I’m sure many of you are amazed if not perplexed by the Donald and Bernie shows. One political pundit after another has tried to explain the phenomena. The most common theory for their success is that our citizenry are outraged by the state of affairs in Washington and around the country that have negatively impacted every aspect of their personal lives. They’ve watched helplessly while the nation’s influence around the world has been degraded by their leaders and, at the same time they’ve seen their personal wealth, freedoms and protections within their own borders stolen from them. So they’ve cast all their chips into the buckets of these unorthodox candidates for President.
I guess I’m less concerned about the specific choice of nominee for each party than about the attitudes of our citizenry that is driving them to these choices. Almost across the board in the 2016 Presidential nomination process, the base of support for each party’s leading candidates seems more than willing to ignore and/or accept their use of deception and dirty tricks if it results in a “win” for the man or woman whom they anticipate will be their savior. It’s amazing that the lessons of the last three millennia of history have failed to sink in. Like one nation after another of the past, the citizenry of the good-old-U.S.A. are turning to fallible men and women for solutions to their problems, instead of their infallible Creator and His clear guidelines.
Just one simple example from ancient history to make my point. “We have heard of the pride of Moab – he is very proud – of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath; but his lies shall not be so.” Pride, anger, deception – these summarily describe the attitudes and behavior of the citizenry and leadership of 2016 America much as they did that of the nation of Moab 2,700 years earlier when Isaiah announced and explained its impending destruction.
The capital vices that pervade our modern society will not be tolerated by God indefinitely. In Moab’s case, the ultimatum was eventually given that they had but three more years to turn around their situation. But as history reveals, they ignored the warning and judgment fell. King Sargon of Assyria conducted a major operation against the Arabians in 715 B.C., and presumably took the opportunity to devastate Moab as well en route. The few who escaped the sword only did so by being absorbed into other kingdoms of the region, and their national identity was erased from the history books. Will our fate be the same?
As a side issue, it’s noteworthy that Moab once regarded themselves as friends of Israel, but abandoned their former allies when the relationship proved inconvenient politically and culturally – another ill-advised action our nation seems to be flirting with. And this, if carried to fulfillment, will be one more nail in this country’s spiritual and natural coffin.