national sin

Persistent Unfaithfulness

What an unpopular subject! Warning a nation that has run amok:

Thus says the Lord God: “Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.” ~ Ezekiel 14:6b NKJV
“The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: “Son of Man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it…” ~ Ezekiel 14:12-13 NKJV
“And I will set My face against them. They will go out from one fire, but another fire shall devour them. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them. Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,” says the Lord God. ~ Ezekiel 15:7-8 NKJV

No matter how much God loved His people, Israel, He eventually had to turn them over to their own depraved lusts and rebellious minds.

What about America?  Does any of this apply to our nation?  Despite what is currently taught in our public schools and universities, I believe our nation was founded on the same Biblical laws set down by Almighty God for His covenant people, the Israelites.  As long as our people held God in esteem as a nation, I believe we were blessed with God’s favor on many fronts; plentiful natural resources, educational and technological advancements, wars won, and a per capita quality of life that leads the world.  Our Constitution and Bill of Rights guarantee individual freedoms (including religious freedoms) that are second to none.  Many nations around the globe have copied our national model.

So why, after this much blessing, does our nation turn its back on God?  Just look at the ancient history of Israel for the answer.  It is all there in the Old Testament.  Israel turned away from God to worship idols and practiced abominable acts such as child sacrifice to those idols.  Legalized abortion in the United States is just as abominable or more so in the sight of God.  Our abortion laws have caused more loss of life than Israel’s child sacrifice to the idol Molech in ancient times – over 60 million since 1973 Roe vs. Wade, according to U.S. Abortion Clock.org.

Don’t be deceived.  God doesn’t change.  He pleads with His children to repent and turn back to Him before it is too late.  Now is the time to repent as a nation and humbly seek forgiveness.  This requires a change of heart at the leadership level.  Yes, God punishes the people of a rebellious nation by the actions of its leaders.

Take 1 Chronicles, Chapter 21 for example: King David decided to take a census of all of his subjects (actually, just the men).  This angered the LORD, who gave David three choices of punishments.  David chose what he must have thought was the lesser, of three days of death across the land.  God sent a plague that killed 70,000 Israelites.  God showed mercy and stopped His angel of death just prior to wiping out the City of Jerusalem in order to give David a chance to repent.

How many chances has He given us?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

Otherwise, according to Wisdom in Proverbs 1:27b-30:

“When distress and anguish come upon you, then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD, They would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke.” ~ NKJV
Image

National Righteousness versus Sin

American culture seems to have changed a lot in the past fifty years or so.  The word “righteousness” may not even be in the vocabulary of some people, although the word “sin” is well understood.  So what is meant by “righteousness versus sin”?

As always, we turn to God’s Word for wisdom.  What does it say about righteousness anyway?  Let’s take a look:

Righteousness is translated from the Hebrew word “tsdaqah”, which means justice, morality, or virtue.

And he believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness. ~Genesis 15:6

In the Bible (KJV) the word sin is translated from the Hebrew word “chatta’ah”, which means offense.

So what is Proverbs 14:34 telling us?  A country is respected when its culture and laws are based on fairness, rightness, and morals.  Other nations notice and seek alliances with such a people.  God has blessed America with wealth and prestige since this nation was founded on a constitution that honors God’s laws.

So what has happened?  Where are we now as a people?  What is our crime rate?  What is our global reputation?  Is the United States of American respected around the world?  We were once a great world power, but that has weakened in recent years.  Why?

Could national sin be a factor, and should we heed the warning in Proverbs 14:34?  Much could be said about moral decline in our country, yet God’s Word says “for ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God”.  Since God Himself is righteous, and we were created in His image to be righteous (or like Him), there seems to be a big problem with “falling short of glory” (caused by our sin).

Faith without works is dead. ~James 2:20.  What does that mean?  To me, it means we are to live our faith as a lifestyle.  Americans have and still do send aid, the gospel, military support and much much more to the entire world.  Isn’t that works?  What is our true calling as a nation?  I have heard one minister state that God calls each person to serve Him in some way, but if a believer does not respond, over time God sets that person aside to live out a self-centered life.  God’s blessings are withheld accordingly.

Does God also “set aside” nations who turn from Him?  That is a chilling thought, but I wonder if America is not coming under judgment at this time.  Our nation is declining so rapidly since 911, I am convinced that the solution is not political, but spiritual.  We are so concerned about “political correctness” yet things just seem to get worse for our nation.  What used to be called right is now wrong, and vice versa.

Where is our righteousness as a people?  I pray for our national heart to change toward God instead of away from God, so our nation will not be a reproach, or covered in shame; may we then be described this way:

And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.  In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. ~Isaiah 54:13-14