I recently taught a Sunday School lesson on the first chapter in Jonah and we discussed many aspects of that chapter. The idea of God's judgment against a nation or city prompted the most discussion. There was no disputing the fact that God has the right to judge a city or group of people because of their sin. The main point of discussion was about the present day and the United States. The question was "how long before God will judge the United States for the sins that are committed and seemingly celebrated by our culture?" I do not know the answer to this question. It is possible that God has already begun to punish the United States. The obsession with possessions and greedy nature of many Americans has led to a collapse in the housing market and apparently a very serious economic crisis. The change in morals has led to the destruction of the family in many places in America. Of course defaulting on your mortgage and losing your house is nothing compared the punishment that God has in store for people who ignored him and focused on themselves and possessions their entire lives. Overall the first chapter of Jonah shows us that God will judge sin of groups of people and of individuals. It also shows us that God is merciful and provides a way out of his wrath. In Nineveh's case it was the prophet Jonah offering a chance to repent. In the case of the United States we have grace provided through Jesus Christ. Grace is the only thing that will fix the problems that the United States of America faces.
Grace Has Taught Our Hearts to Fear
11 hours ago
1 comment:
First off, I like the name 'Tangerine Bucket'. I'm not sure where it comes from, but it sounds cool.
Thinking about judgment on America, we can certainly say that the declining moral state is a visitation of judgment as well as a prompt for more. Even a surface reading of Romans 1 (especially verse 24) shows that God's 'giving over' of man to his twisted lusts is a punishment for a lack of faith.
But all of this is also a prompt for more judgment. Deuteronomy 28 shows God's great passion for his law. It shows his willingness to bless those who keep it, and his promise to blast those who don't. Now, a person could try to easily shake off Deut. 28 by saying that those things were for Israel only, but certainly it shows that within God's character is the desire to bless righteousness and curse lawlessness. If God held the Israelites accountable like this, how much more then the believers in the New Covenant who have been entrusted with even greater revelation? How can he not also hold the teeming masses of unbelievers accountable for their wickedness?
God would have saved Sodom and Gomorrah if just 10 righteous believers would have been found. There was only 1, however, so those cities were destroyed. I don't know what the threshold is for the U.S. We certainly need more intercessors on behalf of our country in the spirit of Abraham. But we also need those who will seek to change the culture and transform the way that citizens think about morality, rather than simply outlaw actions that they accept without question.
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