Judges 2:1-14 says: "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies."
The God who can do the impossible did so for Israel. He rescued them from the iron furnace, the unbearable bondage of Egypt. He brought them through the Red Sea, then through the wilderness and brought them into the promised land. And yet, once Joshua and the generation that knew Joshua had died, Israel forsook the very God who brought them into the promised land, and cast every one of his principles aside.
The result was devastating. God time and again gave them into the hand of their enemies. They found that their formerly mighty armies were now powerless to stand against those who hated them.
I find a remarkable parallel to this pattern that Israel displayed in modern-day America. There is no question whatsoever that our current generation is very different than the generations that have come before us. We have gone from the greatest generation to the give-me generation. We once had founding fathers, statesman, men who sacrificed everything for freedom. Now we have pandering politicians who despise and disregard the very founding documents and principles that our land was built on.
Israel was not able to escape the consequences and, at some point, we also will not be able to escape the inevitable consequences. This brings me not one whit of joy; I love this land and desire only the best for it. But the law of sowing and reaping still applies, even to us.
We have sown the seeds of multiculturalism over assimilation. We will reap a land that rips itself apart from within.
We have sown the seeds of absolute sexual license. We will reap the complete destruction of the family unit.
We have sown the seeds of the ultimate barbarity, killing babes in the womb en mass. We will reap a society that does not value anyone's life, anywhere at any time.
We have sown the seeds of financial mismanagement, a $19 trillion federal debt and counting. We will reap a financial collapse.
We have sown the seeds of the dismantling of truth, relegating it to a matter of feeling rather than fact, a matter of setting rather than substance. We will reap a society that is uncertain about everything, and therefore refuses to stand up for anything, no matter how essential.
Above all, we have sown an utter disregard for God and his word. We will reap a God who refuses to hear when we pray for his deliverance. And just as Israel had its Philistines and Babylonians, America has an abundance of enemies watching as we rot from within, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
Something I despise, though, is a pessimist who presents the problem without ever speaking of a solution. And the good news in all of this is that there is a solution. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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."
Humble yourself. Pray. Seek God's face. Repent and turn from wickedness. It always worked with Israel, and it will still work today. Start with you and your family. Then branch out and do so with others. Then join church with church to do so, and city with city to do so. The same law of sowing and reaping that always works in the negative sense always works in the positive sense as well. It will still work, so spread the word.
Bo Wagner is pastor of the Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, N.C., and the author of several books available at wordofhismouth.com. Contact him at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.