Why Does God Judge A Nation?

“Thus says the LORD:

‘For three transgressions of Damascus,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they have threshed Gilead

with threshing sledges of iron.

So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael,

and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.

I will break the gate-bar of Damascus,

and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven,

and him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden;

and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir,

says the LORD.

“Thus says the LORD:

‘For three transgressions of Gaza,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they carried into exile a whole people

to deliver them up to Edom.

So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza,

and it shall devour her strongholds.

I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod,

and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;

I will turn my hand against Ekron,

and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,’

says the Lord GOD.

“Thus says the LORD:

‘For three transgressions of Tyre,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they delivered up a whole people to Edom,

and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.

So I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre,

and it shall devour her strongholds.’

“Thus says the LORD:

‘For three transgressions of Edom,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because he pursued his brother with the sword

and cast off all pity,

and his anger tore perpetually,

and he kept his wrath forever.

So I will send a fire upon Teman,

and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.’

“Thus says the LORD:

‘For three transgressions of the Ammonites,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead,

that they might enlarge their border.

So I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah,

and it shall devour her strongholds,

with shouting on the day of battle,

with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;

and their king shall go into exile,

he and his princes together,’

says the LORD.

“Thus says the LORD:

‘For three transgressions of Moab,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because he burned to lime

the bones of the king of Edom.

So I will send a fire upon Moab,

and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth,

and Moab shall die amid uproar,

amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;

I will cut off the ruler from its midst,

and will kill all its princes with him,’

says the LORD.

“Thus says the LORD:

‘For three transgressions of Judah,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they have rejected the law of the LORD,

and have not kept his statutes,

but their lies have led them astray,

those after which their fathers walked.

So I will send a fire upon Judah,

and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.’

“Thus says the LORD:

‘For three transgressions of Israel,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they sell the righteous for silver,

and the needy for a pair of sandals—

those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth

and turn aside the way of the afflicted;

a man and his father go in to the same girl,

so that my holy name is profaned;

they lay themselves down beside every altar

on garments taken in pledge,

and in the house of their God they drink

the wine of those who have been fined.’”

Solomon has written:

“Righteousness exalts a nation,

but sin is a reproach to any people.”

[PROVERBS 14:34]

Ultimately, this proverb provides the reason the Lord God judges any nation. Sin is offensive to Holy God; and when sin is not only tolerated, but celebrated, it is but a matter of time until judgement must be unleashed. Let our own nation take note and turn from doing that which invites divine judgement. Of course, we aren’t likely to turn from our sins, since we have concluded, in our arrogance, that we are not sinful. I’ve lived a long time, and I observe that the course of nations is away from righteousness. During the years of my pilgrimage, I’ve seen societies turn righteousness on its head. We call evil good, and good evil. We pervert the course of justice, and imagine that the Holy One will be pleased with us.

Consider contemporary culture as a warning of behaviour that invites divine judgement. Our culture seems fluid, moving ever farther from a biblical worldview. Without a moral standard that was generally accepted in years past, our culture has embraced tolerance of all standards, which means that a fixed standard of morality is anathema to the majority. As an example of what I mean, consider that the life of a child in the uterus depends upon the subjective decision of that child’s mother. Moreover, she will be making her decision on whether the child can live or must be sacrificed at a time when she is most vulnerable.