COVENANTS
It has been long accepted that the Jewish people have been acknowledged as the chosen people of God. Through the covenant God made with Abraham the message was given that: “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you…” (Genesis 12:2). In spite of many indiscretions, God did just that and made Israel into a country to be reckoned with especially under the times of King David and King Solomon. But both of these kings turned away from God and the nation itself began a decline that did not end well.
Under Solomon’s successor, the nation of Israel split into two and the northern regions were eventually invaded and later conquered by the Assyrians. The prophet Isaiah talked about this when he referred to how blessings could once again be bestowed upon the nation.
…the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed…
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light…
You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy…
(Isaiah 9:1,2,3)
But there was also a warning issued in association with these words and so, to the people of Samaria this was stated:
The Lord sent a word against Jacob…
Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria-
who say in pride and arrogance of heart:
“The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with hewn stones;
The sycamores are cut down, but we will replace them with cedars.”
(Isaiah 9:8,9,10)
This was all a prophetic warning. The nation which had received a covenant from God indicating it would become a great nation had turned away from God and was now openly defying the Lord by stating that what the enemy had broken down, the people would rebuild bigger and stronger than before by their own strength and without reliance in any way on God.
Israel went on to compete defeat at the hands of the Assyrians and the Babylonians.
Did you know that when America was founded that it too was under a covenant? The leader of the Puritans, who were the first large wave of immigrants to the shores of America, was John Winthrop and he is considered to be the grandfather of his country. On the voyage to North America he wrote a message that would become, in effect, a vision for his colony. He wrote:
for we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill.
The eyes of all people are upon us.*
This really comes from a phrase in the Bible:
You are the light of the world.
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
(Matthew 5:14)
He also went further in saying at the founding of America:
Thus stands the cause between God and us.
We are entered into a covenant with Him for this work.
The Lord will be our God, and delight to dwell among us.*
But he also wrote these words:
But if our hearts shall turn away and we will not obey
So that we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken,
and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us,
we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.
We shall surely perish.*
God made a covenant with Israel but Israel did not keep God’s instruction. Even after the Assyrians invaded and subsequently withdrew, Israel vowed to rebuild stronger than before by their own volition, not apparently needing God. As a result, Israel was in the end completely defeated.
On the other hand, the founder of America made a covenant with God at America’s founding, a covenant which was initially honoured and America prospered and enlarged. The initial capital of America was New York where George Washington was inaugurated as president. But as time progressed, America, as did Israel, turned further and further away from God. And, as we all remember, America was attacked and the Gateway to America breached on Sept 11, 2001. This initial capital of the United States had been founded by Henry Hudson on Sept 11, 1609. Just a coincidence? Or was it sign that what had happened to Israel could happen here? Was this a confirmation of the vision of John Winthrop - that if our hearts turn away, we shall surely perish?
It is a chilling something to think about.
* The Harbinger 2 by Jonathan Cahn (pgs 108-111)
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