Lamentations 4:13 (NIV): But it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous.
It is easy to blame the downfall of a nation on the increasing corruption of the non-believers who live in it. But when God has established a nation, when He is the one who has set it up and has given it a purpose, it is the fault of the people who are supposed to be His if the nation fails or falls into ruin. It was not the fault of the foreigners when the nation of Israel fell – it fell because the prophets and the priests lost their way, turned away from whole-hearted devotion to God, began to compromise with the ways of the world, and ultimately capitulated entirely with paganism and the viewpoints of the society around them. And, as they slid, and ultimately fell, the society around them fell, too. As they lost God’s authority through compromising and disregarding His word, they lost their authority to hold kings and leaders in check, allowing them to lead people away from Him. The same paradigm has repeated itself over and over again, and is now showing itself in Europe and the United States to an alarming degree. Many of those who are called by the name of the Lord (Christians) no longer live as God’s people, but have turned almost entirely away form His words, His commands, His standards. Instead, they have been corrupted with ideas borrowed from the world, and have led other to accept these corrupted ideas as “Christianity” as well. Even among those acclaimed as priests and prophets among God’s people, the pastors and preachers, many have turned aside from the pure teachings of God’s word, and have added their own “interpretation”, “updating” the teachings of scripture, so that it is acceptable to the way society has become. The problem is, under the leadership and influence of these misguided prophets and priests, our society has become darker and more corrupt. The true gospel and God’s living word will NEVER be acceptable to the people of the world, as He Himself has written. Those who “interpret” its real meaning away, those who soften its message, those who add to it the ideas and ideals of the world are drinking judgment on themselves, and they, not the unbelievers, will ultimately be the cause of our society’s downfall.
Father, this is a frightening concept, because I can easily see how far we have fallen, and how many of those who bear the name of Christian, including some pastors and preachers, have fallen far from what You teach in Your word, and are teaching others to do the same. Help us, Lord, to get this turned around before it’s too late! Amen.
Today's Scripture 