Lessons From Ancient Israel for Today’s America

The history of ancient Israel can offer lessons for us today. The ancient Israelites ended up as divided nations and the recent election, the various riots, and the vitriol between politicians show how divided we are now as a nation. The last few years have seen a widening gap between diverse world views in our country (often called the culture war) and is being expressed in the differing political party platforms. There will be continuing contrasts, debates, and conflicts over the direction our country should take, in terms of underlying philosophy and policy actions based on those beliefs.

Differences in the American Parties

There are a number of differences between the parties and their leaders on issues such as the environment, illegal immigration, and the like but the most striking issue from a faith perspective are the moral contrasts pertaining to the non-negotiables of the sanctity of life, sanctity of marriage, sanctity of the nature of the human person and religious freedom. The culture war has become a moral war and issues like abortion, same-sex marriage, and transgenderism represent battlefronts for eventual policy actions that will have serious consequences.

The DC, Portland, and Seattle riots not only showed our divisions but also our moral values and lack of respect for the rule of law. Both political parties are flawed in different ways both morally and otherwise. While no political party is perfect and not all policies can reflect what our faith priorities on all issues are, their stance on the non-negotiables is a telling window into a party’s moral and values base. At one level, it is in contrast to the extent that our nation should accommodate to the “modern” moral culture and values. Consequently, which party’s moral/value system should determine our country’s future was also on the ballot in the last election.

New Leadership

So the question to raise is what does this all imply as to where our country will now be heading under new leadership? While there are direct consequences for defending the sanctity of life, marriage, and religious freedom, I believe, they lead to larger implications for the direction of our morality, our values, our ethos, and the “soul” of our nation.

The media pundits and political commentators are busy drawing their predictions, but I would suggest that another way we can gain some insight and perspective is by going back to Sacred Scripture, specifically the Old Testament.  As a student of history, the rise and fall of ancient Israel and Judah can offer a lesson that can teach us what can happen when a nation loses its moral bearing. There are many parallels between the history of ancient Israel and the United States. It is first reflected in the commonality between the Israelite notion as the “chosen people” and American “exceptionalism”. While our American history is still ongoing the rise and the fall of ancient Israel has settled history that can offer lessons for us today.

The Chosen People

From the time of Moses, the Hebrews/Israelites referred to themselves as the “chosen” people to be in a covenant with God. They were not chosen to be the only people to receive God’s grace but to be the representation for all mankind, to be a single real-world example to provide a background and context for God to fully reveal himself. They were to serve as a witness and model to God’s loving concern and his covenant with a specific mission to demonstrate that covenant with God as described in the Torah (the Law).

The End Result

The history of the chosen people as a nation and culture is a history with many accomplishments that were achieved by following God’s covenant and the Law. It is also a history of the nation of Israel dividing into two kingdoms (Israel and Judah) with both going on a downward spiral of disregard for God and his covenant with an ever-increasing accommodation to the culture around them. Both nations accommodated to their surrounding cultures of paganism, worshiping false gods, immorality, and pushing the covenant away. In a sense, those nations lost their soul.

Throughout that history, prophets such as Isaiah, Elijah, Jeremiah, and others emerged to warn and predict what would happen if they did not live up to the covenant, repent, and come back to following God. We all know the sad story of how the people did not heed the prophets and both nations were eventually destroyed. It was the fruits of accommodation. Reflecting on the reality of their story provides, not only a history lesson but also serves as a warning.

They have returned to the crimes of the forefathers who refused to obey my words, they have also followed and served; strange gods; the covenant which I made with their fathers, the house of Israel and house of Judah have broken . Therefore thus says the LORD, So I bring upon them misfortune which they cannot escape (Jeremiah 11:10-11).

American Exceptionalism Similarities

During the recent election, the term American “exceptionalism” was thrown about quite a bit.  At one level, it is a term that is analogous to a people or nation (like ancient Israel) being “chosen” for a specific purpose with several principles or tenants.

It is a view that the United States is inherently different from other nations, including those with who we share a common heritage. When the American Revolution occurred, it set many precedents (some new and some expanded upon existing ones) that created what many call the American ideology. It contains beliefs about a limited role of government, representative democracy, liberty, equality under the law, guarantees of human rights, individual responsibility, and free enterprise economics. The founders elaborated and codified that ideology into the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Those underlying beliefs and value systems are reflective of the traditional Judeo-Christian values and ethics. Associated with that ethical heritage is the notion that America has a unique mission. “A city upon a hill” is often used to describe our country to refer to America as acting as a “beacon of hope” for the world. It is a phrase derived from the parable of salt and light in Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:14-16).

What Are America’s Ongoing Results?

American history is not over. If there is one word that sums up that history of exceptionalism to date, it is the word “opportunity”. It is an opportunity for freedom of expression and conscience and of improving one’s life which has been the case for millions. That exceptionalism has been demonstrated in our over 200-year history by unparalleled economic and technological achievements, expansion of human freedom and rights, upgrading the quality of life of our citizens, and opening our borders for the oppressed.

On the other hand, like the ancient Israelites, our country has not completely lived up to our ideals and examples like slavery, the treatment of Native Americans, and various forms of discrimination being just a few of the blemishes on America’s record.  However, to our country’s credit, the faults are allowed to be exposed and eventually dealt with. America has its imperfections and isn’t completely there yet, but has been on a continuing journey toward that ideal of exceptionalism. However, that journey, in recent years, is having some serious roadblocks.

The last 50 years or so have seen a spiral downward from that goal of exceptionalism. The current cultural relativism, the sexual revolution, and so-called “progressivism” are replacing the traditional Judeo-Christian ethic. People and the nation have been accommodating to the modern paganism of excessive individualism, consumerism, and unlimited rights to, in essence, act as their own God. The non-negotiables, even for some in the Church, are being replaced by accepting abortion and assisted suicide, same-sex marriage, transgenderism, and restrictions on the practice of religion in the name of preventing discrimination. They represent the most prominent expressions of the accommodation taking place.

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware lest you be carried away with the error of lawless men and lose your own stability (2 Peter 3:17).

Parallels and Projections: America- Israel

The history of ancient Israel has been written. The history of America is still in the writing stage. There are parallels of a founding based upon a Judeo or Christian ethic and value system. There also are parallel symptoms of deterioration from those values as seen in ancient Israel that is being shown in the America of today. While there are different specifics for each, the bottom line is an accommodation to the rest of the world’s priorities and disregarding the tenants of covenants and/or influence of the inspiration of God.

While our governing political parties do not define themselves by faith, they are oriented toward one side of a faith-based moral spectrum or the other. The new leadership of Biden/Harris and the Democratic Party platform is cause for concern. Theirs and their party member’s statements, past and current actions demonstrate they will not protect the non-negotiables and will institute policies to overturn, negate and undermine them with serious implications for curtailing religious freedom.

However, it isn’t just about the “governors” but also the “governed”. Beyond the issue of a new ruling party’s beliefs and agenda, the election indicates, at some level, the mindset, and morality of us, as a people. That election result not only showed who we prefer as leaders but also can reflect a preference for an underlying value system. That, coupled with the surveys on American attitudes toward religion and the non-negotiables is disturbing, to say the least. They are representative examples of key issues. They also symbolize, I believe, the “canary in the coal mine” for our future as being on a path toward virtuous exceptionalism or a path toward immorality that accommodates to the whims, deceits, conveniences, and sins of the world.

The ancient Israelites rejected their religious morality by the way they accommodated the world and the results were not a pretty picture. What about us?  Modern-day prophets, such as some Church and other Christian leaders, secular philosophers, thinkers, and writers have been sounding the alarm. Regardless of the party that is in power, the questions will always be the same as it was for the ancient Israelites.  Will we listen and act accordingly? Or, will we, on the other hand, like them, go down the same downward path?

Reawaken Our Moral Awareness

History doesn’t have to repeat itself. As individuals and as a Church, we need to reawaken our moral and political awareness. First, we need to be steadfast and continually work to build a culture of life at all levels. Secondly, we need to be vigilant to oppose, to challenge, and voice our opinions about those forces, both political and otherwise, that go against that culture and our religious freedom. Thirdly, we need to be involved in the political process to support and elect future candidates that defend the culture of life and defend our most basic liberties.