And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you, and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you… And the LORD your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. And you shall again obey the voice of the LORD and keep all his commandments that I command you today. –Deuteronomy 30:1–8
One of the saddest commentaries that follows God’s pronouncement of blessings and curses in Deuteronomy 28 is the declaration by God that Israel would most certainly experience the harshest of curses. Moses begins chapter thirty by saying, “And when all these things come upon you…” There was no room for doubt. Israel was going to leave the Lord and be punished accordingly. This is told clearly to Moses by God: “…this people will rise and whore after foreign gods…they will forsake me and break my covenant…I will forsake them and hide My face from them…” (Deut. 31:16–17).
But God gave Israel the answer. Moses tells Israel that when they would remember what God had done for them and return to God and obey that He would bring deliver them again and place the curses on their enemies (Deut. 30:1–8). It was quite simple. If Israel were to obey God, they would be blessed. If not, they would be cursed. And when they were cursed, if they would simply return to God again He would bless them.
The moral and spiritual climate of our country is certainly at odds with our God. We often think of the “big sins” of homosexuality, promiscuity, adultery, murder through abortion, etc. as the greatest signs of our depravity. But there are others that are just as concerning: lack of respect for parents and authority, deceitfulness, pride, unbelief, covetousness, etc. It is quite clear that America is not living like God’s chosen people.
But why should America live like God’s chosen people? Perhaps we should be reminded that the United States of America is not modern day Israel. American citizens are not God’s chosen people—Christians are. All who have put on Christ through baptism are Abraham’s seed (Gal. 3:27–29). The Lord’s body is spiritual Israel today. Christians are the chosen race and royal priesthood under the covenant of Christ (1 Pet. 2:9). Certainly it is God’s desire that all men everywhere are saved—including but not limited to America (1 Tim. 2:4). But even if every U.S. citizen were a faithful child of God the country known as the U.S.A. would not be God’s “chosen people.”
Why is this important to understand? It is quite common to interpret the current crisis of the day, whether it be politics, the economy, or any other crisis, as God’s chastisement on our nation. Admittedly, this certainly is not only possible but probable. It is quite common to see God punish nations for their immorality. But is it possible there is more to it than just divine discipline directed at our country? Is it possible that it is also a chastening of Israel? Or at least the portion of spiritual Israel residing in this country?
While Christians rage against the immorality of society, it appears the morality of the church is declining as well. Divorce is certainly too common among God’s people. Adultery is too common among the Lord’s body. The sin of divisiveness is far too present among churches today. Far too many Christians are caught in the entangled webs of deceit and lying. And the list could go on and on.
The list of those whose end will be a lake burning with fire and sulfur contains eight things: cowardice, faithlessness, those who are detestable, murder, sexual immorality, sorcery, idolatry, and lying (Rev. 21:8). We often apply that list to the world around us. But one of those eight seems to be specific to the Lord’s people: cowardice. Why are God’s people so afraid? God didn’t give us a spirit of fear (2 Tim. 1:7). Paul said, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31). Why is it then that we are so afraid? Where is our courage?
At times I see great courage among brethren. I see great courage when it comes to defending a favorite football team or athletic conference. We often will argue and debate with great confidence—never showing one ounce of doubt or fear. I see great courage when it comes to defending political issue and positions. We display great passion for our country and political parties. But allow someone to question our doctrine, faith, and convictions and we often cower in the corners. When it comes to our neighbor needing to know the best way to heaven, we cower. When it comes to explaining God’s position on important bible topics, we cower. Certainly we are capable of judging those around us. We do that well. But our job on earth should be focused on teaching and not judgment.
Perhaps we shake our finger in judgment at the world around us in order to justify our own depravity. It has always been easier to remove specks from the eye of another than the beam from your own (Matt. 7:3–5). It is far easier to clean the house of those around you than deal with your own mess. How comforting it is to notice the degradation of the heathens around us while ignoring our own! Perhaps we are more like Israel than we would like to admit.
We need to remember who we are: WE ARE GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE. That designation comes before any other. When we obey God and keep our mind, heart, and soul focused on Him, we will be blessed. When we choose to remove our focus from Him, we will be chastened. May God help us to seek the blessings instead of the curses!
2 Comments
September 8, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Wow! Preach it, brother.
I think it is important to note the great things Christians are doing today. Not everyone is a coward and not everyone is entangled in sin. However, as a class, I do think we Christians are not shining as we could and should. And yes, you’ve hit the nail on the head, if God is chastening His chosen, it is not America He is chastening, but spiritual Israel, the church.
September 8, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Preach on brother!
When we are chastened by our Father we should have the attitude of Daniel from Dan 9:14, “Therefore the Lord has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed Him.”
Daniel said that God was right to chastise Israel the way He did because they had sinned against Him. Too often when we suffer because of our sins we question God for allowing us to suffer when all along we should be glorifying His name because He alone is right, we have wronged Him, and let’s be thankful that He considers us His children which is evidenced by the fact we are being chastened.
That’s hard for us to accept but we must not lose heart.