“After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. They abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem. Although the Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen. Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: “Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.” II Chronicles 24:17-20
When one reads the Old Testament and the history of the kings of the nation of Israel and Judah, one phrase becomes very repetitive in the narrative. “He did what is right in the eyes of the Lord” or “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. The narrative always includes the acts and character of said king and the “why” behind the label of “right” or “evil”.
I wonder if God were to write an narrative about America, how would our “kings” be labeled. For the sake of stimulating conversation, which presidents “have done right in the eyes of the Lord” or “have done evil in the eyes of the Lord”. If the character of the kings of Israel affected the nation and its morality, how has the character of our Presidents affected the morality of our nation? Does character matter?
We as citizens have a responsibility to individually do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, for we are each held personally culpable for our actions before God. We also must be praying for our leaders.
“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” I Timothy 2: 1-4
Finally, as Christians we must work to elect those who hold to the truths set forth in the Bible. God has given us a great privilege to elect those who govern over us. But He has grave word for us to consider when we are choosing our elected officials. Never does God give us the option to elect the better of two evils. God spoke through Zechariah with these grave words, “Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.” When we as believers vote for those who disobey the Lord’s commands, we reap the results of our voting record. Our nation is not prospering. Most of our leaders have forsaken the Lord and our Nation is Christian in name only. When will we as a people, humble ourselves, seek God’s face and turn from our wicked ways? How long will God be patiently gracious toward America, before the latter part of this verse comes to fruition? Will God one day sadly say, “Because you have forsaken the Lord, I have forsaken you”?
Psalm 67 May this be our prayer for America.
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us,
Selah
2 that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples justly
and guide the nations of the earth.
Selah
5 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 Then the land will yield its harvest,
and God, our God, will bless us.
7 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.