The Best Support And Safeguard Of Any Nation

When the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were divided, Rehoboam—the son of Solomon—had intended to attack Israel with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, but God intervened. God told the man of God Shemaiah to tell Rehoboam not rise up against their brethren. Rehoboam obeyed and fortified the cities of Judah and Benjamin, stockpiling arms and supplies and having a ready reserve of able warriors for the defense of their kingdom. King Rehoboam’s willingness to obey God, at least in this instance, became known throughout the land.

And then an amazing thing happened. We’ll pick the story up in 2 Chronicles 11:

    “And from all their territories the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him. For the Levites left their common-lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the Lord. Then he appointed for himself priests for the high places, for the demons, and the calf idols which he had made. And after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the Lord God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers. So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.” (2 Chronicles 11:13-17)

As a reminder, Jeroboam was King of Israel, a kingdom that included ten tribes of the original twelve descending from Jacob’s sons. Jeroboam knew that if revival broke out among the twelve tribes then no doubt a reunification of Israel might occur and he could possibly lose his crown, along with his head.

So Jeroboam decides to reject the Levitical priests ordained by God to serve in the Temple and he establishes polytheistic priests and houses of demon worship. And so a pilgrimage of Levites begins and they come to Jerusalem after having rejected the idol and demonic worship happening in the land of Israel. And because of this national revival in Judah, King Rehoboam and his subjects prospered for three years.

What can this mean for a nation who rejects idol and demonic worship and obeys the God of the Bible? It can mean a national prosperity and security no politician dare promise for fear of being deemed a foolish dreamer. Bible commentators Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown explain it:

    “This was an accession of moral power, for the maintenance of the true religion is the best support and safeguard of any nation; and as it was peculiarly the grand source of the strength and prosperity of the Hebrew monarchy, the great numbers of good and pious people who sought an asylum within the territories of Judah contributed greatly to consolidate the throne of Rehoboam.”

Some 2500 years after Rehoboam’s revival, a cargo ship carrying some 102 passengers and a couple of dozen crewmembers left England on a treacherous two-month trip wrought with disease, claiming the lives of two passengers. The Mayflower had set sail for present-day New York City, but ended up in Plymouth, Massachusetts. History gives a secular view of this event, but looking at the compact these pilgrims made with each other gives an insight into their hearts’ desires (translated into modern English):

    “…for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid;…”

These pilgrims of which we celebrate Thanksgiving Day came to America for the glory of God and the advancement of—not religion in general—but Christianity in particular and they established a civil covenant between themselves known as the Mayflower Compact. Bill Federer, author of “America’s God and Country: Encyclopedia of Quotations” writes of this Compact:

    “This covenant was so revolutionary that it has influenced all other constitutional instruments in America since.”

Our salvation as a nation will not be restored on November 6, 2012—Election Day—or January 20, 2013—Inauguration Day. Our nation will be restored when we the American Church decide to return to the founding roots of our nation—the Christian faith. And this faith cannot be a private one. This faith cannot be a secret one. As Dr. Charles Fowler preached this weekend at our Family Conference, there are no secret disciples.

When David was fleeing Saul, he found himself hiding out in a cave. In such an instance, when instead of sitting on the throne of Israel you find yourself hiding and cowering in a cave, fearing for your life, what might you write in your journal that day? David wrote what became the 57th Psalm, and in it he proclaimed:

    “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise. Awake, my glory! Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations. For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, and Your truth unto the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be above all the earth.” (Psalm 57:7-11)

The national election this coming November 6th is very important; the most important of my lifetime. Nevertheless, if America is to be rescued, it must happen through the churches across America.

Pulpits must be filled with men proclaiming Jesus.

Homes must be filled with men proclaiming Jesus.

Satan must be opposed everywhere by proclaiming Jesus.

Jesus, not man, is the answer for our country because He alone is the best support and safeguard of any nation.

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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    Copyright © 2012 David Jeffers

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