CLEANSING OF A NATION
INTRODUCTION
Cleansing of a nation is imperative towards its spiritual and physical health. Godly leadership is of extreme importance for any nation; if it is to function under the umbrella of God's provision being the mainstay of any nation in its relationship with Almighty God!
Scripture reveals: Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance (Psalm 33:12). It was noted this is not for Israel only but the Gentiles (non-Jewish) as well; whom the Lord had chosen to be his possession, and the lot of His inheritance; adopting them in and making them partakers of His continued blessings.
The cleansing of a nation is of extreme importance; as given in the case of Nineveh, an ancient capital city of the Assyrian Empire, the royal residence of Assyrian kings, a great city whose wickedness had come before God.
Cleansing of a Nation
Repentance
God warned Nineveh of its coming destruction! Scripture reveals: As Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, he cried (cried out), and said, Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. And the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth (a sign of repentance), from the greatest of them to the least of them (Jonah 3:4-5).
And the Lord saw their works, that they turned away from their evil way; and God repented (relented) of the evil, that he had said he would do to them, and he did it not (Jonah 3:10). It was noted that God did not change in His ultimate intention toward the Ninevites; rather they changed in their attitude toward Him. On the basis of that change God could deal with them in grace, rather than in judgment as their failure to repent would have necessitated.
Scripture reveals: The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God (Psalm 9:17). All nations that forget God refers to the wicked who forgets there is a God who sees and knows all; and in whom men are held accountable.
Familitary with God
Scripture reveals: Put them in fear, O Lord; that the nations may know themselves to be but men (Psalm 9:20). It was noted that this refers to a fearless generation of men who neither feared God, nor regarded man; therefore the Psalmist prays that they have no power against God; knowing how frail, mortal, and miserable they are without Him.
The cleansing of a nation is not only a need for a moral cleansing but to reinstate one's familiarity with God! The Apostle Paul made an appeal in writing: Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Paul further wrote what would entail a unhealthy makeup: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness (immorality), idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance (contentions), emulations (jealousies), wrath, strife, sedition (dissension), heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like; they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21).
Sin is a Reproach
Scripture reveals: Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach (disgrace) to any people (Proverbs 14:34). It was noted that national righteousness and national sin have opposite effects: exaltation versus reproach. Justice exalts a nation, bringing high esteem of God, attended with the privileges and blessings of God, which makes a nation great and honorable.
Sin is a reproach to any people where vice reigns, iniquity (lawlessness) abounds, and immorality of all sorts prevail. Sin is dominate in nations with no regard, or heartfelt need towards the cleansing of a nation; for many relish the immorality that entertains them, on a daily basis, through various ungodly venues.
Shake All Nations
Scripture reveals: I will shake all nations and the desire of the nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts (Haggai 2:7). It was noted that this possibly alludes to the glory which filled the tabernacle in Moses' day, the temple of Solomon, and the Spirit of glory which rested on those gathered in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost!
Scripture reveals: He increased (makes great) the nations, and destroys them: he enlarges (spreads out) the nations, and straightens them again (Job 12:23). It was noted that God increases nations and destroyed them; as when the earth was inhabited with people, who became vile in nature, resulting in God bringing a flood that covered the earth, destroying those outside the ark of safety.
Eyes Opened to Good
and Evil
The cleansing of a nation, or individual, becomes a reality when one fails to adhere to God's Word; as in the case of Adam and Eve, who were in a literal paradise on earth until disobedience to God's Word became a factor.
Scripture reveals: Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die (Genesis 2:17). Through the temptation of the serpent (Satan's instrument of deception), they (Adam and Eve) partook of the forbidden fruit, and their eyes were opened to know both good and evil.
The cleansing of a nation, or individual, has become a necessity ever since that eventful day in the Garden of Eden! Satan is still out to deceive, using the right bait to trap and ensnare unsuspecting victims.
Increased Hostility Toward
Christians
Christians can be thankful if they live relatively free from persecution; nevertheless, increased hostility toward Christians may be a sign of worse times to come!
As nations of the world move steadily toward living by secular values God's Word will become increasingly ignored. In this environment, Christians who adhere to the Biblical teachings, and its precepts, will be hated by the world.
Christian Majority
Silent
The land of the great and free is fast becoming a thing of the past; as many have allowed the ungodly to gain an upper hand, while the Christian majority remains silent. It was noted that the World suffers not because of the violence done by the wicked but because the righteous keep silence (Napoleon Bonaparte).
Years ago I received a thought that we would be overcome; not by an enemy from without but an enemy from within! We are seeing this happening increasingly more and more as secular values outweigh God's Unadulterated (Pure) Word.
The cleansing of a nation cannot be ignored; nor past history and biblical instruction, for in so doing it will opens the door towards deterioration of a godly society. It was noted that no nation can continue to ignore God; sin freely, without suffering the consequences of that lifestyle. No matter how blessed a nation has been; if it forsakes God, it faces His great displeasure.
Christian Biblical Values
or Secular Values
Many nations face the reality of the cleansing of a nation injunction; and if ignored will suffer the consequences of being removed from the blessings of the Almighty, and His umbrella of protection, which are so needed in the hour in which we live.
It was noted that we are suffering from the corrosive immoral breath of the 21st century. The secularism, humanism, materialism, liberalism, and commercialism of our day has devastated our resources of security. There lies a great need for an answer to the question: Which will it be, Christian biblical values or totally secular values? Many today want secular values without reference to God.
In Hands of a Sovereign
God
The cleansing of a nation has been expounded upon by many voices of the past which are just as meaningful; if not more so, today. It was noted our ancestors established their system of government based on morality and religious sentiment. Moral habits, they believed, cannot safely be trusted on any other foundation than religious principle, nor any government be secure which is not supported by moral habits (Daniel Webster).
God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever (Thomas Jefferson). It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible (George Washington). If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under (Ronald Reagan).
Cleansing of a Nation
According to God's Word
The necessity for the cleansing of a nation is given in God's Word: 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 (2 Chronicles 7:14).
But if you turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; then will I pluck you up by the roots out of my land which I have given you; and this house, which I have sanctified (set apart) for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all nations (2 Chronicles 7:19-20).
It was noted that while this promise was originally given to King Solomon regarding the people of Israel, it is certainly applicable to all who will call on the Lord in repentance and faith. These verses stand as a high expression of God's loving readiness to hear the prayers of a repentant people.
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