What Worldview?
In the past two weeks, much of my Bible reading has been from the Old Testament in Samuel, the Kings, and the Chronicles. In only a few chapters, the authors cover hundreds of years of Israel’s history from the inauguration of David as king to the captivities of the Assyrians and Babylonians. If we read only about the life of David and assume he was typical of all Israel’s kings, we would be terribly mistaken. The prosperity of David lasted forty years until his son Solomon ascended the throne. Solomon’s reign was spectacular but his incomplete obedience to God’s commands set the stage for the division of the kingdom and leading to the previously mentioned captivities.
Since decades and centuries progress in only a few pages of scripture, we may be confused, thinking the time between events is more compressed than it is. Many of the forays of Israel into idolatry occur after miracles, revivals, and rededications. The next page or next few verses find Israel in the same condition as before or perhaps even worse. My point in bringing this to your attention is that falling into sin does not usually happen immediately after the Lord’s blessing, but gradually drifts downward as we continue to neglect our worship of God. It is difficult to imagine that after God obtained a great victory over Israel’s enemies that the next scene finds them worshipping Baal or Molech. Likewise, in our rededications to the Lord, it takes time for us to become apathetic towards His work again. Yet, it does happen if we are not diligent every day to pray and read His word. The mind emptied of the good thoughts of salvation is fertile ground for Satan’s schemes.
While we clearly understand Israel is not emblematic of the United States, we are still able to apply her lessons to our circumstances. I will not argue for calling this country a Christian nation, but it is certainly true that Christianity has been our dominant religion, and our founders applied principles of Christianity and the scriptures to the formation of our government. When the scripture says God enthrones kings and deposes them as well, it is obvious not all these rulers are Christians. There must be some expectation that government leaders will act with righteous principles. This is true because people who lead governments have God’s law written on their hearts. They instinctively know what is moral and what is not. Abandoning their base morality and denying it is a product of immoral education and time. Educating perversely for lengthy periods sears the conscience and renders it inoperable.
The heading of an article I recently viewed said, “Civilization will never escape the descendants of Cain.” This is true. Thus, there are unthinkable atrocities committed from the river to the sea. Crimes without conscience or mercy are too common. One people intent on destroying others stems from a different worldview from those who are descendants of Seth. Much like ancient Israel, our downward trajectory has taken an accumulation of years with no education in God’s ordained principles. When a politician says we can find his worldview in scripture, perhaps we should listen and not fall into captivity.
Pastor V. Mark Smith