In God we trust

Somewhere around 605 BC, God allowed (or caused) King Nebuchadrezzar or Nebuchadnezar of Babylon to invade and capture the Jews of the Kingdom of Judah.

Allowed or caused...the Bible actually says God USED Nebuchadnezar to punish King Jehoiakim of Judah and take captive some of Judah's finest young men (including Daniel). This prophecy is told in the book of Jeremiah, by the way.

Interesting stuff, I believe.

God causes punishment in this lifetime, according to this writing, for blasphemous acts. The implications are both obvious and scary. God will only put up with so much, uh, stuff before he acts.

Look around at this country today. The parallels with the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah are obvious, I think. Countries founded on belief in Jehovah and the freedom to worship flounder, lose their relationship with Him above and finally fall apart.

The comparison isn't ideal, but the idea that without God the nation crumbles is as old as, well, the founding of the covenant between God Jehovah and Israel.

One can't go through the Old Testament without seeing the pattern: The nation is founded, the nation wants a leader (king/president), and one by one they come...good then bad then good then bad then good then a line of bads. This continued until God simply unwillingly let the kingdoms be conquered.

The circumstances of this country aren't the same. We were not formed as a non-separated union of God and people as was Israel.

But, and it's a big, big but....

Benjamin Franklin realized this. On June 28, 1787 a debate was raging in the Constitutional Congress concerning how each state would be represented in the new government. On that day, 81 year old Franklin make the following motion –

Mr. President:

The small progress we have made after 4 or 5 weeks close attendance & continual reasonings with each other - our different sentiments on almost every question, several of the last producing as many noes as ayes, is methinks a melancholy proof of the imperfection of the Human Understanding…

In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understanding?

In the beginning of the Contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection. – Our prayers, Sir, were heard, & they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of Superintending Providence in our favor.

To that kind Providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?

I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth - that God Governs in the affairs of men (see Daniel 4:17). And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice (Matthew 10:29), is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?

We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that "except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it.(Psa 127:1)" I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages (see Deut. 28:37)….

I therefore beg leave to move - that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service.

Liberty is the blessing of God and our founding fathers knew it! I dare say that is why George Washington took his oath of office, placing his hand upon Deuteronomy 28 (opened to that portion at his request).

Deuteronomy 28:1, 13 & 15 says, "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: 15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:"

Liberty is the blessing of God! Now, let’s move on the pursuit of…

* Happiness

Psalms 33:12 says, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD…" Do you know what blessed means? The Hebrew word rva eh’-sher means happiness.

A nation will be happy when Jehovah is acknowledged and magnified in that nation. But what form will that happiness take? I would turn your attention to the first 14 verses of Deuteronomy 28 again. But also I would point you to Proverbs 29:2 "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn."

Daniel refused, despite a rather wonderful degree of captivity, to change or reject his principals or his love of Jehovah.

What do we do? What will we not give up next?

It has nothing to do with political persuasion. It has everything to do with the freedom of the Holy Spirit through Christ himself.

In God we trust, indeed.