Remember, Remember

Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands…Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.

– Deuteronomy 8:2, 6-20

As I write this it is two days after July 4th, Independence Day, and I am currently sitting at the island in our kitchen finishing up the last bits of a large lunch and pondering whether to have chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla ice cream once I’m done writing. I only just regained a bit of hunger after feasting for most of the weekend on everything from hamburgers to candy to chips and salsa, and am still trying to catch up on sleep after staying up late enjoying myself.
It is in this context that I read those verses from Deuteronomy and wonder, do they apply to us? Did God have the United States of America in mind along with the Israelites when He had Moses speak those words? Is the warning written there one that we should heed? I am convinced so, for is not “all scripture God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16) And even apart from Biblical supports, have we not seen it happen time and time again throughout history that a nation turns from the Lord and not long after collapses?
I fear that our nation is well upon their way to a similar collapse. In this, I am not alone. Henry Blackaby, in his book titled “Holiness” cites the empires of Greece, Rome, Babylon, and Egypt as examples of what happens in nations that do not “remember the Lord”. Long have many great men warned of trouble to come, from Francis Schaeffer to George Washington to A.W. Tozer.
Truly, God has brought us “into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills”. Here we have prospered greatly, beyond nearly any other nation of the world. But just as Moses warned the Israelites, the deceitfulness of wealth (Matthew 13:22) has long been teaching us to say to ourselves, “my power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”
Even as I have just finished eating and am filled, so has our country long been satisfied by the good land that the Lord has given. Much like Israel’s desert years, America has seen the testing and discipline of the Lord, in the Civil War, the Great Depression, the World Wars, and other ways, but just like Israel we have forgotten time and again and have become proud, forgetting the God who brought us out from under the dominion of the British empire and into the freedom which we celebrated only days ago.
Oh, how far we are from the joyous obedience that we are called to! Surely blessings fall upon those who seek the Lord. Pray, Christian, that we as a people would return. Pray that God would draw people to Himself. Seek for grace and mercy and peace with all your hearts and strive to live as examples of people who have been humbled and do remember the Lord, even in a world that strives to make that impossible.
But for all of us, a warning, even as Moses warned the Israelites. “If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.” Look to history and see the scattering of Israel, the fall of Rome, and the collapse of Russia. Do not forget what has been proven true over and over; that apart from God no nation can long stand. See the danger that come so close to our country and pray that the Lord might call us to return to Himself, that we may be sustained.
Lastly, a note for the people of God in Christ Jesus; know that the Lord will always preserve a remnant of His own people. Whether America herself stands or falls as a nation matters not, do not fear for, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” (Psalm 115:3) and “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). So stand strong, even in the darkest of times, and spread the truth of the God who makes nations and empires both rise and fall.