The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. (Psalm 9:17)
In my last article I related how I recently prayed an exasperated prayer to God, not really expecting an answer. I literally cried out “WHY?” because I was grieved and upset at the rapid deterioration of the USA and the West, spiritually, morally and otherwise. Almost immediately I had received a very clear answer in my soul, which consists of three passages of Scripture, Romans 1, Psalm 2, and Deuteronomy 28.
Please consider the lesson taught in Deuteronomy chapter 28 with me, and it’s implications fo us as a possible answer to this heartfelt question, “Why are we disintegrating?”.
First of all before I take you to the scripture, I wish to assure you that I am well aware that there is a specific context to the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy. It was given to the Theocracy which God ordained, to Israel. It contains the sanctions of the Covenant God made with Israel.
America (my country) is not Israel and has no national covenant with God, I realize that. Israel is the only nation on earth which God made a covenant with.
However the Law of God is extremely beneficial in it’s teaching aspect, and has application in many ways to all of humanity.
What do I see in Deuteronomy 28 that explains in part our current dilemna?
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. (Deuteronomy 28:1-5)
The first part of Deuteronomy 28, which consists of fifteen verses, give us a picture of what God considers to be “the good life” which is possible for a nation, or a people. It is what national blessing looks like. This is what Israel could have had, and did have when they met the covenant conditions. The Prophets speak of “Every man under his vine, and under his fig tree”.
I repeat, America has no such covenant with God, and no claim on a national covenant with God.
But when she was “Judeo Christian” in consensus, America in part, truly experienced much of what this looks like. We have to admit that we have been greatly blessed. I really believe the lines of the song “America the Beautiful”, which says over and over again,
“America, America, God shed His Grace on thee, and crowned thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea”.
I am not saying we earned our blessing by any unique goodness, but you have to admit, in her short history, blessing is the only way to describe what we have experienced.
The Covenant with Israel had a condition set for the Blessing. They were to “Listen diligently to the voice of the LORD…and obey his commandments”.
The application in our case is that to the extent that this nation remembered God, in individuals, families and even in National Institutions, we experienced unique blessings. In spite of our flaws, we were a meritocracy, a self correcting Republic, and a blessed people.
But with the cultural Revolution of the last century, which had been long simmering, but which took off in the 1950s and 1960s, we lost sight of God, and of our religion, (Christianity in various forms), and secularized.
Eventually enough of us jettisoned the old Judeo Christian outlook, in favor of a secular humanist worldview. To put it in Deuteronomic terms, we would not listen to the voice of the LORD.
And things have rapidly been deteriorating ever since. I will highlight four notable examples from Deuteronomy of what it looks like when a nation forgets God;
The Destruction of marriage and Family, and the poverty and loss that comes with it, and the vulnerability this brings to individuals.
Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof. Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them. (vs 30)
Under the good life, (the Blessing) people married, bought a house and generally expected to get old together, after raising children that would honor and love them. But in our modern times, Divorce has become a plague, a good many children are now raised in broken homes, or marriage is dispensed with altogether, and children are raised by single parents.
What has that done to the psyche of children?
The Moral and Spiritual Loss of Children. Perhaps most horrible of all, the division and wide separation which our culture encourages between parents and children. When scripture warns of Children being given to another, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are physically removed, what about morally and spiritually? Why does this culture produce so much alienation between parents and children?
He says you will long for them “…all day long” but there won’t be a thing you could do about it!
Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long; and there shall be no might in thine hand.( vs 32)
Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. (vs 41)
Children are “going into captivity” every day in America, often it is captivity to the various vain philosophies and toxic proclivities which abound in this darkened culture. Our Sons and Daughters are constantly being conditioned to detest and despise the faith of their parents and of their grandparents, and thus are carried very far away indeed. Only God can save us and restore our families.
The coarsening and brutalization of the people. Fifty years ago the only tattooed people that anyone around me knew of, were veterans of the war, carnival workers, and convicts. Now , young women sport them, preachers and professionals wear them also, in short, nearly everyone is“tatted up”. This is a measure of the paganization of our society. This is what successive “sexual revolutions” produce in people.
Our generation is experiencing the loss of the sacred, and deep despite of the Body, which we once considered a temple of God.
The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.( vs 56-57)
Did that “tender and delicate woman” who probably once nurtured a toy baby doll, ever dream she would be reduced to an acceptance and even to being a promoter of the killing of her own child in the womb for convenience? What happened to her? How did she come to the place of such a rejection of the truly feminine? Our Toxic culture happened, that is what happened to her and millions like her.
God is saying here, “You have no idea how low you can go, when you turn away from me”.
Mental and spiritual instability, fear, depression, and the whole range of spiritual pathologies which have given us an entire Billion dollar pharmacological industry and various narcotic dependencies.
And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. (Deuteronomy 28:66-67)
God told me that Deuteronomy 28 is part of the answer to my anguished cry of “Why”?, when I lamented the destruction of our nation.
Pastor Bill Randles Blog 
Amen…
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.” Psalm 33:12
And, as you have clearly pointed out – the opposite is thus also true.
Throughout all of the depravity that is surrounding us… we must be on guard, staying off of the various bandwagons of “division” the enemy is surrounding us with, praying that we are worthy to stand before the LORD and King… He is coming soon! Marantha
1“Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of Babylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate.
2“Take the millstones and grind meal.
Remove your veil, strip off the skirt,
Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.
3“Your nakedness will be uncovered,
Your shame also will be exposed;
I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.”
4Our Redeemer, the LORD of hosts is His name,
The Holy One of Israel.
5“Sit silently, and go into darkness,
O daughter of the Chaldeans,
For you will no longer be called
The queen of kingdoms.
6“I was angry with My people,
I profaned My heritage
And gave them into your hand.
You did not show mercy to them,
On the aged you made your yoke very heavy.
7“Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’
These things you did not consider
Nor remember the outcome of them.
8“Now, then, hear this, you sensual one,
Who dwells securely,
Who says in your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one besides me.
I will not sit as a widow,
Nor know loss of children.’
9“But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day:
Loss of children and widowhood.
They will come on you in full measure
In spite of your many sorceries,
In spite of the great power of your spells.
10“You felt secure in your wickedness and said,
‘No one sees me,’
Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you;
For you have said in your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’
11“But evil will come on you
Which you will not know how to charm away;
And disaster will fall on you
For which you cannot atone;
And destruction about which you do not know
Will come on you suddenly.
12“Stand fast now in your spells
And in your many sorceries
With which you have labored from your youth;
Perhaps you will be able to profit,
Perhaps you may cause trembling.
13“You are wearied with your many counsels;
Let now the astrologers,
Those who prophesy by the stars,
Those who predict by the new moons,
Stand up and save you from what will come upon you.
14“Behold, they have become like stubble,
Fire burns them;
They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame;
There will be no coal to warm by
Nor a fire to sit before!
15“So have those become to you with whom you have labored,
Who have trafficked with you from your youth;
Each has wandered in his own way;
There is none to save you.”
(Isaiah 47 NASB)
Can I ask your advice/wisdom please Pastor Bill? As you may be aware in Australia all the churches have been shut for months…after the intense 6 week lockdown we began a home church and so far we have not broken the law because as we grew in numbers so did the government allowances in people in our homes. However now the Vic govt has reversed the numbers allowed in homes back to only 5. Which would mean if we continue we will now be breaking the law. I see in Hebrews God commands us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. We don’t want to break the law but we also see the church here seemingly paralyzed by fear and feel to continue.. We feel God begun this home church and it’s been such a blessing. Would you mind if I ask your take on this situation as I respect your wisdom.
I believe the Government has a God ordained sphere of responsibility, which I gladly submit to. But whether or not the church can meet and worship God is not one of them. We must obey the command not to forsake the Assembly. Be prudent.
Thank you Pastor Bill, we really appreciate you and your wisdom.
This is how we see you as a father in Christ:
“Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” Colossians 1:28,29
Blessings
We love you also and will be praying, we are really coming to that day…keep doing what you can, love to your hubby and dear daughter-in-law
Thank you and to your dear wife and family too
’ thank you so much for your message today Pastor Bill. When I read ‘The tender and delicate woman’ once cradling a toy baby doll (sorry if I haven’t worded this correctly) but what came to me was, how often now a days do we see young girls doing this and pushing prams around when out for a stroll, or playing with their dolls in the garden and having tea parties with their dolls etc. You used to see the sheer joy in their faces and great delight doing this and even stopping from time to time to talk to theeir baby doll, just like ‘little mums’. Where has the tender and delicate attributes of a woman gone. Keep the messages coming they are valuable to me. May God continue to bless you, your wife and family in abundance.
Jesus did say lawlessness will increase..isn’t that what is happening in the world now? Shouldn’t we expect the world to get worse the closer we get to the great tribulation which will be the absolute worst time in earth?
I don’t understand the wrath you are talking about because He is still wanting the gentiles to come to salvation isn’t He?
1 Thessalonians 5:9
For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
God said he didn’t send Jesus into the world to judge us but to save us.
John 3:17
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
Isn’t God still waiting on people to be saved?
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
And I also thought he was showing forbearance?
Romans 3:25-26
This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
I think God is still working in the world but the scriptures say lawlessness will increase..and I think the church needs to get used to the fact that we will all be here to witness and be a witness for the Lord in the tribulation period. We are going to see worse than this if we aren’t martyred before the return of Jesus.
Thanks for the comments sister. That “wrath” is what the apostle Paul is talking about, not me. Yes the LORD wants all men to come to him, but they are still under the wrath of Hod until they take refuge in Jesus, as we had to.
Sure Pastor Bill..I guess my point is that the wrath is somewhat suspended for now so that people can have the choice to believe or not? And I say that because while Paul does talk about the wrath of God..there is still the grace of God that can prevail in faith in the belief in Jesus.
We are awaiting God’s wrath to be poured out on an unbelieving world before Jesus returns…but until then grace and mercy and God’s forbearance because He doesn’t want anyone to perish.
… part of the answer …
If God is trying to answer your question(s), this doesn’t necessarily mean you are fully listening. You must (all must/each must) seek what is true (in fact). While Truth found in the Bible is paramount, observing true reality in this world is essential to understanding. If your perception is too often skewed by ideology over true observation, the intended message cannot get through.
Why would you want to have ears for the imploring words spoken through a tender woman (me)? You would be more likely to hear my mother (who would not share what I speak). She determined that being among “the right” (not her terminology but her affiliation) was better for her self-esteem (along the lines of the Norman Vincent Peel, Trump, brand of American Christianity).
She also decided it was better for her chances at scoring in the material world. However, being the too-often-irrational and too-sensually-driven person she was, she had more than one affair (secretly enough that I had no clue as a child) with people who matched politically but wouldn’t improve her lot (to say little to nothing of the immorality of it all). She “faithfully” went to church.
To know what you are embracing as you cling to the right, look into Ayn Rand. This is most reflective of the right in our world. You can keep laboring or wishing to have the right be something you want it to be, but what it actually is is nothing of an ideal (or close at all). She didn’t speak of Rand, because she “got” the game. She had to play along in the social issues war.
Despite the scenario with which she got me into the right (whereas my father’s influence would only [and did along with my Christian schooling] induct me into a life of being a good, moral, and considerate person due to his own parents’ influence and his being raised Catholic), she is a perpetually-disappointing person who expected me to lie in goodness while rebelling like her.
You may write this story off as one woman. I have observed a preponderance of people saying the “right” things and going along. Many go and have abortions or take their nieces, daughters, or girlfriends for abortions even though they talk the way you would want them to do. It is necessary to be a witness. Neither my mother or I is “tatted,” such a distraction and personal peccadillo.
When God indicated a preference or law against tattoos, by the way, it pertained to both men and women. But I am only a fine woman (with no abortions, a traditional family background of my own as I did not rebel, and a bit of Deborah to me in Spirit {not experientially, nor am I a resident of Israel to have been required militarily servitude}. My voice among you is dampened.
The veneer of the right is meant as a spiritual distraction so you won’t see or will overlook what the faction is about manifesting. And they are manifesting. What they implement is perversion, that working is not the standard precursor to eating but having money or “merit” is the subconscious replacement for the word work if anyone is to have anything [and a greed].
I respectfully take issue with you Pastor Bill on your assertion of ‘ No Covenant with America’
My understanding is that the New Covenant brokered by Jesus Christ is for Israel first….then to the whole of Mankind. We are all invited into this Covenant.
Thanks Sue, perhaps it would have been better to say that there is no “national Covenant” with America as there was with israel. That is what I was trying to communicate, thanks for the chance to clear it up, pas bill