What a Week, Huh?

I have been told I have a prophet's heart, which is a nice way of saying I am a pessimist.

But I am not a pessimist for the sake of being a bringer of doom and gloom.

I have spent most of my adult life studying the Holocaust.  Germany was one of the most liberal in terms of laws in Europe regarding the Jews.  If any nation was going to turn on them, many Jews thought it would be France.  They would have been shocked if you had told them that not only Germany would repudiate them but would build places whose sole purpose was to murder them.

It's hard not to be a pessimist when you are a history nerd like me.  Human beings don't fundamentally change from age to age, and to think we are enlightened, as compared to everyone else who has gone before us, is arrogant and prideful, and looking for a fall. 

I am studying Bible history, and exploring the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah.  I am looking at their leadership and wondering if we can draw any lessons from what the Bible says about them. The kings of Judah and Israel, who did "evil in the sight of the Lord" were constantly reminded by God's prophets what God expected of them and how to live a life that reflected Him. The kings and the priests had the Mosaic Law that left no societal or personal stone unturned as to what to do and how to live as God's chosen people. 

The kings' response to the prophets? Ignore them.  Persecute them. Try to kill them. Why?  The prophets reminded them in no uncertain terms that God knew exactly what they were doing, and how they were leading His people astray.  

God always wants to bless, rather than judge.  But when people and their leaders are constantly disobedient and God's decrees are violated, He will respond. 

What were the leaders and the people doing?  Compromising what God had set their nation aside to do:  To be a blessing to the nations around them.  What did the leaders do?  They mixed the worship of the one true God with the local gods, built temples to them or allow the places of worship that were already there to remain.

In other words, they started looking a lot like their neighbors. 

They led the people into thinking that some how, some way, Yahweh's prohibition against idolatry, polytheism and depravity were not all that bad.  The leaders compromised their covenantal mission and encouraged their people to follow along. The people enjoyed their freedom to sin, with their leaders' approval and the leaders enjoyed their freedom to sin because they had the support of the people.

Was everyone joining in?  No.  I am sure many Jews looked in horror at the rampant idolatry and sin that accompanied it, and walked away, not wanting to displease Yahweh. 

God promised over and over to restore His errant people if they sought Him: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

The hope of God's mercy was always there: 

    "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
    therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
    For the Lord is a God of justice.
    Blessed are all who wait for him!" (Is. 30:18)

When we seek the Lord, He is quick to receive us as we confess our sins.  

That is true for a nation as well.

So why was I pessimistic?  I assumed we had gone too far down the road of disobedience.  Or that the whole democratic process would be subverted and the people's voice would be silenced by political abuse of our system. In other words, we would never see a legitimate election in this country again.

And here we are. 

But we must consider:  

    "Praise the Lord.

    Praise the Lord, my soul.
    I will praise the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
    Do not put your trust in princes,
    in human beings, who cannot save.
    When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.
    Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God." (Ps. 146:1-5)

We, as individuals, must search our hearts, and ask where we have contributed to the decline of the nation. God is always ready to cleanse and forgive, for that is always His desire for His people: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) 

Jeremiah also warns us against placing our trust in leaders and not in the Lord:

    "This is what the Lord says:
    'Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
    who rely on human strength
    and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
    They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
    with no hope for the future.
    They will live in the barren wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salty land.

    But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
    and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
    They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
    with roots that reach deep into the water.
    Such trees are not bothered by the heat
    or worried by long months of drought.
    Their leaves stay green,
    and they never stop producing fruit.

    The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
    and desperately wicked.
    Who really knows how bad it is?
    But I, the Lord, search all hearts
    and examine secret motives.
    I give all people their due rewards,
    according to what their actions deserve.'” (17:5-10) 

Yes.

We may breathe a sign of relief for the change in the White House. But we are to look to the Lord for His restoration in our nation and in ourselves.

We must not think that compromise with the world's values is somehow acceptable; you must ask the Holy Spirit, every day, "How can I reflect Jesus today?"

Revival.

Renewal.

Restoration.

Repentance.

That is what we all need.

That is what our nation needs.

We are at a crossroads in this country. If we go for what is acceptable, easy and not in line with His Word, we can expect the same reaction God had with His chosen people.

This country will be unrecognizable in ten years if we choose poorly.