It is of little doubt that Lincoln was
thinking of the great kings of the Bible when he contemplated the "salvation of the
Lord" that befell his own country, America. One of these infamous monarchs, Hezekiah,
had received the word from the Assyrian king, Sennacherib (705-681 BC.), "Do not
let the God you depend on deceive you when he says, 'Jerusalem will not be
handed over to the king of Assyria.' Surely you have heard what the kings of
Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will
you be delivered? Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my forefathers
deliver them: the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph and the people of Eden
who were in Tel Assar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Sepharvaim, of Hena or
Ivvah?" (II Kings 19:10b-13 niv)
The Jewish nation at that juncture of
history found itself opposed to the most formidable foe the world had ever known. The
Assyrian people, through mass destruction, had put together the first true empire in world
history. Other cultures, such as the Egyptians, Akakadians, Cretans, Babylonians, and
Hittites, had set out on conquests of their own, but none were able to affect more than
just areas in their own locality. They were empires dominating particular areas of the Near
East. Assyria though, exploded out of Mesopotamia like a whirlwind, subjugating anyone
they pleased.
It was a nation who served the god Asur
acquired from the Babylonians. Asur originally Asit, "the leader" in war, who in
Babylon was associated with the sun, was a warrior-god who hurled himself at his enemies
while armed with a bow with victory in his eyes. He was the figure of the ancient Nimrod,
the "mighty hunter before the Lord" who had lead the people of the world into
rebellion against God. The Babylonians had built a tower in order to become great
themselves. They infuriated the Lord. It was because of that mutinous deed that the
languages of the nations were confused and the people scattered throughout the earth. (Gen
10:8-11, 11:1-9)
The worship of this god was associated
with the city of Asur, where he was worshipped. In the older empire, the combination of
this warrior-god (who was the specific god of the commander of the army), and the deified
capitol city to which the army belonged, caused Asur to become a national deity of this
military kingdom. It was no wonder that the religion of that mighty nation glorified
strength and power rather than ethical values. It is no surprise that they displayed a
brand of cruelty that had never been witnessed before. A culture without an ethical base
can only acquire the most sordid and vicious countenance.
The words of Tiglath-pileser I (c. 1076
BC) illustrates how this warrior-god filled the hearts of the Assyrian people with visions
of world conquest. "With the help of Asur, my lord, I gathered my chariots and my
troops. I looked not behind me. MountKashirari, a difficult region, I traversed. With
their twenty-thousand warriors and their five kings, I fought in the land of Kutmuhi and I
defeated them. The corpses of their warriors I hurled down in a destructive battle like
the storm (god). Their blood I caused to flow in the valley and on the high places of the
mountains. I cut off their heads and outside their cities, like heaps of grain, I piled
them up. Their spoil, their goods, and their possessions, in countless numbers I brought
out."
Except for a temporary faltering in the
eighth century BC., the relentless force of the loot-hungry kings continued relentlessly
until most of the Orient was subdued.
It was in the second Assyrian Empire,
though, that the true strength of this nation's military might came to bear its awesome
influence on the world. Tiglath-pileser IV (745-727 BC) was the one who made Assyria the
dominant power in Western Asia. The army was re-organized and made invincible as the
empire now became centralized in Nineveh, to be governed by a bureaucracy headed by the
king. This famed capitol of the ancient Assyrian empire was located 280 miles north of Babylon,
on the banks of the TigrisRiver in Mesopotamia, a stone's throw away from man's origin in
Eden.
Originally built by Nimrod himself, Nineveh
was called the "RobberCity," for it overran and pillaged other nations to
enrich itself. This was no minor metropolis. If the statement in John 4:11 that says the
city contained 120,00 persons who could not tell between their right hand and left was
referring to children, then the population would have numbered about 600,000. At any rate
it was a three day's journey to walk across it. (John 3:3)
For centuries the city remained without
a wall in an era when walls were the main means of protection for any metropolis. This
shows the confidence of these antagonistic aggressors who knew they were safe in the power
of their own might. It was the antagonist of Hezekiah, Sennacherib who finally constructed
a defensive structure around Nineveh. The great wall that safeguarded the inner-city went
by the name Bad-imgallabi-lu-susu which translated means "the wall whose glory
overthrows the enemy." The 50 foot wide wall stood ominously 100 feet above the
horizon, presenting itself a formidable foe against any attacker. There was an outer wall
that was made "high like a mountain" laid on a foundation of blocks of stone to
frustrate its undermining by the high water level. To look at this stalwart fortress, one
would have to assume it was impregnable.
The infamous King Sennacherib did not
have the military skill or the administrative abilities of his father Sargon (722-705
BC.). Sargon had captured Israel's ten tribes in 722 BC., carrying 27,290 of its
inhabitants into captivity (as prophesied by the prophets in accordance to their iniquity
towards God). His life of cruelty was justly rewarded as he was murdered. . . and the
wicked king passed into the pages of history.
Sargon's son, Sennacherib did not lack
for a zeal for cruelty towards his enemies. His reign was aggravated by constant revolt in
Babylonia, which ended in his razing the sacred city of Babylon to the ground in 689 BC.
Then he set his wrath towards the chosen
people of God. In 701 BC Sennacherib assumed his campaign against Hezekiah of Judah.
The Assyrians were not at a deficiency
for the devices of conquest such as the one waged against the children of Israel. War has
been with humanity since the beginning of time; but it was the Assyrians who
revolutionized it into a fearful art. This was accomplished through the employment of
terror and technology. They had managed to develop an understanding of the use of the
pulley and the roller, allowing them to devise various engines of war suitable for
demolishing or undermining the protective walls of the world's most celebrated cities. To
reduce the heavy losses of siege operations, these pillagers constructed large battering
rams to demolish the gates that stood in defiance to their goals. The technique of
underground mining allowed them successfully to annihilate most impregnable fortresses
with ease.
As the walls crumbled before their
mighty hand, the nations became easy prey for their vigilant cavalry, infantry, bowmen,
mounted archers, slingers, and corps of charioteers. Up until this time, kingdoms had
employed militias to defend their boarders. But the Assyrians established a permanent,
professional army composed of all of their nation's men. This grand machine was the first
to employ the use of iron weapons in such a grand scale that no realm was a match before
their unshakable resolve.
Sennacherib had outfitted his mighty
horsemen with a coat of mail, affording protection as they charged relentlessly upon their
foes. They had trodden over every adversary with such malevolent ferocity that entire
civilizations were castigated in their mighty hands. To defray the mass of chariots that
opposed them, a new type of cavalry was devised. Equipped with their superior weapons this
body of fighting men would initiate quick thrusts through the enemy ranks with the same
ferocity of the Nazi tanks in WWII, scattering enemy ranks into unorganized groups that
were easily surrounded and destroyed. For the first time, Assyria had melded terror and
war together as a system of consistent national policy, and the world shook in its
presence.
Upon learning that their dreaded legions
were in their vicinity, many city states would send out emissaries, not to negotiate, but
rather offer their unconditional surrender in hopes of receiving mercy from the captors.
For the most part, these hopes were in vain. The vast majority of Assyria's prey became
the victims of mass liquidation and deportation. It appeared that the world was Assyria's
for the taking, as none would be able to stand against them. None but the Lord God
Almighty.
Archaeologists have uncovered the ruins
of Nineveh to discover the ancient palace of the king who threatened Hezekiah with his
abominable fury. The approach to the building was guarded with gargantuan winged bulls who
bore on their bodies the annals of the king. Immense halls 40 feet wide and 180 feet long
lead to this magnificent structure containing no less than 71 halls, chambers, and
passages. The walls of this adorned structure were embellished with panels of alabaster,
sculptured to depict the king's wars, triumphs and great deeds. Two milesbas-reliefs with
twenty-seven portals, formed by ponderous winged bulls and lion-sphinxes were uncovered.
The annals of Sennacherib are inscribed on the man-headed winged bulls, and on a terra
cotta and baked clay cylinder.
These give a rather complete account of
his conquests including his capture and destruction of BabylonBC, his relentless drive
towards Egypt, and the invasion of Judea. The capture of the Judean city of Lachish is
recalled with the words, "Sennacherib King of the Universe, King of Assyria, sat upon
a throne and reviewed the spoil. . ."
Numbering the Palestinian cities he had
captured in that campaign the walls declare that Sennachrib had shut up Hezekiah
"like a caged bird" as he sought to lay siege on the city of Jerusalem. It was
from Lachish that the mighty ruler of the universe sent a detachment of troops and
messengers to deliver the letter that discounted Judah's potency, taunted them concerning
their confidence in Egypt and scorned their trust in their God.
Hezekiah received the letter from the
messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before
the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: "O Lord, God of Israel,
enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. Give
ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib
has sent to insult the living God.
"It is true, O Lord, that the
Assyrian Kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods
into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone,
fashioned by men's hands. Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all
kingdoms on earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are God." (II Kings 19:14-19
niv)
But Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to
the king asserting, "Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:
"He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it
with shield or build a siege ramp against it. By the way he came he will return; he will
not enter this city declares the Lord. I will defend this city and save it, for my sake
and for the sake of David my servant."
That night the angel of the Lord went
out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the
people got up the next morning - there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria
withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. (II Kings 19:32-36
niv)
The pride of the conqueror did not allow
him to record the same details of his defeat that are enumerate for us in the Bible. This
humiliating experience would not display well amongst his proclamations of self-worship
and boastings concerning his many victories. It is interesting though, that in digging
through the ancient ruins of this arrogant king archaeologists have yet to find one
mention of this despot ever capturing the city of Jerusalem. Indeed history has born
witness to the fact that Judah was one of the few states that faced this wicked vanquisher
and kept its sovereignty intact. Thus, historical research is unanimous in attesting to
the salvation of the Lord as recorded in the book of Kings.
One day, he was worshipping in the
temple of his god Nisroch, his son Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword,
and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son
succeeded him as king." (II Kings 19:37 niv)
This account of the demise of
Sennacherib was confirmed and supplemented in the archeological findings of a large
cylinder discovered in Esarhaddon's palace. Where was Sennacherib's god when the sword was
plummeting down upon him? This untrustworthy deity certainly could not claim the reality
that the Living God whom Hezekiah put his trust in!
Fortunately for our nation at the time,
Abraham Lincoln turned his attention to He who is capable of rescuing those he calls His
own people. Lincoln knew well the authority of the God of the Bible. The words that Lincoln
has left for us to study, demonstrate that he was quite aware of the just arm of the Lord
God. He realized how He rescues those who will trust in Him, and punishes those who rebel
against His government. The call of the prophet was upon him.
The young Calvin is dwarfed by his
father who is reclined in his chair as he leisurely was enjoying another good book. With
pencil in ear and notes in hand, the youngster asserts, "Here's the latest poll on
your performance as dad. Your approval rating is very low, I'm afraid."
Not appearing to be annoyed by this
interruption, dad replies, "That's because there's not necessarily any connection
between what's good and what's popular. I do what's right, not what gets approval."
With his eyebrows bearing down, Calvin
walks away in disgust, "You'll never keep the job with that attitude."
Now back into his book, "If someone
else offers to do it, let me know."
* * *
The ferocity of the people of Assyria
illuminates for us the nature of the situation that the prophet Jonah faced when he was
directed by God to, "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach
against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." (Jonah 1:2 niv) It
takes courage to speak God's message to a corrupt civilization, and this ancient capitol
of Assyria posed a serious threat to any Jew who walked into its gates -much less the one
with the intentions of reporting their doom to them. So too does it take fortitude to
speak against the ills that we are faced with today.
In August of 1993 a Baptist minister,
the Reverend Lumpkin, was fired from San Francisco's Human Rights Commission. Weeks
before, he had told a San Francisco Chronicle reporter that he agreed with the statements
of the Bible that proclaim that male homosexuality is an abomination against God. As a
result the members of the San Francisco gay community and the Board of Supervisors
demanded his resignation. Citing the preacher's freedom of religion, Mayor Frank Jordan
did nothing in response.
Later though, before a talk-show
audience, Lumpkin asserted that he believed everything in the Bible. When asked if he
agreed with a passage in Leviticus that deems execution for male homosexuals, he
responded, "That's what is says. . . That's what God says. . .That's what the Bible
says. . ."
Contending that his statements were
taken out of context and that he did not advocate violence against homosexuals was not
enough to save the reverend. The mayor's spokesman related, "Prior to Friday, the
mayor said he would defend (Rev. Lumpkin) up to the Supreme Court. The mayor does not have
a litmus test of religious beliefs for anyone. . . as long as he would vigorously support
laws against discrimination and hate crimes.
"But Reverend Lumpkin chose to make
his religious beliefs part of the political process. The mayor said he could not justify
someone being on the Human Rights Commission who justifies violence, whether bases on
biblical passages or otherwise."
Yet the preacher promised he would
continue to preach the "eternal values and divine will" as written in the Bible.
In another instance in Santa Barbara, Calif.,
four men and women received a preliminary injunction from a liberal Superior Court Judge,
James Slater, that awarded Planned Parenthood $36,000 in attorney fees as a result of a
suit against them. All they did was stand in the Planned Parenthood parking lot to protest
the killing of babies.
The Scientific American informed Forrest
Mims that their offer to allow him to write a regular column in their magazine would be
rescinded on account on his Christian views on creation.
Dr. Dean Kenyon was told he was no
longer capable of teaching a biology course at San FranciscoStateUniversity despite
doing it since 1977. He believed that God had a role in creation.
Two newspaper reporters were fired by
the Fairfield (Iowa) Ledger in 1990 as a result of their Christian beliefs.
Thomas and Linda Mintonye have been sued
by homosexual activists for refusing to put one of their licentious ads on a billboard
they own.
The list goes on-and-on. The cost can be
very high to uphold a commitment to righteousness. It could involve rejection and
separation, things that few are willing these days to endure.
Unfortunately the environment that we
are living in today is filled with too many people who would rather flee to
"Tarshish" than to face the consequences incurred by the one who proclaims
outspoken declarations against sin. As a result we are now left with a substantial amount
of the body of Christ who has found itself in darkness, devoured by the likes of Jonah's
great fish.
The calamity that befell the heathen
sailors, who were transporting Jonah to his chosen destination chosen in accordance with
his own rebellion, was a result of the prophet's own disobedience. (Jonah 1:3-16)
Likewise our nation today is infected
with all sorts of ills due to the failings of the church concerning its obedience to
Christ. Long before our society fell into the gross iniquity that we are witnessing today,
the Church set itself on a course of modernism to deny the Word of God. Could it be the
world is casting the Church overboard because of its unfaithfulness? If the church had
been true to its calling would it now be on the outside looking in?
When the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat
down in the dust. Then he issued a proclamation to Nineveh: "By the
decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste
anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth.
Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.
Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we
will not perish." When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil
ways, He had compassion upon them and did not bring upon them the destruction He had
threatened. (Jonah 3:6-10 niv)
It is humiliating in the face of Nineveh's
repentance, to witness the total disregard for the dictums of the Lord that exists in our
country. We have been so blessed with such a rich Christian heritage!
The ancient Assyrians neither knew God,
nor were His people. So greatly were they feared and hated during those days, that it is
no wonder that Jonah was angry when God withheld his wrath on Nineveh.
No doubt though, the Assyrians had heard
of the fame of the Lord of Israel that had spread throughout the Middle East, and the
nations that had been subdued by the Lord's hand. Because of that fact, even these corrupt
people recognized the reality of God. They were spared.
This act of repentance by a dissolute
nation surpasses the self-righteousness of our own America. We continue to live in
rebellion, though we know of the truth and the divine providence of God.
It was years after its repentance in the
face of the words of Jonah (who was one of the earlier prophets who lived during the reign
of Jeroboam II king of Israel - II Kings 14:25), that Assyria turned its heart to evil,
and resolved to wage war on God during the time of Hezekiah. It is a fearful thing when
those who once recognized God turn away from the truth that was once established with
them.
The son of Sennacherib, Esar-haddon,
seemed to have all the attributes of an administrator and a general that his evil father
lacked. It was under his reign that the second Assyrian Empire grew to the pinnacle of
power and strength. Babylon was rebuilt and even made the second capitol of the Empire, Egypt
conquered, campaigns waged into the heart of both Media and Arabia, and an onslaught by
the Cimmerians repelled.
But it was during the generation of his
son Assur-bani-pal (626 BC.), the last of the great Assyrian rulers, that extravagant
luxury entered the royal court. He was a great patron of learning, building a tremendous
library in Nineveh. So marvelous was his collection that most of what we know about the
times in which the Assyrians ruled comes from this source.
Included in his art collection is a
relief scene showing him reclining in the palace gardens eating dinner with his queen.
Attendants are standing behind them fanning the air as musicians entertain the couple
resting under the shade of the tree. Amidst the tranquility though, the king stares at the
severed head of an enemy chieftain dangling from a tree branch. This reveals the
inhumanity of the era. This is not much different from a wealthy America that continues to
bask in its wealth and impurity, while the slaughter of the unborn is well within sight.
The ferocity of the Assyrian rule
continued relentlessly while the king reeled in excess. Twice Egypt revolted against his
rule, and twice the rebellion was put down. The last time though, brought about the
merciless vengeance of Assyria as Thebes was utterly destroyed. Its booty was carried away
and two obelisks taken back to Nineveh as trophies of victory.
The violence of the times was summed up
in the words of a Syrian ruler who declared, "The land of Kubbu I traversed, and I
went down into the midst of the cities of the lands of Ashsha and Kirki which are before
the land of Hatti. The cities of Umalia and Hiraw, strongholds that lie in the midst of
the land of Adani, I captured. I slew many of the inhabitants thereof, and their spoil in
countless quantities I carried off. The cities I destroyed, I devastated. . . Unto the
city of Uda, the stronghold of Lapturi, the son of Thbrisi, I drew nigh. I stormed the
city; with mines, siege, engines, and battering rams I took the city. . . (More than)
1400. . . of their fighting men I put to the sword, 580 men I captured alive, 3000
prisoners I brought out. The living men, I impaled on stakes round his city, of the others
I put out the eyes."
But the hollow triumphs of this wicked
nation could not avert the inescapable justice of God. The time had come to put the
iniquity to an abrupt end.
It was a nation of great learning and
culture unsurpassed in its time. But no matter how advanced, rich and learned it becomes;
a culture cannot continue to exist in the sight of the Lord if it denies His holy word. America
looks at itself with the same confidence and pride as the eminent Assyrian king.
Ashur-bani-pal was basking in its own luxury while obedience and righteousness fall to the
wayside.
But it was the prophet Nahum, who lived
in the time of this ancient and evil king, who proclaimed God's wisdom to those who had
become so wise in their own eyes. He pronounced the final judgment that was to come upon
the wicked city of Nineveh. The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares
for those who trust in him, but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh;
he will pursue his foes into darkness. (Nahum 1:7-8 niv)
America has become wise. She has
gathered for herself a wealth of knowledge to find herself confident and self-assured,
burgeoned by the conceit found in her victories. Yet the words of Nahum proclaim the
disobedient will fall.
The successors of Ashur-bani-pal's were
not able to hold the Empire as time passed, and the struggles to build and maintain it
exhausted Assyria. The Empire was held together only by the might of terror that kept
their captives from even the thought of rebellion.
However, by the seventh century BC the
burden of the mass misery became unbearable as defiance reared its dissident head.
Therefore, when the Chaldeans and Medes from the South challenged the authority in revolt,
nation after nation joined them in the onslaught.
Even during Assur-bani-pal's rule, a
revolt suddenly broke out headed up by his brother, Sama-sum-ukin, the Viceroy of Babylon.
For a while the situation was in doubt as Egypt with the help of Lydia recovered its
independence. But Babylonia was eventually recaptured and Babylon, after a long siege was
starved out, as Sama-sum-ukin burned himself in his palace.
Then the Assyrian army made its way to Susa,
which was leveled to the ground, the shrines of its gods profaned and the bones of its
ancient kings dredged up from the ground. After the rebel sheiks in Northern Arabia were
forced into submission though, the Assyrian coffers were empty and fighting population
where for the most part dead.
When the Cimmerians plummeted their
might upon the empire shortly thereafter, the weakened Assyrians were in no condition to
resist. Within a dozen years after the reign of Ashur-bani-pal, the mighty empire
collapsed - as prophesied to the king by Naham, prophet of the Lord God most high.
Indeed archaeologists have discovered
that the ancient and rebellious city of Nineveh was eventually destroyed when the banks of
the Khosr river, swollen by rains, overflowed with its inordinate wrath. Arbaces, the
Scythian, had been besieging it for two years without any success. But when a portion of
the immense wall that protected the inhabitants of the city was washed away by the violent
waters, Nineveh's enemies were allowed to invade at will.
It was in 606 BC that Sin-sar-iskum, the
last monarch of Assyria perished while encountering these Scythians. The king, realizing
that this was the fulfillment of the prophecy, gathered together his concubines and
eunuchs, and mounted a funeral pyre to perish in the flames. Nineveh was finally
devastated in 612 BC by a coalition of forces lead by the Medes and the Babylonians.
The fury of the oppressed people towards
their oppressors can be weighed by the treatment melted out on the capitol and symbol of
Assyrian strength. To merely capture and sack the city was not enough to appease its
assailants. Building by building and stone by stone the once mighty metropolis was plucked
to pieces until not even a charred skeleton lingered as a reminder. Even the ground was
slashed and churned up to the incantations of the pronouncement calling for the gods to
curse it for eternity.
Nineveh was utterly destroyed, never
again to be inhabited as the northern kingdom passed into the hands of the Babylonians.
Assur, the old capitol survived but was reduced to the status of a small provincial town.
As for Nineveh - it was forgotten.
In light of the great sin that surrounds
us today, one is left in awe in reading the components of God's judgment against this
corrupt civilization. The Lord has given a command concerning you, Nineveh:
"You shall have no descendants to bear you name. I will destroy the carved images and
cast idols that are in the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave for you are
vile. . . I am against you," declares the Lord Almighty. "I will burn your
chariots in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will leave you no prey on
the earth. The voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.
"Woe to the city of blood, full
of lies, full of plunder, never without victims! . . Many casualties, piles of dead,
bodies without number, people stumbling over the corpses - all because the wanton lust of
a harlot, alluring, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution,
and peoples by her witchcraft.
"I am against you,"
declares the Lord Almighty. "I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the
nations your nakedness and the kingdoms your shame. I will pelt you with filth, I will
treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle. All who see you will flee from you and
say, 'Nineveh is in ruins - who will mourn for her?' Where can I find anyone
to comfort you?" (Nahum 1:14, 2:13; 3:1, 3b-7 niv)
So now our nation stands before the Lord
in its nakedness awaiting His appraisal. Our unborn children lay dead in numbers that are
becoming uncountable; fallen victims of the harlotry of people who have chosen the company
of sexual immorality and decadence. America has chosen the warrior-god of Assyria who has
lead them to one lust after one another at the expense of children who will never have an
opportunity to survive the assault of doctor's scalpel. If God doesn't judge us
accordingly, He will owe Nineveh an apology.
"Nothing can heal your wound;
your injury is fatal. Everyone who hears the news about you claps his hands at your fall,
for who has not felt your endless cruelty?" (Naham 3:19 niv) Is the situation in America
today terminal? It is up to her response to the Word of the Lord.
There is a considerable amount of debate
even amongst the body of Christ today regarding whether or not the concept of blessings
and cursing can be rightly applied to the nations in the world today. The question would
be raised about whether or not the declarations of Abraham Lincoln regarding the spiritual
condition of America in his time and its relation to the activity of God were scripturally
valid.
The argument goes that these blessings
and cursing were activities of the covenant that God made with His chosen nation in the
Old Testament, and this is the only place where national blessing and cursing apply. The
argument continues that Israel was a peculiar time in history, and the new covenant of God
no longer chooses nations but rather selects individuals to be the instruments of
obedience. Where a nation advances in its moral growth is irrelevant to the cause of
Christ.
It cannot be overlooked though, that Assyria
was not a part of a covenant with God, but rather a heathen nation dedicated to violence,
murder, and destruction. Yet God chose to prophesy to it twice: once to afford the
blessing of His restrained wrath in accepting its repentance, and finally judging it
according to its wickedness. Assyria was a nation that God chose to use as His instrument
of justice upon the disobedient ten tribes of Israel. The indisputable fact that Assyria
was a nation that was explicitly under the guiding hand of God cannot be denied. And this
was accomplished without covenant.
It was without covenant that the
Chaldeans settled into the city of Babylon to eventually overthrow the legions of Assyria.
It was these pagans whom God chose to bring the Judeans into captivity and destroy the
city of Jerusalem.
God himself through His prophet Daniel
proclaimed to the Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar, "You, O king, are the king of
kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your
hand He has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever
they live, He has made you ruler over them all." (Dan 2:37-38a niv) Without a
covenant his kingdom was proclaimed by God to be the greatest of all kingdoms, save the Kingdom
of God, that in the later days will circumvent all other dominions. (Dan 2:39-45)
To date, this occurrence of the
establishment of Christ's Kingdom on earth has not yet occurred. Until it does, God is
more than concerned with the events that transpire regarding the realms of man. The
message in Daniel 2 concerning the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar's dream indicates that the
very return of Christ will center on the developments that occur with the great kingdoms
on earth. Whether Christian or heathen, Jew or Gentile; God has determined that He will
bless and conversely curse realms in accordance with their national behavior.
King Belshazzar was the last of the
Chaldean monarchs. He was the final king of Babylon as a result of the life he had chosen
to lead. His court was well known for its drunkenness, opulence, and extravagance. To
Belshazzar royal power meant mainly license to satisfy any leanings towards a life of
debauchery, including ostentatious continual banquets and drinking bouts, an immense harem
to satisfy his lusts, and a general gratification of what ever may come his way to
stimulate him.
However, the potentate outdid himself
when defied God with his sacrilege. While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave
orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken
from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and
his concubines might drink from them. (Dan 5:2 niv)
It was after this accomplishment, that
the arrogant king received a personal visit from the Lord in the form of a hand that wrote
upon the wall, "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin." The king was in horror and sought
for an explication.
Daniel interpreted the message to the
ruler proclaiming, "O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar
sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. . . But when his heart became arrogant
and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. .
.But you his son O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.
Instead you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. . . This is what these words
mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. Tekel: You
have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Peres: Your kingdom is divided and
given to the Medes and Persians. . . That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians,
was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two. (Dan 5:18,20,22-23a,25-28,30-31
niv)
It was in 538 BC that the Persians sent
their legions into Babylon. The internal strife and the royal degeneracy had proceeded to
such an extent that the city surrendered without a struggle. A scribe of Cyrus put it this
way. "All the inhabitants of Babylon. . . as well as the entire country of Sumer and Akkad,
princes and governors. . . bowed to him. . . and kissed his feet."
Cyrus was the one who was to issue a new
age for the near east. Before his death in 529 BC he had created the largest empire the
world had ever known up to this point, the first fulfillment of Nebuchadnezzar's dream,
the second kingdom - the chest and arms of silver. (Dan 2:32b) From Cyrus to Artaxerses I
the kings fancied imperial aspirations to create a dominion that stretched from the Himalayas
to the Adriatic, from the Caucausus to the Indian ocean.
The Persians came from a much more
benevolent strain than the Assyrians, allowing, and even encouraging, those in their realm
to retain and develop their own pattern of cultures. Yahwehism was recognized as the
official religion of the Hebrews. God himself was acknowledged for who He is by the
Persian King Darius as he proclaimed, "I issue a decree that in every part of the
kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For He is the living God and He
endures forever; His kingdom will not be destroyed, his kingdom will never end." (Dan
6:26 niv)
It was these Persian rulers who were
selected by God to initiate the return of the people of Judah back to their home land.
They were worshippers of Zoroaster, hardly to be conceived as those who would inherit the Kingdom
of God. Yet again, God affords His blessing or cursing upon a nation in accordance to
their affirmation of Him.
The debate continues on today concerning
the issue of rather or not the founders of our country were truly Christians in the
Biblical sense. It is brought out that people such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin
Franklin were deists who recognize the existence of God but deny that He interacts with
those He created. In other words, from the deist's perspective, God made the universe and
man in it. But his involvement ended there. He is like a watch-maker who designs a clock
only to wind it up to leave it running forever on its own.
This deist philosophy leaves absolutely
no room for a personal God who came to earth to redeem mankind from his iniquity. The
deist therefore is not a Christian. In that light, the liberal asks how can one contend
that a country founded by men with beliefs such as these be considered a Christian nation.
First, let us define exactly what we are
talking about here. The issue is national blessing, and whether a government has put
itself into the position to experience it. The question of salvation is a personal matter
that can only be discerned through an individual relationship with God.
But Francis Schaeffer explained:
"We as evangelicals have often made the mistake of stopping with individual
salvation. Historically, the word Christian has meant two things. First, the word
Christian defines a man who has accepted Christ as Savior. This is decidedly an individual
thing. But there is a second consideration as well. It concerns what flows from individual
salvation. While it is true that there is an individual salvation, and this is the
beginning of the Christian life, yet nevertheless as we examine the teaching concerning
the Church and as we consider the Church at its strongest throughout the ages, that
individual salvation should show itself in corporate relationships."
". . . The Christian sociological
position is that the sociological problems which we find, regardless of what they may be,
are a result of the separation that has come between men because of sin. Now the world
should be able to see in the Church those marks which exhibit that there is a substantial
sociological healing possible in the present generation."
". . . What counts, as men look
upon us individually and corporately, is whether we are exhibiting God and His character
now. The Christian position is not static, but is living."
The nations are governed by a standard
that is corporate rather than individual. Neither the Assyrians, Chaldeans, nor Mede
Persians could be considered inheritors of God's eternal kingdom. There is no Biblical
advice on the matter one way or the other. We do know that they were pagan cultures who
had direct interaction with the blessing, and cursing of God, along with the position of
being chosen by God as instruments of His divine will.
The scale that they were judged is
according to the world view that they acknowledged. In other words, to the extent that
they recognized the one true God and submitted to His authority, they were blessed, to the
extent that they disobeyed, they were cursed.
We have been hearing the words of
Abraham Lincoln to discover that this was a man who recognized the sovereignty of the Lord
and responded to it accordingly. He was professing a Christian world view. He asserted to
the nation what kind of behavior is to be expected out of the people in America if they
expected to walk in God's favor. God blessed what Lincoln did to raise him up as the most
significant President this nation has ever known. Christian or not, he held to a world
view that saved his country.
Don Wigton
is a graduate of the prestigious music department at CSULB where he studied under Frank
Pooler, lyricist of Merry Christmas Darling, and sang in Pooler’s world renown
University Choir alongside Karen and Richard Carpenter. During this time Don was also the
lead composer of the band, Clovis Putney, that won the celebrated Hollywood Battle of the
Bands. After giving his life to God, Don began attending Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa to
study under some of the most prominent early Maranatha! musicians. Subsequently he toured
the Western United States with Jedidiah in association with Myrrh Records.
Eventually
Don served as a pastor at Calvary Chapel Bakersfield to witness thousands of salvations
through that ministry. As the music/concert director, Don worked for seven years with most
major Christian artist of that time while producing evangelical concerts attended by
thousands of young people seeking after God. Don’s Calvary Chapel Praise Choir
released the album Let All Who Hath Breath Praise the Lord on the Maranatha! label.
The next
years of Don’s life were spent as the praise leader of FirstBaptistChurch in Bakersfield
during a time of unprecedented church renewal. Don teamed with the leadership to
successfully meld the old with the new through a period of tremendous church growth.
During this exciting time, Don’s praise team, Selah, produced the CD Stop and
Think About It.
Today Don is
the leading force behind Wigtune Company. This
webbased project located at www.praisesong.net has provided several million downloads of
Don’s music and hymn arrangements to tens of thousands of Christian organizations
throughout the world. More music can be found at Don's Southern
Cross Band website at www.socrossband.com.
The book Holy
Wars represents Don’s most recent effort to bless the church with biblical
instruction and direction in praise and worship. This heartfelt volume is an offering not
only to God’s people, but also to God Himself.
An Incredible revival is occuring
in Northern India and Nepal. CLICK
HERE to find out more!
More Wigtune Blogs
This
first of five books looks into a pivotal moment in American history that changed the world
forever. It was a time when the United States was on the brink of destruction. It was and
era when an American prophet and patriot stood up to eco the words of Christ: "A
house divided cannot stand." Today we live in a similar era today where America is
torn asunder between truth and error. And the wrong decision will bring dire
consequences!
Click Here to
purchase the E-book edition for only 99 cents!
We pray that these materials have provided
all of you with untold blessings!
"I might not be a religious
man myself but I know good music when I hear it, and this is very good! . . . I don’t think that I have ever given such high
ratings to so many songs before. But the fact is that they are well deserved
because the music is amazing. Simply wonderful religious ballads and they
really get to your heart. . .everytime." Fredrik Cole: Trax In Space
was formed as a service to the body of Christ to encourage scriptural
worship. To accomplish this goal Wigtune Company offers free contemporary Christian praise
and worship music, contemporary Christian rock and hymn mp3 and chart material along with
a free on-line worship study book for personal devotions, Bible study groups, Sunday
schools, pastors, music ministers and ministry training. In order to bridge the gap
between the old and the new the worship study book gives solid theological and
historical support to the use of traditional Christian hymn-singing in conjunction with
praise chorus singing.
Click on one of the links below for praise and worship, praise
tabs, worship chords, praise chorus mp3, hymn stories, pro tools studio, worship leader
materials to enter into the area of the Wigtune site that interests you !
was formed as a service to the body of Christ to encourage scriptural
worship. To accomplish this goal Wigtune Company offers free contemporary Christian praise
and worship music, contemporary Christian rock and hymn mp3 and chart material along with
a free on-line worship study book for personal devotions, Bible study groups, Sunday
schools, pastors, music ministers and ministry training. In order to bridge the gap
between the old and the new the worship study book gives solid theological and
historical support to the use of traditional Christian hymn-singing in conjunction with
praise chorus singing. 
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Wigtune Story 
Check out this powerful Southern Cross song! 
