Is Judgment Coming?

"9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do." 1 Samuel 8:9 NIV

"18When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day. 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles." 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." 1 Samuel 8:18-22 NIV

The Lord told the people that He would be their leader, their guide, their counselor, their government. But the people cried out, that they wanted to be like the other nations around them, and have a king reign over them, to be their leader, their guide, their counselor, their government. So they rejected God, and God gave them a king. He gave them what they wanted.

America...er...the United States of America now has what it has been clamoring for the last two years of presidential campaigns. He has given us a liberal "king" to rule over us. Now we can be like the rest of the world. An interesting thought for a nation founded on godly and biblical principles. Just like the children of Israel we are. We don't want to be set apart. We want to be just like the rest of the world, the rest of the nations around us. We don't want to be different.

This next president will probably be in the position of appointing a few Supreme Court justices. They will most likely be very liberal justices, because of the beliefs of the new president, who seems to be in favor of partial-birth abortions, homosexual marriage, high taxes, and big government. God has given us what we wanted.

But our job as a true believer, a blood-bought, born again Christian, is not to complain and bellyache, as we will hear some people doing in the coming years, as the "king" God has given us does what he promised he would do. Our job is to "speak evil of no one," and "pray for those God has placed in authority over us." We as Christians need to be on our knees before God, interceding for our nation, interceding for our government, interceding for the counsel to our "king," and interceding for the soul of our "king."

Hard times are coming for America. God willing, He will rapture us out of here before it gets too bad, but I cannot say that He will. It doesn't matter if He doesn't, because our focus is not to be on this life, but on our life in the next. Perhaps He will use these times to cause His people to get on our knees and again turn our hearts toward Him. He has told us that "If My people who are called by My name will 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" (2 Chronicles 7:14). Beloved, our land is in need of healing, because this past election has really divided our country on several levels. But know this: God is not surprised or stunned by the outcome. He allowed it to happen. He has given us our "king" to rule over us. Perhaps He has done this to allow us to turn back to Him from whence we have fallen. It is time for God's people to stop "playing church" and get real with God. There is a shaking going on, a judgment. And that shaking, that judgment begins with the house of God (see 1 Peter 4:17). Beloved, let us get serious about prayer and fasting, let us get serious about intercession. Let us get serious about our walk with our God. Let us humble ourselves and pray, and seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways. He promises us that then He will hear from heaven and forgive our sin and heal our land. Let it be so. Amen.


Rod Ewing is the Pastor of Calvary Chapel Ocala.