Violence in the streets, rampant looting and destruction of property, disregard for authority and dissension over the sanctity of life saturate the news. The question must be asked — can a nation survive in light of these things? While many solutions seemingly worthy are offered, their apparent lack of success is evident. An honest assessment of these efforts results in a failing grade. Could it be that the disintegration of an orderly society is not rooted in external factors but those that are internal, in the spiritual condition of the soul of men?
Israel’s history reveals the successes and failures of its people in direct relation to their attitude toward God and His Word. It begins with the individual and expands to encompass the entire nation. The Psalmist wrote … “The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee. He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat” (Ps 147:11-14 KJV).
Jeremiah, prophet to the Southern Kingdom, stated God’s promise … “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (Jer 17:7-8 KJV). The extension of that Truth was expressed by King David … “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth — he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do” (Ps 33:12-15 NIV)
David and Jeremiah are referring specifically to the nation Israel as God’s inheritance, but their words establish a principle for other peoples. That God establishes nations and its rulers is evidenced with Daniel, who became prime minister in the nation of his captors and was divinely used to bring the first great world empire to the knowledge of the true God. “I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?” (Dan 4:34-35 NIV)
Just as Scripture notes the successes of nations, it also records their failures. Jeremiah issued God’s commendation … “Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the LORD. “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” (Jer 2:11-13 NIV). Those words are applicable to any nation in history.
Jesus told the woman at the well … “whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14 NIV). Her life was a broken cistern, just as some today who are pursuing a lifestyle of self-gratification, pleasure and material gain. However, God has a solution … “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chron 7:14-15 NIV).