Doomed Democracy

Blessings and Cursings

God’s people were promised blessings when they love and respect God and each other, and promised destruction when they devote themselves to the love of this world (the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life).

Just before his death, Moses spoke these words to Israel, Deut 30:14-20-- "See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity;  in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.”

"But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.”

 "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

The history of Israel demonstrated the resulting blessing and cursing of God’s people. Under David, who loved God with all his heart, Israel became a powerful nation. But when Israel turned her back on God, and did the things she pleased, destruction followed.

We are supposed to learn something from those events. Paul wrote that we should avoid Israel’s mistakes, 1 Cor 10:1-12—For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.

Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.  Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.

Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, "THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY."

Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.

Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.

Our nation has been blessed as no other nation in the history of the world has been blessed. Those blessings grew from hearts devoted to service and to pleasing God. But we have become a nation devoted to pleasing ourselves. And the house of cards constructed by greed and deceit is collapsing around us.

We are not blessed by democracy, as we see all around us the inherent failure of rule of the majority in situations where the majority are involved in malicious mischief. How would you like to live under a democracy where the Muslim Brotherhood has the majority?

How long do we have before our nation is cursed because of unbelief?  I do not know, and am not worried. Even if the world as we have known it collapses, and people have to return to the basics of life, working for food, clothing, and shelter, all who trust in YHWH will be blessed.

We are blessed when we love and respect God and each other. There is no other source of lasting blessings than what is given by God based upon faith in Him. 

Life does not consist of the abundance of things we possess, but in the abundance of gifts we can offer in service to God and each other. As Yeshua said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Everyone needs to be reminded of this from time to time, so that we do not forget the source of all good things.

So love and trust God with all our being, and say a kind word to our neighbors. Let us be ready to help each other face the challenges ahead.