Title: Our Nation in peril, what is our recourse?
Text: Zechariah 9:1-12
Date: July 7. 2002
We all know what happened to the people of Israel when they abandoned God. God removed the hedge of protection around His people and thus allowed Israel’s neighbors to attack and persecute them. Over the course of many years, America has slowly turned away from God, and so it is easy to conclude that God might have removed His hedge of protection that was around us. As a result, this Country’s leaders have removed prayer from the schools. Some towns will not let churches do door to door ministry and most recently as we all know, a Judge in California ruled that the use of God’s name in the Pledge of Allegiance is also unconstitutional. It might not be too much longer until we find the words, “In God We Trust” removed from our currency.
It is difficult to deny that our Country is turning her back on God and as a result, I am concerned for our children and our families. If God is taken out of our Nation’s “big picture”, if churches become hindered in their mission efforts and if our children have less and less exposure to our one True God, what will become of our once Godly and Christian Nation? Will we become as lost and desolate as the Bible portrayed Israel to be over the course of their journey through the wilderness? Will God allow the enemies of His Word to utterly swoop in and devastate us even as he allowed such burdens upon the unrepentant children of Israel?
Through Scripture, we have learned that God would allow such devastation to befall his people. He did this with the hope that it would bring about a revival in their spirit. He would allow Israel’s enemies to have recourse and victory over them. God would actually use the enemies of Israel in order to bring about Judgment over His people. Our Father never delighted in sending His wrath. He just wanted His people to realize their sin, turn away from it, and turn back to Him so that He could bless them and so that they of course could see His blessings. And from time to time, Israel did just that. They saw that they could no longer trust in themselves for guidance. They remembered times past when God was in their midst and how comforting His presence was to them. As a result of that remembrance, and in true fear of God, they would turn back to Him, repent and find that God was very ready to make things right for them.
Our Country, our Christian leaders, you and I, would all do well to look upon God’s Word and especially upon Zechariah 9:1 through 12 for wisdom, direction and hope as we question the direction of our Nation. In verse one of Zechariah we read, “…For the eyes of men, especially all the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord”. This one sentence shows us the end result of repentance. This united activity of prayer and expectation gave to God the burden of His people. For the longest time, Israel’s neighbors seemed all too powerful. They seemed powerful because they were powerful! Israel’s enemies such as Tyre and Sidon built up large fortresses, they had more than enough wealth and they thought themselves to be wise enough to keep God at bay. From Israel’s point of view their enemies surrounded them on every side! It appeared to them that their enemies could not be destroyed.
Israel, trusting in her own power and strength and in truth, could not destroy her enemies. Isn’t that what seems to be going on in America today? Doesn’t it seem as if our enemy the Devil is having more and more victories? When I was a little boy, prayer in school was encouraged. Attending church was all but the norm and if anyone ever spoke up against the importance of God over our nation, they would have received instant rebuke. But now our rebuke seems almost silent. The enemies of God are all around us and they seem to be winning. It seems that there are more activities that speak out against God then there are activities that speak out in support of Him. For some, hopelessness is just a vote/opinion away.
As I mentioned earlier, when Israel recognized their hopelessness and their sin, they in turn united together in prayer and expectation and gave God their burden. And God gladly received it. He welcomed it as the proverbial Father welcomed his wayward son. When Jesus Christ was given to us as the means to take away our sins, He gladly offered himself as the Sacrifice needed to pay for the debt of our sins. Jesus took away the consequences of our sins 2000 years ago, by the shedding of His blood. And God gladly received it. God still gladly receives Jesus’ sacrifice as atonement for our sin just as our Savior gladly receives all the burdens we put upon Him all for the purpose of exchanging it with us His peace.
This Country right now has a heavy burden, and that is the burden of seeing God taken out of our children’s day-to-day lifestyle. For if they can no longer pray in school or acknowledge that God is sill the leader of our Nation, then truly what they are hearing from our Nation is that God really is not that important. But you and I know better. Our Lord God must be put first in everything that we do. He is to get the glory! He is to get the recognition that we are a free Nation because of His many blessings to us both during war and peacetime. He is the leader of our Nation, for without Him guiding our forefathers, could we truly have become the Nation that we are now? A Nation where slavery was abolished; A Nation where freedom reigns! How can our children make the connection that God is our leader, when our Nation removes his name from the “record book”?
Our only recourse is to follow the direction of the people of Israel. Their eyes turned to God, they gave to God their burden and God gladly received it. Then he responded. Throughout Chapter 9 of Zechariah, our Lord God Almighty made it clear to all Israel’s enemies that he was in charge. God cast the wealth of Tyre and Sidon into the sea as a result of receiving the prayers of His people. He delivered His people from having their blood shed any further. He proved to all Israel’s neighbors that there is no wisdom or counsel that can stand against Him. In short, God took his people under his special protection, and at the same time weakened their neighbors, so that they had no further power to do them harm.
The end result of God blessing Israel while destroying the sword of their enemies can be connected to our desire to have America become a God fearing Nation once more. For just as Almighty God acted for His children in Israel as a result of His people praying and leaning on Him, so too will he break the yoke of the enemies of God’s Word within our Nation as we join together in prayer, lifting our eyes up to God and to seek his favor and response.
God wanted to act for His people Israel but He waited for them to repent before He made His move. God right now is waiting for this Nation to repent and to turn back to Him. And that call to repent starts right here in Borger. But since we find that our Lord waited until all the tribes of Israel fixed their eyes upon Him, we must consider the possibility that our Lord wants not only our Churches to repent but also our public leaders and officials to do so as well. Therefore I encourage you all to write letters to congress, and other government officials and tell them your concerns and your expectations. Remind them that if they also want God to remain connected to our Nation through song, prayer and motto then they also need to turn their eyes to Almighty God.
The text in Zechariah brings us tremendous comfort. It reminds us that even in the worse of adversity, Almighty God can and will prevail. This is why Zechariah said, “rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! …See your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, …He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.” When Zechariah proclaimed this good news to his people, they did indeed rejoice for they were reminded that Almighty God was with them and would deliver them from their burdens.
You and I can rejoice even now because Jesus Christ, our King has come, gentile and riding on a donkey and He proclaimed peace to us. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ won for us salvation and restored our ability to communicate with God, we have recourse, we have hope and this hope will not disappoint.
Jesus says in Matthew 11:25 these words, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.” How wonderful it is that our Lord has shown us an answer to our questions and comfort to our burdens. But our prayer is that he uses us to reveal these hidden things to our leaders, so that they will know why it is so important to remain as one Nation under God and more importantly, that they would know the Saving Work of Jesus Christ our Lord.
As the Israelites remembered the love of their Father and thus turned to Him with prayer and expectation, I invite you to remember some more words from Jesus Christ. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentile and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” As servants of God, purchased and won by way of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we have the promise of rest and peace, even as our Lord receives and responds to our prayers of burden. The good news is that our Lord and Savior will respond to our prayers. He will restore us and he will give us His Peace.
Be encouraged, dear family in Christ that we have a God who is ready to act in our defense of the Gospel and in defense of his might. Thanks be to God.
