Isaiah 60:12 For
the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea,
those nations shall be utterly wasted.
The word "nation" has
its roots in the Hebrew word, gowy go'-ee, which is sometimes
translated, Gentiles.
Isaiah
60:12-pulpit commentary-MP3 The
corresponding message as preached by Dr.Bliss
As a Gentile nation we have judicially, legislatively, morally,
politically and in every way imaginable rejected God and His word.
We have kicked prayer, Bible reading, the Ten Commandments, and any
mention of the God of the Holy Bible out of our schools. Therefore,
our schools have become hotbeds of paganism. Or as Dr. Thomas Sowell
recently wrote, "…hotbeds of propaganda." We have falsely
taught our students for decades that they are nothing more than
animals, products of evolutionary, chance, random processes of
protoplasm with no eternal soul. Is it any wonder after teaching our
young people this nonsense that some of them act like animals?
This verse that has impacted me greatly recently; in doing
research on the verse I found the following comments in the Pulpit
Commentary:
Isaiah 60:12
The nation...
that will not serve thee (God) shall perish. God's
curse shall be upon them; they shall wither and decay for lack
of the Divine favour and of the graces which God dispenses to
mankind through his Church.
The condition of national prosperity
"Every nation shall fall unless it serves the Lord, the
righteous God, the God of Israel, through whom alone is
salvation. The figure of serving Israel means serving the God of
Israel" (Matthew Arnold). Foerster remarks that "the Roman
pontiffs abuse this oracle of the prophet to establish their
tyranny over monarchs. In particular, it is recorded of Pius IV,
that at the time of his election he caused a coin to be struck,
on one side of which was his own image, adorned with a triple
crown, and on the other these words of the prophet were
inscribed." Barnes gives suggestions for the historical
illustration of the passage: "The idea of the verse is that no
nation can flourish and long continue that does not obey the Law
of God, or where the true religion does not prevail, and the
worship of the true God is not maintained. History is full of
affecting illustrations of this. The ancient republics and
kingdoms fell because they had not the true religion. The
kingdoms of Babylon, Assyria, Macedonia, and Egypt; the Roman
Empire, and all the ancient monarchies and republics, soon fell
to ruin because they had not the salutary restraints of the true
religion, and because they lacked the protection of the true
God. France cast off the government of God in the first
Revolution, and was drenched in blood. It is a maxim of
universal truth that the nation which does not admit the
influence of the laws and the government of God must be
destroyed. No empire is strong enough to wage successful war
with the great Jehovah; and, sooner or later, notwithstanding
all that human policy can do, corruption, sensuality, luxury,
pride, and far-spreading vice will expose a nation to the
displeasure of God, and bring down the heavy arm of his
vengeance." The precise form in which this subject is dealt with
must depend on the standpoint of the preacher. It is better,
therefore, only to give the lines in which thoughts, arguments,
and persuasions may run. The conditions of national prosperity
are—
-
Belief In God. Atheism never has
built up, and never can build up, a stable nation. An
atheistic nation is like a wall of loose stones. There is
nothing to bind it into a unity of strength.
-
Acknowledgment Of God. From
different points of view the absolute necessity for some
public and authorized testimony of the national faith may be
urged.
-
Obedience To God. By the recognition
of his Law as the absolute standard of national
righteousness, the final court of appeal.
-
Reference To God. In all times of
national perplexity or peril. "Righteousness exalteth a
nation," but righteousness is this-trying to know God's
will, and trying to do it.-R.T.
End of edited article.
The gist of the comments and verses referenced above could not be
clearer.
In my research I was struck by the idea that not only do these
verses apply to the nation of Israel but also to the Gentile
nations. I believe that there is a universal application to the
teaching that Mr. Barnes states in the Pulpit Commentary article, The
idea of the verse is that no nation can
flourish and long continue that does not obey the Law of God, or
where the true religion does not prevail, and the worship of the
true God is not maintained. (Emphasis
mine.) No
nation, not just the Jews but the Gentiles.
Even the churches of America have rejected God's word. Church
after church has embraced paganism as they have rejected the
revealed will and word of God by installing women and sodomites in
their pulpits. This in the name of progress and modernism. God is
not pleased with this, and any nation, even America, will perish if
they do not repent and turn back to the word of God.
The Pulpit Commentary editor of the above article then goes on to
reference,
Zechariah 14:17-19 And
it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the
earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even
upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up,
and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague,
wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep
the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and
the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of
tabernacles.
The nation of Israel rejected God and His word, and the prophets,
including Jeremiah warned them that if they continued on that path
they would be destroyed. However, God also warned the neighboring
Gentile nations that they would not escape His wrath either.
Jeremiah 12:17 But if they will
not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the
LORD.
Jeremiah 25:13 And I
will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced
against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah
hath prophesied against all the nations.
The word of God is replete with warnings to people and nations
that if they will not head His word, they will be destroyed. Yet,
people and nations continue on down their path to destruction, just
as Israel did so many thousands of years ago. In spite of their many
warnings, Israel went into captivity and desolation. The nation has
never been the same since. And the United States will not escape the
wrath of God either. NO nation
can ignore God and prosper. Raising taxes, the debt limit, and all
of the other plans that our irresponsible, Godless so-called leaders
concoct will not help one iota unless we get back to the Triune God
of the Holy Bible and His word.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the
LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct
thy paths. Nothing can change the truth of these verses and to
ignore them is to invite sure destruction. Mankind will serve God or
"perish." If our leaders refuse to let God
and His word lead the way, America will perish, it "shall
be utterly wasted."
Note in our original text the last phrase, "…yea,
those nations shall be utterly wasted." The word
wasted is the Hebrew word, 'charab khaw-rab' which is
doubled there. Mr. Strong defines the word as, …chareb
{khaw-rabe'}; a primitive root; to parch (through drought) i.e. (by
analogy,) to desolate, destroy, kill:- decay, (be) desolate,
destroy(-er), (be) dry (up), slay, X surely, (lay, lie, make) waste.
Isn't it interesting that the words parch and drought are used in
connection with desolate, destroy, kill etc. As was stated above,
the history of the world is replete with examples of nations that
have rejected God and His word and have been wasted. Will the USA be
next?
The only way to escape the judgment of God is to flee to the
Refuge, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Saviour and every person
must trust Him or perish.
John 5:24 Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on
him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
