“Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
“We learn from history that
we do not learn from history.” Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831)
“Those who do not learn from
history are doomed to repeat it.” George Santayana (1863-1952)
It amazes me, and many of you
I’m sure, how far this country (USA) has strayed from the one and only true God
she once confessed. Most of us have forgotten how blessed we have been, from
our inception to today.
Before I go any farther I do
want to be clear that our country and no other country are on an equal plane
with Israel when it comes to the “apple of His eye.” We are not Israel, and to
think we have replaced Israel is laughable. Israel is still God’s special
people and He has more discipline and blessings for them. One day, the entire
world will respect Israel.
“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall
come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations,
even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with
you: for we have heard that God is with you.” (Zechariah 8:23)
Now that I’ve made that
clear, I would like to say that it is most interesting when reading the Bible,
in particular God’s dealings with Israel, and notice that many of God’s
comments to Israel also fit us. I’m sure it has a lot to do with never learning
from history. Mankind seems to have a short memory.
Even though this country is
not special along the same lines as Israel, I do believe we are a country
originally founded by God for specific purposes; i.e. freedom to worship Him,
spreading His Gospel, and supporting Israel in these later years. God brought
people from Europe to these shores to provide a home for those who wanted to
worship Him in freedom. It is not coincidental that our Constitution has God’s
finger prints on it.
In establishing this country
not everyone was a believer in Jesus Christ of course, but most were believers
in Christ and most practiced it. As the years progressed, keeping in mind we
are a young country, Satan kept picking away at our relationship with God,
until today, one wonders, “What happened?!”
The Old Testament, as well as
the New Testament, is replete with passages that can be applied to us
individually and as a nation. By that I mean that the passage(s) in question
may not be directed to us specifically, but there is an application there for
us to learn.
My wife and I were reading in
the book of Jeremiah the other day and I kept noticing that while God was
talking to Judah specifically, He could have just as easily been looking to us
also. Keep in mind that just because God may be talking to someone else, it
doesn’t mean we take a break and leave them room. We are to examine ourselves,
asking, “How can I learn from this?” I will share just a very few Scripture
passages.
“I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit
and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance
detestable. The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who deal with
the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets
prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols.” (Jeremiah 2:7-8)
In our beginning as a country
God gave our founding fathers virgin territory for our homeland. Our country is
composed of many different types of topography. It has kept us, and the world
for that matter, fed. It has provided all the fuels we need. It has kept our
homeland out of world wars. It has provided all the water we need, and much
more.
Is it not true that we have
defiled this land by our rejection of our very inheritance from God? Do not
most of our clergy mock God by their words and their deeds? Isn’t it true that
our legal system has turned sour? And who can deny the rebellion of most of our
political leaders against the one true God of the Bible?
“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken
me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken
cisterns that cannot hold water.” (Jeremiah
2:13)
Without a doubt, we as a
nation have forsaken the “spring of living water,” which is the Lord Jesus
Christ. His words have been removed from the classroom, and any other place the
ACLU points their gnarly fingers. False religions have been accepted of course
and we just make up our own religion as we go … broken cisterns you might say.
“Long ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your
bonds; you said, ‘I will not serve you!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under
every spreading tree you lay down as a prostitute.
I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and
reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?
Although you wash yourself with soap and use an
abundance of cleansing powder, the stain of your guilt is still before me,” declares
the Sovereign LORD.” (Jeremiah
2:20-22)
Our rejection of God didn’t
just happen overnight. It has been building over time.
We started out, generally
speaking, with men who loved the Bible, respected it and tried to build their lives
around it, but gradually over the generations, each generation got lax, then
more lax.
From the 20th
century onward, we took a nosedive in corrupting ourselves before God. Every
vile thought known to man has been allowed to grow and flourish.
We started out with good
stock. Today we are so corrupt; the stain of sin cannot be washed off.
“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run
after the Baals’? See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have
done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there, a wild donkey
accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving— in her heat who can
restrain her? Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves; at mating
time they will find her.
Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is
dry. But you said, ‘It’s no use! I love foreign gods, and I must go after
them.’” (Jeremiah 2:23-25)
If God sent a prophet today
to point a finger at our politicians, the entertainment industry, the judicial
system, the educators, the religious crowds, etc. they would continue to confess
their love for other gods, and deny every word of accusation against them. They
would then call for a Senate hearing to condemn the prophet.
However, God says we’re like
a she-camel instinctively chasing a mate and like a wild donkey in heat,
sniffing the wind, looking for a mate. Their gods won’t have to chase her,
she’ll find them, and has done so. In other words, we are neck deep in
idolatry, but won’t admit it.
“They say to wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to stone,
‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to me and not their faces;
yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’
How skilled you are at pursuing love! Even the worst
of women can learn from your ways.
On your clothes is found the lifeblood of the innocent
poor, though you did not catch them breaking in. Yet in spite of all this you
say, ‘I am innocent; he is not angry with me.’ But I will pass judgment on you
because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’”
(Jeremiah 2:27, 33-35)
Continuing the theme of
idolatry, God says we worship everything but Him. However, when we’re in
trouble, we run to Him. Remember 9/11?
God continues by saying that
we excuse our sins but hold others guilty.
The Lord is telling us today,
“What has been will be again, what has
been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes
1:9)
The Old Testament is very
relevant to us today. We could save a lot of agony by taking heed.
Grant Phillips
Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
