It can be truly disheartening to watch the wholesale rejection of God by the nations of the world, and especially by those that have been blessed by Him. The mainstream news media only seems to offer ridicule to religiously founded positions. On rare occasion, the leaders of our nations today may offer lip service to Christian ideals, but in practice they extend even greater privilege and glory to the contrary. Quite simply, we are witnessing godly virtue become expunged from public policy and social sentiment more and more.
All of these are generalized statements, and there are exceptions, but the direction that we see the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth take is a path away from God. And the momentum is only picking up. Only a few people today understand the lineage of these nations, that many of them descend from the House of Israel, and that the blessings they have enjoyed over the past centuries are from God. Instead of acknowledging these facts and glorifying Him in conduct, we see those blessings taken for granted and God’s ways rejected.
Isaiah 65:2 states God’s perspective, “I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; A people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face….” God has been generous to His people, the descendants of the House of Israel, but the thanks offered in return is void and insulting. When the laws of the land begin to contradict the laws of God, and when sin is glorified as righteousness, we don’t need to wonder how God will respond; it is plainly apparent in our present day. I’m afraid that we are in the midst of witnessing God’s patience run thin, and along with that, the withdrawal of His protection. The United Kingdom and British Commonwealth have lost their mighty strength and imperial rule that they once had. The United States of America is quickly losing the respect from other nations around the world, and with it the economic and political dominance it once had. These are things that we can personally bear witness of today. When the good ways of God are considered evil by people (compare Isaiah 5:20), He will respond.
The most sobering warnings to God’s people are written down for us in the Bible beginning with the ominous statement, “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you” (Deuteronomy 28:15). What follows this conditional warning is a very vivid description of blessings and protection being withdrawn, violence, curses, captivity, and other horrible effects of disobedience. When reading through the description of what is promised by God when there is a failure to obey God’s commandments, it doesn’t take much imagination to apply some of the curses mentioned to the nations descended from the House of Israel today. What is even more frightening is the realization that there are terrible curses that are promised that have not yet been made manifest. As people turn further away from God, He will turn further away from them, and replace curses for the blessings once granted. The worst curses are yet to come.
In thinking about the warnings of curses for turning from God, it is very easy to point a finger at “them” and not apply the same warnings to ourselves. However, we can’t fall into the trap of complacency. The fact remains that we live in this world right now and that we can easily become influenced by popular opinion of our society. We all need to ask ourselves if we are able to stand up for God even when we may face ridicule, humiliation, and persecution as a result. Even when the nation that we live in may rebel against God, a promise of protection remains for individuals who are able to keep their faith intact and not deny God. While we are assured of tough times ahead as God’s plan unfolds, there remains a crown of life for those who are able to endure (compare James 1:12).
