God’s blessing on the land and the people was in accordance to their obedience to Him. Those who disobeyed and followed after other gods were punished in a variety of ways but the most common was being invaded by other nations. God demanded and deserved loyalty from the people but they constantly were led astray by the worship of the gods of the neighboring nations. The corruption reached extremes and God patiently waited for them to return to Him. When this did not happen He sent opposition to punish them.
King Ahaz who reigned in Jerusalem from age 20-36 years old, was one of the most rebellious of the Kings of Judah. His father, Jotham followed the Lord and set a good example for his son during his 16 year reign. Ahaz did not follow in his father’s footsteps. In 2 Chronicles 28 we read of all the things he did to turn away from Jehovah and serve the Baals.
- He made cast images of the Baals
- He made offering to the Baals
- He made his sons pass through the fire as an offering to Baal
- He made sacrifices and offerings in the high places
As a result Judah was invaded and defeated by Israel.
120,000 were killed in one day. During the entire Vietnam war that lasted about 8 years a little more than 50,000 American soldiers were killed. The massive loss of life in one day is staggering.
Wars ranked by total number of US military deaths (Wikipedia)
Rank War Years Deaths Deaths per Day
1 American Civil War1861to 1865 625,000 599
2 World War II 1941to1945 405,399 416
3 World War I 1917 to1918 116,516 279
4 Vietnam War 1955 to 1975 58,209 26
5 Korean War 1950 to1953 36,516 45
6 Am. Rev.War 1775 to1783 25.000 11
7 War of 1812 1812 to1815 20,000 31
8 Mex.–Am War 1846 to1848 13,283 29
9 War on Terror 2001 to present 6,280 1.72
10 Philippine–Am War 1899 to1913 4,196 1
200,000 were taken captive but later returned when the prophet Obed delivered a message from the Lord that they should not subjugate them but needed to treat them with respect and return them to their country.
But even after this tragedy, King Ahaz did not change his ways but went further into sin. He became more faithless sacrificing to the gods of Damascus because he was not receiving help from Jehovah.
He also shut up the house of God and used the sacred utensils to make altars used to sacrifice to other gods.
King Ahaz completely turned away from Jehovah. He made a mockery of God, despising Him with his sacrifices and offerings to other gods.
It is difficult to understand why someone in his position would turn away and stay away from God. All that he did led him and the nation to ruin.
When individuals and nations turn away from God it will only lead to their ruin. God is merciful in not sending immediate judgment but as a natural consequence the individuals and nations bring destruction on themselves. Israel had a special calling as a people to represent God and His righteousness to the foreign nations who were worshipping other gods. They were destined to be a blessed people, so blessed that other nations would be drawn to them. Yet their disobedience and waywardness kept them from being blessed and eventually led to their complete demise and captivity.
Contrasting to Ahaz are a few Kings who followed Jehovah. Hezekiah succeeded Ahaz as king of Judah and he initiated reforms that brought a revival to the land. He basically undid everything that Ahaz had done against Jehovah and he accomplished it in a short time.
- He rebuilt and cleansed the temple.
- He celebrated the feasts and sacrifices laid out in the law.
- He reinstated worship in the temple.
- He collected tithes from the people to be able to support the Levites in their role in the temple.
- He gave land to the priests and Levites.
- He made changes throughout all of Judah, not just Jerusalem.
The era of his reign was summarized in 2 Chron. 31.20-21
20 Hezekiah did this throughout all Judah; he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. 21 And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God, and in accordance with the law and the commandments, to seek his God, he did with all his heart; and he prospered.
These 2 examples demonstrate very clearly what can be expected if we are obedient or disobedient to God.
The power of evil in a culture and how much damage it is capable of doing is staggering. When God’s laws are abandoned for the laws of the world that is under the control of Satan there is no limit to what can happen. We are living in a day when we are seeing the moral slide of many nations who have turned away from God. When we as individuals and nations walk away from God we place ourselves and our nation in jeopardy. We cannot expect God to bless us when we are not walking in his ways yet we see many people asking for His blessing upon them and the nation when they have turned away from him. God is being gracious and merciful in this hour to not bring judgment but a day is coming when his wrath will be poured out and it will be devastating. We see in King Ahaz how corrupt the heart can become and to reach the point of offering your own sons and daughters as sacrifices to other gods is hard to imagine.
While I was in Minnesota there were 2 atrocious murders that took place in the Twin City area. One case involved a man who was divorced from his wife and made arrangements to see his 3 children in their home while the mother was at work.
RIVER FALLS, Wis. (KMSP) -
Three young sisters murdered inside their River Falls, Wis., home were found dead in their beds with their throats slit and dried blood on their faces, according to murder charges filed Thursday against their father.
Aaron Schaffhausen, 34, of Minot, N.D. is charged with three counts of first-degree intentional homicide in the deaths of 11-year-old Amara Schaffhausen, 5-year-old Cecilia Schaffhausen and 8-year-old Sophie Schaffhausen.
According to the charges, the girls' mother got a call from Schaffhausen on Tuesday at 11:45 a.m., saying he was in St. Paul and wanted to see his daughters. His ex-wife said he could visit as long as he was gone by 3:30, because she didn't want to see him.A babysitter told authorities that Aaron Schaffhausen got to the home at about 1:25 p.m. and the girls rushed to the door, excited to see their father. After a short conversation, the girls went to Amara's room with their father.The babysitter sent a text to the girls' mother saying he had arrived, and asked whether or not she should stay. The girl's mother told her she could leave, and the babysitter sent a text at 1:44 p.m. to say her mother was picking her up from the home.At 3:30 p.m., Aaron Schaffhausen called his ex-wife to say, "You can come home now because I killed the kids."
The other case that happened almost at the same time was a murder suicide in which a husband killed his wife and then himself.
Then this past week, James Holmes, the young man in Colorado killed 12 people and wounded over 50 at the movie theater. These evil acts should shake us to the core and remind us of the power of Satan to influence people’s thoughts and actions. When we turn away from the Lord and do not follow him wholeheartedly we open the door for evil to take control.
As believers we must live according to the righteous standards God has established. We are God’s people who represent him to the world through our values and actions that reflect God’s righteousness. We are not perfect people but we need to be people who are constantly seeking to live in a way that is pleasing to him and demonstrates His character and nature to a world that has turned away from him. Certainly the leaders of our nations will be held accountable for the laws they have sanctioned that defy God’s Word and His desire but we too bear responsibility for not making a stand for truth and sharing that truth with a lost world.
Proverbs 14:34 states, “Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people.”
If we want to live in the blessing of the Lord we have to live by his standard of righteousness.
Nations and individuals that have rejected God’s rule have suffered from the destructive nature of sin. Sin is progressive and seems to have no end to its desire to dominate one’s life. It sets in motion a course of destruction that eventually consumes those who are perpetrating the sin. Death is the natural consequence of sin. Many of the wicked kings of Judah and Israel had their lives cut short as a consequence of their sin. God does not take delight in the death of a sinner.
But the thing that is encouraging to me is how quickly a nation can change for the better. King Hezekiah was only 25 years old when he began his 29 year reign and he made significant changes to return Judah to God’s ways in a short period of time. When you consider how far the nation had fallen into sin it would almost seem like an impossible thing to change its course but it happened. He even encouraged fallen Israel to attend the Passover Feast he reinstated but was scorned by most of the tribes. His godly leadership and the support he must have had from godly people turned the nation around and God’s blessings rested on them. As bad as things look in the world today, we have hope that change can happen. It does not have to continue to slide downhill but it will if we do not do our part by lining up our lives with God’s ways. We have been made righteous before God through the work of Christ. Our works will not make us righteous but because we are made righteous we will want to do the things that please God.
God’s Kingdom is not a political kingdom but it has its power manifested in individual lives that are submitted to His ways through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. God will bless and prosper individuals and nations who honor Him. He delights in blessing his children and has no problem rewarding them. What father does not want to bless his children for doing what is right? God operates by principles and one of them is “you reap what you sow” both for evil and for good. The law of the harvest is that we reap more than we sow. Each day we have the opportunity to sow seeds of righteousness and in time we will reap a bountiful harvest that will be demonstrated by the presence of the fruit of the Spirit, relational harmony, and provision for our needs.
Living lives of righteousness in obedience to God is a powerful influence. Being a light in darkness is being an agent of change. We are to permeate the culture like salt and yeast with the love of Christ. I read of a church in Kampala, Uganda that has over 500 “love cells” in their city. Each “love cell” was to find a family afflicted with AIDS and minister to them while the person was dying from aids and then continue to love the family after the person died. The results of their compassion and care have been tremendous.
Another church called “Abba Love” in Jakarta Indonesia works in the slums that are inhabited mainly by the Muslims. “The church has started schools, soup kitchens, literacy programs, and skills training for unemployed Muslims. When a group of radicals came to burn down Abba Love’s building, they were prevented by poor Muslims who streamed out of the community and surrounded the building, saying, “You are not going to touch this church. These people love us.” (Emancipating the World by Darrow Miller).
When people know what we believe, what we stand for and how we live it can have a powerful effect. Last week I took my motorcycle into a shop for some maintenance and I was able to talk to the owner of the shop. His language was very rough and he used words I cannot repeat. Then he asked me what I do and I told him I was a missionary in Guatemala and his language suddenly changed.
On my trip I met a motorcyclist who is part of the Christian Motorcycle Association. His particular chapter has been invited by a motorcycle club called the “Banditos” who are the ruling biker group in the state to attend and annual event hosted by the club. This only was made possible because one of the members of the CMA was able to get permission from the leader of the Banditos. When they attend this rally the CMA motorcyclists are able to do activities with the children of the club and hand out Christian literature. They are a light in darkness and when asked for prayer or counsel they have the freedom to do it and take advantage of the opportunity. Our lifestyle and our verbal witness can break through the darkness and bring people into the light of Christ.
I listened to the testimony of a pastor at Calvary Chapel in Ft. Lauderdale, FL that points out the importance of our lifestyle matching our verbal witness. He told of how when he was first a believer he was working in a liquor store. His conscience began to bother him about working there so he went to his pastor to ask what he should do. His pastor told him to ask God to show him what to do. The next day when he was at work a customer came in and said to him, “I bet you look at those porn magazines when you are on your break.” He replied that he did not because he had become a Christian to which the man replied, “Yeah right” and left the store. He had his answer and turned in his resignation to his boss.
We are also called to influence the nations through our prayers. Paul in his letter to timothy stressed the need for the church to pray for those in leadership roles. YWAM encourages believers to pray for 7 specific spheres of influence:
- Government and laws
- Family
- Church
- Media and communication arts
- Education
- Science, health, environment
- Economy and business
Our prayers, intercession and supplication have a tremendous influence on these areas. If we want to see righteousness exalted in our nation then we must be willing to pray for these specific areas that have a tremendous influence. I want to encourage each of us to make this part of our daily time of prayer as well as part of extended prayer with groups of believers. Focus on one area each day of the week and make it a habit to intercede for these specific areas. God responds to our prayers, he places great value and importance on them. They are not insignificant to him and he calls us to be a people of prayer because of the power it releases to bring change.
Our personal influence and our prayer influence can make a difference and it will make a difference if we continue to walk it out daily. We are living in days of great stress and changes in governments. Some changes have been for the better but many have made it even more difficult for Christians. In spite of the difficulties God can still bring change for the better through his people. We cannot give up in despair, nor walk away from our calling to be a light to the nations. We need to intensify our efforts by sending missionaries to be the light, salt and yeast as they live righteous lives before the people and effect change through sharing the gospel and demonstrating love to the people. We need to take seriously the call to prayer for the nations by interceding for the 7 areas that have tremendous influence in every nation.
We can be agents of change for the better or worse. We can make a difference and bring the Kingdom of God to the nations, transforming individual through our witness of the power of Christ in our lives and his love being demonstrated through us.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)
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