Immediately following the dedication of the temple, Solomon prayed for God’s intervention in seven probable national needs. In each case, he implored God for His commitment that if the people were to repent, God would hear from heaven and forgive their sin. In II Chron. 6: 24-25, Solomon asked God a third question: “And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall return and confess Thy name and pray and make supplication before thee….then will you hear from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people….?
When a nation as a whole forsakes God, it suffers the withdrawal of God’s protection which leads to military defeat. In previous verses, God indicates that He will not bless the nation that turns away from Him or distorts justice by punishing the righteous and rewarding the wicked. In our nation, we no longer see His hand of blessing, and we certainly witness an increasing trend of government sanctioned injustice. Unfortunately, we are also experiencing repeated military defeat – in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, “the war on terror,” Syria, and likely Iraq .
We are not only losing wars against national enemies, we are also losing against the enemies of freedom, of Biblical Truth, of the Rule of Law, and against the enemies who wish to completely destroy America and Christians. The stark reality is that technology now makes our enemies as close as a switch or keystroke on a computer. Refusing to admit God’s role in making our economy strong, ensuring our national security over the years, and being the strength behind our strong military, our leaders arrogantly believe that they are in control and our nation cannot fall. In pride, our nation – like Israel of old – will one day awaken to find that we rejected God’s warning signs one day too long. Repeated military defeat is another sign of God’s warning of judgment against our country as we continually turn our backs on Him. The remaining 4 signs of God’s judgment increase in intensity. The clock is ticking.
This is the fourth in an eight part series, “Can We Know if God’s Judgment is on America? – The Background to Understanding God’s Promise in II Chronicles 7:14”.