Will God bless a nation that acts contrary to His will in a godless fashion?
National Blessings for Humility
The Bible is clear that God will bless any nation that strives to live in a godly way. One of the most recognizable Scriptures in regard to this is 2nd Chronicles 7:14 where King Solomon said to the nation Israel, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” There are several key factors in a nation receiving a blessing. For one thing, they must humble themselves before the mighty hand of God. God will not bless anyone or any nation that is full of pride because God is opposed to all who are filled with pride (James 4:6).
National Blessings for Prayer
The next thing that Solomon mentions in 2nd Chronicles 7:14 is about praying to God in order for God to hear that nation or its people. For those who refuse to humble themselves and seek God’s face in prayer, God’s face is against them. Daniel the Prophet was a godly man of prayer and in praying for his nation, Daniel said, “I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes” (Dan 9:3), and says, “we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land” (Dan 9:5-6). Daniel acknowledges that God brought judgment to Israel “because of the treachery that they have committed against” Him (2nd Chron 7:7). He will do the same to any nation that commits treachery against a Holy God. Daniel knows this and prays, “To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him” (2nd Chron 7:8-9). God will never bless any nation for long that acts in godless ways, including His own chosen people Israel. If God doesn’t judge our nation, it will only be because of their repentance and seeking Him.
National Blessings for Repentance
Solomon gives the next condition for a nation to be blessed and that is to turn from their wicked ways. This really means repentance because turning away from wicked ways means you must turn away and turn another way, and that would be turning to God, therefore we must humble ourselves, pray to God, and seek His face in prayer, but then turn our sins that threaten God’s judgment for an unrepentant nation. God will not hear a people that doesn’t humble themselves and seek God in prayers of repentance. Repenting of something or several things means we turn away from them and forsake them, and then turn to God. God will never bless a person or a nation that isn’t humbly seeking God’s face in prayer and in repentance.
National Blessings of Healing
When God spoke through Solomon about humbling ourselves before God, seeking Him in prayer, and then turning from sin (repentance), it is only then that God promises, “then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2nd Chron 7:14b). Why would God heal a nation’s land or economy if they refuse to bend the knee to Him? Why would God bless a nation if they refused to pray and repent of their national sins? God won’t even hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land unless they confess their sins to God, repent of them, and seek to obey Him.
Will God Bless a Godless Nation?
I think you already know the answer to this is no. God will not bless any nation that has murdered almost 60 million babies since Roe v Wade in 1973, nor will He bless any nation that lives defiantly toward God and His laws. The Bible makes it clear that “If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart” (Mal 2:2), and in fact, “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field” (Deut 28:16) and as God warns Israel, He warns all nations who refuse to submit to Him, “But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you” (Deut 28:15).
Conclusion
If we are deluded into thinking that God will bless this nation of corrupt politicians and business practices, murdering babies in the womb, violence in the streets, and turning away from God, we don’t understand that God must bring judgment against sin; either personally or as a nation, because God declared at that time (and in this time), “I have cut off nations; their battlements are in ruins; I have laid waste their streets so that no one walks in them; their cities have been made desolate, without a man, without an inhabitant” (Zeph 3:6). The messages to the ancient prophets in regards to Israel are the same given to any nation and it is this; “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them” (Ezk 2:3-5). God is speaking…is the nation listening?
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.
