into darkness, our light must shine even brighter (Matt.
5:14-16; 1Pet. 2:11-12).Let us not be
pulled down by the influence of godlessness around us.
No matter how
small of a minority true Christians become, we must stand with God by His
truth.
Romans 3:4 -- Let God be found true, though every man
be found a liar.
2Timothy 3:13-14 -- 13But evil men and
impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.14You, however, continue in the
things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have
learned them.
CONCLUSION
Regardless of what become of this nation, God does not
change (Heb. 13:8; Jas. 1:17)."If we
are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself" (2Tim. 2:13).
This generation of our nation may not know the Lord,
but may we as Christians always know the Lord and trust His word.