The period in Scripture known as the
time of the Judges was one of the saddest in Biblical history. It began with
the death of Joshua and the elders who served with him. It ended with Israel at
her one of her lowest points spiritually. Between those two places, the
children of Israel began a downward spiral that included times of closeness
with and obedience to God and His Word that was accompanied by the leadership
of a judge followed by outright idolatry and rebellion after the judge had
died. With each act of defiance God would seek them out, calling His people to
repentance, but after receiving only indifference and spite in return, the Lord
would turn them over to an oppressive nation for discipline and punishment for
their sins. Each successive instance proved longer and more detrimental to His
people, yet they still continued to rebel against the Lord. I encourage you to
read the book of Judges, especially chapters 1-16 for verification.
Like Israel, there can be no doubt
that our nation has sinned against the Lord who brought us into being as a people.
We have turned our backs on Him as sure as the sun rises to proclaim a new day
each morning. Our laws capriciously deny life to those to whom He has given it
and give liberty to sin to those whom He has called specifically to repentance.
In so doing, we find no shame in mocking His holiness and His people, those
called by His Name, sit idly by and watch these things being done while voicing
little, if any, opposition. We are so divided as to not make any difference if
we chose to make ourselves be known. Our concern lies more in mansions for
worship, mansions for homes or mansions in heaven. We care little for the truth
of God’s Word and taking our stand upon it so that the world will know what is
right, what is wrong and Who we represent. Because of our complacency, our
nation is in peril, spiritual and otherwise. We must awaken from our slumber.
` Typically, we assume that in viewing
parallels of principles from the Scriptures, as in the book of Judges, we must
look for some outside enemy to invade our shores or attack from the air. In
this case, we would quickly join together and mount a defense. However, we have
yet to see that our enemy has already attacked us on several fronts and we have
not even risen from our seats to cry out in defiance. Our economy is in
shambles. Our unemployment rate is uncharacteristically high and has been for
years. Our military resources are stretched extremely thin. Our government
continually wants to grow and become more and more our Savior in all areas of
life. Many of our churches are more concerned about competition with other
churches to see who can have the most attendees and offer the biggest programs,
rather than investing themselves in the lives of others for the sake of Christ
and His Gospel. The combination of all of these factors is resulting in a
nation devoid of spiritual and moral direction, ripe for the arrival of someone
who will promise redemption and hope but who will bring only oppression and
pain. That day, a day like those experienced by the Judges, may well be upon us
already.
If this be so, what then can we who
really believe and serve Christ do? First of all, we must not lose hope. The
nation that was founded by Christians, though post-Christian it may be at
present, still has the opportunity to repent and return to the Lord who brought
her into being initially and who can redeem her if her people, especially God’s
people within her, are willing to do so. Secondly, we should “pray and seek His face and turn from our
wicked ways…” as according to II Chronicles 7:14. We need to look into our
own lives, asking God to forgive our sins of omission and commission so that we
can be clean enough to see the way ahead and respond to His direction without
hesitation even as we pray diligently for His leadership. Thirdly, we should
not be afraid to share and “speak truth” (rf. Ephesians 4:25) with love, even
as we live it before the eyes of an unbelieving nation. After all, Jesus said
that we are “the salt of the earth, the
light of the world”; as such, we have a responsibility to discharge in
disclosing plainly through life and lips the reality and truth of Scriptural
knowledge and action.
If we follow such a path, who knows
but that we as believers in Christ might yet redeem our nation. T’would be a
great blessing to see the God of mercy move in the midst of this people once
again to save many of her number. However, we must take Him seriously enough in
reference to the warnings He has already given us and take action to repent,
pray and begin living as becomes our Lord and Savior, our Standard-Bearer,
Jesus Christ. Then, maybe, just maybe, the greatest days of our nation may yet
be ahead of her.
