“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.” Psalm 146:3
I read an article from USA Today (link below) that warned people not to fall for “fringe” right-wing theories out there. Why? Because they have been debunked. Or so the article claims. It was laughable because the article, in and of itself, was making its own conpiracy theory out of other conspiracy theories!
It reminds me of a bible passage. Actually a chapter: Leviticus 26. Let me start with two verses:
Leviticus 26: 36-37 ….The sound of a driven leaf shall put them to flight, and they shall flee as one flees from the sword. They shall stumble over one another, as if to escape a sword, though none pursues. And you shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
I think we can have seen scenes like this in horror movies. Maybe some of us have actually experienced it for real. Truth be told, our country is acting like this right now. We can see it unfold right before our eyes.
The interesting thing is that Leviticus was written by Moses, a long time ago to people who have long since died. Why should this be of any interest to us? It’s simple. It reveals the nature of God. What he warned his chosen people (the Israelites) about and ultimately DID to them as a result of their disobedience should serve as a harsh warning to all humans.
Leviticus 26 outlines God’s blessings for obedience. It also goes into detail what will happen if these commands are broken. I won’t take the space here to quote the chapter. Suffice it to say that life will be very good through obedience. Disobedience will bring upon increased suffering and hardship – to the point one can hardly believe such things would be written in the bible. Read it for yourself. It’s no joke.
But let’s not get stuck on God’s punishment. He is merciful to those who change their hearts. See for yourselves:
Leviticus 26:40-45 “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies – if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. But the land shall be abandoned by them and enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them, and they shall make amends for their iniquity, because they spurned my rules and their soul abhorred my statutes. Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not spurn them, neither will I abhor them so as to destroy them utterly and break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. But I will for their sake remember the covenant with their forefathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.”
We need to remember that the USA is NOT God’s chosen people with whom he has this covenant mentioned in the passage. We are a pagan nation. God has no obligation to ultimately protect our nation from our disobedience. Many people wonder why it seems that the USA does not appear to play a role in the book Revelation. One possiblity to that is that God may remove this country from the face of the earth. Not saying that will happen, but we do have clear warnings from God.
We also know that God is merciful to those with genuinely repentant hearts. Perhaps our country already is at a point of no return. That doesn’t mean you and I are doomed as well.
Matthew 16:24-26 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
This is no small issue.
Father, I pray that these words touch people. Amen.
Photo by Mitchell Orr on Unsplash