A Nation Without God

Just looking at that title, you can automatically assume I must be talking about America right? I mean when you look at the state of this nation and where we have left God, it is no wonder we are seeing what is happening all around us. We shouldn't be at all shocked. Yet you need to realize that God causes nations to come and go. We can become blind to that fact because we are only as a dot on the time line of human history.

Think about the nation of Egypt. I can only imagine that those Egyptians who sat in Egypt so long ago, looking around at all that they had, could imagine that someday their great empire would be nothing but a dusty, arid destination for archaeologists. It is not the power it once was. It's barely surviving.

Look at the Babylonian Empire with all its great engineering and advances in technology. Where is it now? It doesn't exist. What about the Medo-Persian Empire? The Greecian Empire? What about the Roman Empire? The Roman Empire, who looked back in history and "lifted" what was useful from all the other empires of the world to create a super-power that prior to Rome, the world had never seen. Where is that now? It broke off into fragmented pieces.

Amazing enough, with the ebb and flow of these great kingdoms, Israel had endured them all. Israel remained. And it wasn't until the Roman Empire neared its breakup, that Israel and the Jews were displaced throughout the world. Yet, as a people, they stayed one throughout the world. They never ceased to be a people even though they didn't have a homeland again until 1948.

There are only really two nations that stand out in history in total contrast to all others. Israel, the Lord's land and people, and America. A nation whose desire was to be established and developed solely for the glory of God, based upon the desire to worship the Lord freely and to be governed by righteousness.

So much so was that true that President Abraham Lincoln said that "America is a Christian nation." Because both America and Israel have been established for God, there are similarities, parallels, that help us to see ourselves. But please, make no mistake about it, America is not spiritual Israel, and the church is not the Spiritual Jews as some replacement theology might have you believe.

I believe that in the end, America's place in history will be seen as a covering piece, a banner, a soldier alongside a burgeoning Israel. Chapter 2 in the Book of Judges is a teaching overview if you will, a reminder and a rebuke, about learning from our past.

Christians in this nation, need to rise up, wake up, like Israel did and repent. Maybe what we are seeing in this great nation, one that has clearly forgotten and removed God, will once again be blessed when it remembers God and repents. What we are seeing now is the result or end product of what happens when you take God out of the picture and let man attempt to self govern. We need to remember that God is always in control. As long as American walks with God, it will be blessed. When it disobeys, God will administer discipline.

One nation under God? Are we really?

"In God We Trust" is printed on our currency, but do we still trust in God?

A nation is created for a purpose.

Genesis 12:1-3 ~ "Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

God established Israel to fulfill His plans.

Judges 2:1-2a ~ "Then the Angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: "I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, "I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars."

God creates nations for His own purposes. That is His sovereign right. When we see this reference, "Angel of the LORD" this is a Christophany or a preincarnate appearance of Jesus Christ before He was born. No angel can swear or make covenants and we see this reference through the Old Testament.

The reference of Gilgal to give you some background is when the nation of Israel crossed over the Jordan and this was the first camping site. It is where the covenant with God was renewed by Joshua.

Psalm 33:11-12 ~ "The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance."

A nation created for a purpose is a people that must answer to Him.

Judges 2:2b-5 ~ "But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? Therefore I also said, "I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you." So it was, when the Angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept. Then they called the name of that place Bochim,; and they sacrificed there to the LORD."

This has great meaning to us in America today. Notice that Israel simply wept, they did not repent. They didn't drive their enemies out of their land. They let their enemies live among them. Sound familiar?

God could do anything in a moment. He could have fixed Israel's issue in a snap of His fingers. He didn't do that. They didn't obey God. Their enemies would now be problems in their own borders. Instead of Israel repenting, they simply cried, not because they were sorry, but because they were caught. It's not in their heart.

We must answer to the Lord, as believers. Nations must answer to the Lord. Israel will answer to God. When nations honor God, they are blessed. Some are still living off of residual blessings.

Judges 2:6-9 ~ "And when Joshua had dismissed the people, the children of Israel went teach to his own inheritance to possess the land. So the people served the LORD all of days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD which He had done for Israel. Now Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died when he was one hundred and ten years old. And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath-Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash."

Luke 12:48b ~ "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him the more will be asked."

The Lord is more involved than you might think. I believe the Bible teaches us that the Lord is extremely involved in geopolitical activities. We know that Satan is very much concerned about nations, leaders and powers. We see this being played out right before your eyes. It is any wonder we are seeing the events that have been spiraling out of control in this nation and getting much much worse?

God didn't turn His back on us. This is what a world looks like when we turn our backs on God.