Tuesday, September 11, 2001, at 8:48 a.m. in New York City, horror and terror struck without warning.

Perhaps 19 men – armed only with knives, the willingness to die for a cause, and the desire to make others die for their cause – managed to breach security at three U.S. airports, and to hijack four commercial airliners. The hijackers successfully diverted three of the airplanes to be used as terrorist bombs, ultimately destroying two of the largest structures on earth, along with a number of other nearby buildings, and taking thousands of human lives.  It was, by far, the most spectacular and effective terrorist attack in history.

Naturally there is much talk, asking “How could this happen?” “Why did this happen?”  There will be much second-guessing, finger-pointing, congressional hearings, investigations, etc. in the coming months.

From almost the first instant, our country has framed these events as an attack of evil against good. 

What should our nation learn from this horrifying and tragic attack?  What should  God’s Church learn from this devastation?  What must we, as individual Christians, learn from these terrible events?  Is it merely good against evil, wrong against right, oppression and tyranny against freedom?  Or is there something more? 

Our nation and our national leaders – including our respected President – invoke the name of God and the voice of Scripture in responding to these awful events.  What is the witness of Scripture toward those who claim His name?  What does God tell us in His Word?


An Outpouring

In this time of horror, tragedy, and grief, we are hearing more and more stories of individual and collective heroism, self-sacrifice, and service.  These benevolent acts apparently began during the hijackings themselves, with passengers on one of the airplanes attempting to overcome the hijackers.  The self-sacrifice continued after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, in thousands of contributions, large and small.  There have been donations of every kind – volunteer labor, tools and equipment, food, clothing, transportation, blood, medical supplies, and money.  The generosity of this response is heartwarming and very gratifying.

Another part of the response to this atrocity has been to ask “How could it happen?” “Why did it happen?”  “Could it have been prevented?”  Make no mistake about it, this event has changed air travel in this country, and around the world.  It will no doubt have an effect on the design of airplanes and the training of flight crews.  It has even changed how food will be served in airport restaurants. 

The initial cost of this attack is incredible, both in human and material terms.  Tens of thousands of families are affected; whole businesses are wiped out.  According to news reports, the airlines alone have lost approximately $300 million a day, while the air transportation system was shut down. And we have no conception of how much it will cost our nation and the world on an ongoing basis.

It has also changed our country.  Our sense of safety and security within our own borders, preserved through two world wars and dozens of smaller conflicts, has been profoundly shaken.

Naturally, humanly, we look for someone to blame for all of this.  There is a desire to make our attackers answer for the pain and suffering they have inflicted, for them to be brought to justice.  For many, this comes from an attitude of vengeance – you hurt me, so I’m going to hurt you back, and I’m going to hurt you more.  For others, it comes from an attitude of seeking to punish the perpetrators for completely unacceptable behavior.  While President Bush’s public statements have, for the most part, focused upon punishment, he has also alluded to revenge.


Invoking God’s Name

The name of God has been on the lips of many this week.

Some, by no means a majority, who follow Islam, have praised Allah for what has happened, and extol the hijackers as heroes or even martyrs.  Most followers of Islam have strongly condemned the attacks.

God’s name, plus quotations from and references to Scripture, have appeared prominently in the words of President Bush and others on several occasions in recent days.

On Thursday, September 13, President Bush made the following proclamation: 

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Friday, September 14, 2001, as a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims of the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001…” 

In the preamble to the proclamation, President Bush quoted from Matthew 5, saying “Scripture says: ‘Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.’”  He goes on to assert, “…in the face of all this evil, we remain strong and united, ‘one Nation under God.’”

On that Day of Prayer and Remembrance, the President spoke during a service at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.  Here are a few excerpts from his remarks:

“But our responsibility to history is already clear:  to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil.

“War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder.  This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger.  This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others.  It will end in a way, and at an hour, of our choosing.

”Our purpose as a nation is firm.  Yet our wounds as a people are recent and unhealed, and lead us to pray.  In many of our prayers this week, there is a searching, and an honesty.  At St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York on Tuesday, a woman said, “I prayed to God to give us a sign that He is still here…”

“God’s signs are not always the ones we look for.  We learn in tragedy that his [sic] purposes are not always our own.  Yet the prayers of private suffering, whether in our homes or in this great cathedral, are known and heard, and understood.”

“America is a nation full of good fortune, with so much to be grateful for.  But we are not spared from suffering.  In every generation, the world has produced enemies of human freedom.  They have attacked America, because we are freedom’s home and defender…”

“On this national day of prayer and remembrance, we ask almighty God to watch over our nation, and grant us patience and resolve in all that is to come.  We pray that He will comfort and console those who now walk in sorrow.  We thank Him for each life we now must mourn, and the promise of a life to come.

“As we have been assured, neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, can separate us from God’s love.  May He bless the souls of the departed.  May He comfort our own.  And may He always guide our country.

“God bless America.”

How Does GOD See This?

This is a question which all who claim God’s name should be asking.  This is a question which we must  be asking.  There is no need for any of us to remain in doubt regarding God’s answer to this question.

What should our reaction be, in the face of a national disaster such as this?  How would GOD have us react? 

Let’s take a look at the reaction of two of God’s faithful leaders, in the face of trials and difficulties which beset God’s people.

In the book of Joshua, we read the story of Israel’s conquest of the promised land.  That conquest began with the amazing and miraculous defeat of Jericho, in which God caused the walls of the heavily-fortified city to fall down flat.  This was typical of the battles of Israel up to that time – overwhelming, miraculous victories.  God was fighting for Israel, just as He had promised.

God had commanded that all of the spoils of Jericho were to be destroyed, or reserved for God.  The people were forbidden to take for themselves any of Jericho’s spoils:

But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.           (Joshua 7:1)

How was God’s anger manifested?

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, "Go up and spy out the land." So the men went up and spied out Ai. They returned to Joshua and said to him, "Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few."  So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai.  The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them from the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them down on the descent, so the hearts of the people melted and became as water.          (Joshua 7:2-5)

What was Joshua’s initial reaction to this disheartening turn of events?  Did he calll for vengeance?  Did he resolve to mobilize greater forces to go after the enemy?

Joshua had led Israel in its battles, beginning during their years in the wilderness.  Better than most, he knew that it was God’s intervention that had given Israel success up to that point.  He also knew that something was terribly wrong, for the Israelites to be defeated by the few soldiers of this tiny city.  Joshua recognized that God had NOT blessed His people in this battle.

Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.  Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord GOD, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan!  "O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies? "For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?"      (Joshua 7:6-9)

Joshua did not understand how or why this could have happened.  What he did know is that God did not fight with His people in the battle at Ai.  Something was terribly wrong.  So what did Joshua do?  He tore his clothes, and fell on his face, he and the elders of Israel, before God and cried out to God for an answer.

What was God’s reply? 

So the LORD said to Joshua, "Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things.         (Joshua 7:10-11)

As we will see, God’s promises included blessings for obedience, and curses for disobedience.  Here God tells Joshua, in essence, “Why are you asking me this question?  I have told you what to expect if you obey, and what to expect if you disobey.  What has happened to you is a result of Israel’s disobedience.” 

"Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst. "Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the LORD, the God of Israel, has said, "There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst."       (Joshua 7:12-13)

God’s answer had nothing to do with Ai.  He told Israel that the reason for their defeat, was because they had sinned!  He told them that they were accursed – that they would not be able to stand before their enemies until they removed the evil from among themselves – the sin of their own people!

The Scriptural account continues with the identification and punishment of the thief, Achan, followed by the second assault, and – with God’s blessing – the victory, over the city of Ai.

God has promised His people amazing blessings and abundance for obeying Him.  In the reign of King David, whom God described as “a man after His own heart,” these blessings began to be manifested.  But notice what happened at one juncture within David’s reign:

Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year;…     (2 Samuel 21:1)

David knew the promises of God.  David began to recognize that something was terribly wrong, because rather than the blessings which God had promised for obedience, Israel was receiving curses.  The land of milk and honey was becoming a land of suffering and want. 

How did David respond?

… and David sought the presence of the LORD…           (2 Samuel 21:1)

And how did God respond?

… And the LORD said, "It is for Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death."  So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them (now the Gibeonites were not of the sons of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites, and the sons of Israel made a covenant with them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah).       (2 Samuel 21:1-2)

The account continues with how David addressed the problem, and ends with this statement:

“…thus they did all that the king commanded, and after that God was moved by prayer for the land.”            (2 Samuel 21:14)

Where was the problem? 

Again, God’s promised blessings were removed, and God’s promised curses invoked, because of the sins of God’s own people.  And once again, when the problem was resolved, God restored His blessings.


Is God Watching Over Us?

President Bush attests that “we remain…’one Nation under God.’”  Speaking on behalf of all our citizenry, the President has asked “almighty God to watch over our nation.”

Does God establish any conditions upon His willingness to watch over a nation?

Two chapters in Scripture, Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, focus at length upon God’s promises to His people Israel.  As our nation invokes the name of God, claims His name, and seeks His providence, as we seek answers to the meaning of these terrorist attacks against the United States, we should be led to examine our own nation – to examine ourselves – in the light of God’s Word in these two chapters. 

As we proceed, you will notice that God makes two broad promises:  (1) blessings, and (2) curses.  Which of these promises God’s people receive is dependent upon their response to God’s commands:

'You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves an image or a sacred pillar, nor shall you place a figured stone in your land to bow down to it; for I am the LORD your God.  'You shall keep My sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary; I am the LORD.  'If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out,    (Leviticus 26:4-6.  Underlining added.) 

Do we keep God’s Sabbaths in the United States of America today?  Have we ever?  How many of us make even a token effort to observe the weekly seventh day Sabbath which God commands?  How many of us observe the annual Holy Day Sabbaths which God delineates in Leviticus 23?

Is our nation faithfully observing these Sabbaths, which were observed and perpetuated by Apostolic Christianity?  The answer is obvious – it is a resounding “No!”  Is our nation any more obedient to the other nine of God’s ten commandments, such as His commands against adultery, against dishonesty, against coveting?  Again, the answer is a definite “No, we are not obedient to the commands of the Almighty Living God.”

Remember that it is only for obedience –  'If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out – that God promises to bless:

then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.  'Indeed, your threshing will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. You will thus eat your food to the full and live securely in your land.  'I shall also grant peace in the land, so that you may lie down with no one making you tremble. I shall also eliminate harmful beasts from the land, and no sword will pass through your land. (Leviticus 26:4-6.  Underlining added.)

Has a sword passed through the United States of America?  Are we trembling?  A recent public opinion poll, following these attacks, reported that 58% of Americans now fear terrorist acts, compared to a figure of 42%, immediately following the Oklahoma City bombing.

God’s promises of blessings for obedience continue:

'But you will chase your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword; five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall before you by the sword. (Leviticus 26:7-8.)

Is this is what has happened to the United States,? Do a few of our soldiers put thousands of our enemies on the run, or is it now the reverse? Notice what God says of when the tables are turned:

"For they are a nation lacking in counsel, And there is no understanding in them. "Would that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would discern their future! "How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the LORD had given them up? (Deuteronomy 32:28-30)

Isn’t this precisely what we have experienced?  A minuscule group of terrorists have killed thousands of our citizens; brought the air traffic of our entire nation to a standstill, forcing us to the brink of war! 

Has this happened to us simply ”because we are freedom’s home and defender”; or, is it  rather, as our Almighty Creator informs us, that such an event would be inconceivable “Unless [our] Rock had sold [us], And the LORD had given [us] up?”

Again, we go back to God’s promises of blessings for obedience

 'So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you.  'You will eat the old supply and clear out the old because of the new.  'Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you.  'I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.  'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.   (Leviticus 26:9-13.)       

All of these are wonderful, amazing, hopeful promises – but promises with a condition:  “'If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out …”

However, the blessings are not the end of God’s promises.  Notice, as we read on, Who is actually behind the promised calamities and disasters:

 'But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments,  if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant,  I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up.  'I will set My face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies; and those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.  'If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.  'I will also break down your pride of power; I will also make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze.  'Your strength will be spent uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit.  'If then, you act with hostility against Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times according to your sins.  'I will let loose among you the beasts of the field, which will bereave you of your children and destroy your cattle and reduce your number so that your roads lie deserted.  'And if by these things you are not turned to Me, but act with hostility against Me,  then I will act with hostility against you; and I, even I, will strike you seven times for your sins.  'I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute vengeance for the covenant; and when you gather together into your cities, I will send pestilence among you, so that you shall be delivered into enemy hands.         (Leviticus 26:14-25.  Bold emphases and underlining added.)  

Leviticus 26 continues with more promises, if God’s people refuse to get the point: 

'When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread in rationed amounts, so that you will eat and not be satisfied. 'Yet if in spite of this you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me, then I will act with wrathful hostility against you, and I, even I, will punish you seven times for your sins. 'Further, you will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters you will eat.  'I then will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and heap your remains on the remains of your idols, for My soul shall abhor you.  'I will lay waste your cities as well and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your soothing aromas.  'I will make the land desolate so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled over it.  'You, however, I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste.  'Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies' land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths.  'All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it.  'As for those of you who may be left, I will also bring weakness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a driven leaf will chase them, and even when no one is pursuing they will flee as though from the sword, and they will fall.  'They will therefore stumble over each other as if running from the sword, although no one is pursuing; and you will have no strength to stand up before your enemies.  'But you will perish among the nations, and your enemies' land will consume you.  'So those of you who may be left will rot away because of their iniquity in the lands of your enemies; and also because of the iniquities of their forefathers they will rot away with them.  'If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me--  I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies--or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land.  'For the land will be abandoned by them, and will make up for its sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and their soul abhorred My statutes. 'Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God.  'But I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the LORD.'"         (Leviticus 26:26-45.  Bold emphases and underlining added.) 

Deuteronomy 28 also contains a detailed list of promised blessings, and promised curses, which are very similar to those we have just examined in Leviticus.  Unchangingly, God promises blessings and abundance and peace for obedience. He promises curses and sorrow for disobedience.

We have read very sobering words here – to people who claimed the name of God – to whom God had given His name. We are invoking in our nation the name of God. It behooves us to contemplate these Scriptures – to see ourselves in them. Why did this happen in this country?

Earlier in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses reminds Israel of their relationship with God, and with God’s Law, and the conditions of that relationship.  Notice where Moses’ words begin.  He reminds them of the source of their prosperity:

"All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your forefathers. "You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. "He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:1-3. Underlining added.)

We should remember that these are the words that Christ spoke to Satan, as Satan was trying to tempt Him to disobey God:  “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.”

And then Moses recounts some of the blessings, the miraculous blessings that Israel received during their time in the wilderness:

"Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.  (Deuteronomy 8:4)

Notice these little things that Israel experienced. Moses points out in the next verse:

"Thus you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.   (Deuteronomy 8:5)

God did not entirely remove His blessings from Israel during that time.  He was with them, and yet He disciplined them.  He taught them.  He did things that got their attention to teach them lessons.

 "Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.  "For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. "When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.  "Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. "He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint. "In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end.  "Otherwise, you may say in your heart, 'My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.' "But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.  "It shall come about if you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. "Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 8:6-20. Underlining added.)

So here we see a warning from God to His people, who are promised prosperity and abundance.  If we are God’s people and we forget God, if we refuse to obey God, if we leave God’s way behind, we will likewise perish – our blessings will be removed.


Does God Hear Us?

Our President quoted from Romans, Chapter 8, when he asserted, “As we have been assured, neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, can separate us from God’s love.”

President Bush also said, “Yet the prayers of private suffering, whether in our homes or in this great cathedral, are known and heard, and understood.”

However, Scripture does tell us that there is something which can separate us from God’s blessings – that can separate us so that He does not  hear our prayers:

Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short  that it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.     (Isaiah 59:1-2)

What did Moses say?  What did God say to His people?  “If  you obey…”  “If you obey…  If you obey, I will bless you. If you refuse to obey, you will be cursed.””

…the LORD'S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken falsehood, Your tongue mutters wickedness. (Isaiah 59:1-3.  Bold emphases added.)

The chapter continues with an enumeration of the sins of God’s people, and God’s punishment for those sins.  God makes it plain that He is going to deal with the sin, and with the sinners.
 

For Us Today?

Most of the passages we have discussed to this point, come from within what is commonly called the “Old Testament” or the “Hebrew Scriptures.”  Are these warnings and admonitions, these promises of God, only for the ancients?  Dare we ignore applying them to our modern nation, to the Church, to ourselves individually?

In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul writes to a congregation which – as opposed to the way the Church began – is significantly of non-Israelite, non-Jewish, ethnicity.  It was difficult at first for the Jews – the first Christians – to understand that Gentiles would be called to Christ.  However, God made it clear that He intends the Church to be made up of people of all nations.  Notice now though, that Paul is warning the Gentiles of the Church in Rome:

But if some of the branches were broken off,        (Romans 11:17)

Here Paul is speaking of the Israelites and the Jews, who were punished for their sins:

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.  You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."  (Romans 11:17-19)

The Jews were punished.  The Israelites were punished.  “Their branches were broken off, and now God has grafted me onto the tree.  So, am I not better in some way than they?”

Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, (Romans 11:20)

This unbelief manifested itself in disobedience.

but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?  For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery--so that you will not be wise in your own estimation--that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB."  "THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS." (Romans 11:20-27. Bold emphases and underlining added.)

So we see here in Paul’s writing, a warning to members of the Church of God’s punishment, of being cut off – those being cut off who refuse to obey God, and who refuse to yield themselves to God in obedience.

In the words of many people of our land – in the words of President Bush and others of our leaders – we have heard these terrorists described as being evil.

And they were.  What they have done embodies evil.  There is no question about that. 

Yet what does God proclaim in Chapter 2 of Romans?

Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.    (Romans 2:1)

Now, we should note that Scripture makes it clear that breaking one of God’s commandments breaks all the commandments. The fact that we don’t deliberately crash airplanes into buildings does not mean that we are not disobedient to God.  Our wonderful generosity and support for one another during this time of difficulty does not mean that we are not evil in other aspects of our lives.

…you who judge practice the same things.  And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself,  (Romans 2:1-3.  Bold emphasis added.)

We break God’s laws.  We disobey God’s Sabbath command.  We do not observe His Holy Days, or we observe them only casually.  We break many others of God’s commandments in our businesses, in our governments.

But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?  (Romans 2:3-4)

Where should we be as a result of our abundance?

…the kindness of God leads you to repentance?  But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself  (Romans 2:4-5.  Bold emphasis added.)

To whom is Paul writing?  Paul is not writing to Old Testament Israel. These words are not written to ancient Judah:

But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.  There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.            (Romans 2:5-11.  Bold emphases added.)

Scripture does not focus only on ancient Israel.

…there is no partiality with God. For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.  (Romans 2:12-13.  Underlining and bold emphasis added.)

The doers of the law will be blessed.

In times such as these – times of trial and trouble and grief and heartache and tragedy – we, as a nation, rush to invoke the name of God.  Most Americans, to one degree or another, claim to be Christians, Jews, or Moslems.  In short, we claim to be God’s people.  We seek God’s help.  We seek God’s blessing.  But do we obey God?  Do we love him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our might? 

Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed."  (Isaiah 29:13-14)

Let’s hear and meditate on these words, along with those passages of Scripture which we have already examined. As we do, it is imperative that those of us who are members of the Body of Christ take a very serious look, not only at the attrition and scattering within the Church over the last number of years; but we must search personally, within ourselves.

Each one of us individually, each one of us who claims God’s name, we who claim the name of Jesus Christ, we who claim to be among God’s elect – we must each consider ourselves.  We must remember that it was the sin of one man  – Achan – which resulted in God removing His blessing from His people Israel, their defeat in battle, and multiple deaths.


The Opportunity

As President Bush and others have noted, these horrible events present us with an opportunity.

Yet I fear that our respected President and our national leaders, along with most of our nation’s citizens, including many of us within the Body of Christ, will fail to grasp this priceless window of opportunity –  will miss the import, the true lesson, of what happened to the United States on September 11, 2001. 

Yes, we should invoke the name of our Creator. 

But rather than proclaiming ourselves to be the pillar of good and the destroyers or avengers of evil, we should humble ourselves before the Living Almighty God in deep and heartfelt repentance, with the desire to do whatever is necessary to be returned to His favor, so that HE will protect us, so that HE will defend us, so that HE will avenge and punish. 

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord.  "BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS UPON HIS HEAD."  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.        (Romans 12: 19-21)

Rather than setting out on our own, apart from God, to eradicate evil from the world – something which God Himself has not yet done – we need instead to fall on our faces before God.

We need to examine ourselves, to search our OWN hearts, to repent and beg God’s forgiveness, seeking His help in first eradicating the evil from OUR hearts, from the Church, from OUR nation. 

Then God will bless us, protect us, and defend us, just as He promises.

Earlier, we read from Isaiah 59.  Now let’s notice the conclusion of that chapter.  In these verses, we will see similarities to the experiences of Joshua and David:

"A Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," declares the LORD.  "As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the LORD: "My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring," says the LORD, "from now and forever." (Isaiah 59:20-21.  Bold emphases and underlining added.) 

God promises deliverance, “a redeemer,” to “those who turn from transgression.”  When Joshua and Israel took care of the sin in Israel – when they removed the sin from within Israel – God’s blessings returned, and they defeated the people of Ai and went on to conquer the land.  When David took care of the unresolved sin within the nation, God removed the famine from the land and His blessings returned – He delivered them – those who turned from transgression.  Numerous other passages of Scripture similarly affirm God’s promise to honor repentance:

"If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and 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, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.      (2 Chronicles 7:13-14)

God is giving us the opportunity – deliverance for our great nation, security, increasing abundance – if we repent.  Will we, will you, will I, seize this priceless opportunity which God has so mercifully extended to us, or will it prove tragically wasted upon an arrogant and ungrateful people?

"Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?'

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CC:  George W. Bush, President of the United States of America