The concept of an angry God based upon the readings in the Old Testament is not an original thought. Layman and theologians alike for millennia have debated the concepts of a God who punishes people for sins. Since the Resurrection with the new paradigm of God offering Mercy, the dialogue continues. Sin has profound consequences, albeit God is a loving God, but He is also a just God.
At Fatima, Lucia told the world the Blessed Mother said to her, “That war was a punishment for sins of mankind.” On another occasion Lucia was told, “People were falling into hell like snowflakes for sins of the flesh.” In a world of unhealthy political correctness that lacks the backbone and conviction of unvarnished truth, both of those views are very unpopular today in a world with a watered down and sanitized version of the strength of God’s Word.
God is a God of love and can do no evil. He does not punish. It is man that gives the devil room to maneuver if there is sin, thus giving Satan a stronghold, foothold, or toehold in our lives. Sin is a separation from the will of God, allowing the devil to gain a portal of entry. Isaiah writes, “It has been your sin that has separated you from God” (59:2). Obedience is a condition for blessings. God will still love you unconditionally if there is sin and will not abandon us. However, the blessings may not flow if there isn’t fidelity to His law.
Is America Under God’s Judgment?
Jesus said, “I did not come to abolish the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them.” (Matt. 5:17). Many people today are asking if America is under God’s judgment. Is the protective hedge down because of the sins of the nation? If God blesses a nation because of its virtue, is there a curse due to sin? Is there a consequence of sin that manifests itself in the welfare of a nation? Are there long-term repercussions for a nation that doesn’t just allow abortion and homosexuality and other incalculable immorality, but government sponsored programs that actually promote these immoral acts? Meanwhile, in many ways the government is punishing those who do not go along with them.
Deuteronomy 28 presents a haunting dilemma on just this issue of a merciful, yet just God. It is a long chapter with a total of 69 verses. In verse one, the Lord gives a condition for blessings. “But if you obey the voice of Yahweh your God faithfully, keeping and observing all those commandments of His that I enjoin on you today, Yahweh your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All the blessings that follow shall come with you and overtake you if only you obey the voice of Yahweh your God.”
Man often has a propensity to confound clear writing into murky doctrine over time, but there is little room needed for clarification here. There are blessings bestowed upon God’s people when they are faithful to His statues and commands.
Blessings Are Given
For the first fourteen verses the blessings are given to His people. It says, “You will be blessed in the town and the country, your children, your family, your livestock, your cattle, your flock, your soil, your bread, your comings and goings, conquering your enemies, blessings your barns and your undertakings, all your land I have given you, a great store of things, open the heavens of His rich treasure, seasonable rain for your land, the fruit of the produce of your soil, nations your subjects and not serving other nations, bless all the work of your hands, not serving any other gods…” and so forth. The blessings are very general and cover the broad spectrum of prosperous living under the protection and mantle of God.
However, in verse fifteen there is a shift based on the condition of obedience “But if my people do not obey the voice of Yahweh your God nor keep and observe all those commandments and statues of his that I enjoin on you today, then all the curses that follow shall come up with you and overtake you.” The IF THEN clause is given to the people of Israel time and time again, and the very issue of obedience to the Lord is a common theme for blessings. IF my people do this, THEN…
Curses
For the next 54 verses until the end of the chapter, Yahweh lists how sin destroys the individual, the family, the culture, and the whole of society – and they are very specific. There will be droughts, blight, rain, fire, illness, foreigners taking over your land, invasion, taking delight to bring you to ruin, no rest for the sole of your foot, destruction, sons and daughters handed over to other people, no fruit from your soil, wars, famine, pestilence, strangers living among you taking over, no respect for the old and pity for the young, enemies will besiege you, no fruit for your offspring, plagues on your descendants, disease, “ and other cursing rather than blessing. The above is just a small sample of the specificity how the Lord breaks a stiff-necked people. Yes, there is mystery to where we all see through the glass darkly.
If volume is an indication of the Lord trying to make a point, the cursing is very precise how He will bring His people back to him by a factor of nearly four to one in narrative. If one is intellectually honest they will admit that the blessings on this country have eroded over the last generation. Is sin a factor? You decide based upon facts and observation. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of God endures forever. The fact is the U.S. can no longer afford sin if it is to restore what has been lost. Do we need to reside in the ashes before we come to our senses? The earth itself is groaning due to sin.
If one looks at the fires lighting up the west, hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas inland, and Louisiana, the data is in. Hurricane Irma hit the entire state of Florida from Key West to the Georgia border and the damage is cumulatively over $350 billion. Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States, and Florida is the fourth largest state. In addition, Houston has the largest abortion mill in the entire world. The fact is, the emotional and psychological damage to millions of lives is incalculable that will take a generation to heal and get back to normal for many—if ever.
Since Hurricane Andrew in 1994, America has spent well over $1.5 trillion on natural disasters and that number is climbing fast. The hurricanes are just the most visible event wreaking havoc on America. The U.S territory of Puerto Rico with 3.41 million people was hit so hard by Hurricane Maria, it may not recover for another fifty years. To date, the damage is unable to be calculated. Already sitting on $74 billion in debt and completely bankrupt, lenders will not be rushing in anytime soon to bail them out.
Sin has consequences.
JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU