Washington dedicated the United States to the worship of God, as Israel was so dedicated. The blessings of God came to the United States, as they did to Israel. Yet as Israel turned away from God, His blessings were withdrawn and their enemies prevailed. Is the United States nearing the same punishment for its apostasy?
The Bible’s records of God’s dealings with Israel and other nations serve as an example for us who live under the new covenant today who wonder about the nature of God’s dealings with nations today, including the United States (cf. 1 Cor. 10:11). A study of the biblical accounts of how God blessed and punished various nations and his reasons for doing so can give us much information which we can use to surmise how God views America and other nations today. However, today we do not have direct revelation from God concerning his views and plans for any modern country as the prophets and writers of Scripture had during biblical times. The Lord had informed Samuel and Saul directly and specifically of the reasons why the nation of Amalek was about to be wiped out by Israel (1 Sam. 15:1-3). He had also let Abram know in advance of his upcoming judgment against the Egyptians and Amorites and the reasons behind it (Gen. 15:13-16). Yet while we can learn lessons from that and similar episodes in the Bible, the Lord will not directly inform us today of his plans for the United States and the reasons behind them. That must always be kept in mind.
With that in mind, while contemplating whether God will soon punish the United States by complete annihilation or conquest as he had punished Israel for her apostasies as described in Judges, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, let us draw comparison with another city/state in the Bible to whom the Almighty condemned and punished severely: Sodom. In comparing Sodom with the United States, several things are worthy of note:
- Sodom was punished because of ungodliness (2 Pet. 2:6), fornication in the form of homosexuality (Jude 7), and selfish, prideful lack of benevolence to the needy in spite of excess of food and prosperous ease (Ezek. 16:49).
- Cities who unrepentantly rejected Christ would be in a worse predicament than Sodom on Judgment (Matt. 10:15; 11:23-24).
- God was willing to spare Sodom if 10-50 righteous people were found within it, possibly .5% of its population at most.
- The entire male population of the city was willing to commit homosexual rape of strangers (Gen. 19:4-5).
It is clear that the overall ungodliness of America is headed towards the same levels of Sodom…but are we there yet? Let’s compare:
- Homosexuality is embraced by many, even the majority, of our nation with signs that pedophilia and transgenderism are likewise soon to be accepted by many…but are all or even most of the population of the United States in favor of the homosexual rape of strangers?
- It is probable that more than .5% of the population of the United States are righteous or at the very least sincerely desiring to be righteous in the sight of God.
- Christ is generally accepted far more in the United States than could have been said of the Galilean cities of his day, of whom it was said were in worse shape than Sodom because of their rejection of him.
- The United States is prosperous, and we are pridefully selfish with our excess to a degree…but we are also well known for our benevolence toward many domestically and abroad.
If we continue down the road we’re on, we will likely arrive to where Sodom was within a few generations. Yet even now there is still much positive good in America, and we as Christians can make an impact for even more good. However, that will only happen if we are far more evangelistic than we currently are.
It should also be pointed out that God continually punished Israel for her sins without necessarily completely wiping her from existence as he did with Sodom. He punished her in various ways in addition to foreign conquest, such as with plague (Ex. 32:35; Joel 1:4ff) and economic and political hardship (Is. 1:21ff), and it is noteworthy that she continued to exist as a nation even after these punishments, sometimes with renewed prosperity. Even after Babylonian conquest and captivity, she eventually came back and lived as a nation in her homeland, yet never again with the same degree of national might that she had possessed before.
The United States has also experienced repeated instances of war, plague, economic hardship, and other types of hardship in addition to repeated times of prosperity. God’s providential hand is behind all of it. What plans does God have for us in the future? Only he knows. As American Christians, all we know is that by living faithfully and letting our light shine through good works and the spreading of the gospel, we are “the salt of the earth” that makes this country continue to be “tasteful” to God in spite of all her shortcomings. Should we as Christians become more worldly and less spiritual as a whole in this country, then we join with the ungodly in hastening whatever judgment and punishment God has stored up for her.