ISSUE NUMBER 16
Nowhere in the Bible does it instruct people to command
God to bless a nation as we do here in the United States.
However, there are at least 30 verses showing that we are
expected to bless the Lord our God. One of those verses is
Psalm 145: 10 where it says, "A II thy works shallpraise thee,
o Lord, and thy saints .~haJlbless thee. "
. When I see a sign or bumper sticker saying, "God bless
America," I think, why are we commaruiing the Creator to
bless this sin-infested nation?
In the eighth chapterofJererniah the Bible says, ''My people
know not thejudgment of the Lord " The nation Jeremiah
was addressing was like America is today. In Chapter 7 verse
28 it says, "This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of
theLonitheir God, nor receiveth COl7t!ctiOt~
troth isperished
and is cut off from their mouth. " Those people had done
much evil in His sight and were warned well in advance by
Jeremiah and others that their land would be made desolate
and the people would be severely punished.
Some of the words and phrases in the book of Jeremiah
that are used to describe those judgment-bound people include:
given to covetousneSs, dealing falsely, backsliding, adultery,
serving strange gods, rebellion and so on. The people of that
nation were told, "Amend YOllrI>aysand your doinis" and
they were given the chance to remain dwelling in the land. The.
Lord told them, "Obey My voice and I will beyour God atuJ
ye shall be My people and walk ye inthit all the wqys that
I have commatlded you, that it may be well unto you. But
they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear.... " Then came
the destruction they had been amply warned of
. I honestly believe that this nation is going to experience severe
judgment for b!LSicallythe same reasons as those people did in
Jeremiah's day, and probably for many more worse reasons.
There is little hope, ifany, for our nation as a whole to r~uin to
the Lord, but there certainly is hope for individuals. God is
raising up a few willing vessels to warn those of us who are still
willing to listen that God's judgment is coming and we'd better
humble ourselves and seek His face now before it's too late if
we want to be part ofa remnant who receives His direction,
provision, peace, comfort and blessings.
God always has a remnant of His people when judgirig
nations. Jeremiah 30: II reveals that God corrects in measure
and does not leave them altogether unpunished ..Later in that
same chapter it. says, "Behold, the whirlwituJ of the Lord
gaeth forth withfury. a continuing whirlwind: il shall fall
with pain upon the head of the wicked the fierce anger of
. the LoIrJshall not retum, lIntil he have done it, and lIt11ilhe
have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days
. ye shall consider it. Allhe same lime, sailh Ihe Lon/, willi
be tne God of alllhefamilies of Isrw!/, iuuJ they shall be my
. people. Thus saith Ihe Lord, The people which were left (if
the sWordfoutuJgrace in the wildemess: ... " ["Israel" does
not refer Strictly to Jewish people living on that piece ofland in
the Middle Easl. The word "Jew" is liinited to only 2 of the 12
.•tribes oflsrael: Judah and Benjamin. The Lord told Abrallllm
/.that He would make many nations ofAbrilham's seed, through
Isaac and through Jacob, etc., so Israel refers to much more
thanjustthe "Jewish" people.]