Our studies in Sunday School took us through the Book of Enos this past week. It’s only a page long; but holds a wealth of
information, information which applies to our day, perhaps more so than when it
was written.
Enos prayed unto the Lord for a remission of his sins and
during the conversation, prayer being more than a casual acknowledgment of the
Lord’s hand in our lives; during that conversation Enos poured out his concerns
regarding his people as well as those who stood in direct opposition to
them. After carefully reading the text
it becomes evident that the people Enos pleads for at first are his own; but
that they have become complacent and headed down a troublesome road.
In verse 10 we get a better idea of the dilemma Enos faced
as he pleaded for his people to be worthy of blessings while at the same time
well aware that those who understand their responsibilities, having decided not
to follow the Lord’s way, those people must face the consequences of their
actions.
The Lord speaking, "I have given unto them this land,
and it is a holy land; and I curse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity;
wherefore, I will visit thy brethren according as I have said; and their
transgressions will I bring down with sorrow upon their own heads."
In case you haven’t figured it out, ‘this land, and it is a
holy land’, refers to the geographical area we now call the United States. The ancient inhabitants were divided against
each other, much as they are today.
There were those who accepted the Lord, Jesus Christ, as Savior of all
mankind and did their best to follow His commandments and there were those who opposed
them.
Enos understood that his people could not expect the Lord to
defend inappropriate actions; that eventually they would fall, the wicked,
non-believers and idolatrous barbarians would destroy them and take over the
land.
Do you see any similarities between colonial America that
at one time acknowledged the Lord, comparing them with current day America
that’s divided against itself along many lines; socialism, Atheism, communism? Add to the division other cultures like
Islam who would gladly destroy the land of the free and home of the brave; does
that make it more clear?
Enos took his case before the Lord with the sinking feeling
(foreknowledge) that his people would eventually be lost; but he took it a step
further by asking the Lord to enlighten his enemies, that one day they might
accept the gospel and become a righteous people worthy of this great land which
had been set aside and blessed.
He didn’t ask the Lord to preserve his enemies in their
fallen state; rather his desires were that they become what his own people had
rejected, a people who would obey the commandments and seek only that which is
right and proper.
So too in our day we can observe so many of our people,
people who have been blessed beyond measure with life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness; but rather than acknowledge the Lord’s hand in our nation’s
success they’ve become self absorbed to the point of becoming ripe with
iniquity, unfit to receive blessings that would ‘preserve us a nation’.
I suppose the ‘Christian thing to do’ would be to pray for
those who hate our way of life and ask the Lord to soften their hearts so that
after the dust settles and our nation has been crushed (yes, we are headed for
self destruction); ask the Lord to show those who have conquered us; have them
eventually embrace the gospel and become a people the Lord can bless. This land can only be blessed for those who
follow the Lord, all others are cursed.
Can’t you just see the tears falling from our Savior’s eyes
as He considers how many opportunities He’s given us and watched as we rejected
His ways in favor of expressing our right to chose, our right to be
disobedient, our right to… Oh, my,
therein lies the problem; all of these rights came from God… When you pervert the meaning of rights to fit
desires which are in conflict with the Author of those rights, at that moment
the Lord’s blessings are withdrawn.
You can bet the farm Enos saw much more than his own day; he
saw ours as well. He’s pleading with us,
as if from the dust, to become a people who are deserving of the Lord’s
blessing, deserving of Providence
and Divine Intervention so often mentioned by our Founding Fathers as our
nation miraculously came to be.
What will be the outcome?
That answer is easy; the Lord’s side wins, it’s been known since before
the world was created. Pick your side
carefully.
(Image of the
‘headless’ Statue of Liberty was found on Facebook but didn’t give credit as to
its origin)
This article has been cross posted to
The Moral Liberal, a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The
Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.
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