Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.”(1) The responsibility of which she spoke is a concern for the welfare of others, and the nation as a whole. When the citizens of a country become self-centered and me-oriented, freedom is soon lost.
Freedom is very costly. Millions of brave men and women died for the freedom we now experience in this country. Freedom does not come free of charge, for sacrifices have to be made. Freedom is not only obtained by the sacrifice of human life, it is gained by the sacrifice of personal entitlement for the good of the country as a whole. The concept of entitlement and individual rights has been taken to the extreme of disregard for all morality, authority, and the feelings of others for the sake of the individual.
Selfishness and apathy eventually lead to complete moral decay. Moral decay leads to abuses and criminal activity, which necessitates the establishment of more rules, laws and regulations to maintain order; and with the increase of regulations comes a decline in personal freedom. For example, terrorist activity has led to our airports becoming the place where we are least free in this country. The Constitution no longer applies when you set foot inside an airport.
With the idea of self in mind, we gladly accept the imposition of more rules and regulations, believing they are for our own well-being; but before long, all freedom is lost. In 1742 Scottish philosopher David Hume wrote, “It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once. Slavery has so frightful an aspect to men accustomed to freedom that it must steal in upon them by degrees and must disguise itself in a thousand shapes in order to be received.”(2)
This process of moving from a free nation to a nation under bondage is one we can observe in the Bible, and one of which the Lord warned Israel to watch out for. I believe it is imperative that we learn a huge lesson from the rise and fall of Israel, as our own country is teetering on the verge of bondage and loss of freedom.
I find it interesting that we will observe in the Scripture what has been noted of all great nations of the world. Professor Alexander Taylor, who lived at the time of the American Revolution, wrote that, “The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years.”(3) He said that they all progressed through a sequence which he called “The Cycle of Freedom.”
This cycle can be condensed into four stages (Charlie Crumley), which are: 1.) The Bondage Stage, 2.) The Freedom Stage, 3.) The Self-Interest Stage, and 4.) The Chaos Stage.(4) And under each stage we will examine two specific processes, for a total of eight processes altogether, which move a nation through each successive level of The Freedom Cycle (derived from Taylor’s model).
THE BONDAGE STAGE
We will begin by looking at The Bondage Stage. The Freedom Cycle starts with people being subjected to somebody or something. For example, Israel came under the bondage of Egypt.
Under Joseph the Israelites were free and living in prosperity and abundance in Goshen (Gn 47:27), and they owned real estate there (47:11, 27). They made their abode in the very best of the land of Egypt (47:6). The Lord had sent Israel to Egypt to save His people from a famine, but it was never His will that His children remain there and become enslaved.
The people had an opportunity to return to Canaan, but they refused (cf. Genesis 50:4-10, 14). They chose not to return, because liked where they were living. They liked all the free handouts of grain and provision from Egypt, and complacency with where they were living led to their enslavement.
I recently read the story of an Eastern European immigrant from one of the countries of the former Soviet Union. In a conversation with someone he asked, “Do you know how to capture wild hogs?” When the listener replied, “No” then the former resistance fighter said,
In the forests of my homeland live wild hogs. To capture them, we found a clearing and placed a pile of corn in its center, which we replenished every day. When the hogs found the corn they began to come every day to get a free meal. After a time, when they had gotten used to getting a free meal, we built a fence on one side of the clearing. The hogs became skittish at first, but soon came back to the clearing for the corn. Eventually they ignored the fence and became oblivious to the restriction on their freedom that it imposed.
When they became so used to the fence that they no longer noticed it, we built a second fence on another side of the clearing. Again, the hogs became wary but quickly became complacent because of the free meals they were getting. When they became used to the second fence, we built a third and finally a fourth fence with a gate that we left open. Soon they once again became complacent and oblivious to the enclosure. When they were calm and ignoring the fences, we closed the gate, preventing the hogs from leaving. They tried to escape, but it was too late. They had been captured by their dependency and desire for free handouts.
Selfishness, a me-orientation, and complacency eventually leads to the loss of freedom and bondage.
Let’s take a look at the first process to moving out of bondage.
From Bondage to Spiritual Faith - God’s people Israel came under a new Pharaoh who did not know Joseph, and at that time they were enslaved (Exodus 1:8-14); however the people’s faith grew strong and they cried out to the Lord. The Lord told Moses, “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians” (Exodus 3:7-8a).
Let’s take a look at the second process to moving out of bondage.
From Spiritual Faith to Great Courage - The Lord sent Moses to the people as a deliverer (Exodus 3:10), and the Bible says that when he and Aaron arrived in Egypt, “The leaders were soon convinced that the Lord had sent Moses and Aaron. And when they realized that the Lord had seen their misery and was deeply concerned for them, they all bowed their heads and worshipped” (Exodus 4:31, NLT). We see that faith in God’s message of deliverance led to courage within the people.
THE FREEDOM STAGE
Let’s now look at The Freedom Stage. In this stage the excesses of those in control lead to conflict to obtain freedom.
Let’s take a look at the first process to obtaining freedom.
From Courage to Liberty - Moses went at God’s command and became the instrument through whom God spoke His judgments and brought down numerous plagues upon the Egyptians.
Egypt suffered one last blow with the destroying angel (Ex 12:23), and on that night the Hebrew people observed their very last meal in Egypt, which was the Passover. It was eaten with great haste (Ex 12:11), for they would begin their journey the very next day! The Bible says, “And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested . . . And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years . . . that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:36a, 41).
Let’s take a look at the second process to obtaining freedom.
From Liberty to Abundance - They Israelites were eventually delivered unto Canaan, which was a place of great abundance. The Lord told Moses, “I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8a). He told Israel, “I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant” (Joshua 24:13, cf. Deuteronomy 6:10-11).
THE SELF-INTEREST STAGE
Let’s now look at the self-interest stage. In this stage freedom leads to self-interest, factions, group interest, political parties and internal conflict.
We read in the book of judges, that soon after being delivered, “Another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things He had done for Israel” (Judges 2:10, NLT). The people forgot about the Lord and they instead served themselves and other gods.
This led to both trouble within and without, and the need for the Lord to appoint judges to govern and guide His people. The Scripture says, “Then the Lord raised up judges to rescue the Israelites from their enemies” (Judges 2:16, NLT). Soon after the advent of judges, came the rise of politics and factions, and the people eventually demanded a king to rule over them, as a way of showing off to the other nations (1 Samuel 8:4-5).
However, many of the kings became concerned only for their own welfare, disobeying the Lord and His commands for their own personal gain (1 Samuel 15:1-3, 7-9), and subjecting the citizens to harsh treatment (1 Kings 12:8-14). They also worshipped other gods.
Let’s take a look at the first process in moving toward self-interest, and I wish to invite you to look at Deuteronomy chapter 28, beginning with verse 15.
From Abundance to Complacency - God had actually warned Israel against complacency. In Deuteronomy 28:15 He said, “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you . . .” I wish to encourage you to read through this entire passage on your own, for I am only going to share with you a few of the curses that the Lord mentioned. Take a look at verses 30-34, and verses 36-37:
30 You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them. 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand. 33 A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually. 34 So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see . . . 36 The LORD will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods - wood and stone. 37 And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the LORD will drive you.
Verse 30 reminds me of what’s going on in America today: “You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her.” Adultery is rampant in our country today, and faithfulness is lacking. The root cause is self-centeredness and a disregard for the feelings of one’s spouse. “You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it.” How many home loans have been defaulted on, leading to foreclosures? Guess what? The same me-orientation has caused people to buy what they cannot afford. “You shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes.” In other words, you shall start a job and be laid off just as you are getting ready to benefit from your long, hard years of service. These are just a few parallels that I see with our own country.
Verses 32-34 and 36-37 warn of how the Lord would allow Israel to become invaded by another country, subjecting them to a dictatorship and hard bondage. Are we headed down the same path, to fall as a nation, or even be invaded? The Lord warned that all this would occur when the people disregarded their abundance and took it for granted. If you look on down at verse 47, the Lord told His people that these things would happen, “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything.”
Let’s take a look at the second process in moving toward self-interest (I wish to invite you to look at 2 Chronicles chapter 36, beginning with verse 5).
From Complacency to Apathy - The people and the leaders of Israel came to a place where they had a complete and total lack of regard for the Lord. Follow along with me as I read verses 5, 9, and 11-12:
5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God . . . 9 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD . . . 11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD.
If you will read through many of the chapters prior to 36, you will notice that there were some really bad kings. In each case where a king disregarded the Lord, God threatened to allow Israel to fall; however the very next king would do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, thereby staying God’s hand. The next king would be bad, and the next good, and so forth, holding back the Lord’s judgment; but here we have three bad kings in succession. Three in a row was the final straw! Anyhow, we see here that the leadership began disregarding the Lord.
Follow along as I read through verses 14-16:
14 Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the LORD which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. 15 And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. 16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy.
It was bad enough that the country’s kings, or leaders, disregarded the Lord; but we see here that many of the church leaders and the people did as well. God had compassion on His people by warning them of impending judgment, but they would not listen to His prophets and preachers. They came to a point where “there was no remedy.” Are we at a point in America right now, where there is no remedy?
THE CHAOS STAGE
Let’s now look at the chaos stage, which leads to the dissolution of freedom and a return into bondage.
Let’s take a look at the first process in moving toward chaos.
From Apathy to Dependency - Apathy leads to internal conflict, which leads to chaos, which in turn leads to a desire to reduce the chaos with a single authority. Skip back up to 2 Chronicles 36, verses 9-10 and follow along as I read:
9 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD. 10 At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar summoned him and took him to Babylon, with the costly articles from the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah, Jehoiakim's brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.
Sometimes the single authority that ends the chaos is not elected by the people, but it occurs by force. In America that would be called a declaration of martial law. In this case King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon selected who would govern Israel, and his intervention came at a high price. He took expensive articles from the house of the Lord, and Israel came under a yoke of additional laws from another land.
What I find interesting is that King Nebuchadnezzar was given authority over Israel by the Lord, Himself. For instance, down in verse 13 we read that King Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah swear an oath to God to obey the Lord and be a good leader for Israel, but the Scripture says, “But he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel.” The Lord allowed Israel to come under a dictatorship, so the people would eventually realize their need for Him and repent.
Let’s take a look at the second process in moving toward chaos.
From Dependence Back to Bondage - Dependence on a single leader or dictator eventually leads to a full surrender of control and loss of all freedom. Follow along as I read 2 Chronicles 36, verses 17-20:
17 Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans [or the king of Babylon], who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. 19 Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. 20 And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia.
Time of Reflection
Israel made a complete journey through The Cycle of Freedom to wind up in bondage by Babylon. The Lord had warned His people to stay faithful to Him. When Israel went astray He then warned the people to repent, however they refused to listen and suffered the consequences.
The bottom line is that we have been through The Cycle of Freedom here in America and we are headed toward a complete loss of freedom. As I said, our freedom came at a great price with the lives of so many brave men and women. Are we throwing it all away with our disregard for the Lord, and with our selfishness and complacency?
The Scripture said of Israel, “The wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy” (2 Chronicles 36:16b). If we don’t soon wake up and repent we will be at the point of no return. I encourage you to learn the example the Israelites set for us the hard way.
Let’s wake up and reject the notion of entitlement, stop harping about individual rights, and stop demanding freebies from our government. Let’s begin to become responsible for our own actions and show a concern for others, and act with discretion in business. And first and foremost, let’s repent and return unto the Lord!
Since we have mentioned a concern for individuals, I want to tell you that as an individual you are held accountable for your actions in this life. The Bible says “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). The result of running from the Lord is spiritual bondage, and ultimately an eternity in hell, but that does not have to be your fate if you will confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, for “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b).
NOTES
(1) Eleanor Roosevelt, BrainyQuote, http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/ eleanorroo166988.html.
(2) The Founders’ Constitution, Volume 5, Amendment I (Speech and Press), Document 2 (The University of Chicago Press), http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/ documents/amendI_speechs2.html.
(3) M. J. Ryan, The Cycle of Freedom, Saturday, May 23, 2009, http://www. thepatriotview.com/2009/05/cycle-of-freedom.html.
(4) Charlie Crumley, The Freedom Cycle, http://www.charliecrumley.net/html_docs/ freedomcycle.html.
