The United States of America was once the most powerful nation among nations, including China and Russia. We grew richer and more productive year after year, taking it all for granted. We were known as a Christian nation and our God was questioned by only a few who didn't know God or didn't want to acknowledge He exists. Some blamed Him for all the wrongs in the world. Other gods became acceptable over time. Now they have established themselves and compete with the one true God for position. God is a jealous God and has never allowed other gods to take His place nor will He ever. Therefore, our nation is in a precarious state of impending division. At worst, it could be conquered by another nation. Or the nation could divide, such as what King Solomon caused after allowing the gods of his many wives to be worshiped in the kingdom. (I Kings 11-12) We think that can't happen to us since it hasn't happened to us before, but the Bible speaks otherwise.
Below are verses that indicate how the Lord feels about nations that disobey Him or abandon Him. Even though some of the verses apply to a certain nation, the same concepts apply to our nation and other nations.
“Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, and don't beg me to help them, for I will not listen to you. Jeremiah 7:16
...and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. Jeremiah 18:8
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine... Exodus 19:5
And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. Leviticus 18:28
But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations. Leviticus 20:24
You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. Leviticus 20:26
What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? Deuteronomy 4:7
You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” Deuteronomy 7:17
Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 8:20
After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Deuteronomy 9:4-5
...and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” Deuteronomy 12:30
For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you. Deuteronomy 15:6
When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Deuteronomy 18:9 (This pertains to entering another nation.)
He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised. Deuteronomy 26:19
If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. Deuteronomy 28:1
The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. Deuteronomy 28:12
Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. Deuteronomy 28:32
The Lord will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. Deuteronomy 28:36
The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. Deuteronomy 28:49-50
Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. Deuteronomy 28:65
Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison. Deuteronomy 29:18
They are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in them. Deuteronomy 32:28
You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you. Joshua 23:3
Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. Joshua 23:7
“The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. Joshua 23:9
He is the God who avenges me, who puts the nations under me... 2 Samuel 22:48
Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name. 2 Samuel 22:50
At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that aroused the Lord’s anger. 2 Kings 17:11 (Idols were erected on high places and the people worshiped them, which made God very angry.)
They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.” 2 Kings 17:15
They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought. 2 Kings 17:33
Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 1 Chronicles 16:8
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. 1 Chronicles 16:24
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” 1 Chronicles 16:31
One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. 2 Chronicles 15:6
He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them. Job 12:23
But if he remains silent, who can condemn him? If he hides his face, who can see him? Yet he is over individual and nation alike... Job 34:29
The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God. Psalm 9:17
Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence. Psalm 9:19
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. Psalm 22:27-28
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. Psalm 33:12
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. Psalm 47:1
God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. Psalm 47:8
He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations— let not the rebellious rise up against him. Psalm 66:7
May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth. Psalm 67:4
May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him. Psalm 72:11
May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. Then all nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed. Psalm 72:17
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. Ps. 33:12
For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure. Prov. 11:14
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. Prov. 14:34
For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Isa. 58:2-3
For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined. Isa. 60:12
And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, 'As surely as the LORD lives'--even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal--then they will be established among my people. But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it," declares the LORD. Jer. 12:
...if my people, who are called by my name, will 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. II Chron. 7:14
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The Fourth of July is the day we celebrate our independence. But "independence" does not mean we stand alone and answer to no other authority. We have stood as "one nation under God" for over 200 years--but that is rapidly changing.
The First Amendment has been newly interpreted to mean that there is a wall of separation between church and state. The First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Neither "wall," "church," "separation," nor "state" are mentioned. The intent was that Congress should stay out of church affairs.
The "wall of separation between church and state" phrase was actually penned by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the Danville Baptists to let them know that no particular doctrine would dominate.
God's intent was never that church and "state" be divided. We have only to look to scriptures such as those above to see God's view. God does not want to be left out of any part of our lives.
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Below is an appropriate warning for the state of our nation today. It is taken from Deuteronomy 28:44-50. We too are turning away from God -- no relationship, no obedience, only indifference, apathy, or even contempt.
"The foreigners who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. 44 They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, but you will be the tail. 45 All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. 46 They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. 47 Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, 48 therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. 49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. Deut. 28" Does this apply to our nation too? We're on the edge of all of this coming true.
Verses were from NIV Bible and were compiled and comments were made by Becky Wall
beckyowall.blogspot.com
