Let us consider what happened to Judah when he abandoned God!
“Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool, inscribed with a flint point, on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars. Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles beside the spreading trees and on the high hills. My mountain in the land and your wealth and all your treasures I will give away as plunder, together with your high places, because of sin throughout your country. Through your own fault you will lose the inheritance I gave you. I will enslave you to your enemies in a land you do not know, for you have kindled my anger, and it will burn forever.” [1]
God’s people had sinned to the point of becoming hardened in sin. Sin was engraved in their hearts. Their children didn’t attend Torah instruction, didn’t pray, and didn’t lift a finger to help anyone. The nation was adrift from God!
When people turn their back on God, bad things happen. Hardship and hunger are outcomes of a prodigal lifestyle. Enemy attacks increase. No one comes to the rescue when God takes His hand off of a nation.
“This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed are those who trust in mortals, who depend on flesh for their strength and whose hearts turn away from the Lord. They will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.’” [2]
Ben Stein produced a video entitled, “Expelled” in the which he interviewed the highly accomplished scientists Dr. Sternberg and Dr. Carolyn Mason. They lost their jobs because they dared to speak up for intelligent design. They were labeled intellectual terrorists. Dangerous to society! Atheistic scientists and writers mock God and seek to silence anyone who speaks up for Him.
When the Lord said, “Cursed are those who trust in mortals, who depend on flesh for their strength and whose hearts turn away from the Lord.” He is saying that humanism leads to a curse. Exalting the created over the Creator is what Satan does. His denial and demeaning of the Creator shall bring him to the Lake of Fire.
The Lord said, “They will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.” God says that atheistic humanism dries a person up. Atheism humanism has turned one nation after another into a spiritual desert. It saps the life out of man’s soul and eventually, out of his whole nation.
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? ‘I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward everyone according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.’” [3]
The problem with closing one’s ears and eyes to God is that without Him, we have no idea how deceived we are. Jesus said to Pilate, “For this reason I was born and came into the world, to bear witness to the truth.” [4] Jesus is truth personified.
In “Expelled,” Ben went to a mental health facility in Germany where Hitler had ordered the extermination of over 15,000 people. They were handicapped. They were useless for work. “Lives deemed unworthy of life.” Hitler believed that the human race was breaking the law of natural selection. Only the strong should survive. Based on Darwinism, he came up with the idea to eliminate inferior people. Dr. Richard Weikart wrote a book entitled, “From Darwin to Hitler” in which he proves Nazism’s strong ties to Darwinism. You can listen and watch his lecture on this topic on YouTube.
In the past, America sterilized 50,000 people because they were considered too feeble-minded to be allowed to reproduce. Margaret Stranger, one of the founders of Planned Parenthood, wanted to eliminate the poor and certain races of people.
Today, many favor eugenics. Eugenics is genetic engineering. The goal of eugenics is to engineer healthier and stronger people much like agriculturalists develop new breeds of animals and plants. The insidious side of eugenics is that it declares a death sentence to any unborn person deemed unhealthy while in the womb. When one group of humans are dehumanized, then, a foundation is laid to dehumanize and destroy any group of humans.
According to Dr. James Waller, a specialist on genocidal studies, all it takes for genocide to happen is for one group of people to dehumanize another group. For example, in Rwanda, the Tutsi’s came to believe the Hutu’s were cockroaches, and should be exterminated! Within 30 days, the Tutsi’s slaughtered 800,000 Hutu’s.
The point here is that without the God, we create horrible solutions to problems that we cannot solve. Then, we eliminate people instead of problems.
“Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay are those who gain riches by unjust means. When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them, and in the end, they will prove to be fools.” [5] Millionaires have committed suicide because after they got what they wanted, they either lost it all or found that it was not as fulfilling as they imagined it would be.
“Let my persecutors be put to shame but keep me from shame; let them be terrified but keep me from terror. Bring on them the day of disaster; destroy them with double destruction.” [6]
Truth-speaking scientists, reporters, and educators have suffered persecution and personal loss due to their stand for God. Jeremiah prayed that his persecutors would be put to shame. He prayed that he would not be ashamed or terrorized. He wanted persecutors of truth to experience a day of disaster. He wanted God to destroy them with double destruction because they were destroying his nation!
Some atheistic writers devote themselves to sabotaging people’s faith in Christ. Richard Dawkins wrote “The God Delusion.” People purchased more than a million copies of the book. It is an attack on religion! Richard Dawkins is now dead. He now knows that God is REAL!
“This is what the Lord said to me: ‘Go and stand at the gate of the people, through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem who come through these gates. This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors. Yet they did not listen or pay attention; they were stiff-necked and would not listen or respond to discipline. But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing any work on it, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem and this city will be inhabited forever. People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. But if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’” [7]
God told Jeremiah to speak at the entrance gates of Jerusalem. He was to speak to cargo bearers and consumers. He told them to stop shopping on Sabbath Days. They were to devote one day in seven to the Lord. He told them not to be stiff-necked. He urged them to respond to the Lord’s call to worship. God told them that if they listened their future would be bright, but if they continued to prefer shopping to worship, He would kindle an unquenchable fire to destroy their nation.
It is vital to keep the Sabbath Day! In God’s house the Word of God is preached. We need God! His Word is taught in Sunday school and preached in worship services. We need the fellowship of other believers.
Twenty-first century America is like Jeremiah’s Jerusalem. We have politicians, judges, scientists, media moguls and educators who convince people to reject Jesus Christ and the Bible, but one day every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus said that the way to destruction is broad, and many are entering into it. The way to life is narrow. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus calls us to be His followers. We need to make a choice. We can’t be half in and half out.
America is sinking. We are floundering. We are adrift from truth. We hit the iceberg. Water is pouring in. Our nose is in the water. The rest of the ship will soon follow.
Is it too late to save America? Should we just give up? No, as long as America exists, we need to speak God’s Word. We need to urge and persuade people to repent of sin, turn from it and submit to God.
The only hope for our nation is Jesus Christ. He is not just an idea. He is the Son of God! He transforms sinners into saints. Jesus has real power. Not power to exploit or abuse, but to care. He empowers us to love God and people like we never have before. Even to love and care for orphans, widows, and foreigners!
Ship America may go down, but let’s save as many lives as possible before it does.
[1] Jeremiah 17:1-4
[2] Jeremiah 17:5-8
[3] Jeremiah 17:9-10
[4] John 18:37
[5] Jeremiah 17:11
[6] Jeremiah 17:18
[7] Jeremiah 17:19-27
God’s people had sinned to the point of becoming hardened in sin. Sin was engraved in their hearts. Their children didn’t attend Torah instruction, didn’t pray, and didn’t lift a finger to help anyone. The nation was adrift from God!
When people turn their back on God, bad things happen. Hardship and hunger are outcomes of a prodigal lifestyle. Enemy attacks increase. No one comes to the rescue when God takes His hand off of a nation.
“This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed are those who trust in mortals, who depend on flesh for their strength and whose hearts turn away from the Lord. They will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.’” [2]
Ben Stein produced a video entitled, “Expelled” in the which he interviewed the highly accomplished scientists Dr. Sternberg and Dr. Carolyn Mason. They lost their jobs because they dared to speak up for intelligent design. They were labeled intellectual terrorists. Dangerous to society! Atheistic scientists and writers mock God and seek to silence anyone who speaks up for Him.
When the Lord said, “Cursed are those who trust in mortals, who depend on flesh for their strength and whose hearts turn away from the Lord.” He is saying that humanism leads to a curse. Exalting the created over the Creator is what Satan does. His denial and demeaning of the Creator shall bring him to the Lake of Fire.
The Lord said, “They will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.” God says that atheistic humanism dries a person up. Atheism humanism has turned one nation after another into a spiritual desert. It saps the life out of man’s soul and eventually, out of his whole nation.
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? ‘I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward everyone according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.’” [3]
The problem with closing one’s ears and eyes to God is that without Him, we have no idea how deceived we are. Jesus said to Pilate, “For this reason I was born and came into the world, to bear witness to the truth.” [4] Jesus is truth personified.
In “Expelled,” Ben went to a mental health facility in Germany where Hitler had ordered the extermination of over 15,000 people. They were handicapped. They were useless for work. “Lives deemed unworthy of life.” Hitler believed that the human race was breaking the law of natural selection. Only the strong should survive. Based on Darwinism, he came up with the idea to eliminate inferior people. Dr. Richard Weikart wrote a book entitled, “From Darwin to Hitler” in which he proves Nazism’s strong ties to Darwinism. You can listen and watch his lecture on this topic on YouTube.
In the past, America sterilized 50,000 people because they were considered too feeble-minded to be allowed to reproduce. Margaret Stranger, one of the founders of Planned Parenthood, wanted to eliminate the poor and certain races of people.
Today, many favor eugenics. Eugenics is genetic engineering. The goal of eugenics is to engineer healthier and stronger people much like agriculturalists develop new breeds of animals and plants. The insidious side of eugenics is that it declares a death sentence to any unborn person deemed unhealthy while in the womb. When one group of humans are dehumanized, then, a foundation is laid to dehumanize and destroy any group of humans.
According to Dr. James Waller, a specialist on genocidal studies, all it takes for genocide to happen is for one group of people to dehumanize another group. For example, in Rwanda, the Tutsi’s came to believe the Hutu’s were cockroaches, and should be exterminated! Within 30 days, the Tutsi’s slaughtered 800,000 Hutu’s.
The point here is that without the God, we create horrible solutions to problems that we cannot solve. Then, we eliminate people instead of problems.
“Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay are those who gain riches by unjust means. When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them, and in the end, they will prove to be fools.” [5] Millionaires have committed suicide because after they got what they wanted, they either lost it all or found that it was not as fulfilling as they imagined it would be.
“Let my persecutors be put to shame but keep me from shame; let them be terrified but keep me from terror. Bring on them the day of disaster; destroy them with double destruction.” [6]
Truth-speaking scientists, reporters, and educators have suffered persecution and personal loss due to their stand for God. Jeremiah prayed that his persecutors would be put to shame. He prayed that he would not be ashamed or terrorized. He wanted persecutors of truth to experience a day of disaster. He wanted God to destroy them with double destruction because they were destroying his nation!
Some atheistic writers devote themselves to sabotaging people’s faith in Christ. Richard Dawkins wrote “The God Delusion.” People purchased more than a million copies of the book. It is an attack on religion! Richard Dawkins is now dead. He now knows that God is REAL!
“This is what the Lord said to me: ‘Go and stand at the gate of the people, through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem who come through these gates. This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors. Yet they did not listen or pay attention; they were stiff-necked and would not listen or respond to discipline. But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing any work on it, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem and this city will be inhabited forever. People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. But if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’” [7]
God told Jeremiah to speak at the entrance gates of Jerusalem. He was to speak to cargo bearers and consumers. He told them to stop shopping on Sabbath Days. They were to devote one day in seven to the Lord. He told them not to be stiff-necked. He urged them to respond to the Lord’s call to worship. God told them that if they listened their future would be bright, but if they continued to prefer shopping to worship, He would kindle an unquenchable fire to destroy their nation.
It is vital to keep the Sabbath Day! In God’s house the Word of God is preached. We need God! His Word is taught in Sunday school and preached in worship services. We need the fellowship of other believers.
Twenty-first century America is like Jeremiah’s Jerusalem. We have politicians, judges, scientists, media moguls and educators who convince people to reject Jesus Christ and the Bible, but one day every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus said that the way to destruction is broad, and many are entering into it. The way to life is narrow. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus calls us to be His followers. We need to make a choice. We can’t be half in and half out.
America is sinking. We are floundering. We are adrift from truth. We hit the iceberg. Water is pouring in. Our nose is in the water. The rest of the ship will soon follow.
Is it too late to save America? Should we just give up? No, as long as America exists, we need to speak God’s Word. We need to urge and persuade people to repent of sin, turn from it and submit to God.
The only hope for our nation is Jesus Christ. He is not just an idea. He is the Son of God! He transforms sinners into saints. Jesus has real power. Not power to exploit or abuse, but to care. He empowers us to love God and people like we never have before. Even to love and care for orphans, widows, and foreigners!
Ship America may go down, but let’s save as many lives as possible before it does.
[1] Jeremiah 17:1-4
[2] Jeremiah 17:5-8
[3] Jeremiah 17:9-10
[4] John 18:37
[5] Jeremiah 17:11
[6] Jeremiah 17:18
[7] Jeremiah 17:19-27
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