“Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.” Jeremiah 21:2
When sung with reverence, there are few songs that stir the soul like “God Bless America.” It seems to be an important medium to convey that our success as a nation has been due to Divine blessings. We are thus reminded that for continued blessings, we must meet Divine expectations.
At patriotic events, there are still those who call for God’s favor and blessing, in view of the enormity of the challenges facing our nation. Many of those calls are from sincere-hearted patriots. Some follow the pattern of Zedekiah, who habitually ignored God’s Word, but when faced with Nebuchadrezzar’s army that he could not defeat, called upon Jeremiah to pray to God, that God would bless the kingdom with His wondrous works to cause Nebuchadrezzar to depart from them.
But instead of Jeremiah being able to say, “The Lord’s blessings are on the way,” he had to deliver the message from God: “And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.” Jeremiah 21:5
Even though God’s judgment was thus announced, God revealed that His hand was stretched out still for Judah’s repentance: “Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.” Jeremiah 22:3
America needs to turn back to God, breaking off from her sins and abominations that provoke the wrath of God. I feel it is safe to say that judgment for our willful ignoring of God as Creator and the rejection of His Word, has been decreed against our nation, but that we are in a period of “longsuffering,” where “God’s hand is stretched out still,” even as we see the Nebuchadrezzars of our time moving against us. We cannot continue on as we are, without drastic consequences. The call of God to our nation going out all across the land, is the call to repentance.
God’s arm is not short that is cannot save. But sin and iniquity will separate between a nation and God. God spared not the angles that sinned. He sent the flood, He destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He spared not Israel. He will judge our nation. Who is on the Lord’s side?
SHARING
