The Bible, Christianity & American Government, Chapter 8
“The Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them.”
Judges 2:16
The word translated here as “judge” should be understood in the sense of deliverer (see Judges 3:9 & 3:15)
deliverer = "a person who saves someone from a painful or bad experience" (Cambridge Dictionary)
Based on that definition, you can probably think of times when our country was in trouble, and then someone seemed to be raised up -sometimes out of nowhere – specifically to lead the country through that difficult time.
Between 1776 and 1797 – for example – George Washington led the nation through it’s War for Independence, and became the First President of the United States.
David McCullough, in his famous book – 1776 – wrote this about Washington:
“Without (his) leadership and unrelenting perseverance, the (American) revolution almost certainly would have failed.”
1776: The Illustrated Edition by David McCullough, 2007, p. 230
And in our own century there have been numerous cases of this, most notably John F. Kennedy in the Cuban Missile Crisis of October, 1962, when the President of the United States single-handedly “stared down” the Soviet Union when they attempted to to place nuclear missiles in Cuba.
Another example was when, in December of 1980, President-elect Ronald Reagan advised Iran not to wait for his inauguration to release the 52 American hostages they had been holding since November 4, 1979, to the demoralization of our whole country. And that sadness was turned instantly into joy when, just moments after the former actor became the became the 40th President of the United States, Iran complied. To appreciate the magnitude of this event on the American psyche, one only needs to watch Disney’s wonderful production of the 2004 Kurt Russell movie, Miracle.
As we, in 2021, look around us, at the trouble our nation is in, we can be tempted to feel hopeless, even desperate. But we can take a lesson from the people of ancient Israel.
“When the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer…”
Judges 3:9
“When the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for them…”
Judges 3:15
Benjamin Franklin once said:
“Have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we image we no longer need His assistance?”
Benjamin Franklin, address to the Constitutional Convention, 1787
And the Apostle Paul told us that we have been born in America at this particular moment in time for a reason, so that we would
“Seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him…”
Acts 17:27
Yes, times are difficult, and yes, most of the institutions of our society are failing and falling down around us. It’s time to “cry out” to the Lord for a deliverer, and believe that He will provide one.
Here is the word of the Lord for today:
“God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did…” (Romans 4:17)
