“One Nation, Under God, Again!”

Scripture: Jeremiah 18:5-12, Matthew 12:15-21

When our nation was signed into existence 244 years ago, the framers were putting their own lives in jeopardy. England would see this act as treasonous, as an act against the legitimate government. But the colonists put such a high value on freedom from brutal and irrational British control, that they couldn’t see any other choice but separation. The 56 men who put their own names on this declaration believed that not only was this the right thing to do, but that they were willing to give their lives to live out, not only what they knew was their calling, but to do what they knew was right and true.

But just as with all noble callings, the years that have come and gone have had a way of changing the original intent of the freedom that has demanded so much from so many. A half century after declaring independence from England, we were again at war, defending our liberty from England once again. And a little over four decades after that, we were fighting each other over the issue of slavery. There would be world wars, and undeclared conflicts. And over the years, there would be other attacks from both inside and outside our nation, and the nation, in spite of the struggles, would grow in positive ways, also from contributions both inside and outside. But whether the masses would continue to appreciate and ensure the freedoms that liberty demands or not, right will always be right.

Israel, after being freed from captivity in Egypt, has gone through some similar struggles throughout their existence. But not only have their conflicts been with other nations, their wrestling with Jehovah God has been the most critical one of all. In their attempts to clarify what the Lord’s intentions were when he handed down his commands to Moses, they moved farther and farther away from the freedoms that God had set in place for them.

On this Independence Day weekend, we need to consider the lessons that Israel’s struggle with the Lord’s freedom still mean for each of us.

Read Jeremiah 18:5-10

As we begin to compare the Lord God Jehovah with King George III of England, we first need to understand that God is omniscient (all knowing) in a way that only God can be. King George III was human, with his own fallacies and limitations and agendas. And from this, the differences expand exponentially.

God’s commands and power is centered on providing the best for anyone who loves him and follows him; King George was all about elevating himself in power and authority, and holding others in control through his ways.

God’s purpose in all that he does and proclaims is love for his creation, and when we love him in return, his blessings fall richly upon us. But for those who refuse to love him, he lets them work out their lives to the best of their own abilities (John 3:16-17). King George’s purpose, on the other hand, was to hold out authority over everyone who came under his kingdom, and if anyone got out of step with him, punishment would rest upon their head.

God’s call to the people of earth is to follow his way, and to love in his way. King George only wanted obedience, and he cared nothing for whether his subjects loved him or the commands he issued or not – they were just expected to obey them, period.

In our passage, we discover that even though the Lord God Jehovah is omnipotent (all powerful), and that he can do as he wishes, his plan for us is not destruction, but remolding. A potter never actually changes the clay, or at least they didn’t in Jeremiah’s day. It was the shape, the purpose, the beauty that was changed through reshaping, not elimination through destruction. But the Lord reminds Israel that if he so desired, he could easily wipe them from the face of the earth, but that his way is one of forgiveness, and truth, and the giving of blessed goodness.

You would think that the decision would be a simple one for us – that it should be a given – what do you think?

"You are the Potter, I Am the Clay"

Read Jeremiah 18:11-12

But it seems that it is all up to us – we can accept his gifts, or decide that we can do better. Either way, God’s desire is for the good, and in our passage, Israel tells their God that they prefer to go their own way. In the hearts of Israel, and in many hearts today, stubbornness still prevails, and the goodness of God goes wanting.

Have you ever invited someone to join you at church, and in reply, you hear the response “If I walked through that door, the roof would fall in!”? It’s a misguided statement to say the least, but why would anyone think that God would punish them like that?

Let’s consider some possibilities:
1. It may be an excuse. Something may have happened in the past, or someone said something that hurt them, or made them feel like an outsider, and this may have turned them off on Church. Of course, those attitudes, while they have existed in churches for ages, have nothing to do with faith. We need to keep on loving them, as well as those who acted in such an unchristian way, back into a relationship with God.

2. It may be a sign of hopelessness. They know that they have not been living a lifestyle that would please God, and they have gone so far afield that all hope of forgiveness has vanished from their life. They need to be reminded of God’s promise in Jeremiah 31:31-34, that they can know God again, that they will be forgiven, and that their sins will be wiped away.

3. Or it may simply be an act of defiance. The Lord’s ways are radically different than ours, and they don’t always make sense to us. (Isaiah 55:8-9) And in our sense of superiority, we refuse to give up our own understanding, to make room for God’s.

Whatever the reason, Jeremiah is telling us that we have to give up stumbling over ourselves, and let the Lord God Almighty remold us and remake us in conformance with his image once again.

Read Matthew 12:15-21

In the Jeremiah 31 reference above, God also promises that he will be making a new covenant that will be unlike the one he made with Israel in the wilderness. It isn’t that he has developed something totally different, he has simply “remolded” the old one into something that everyone, Jews and Gentiles alike, can understand. Jesus is this new Covenant that has existed from before time began. And it came into being through the birth of a Baby, not in the coming of a great warrior; it will provide us with the answers that have been asked, and considered, and defined in ignorance, and have failed the people for centuries; it has simplified our life in God, by replacing our good works (which always fail us) with faith in our new Covenant (which will never fail us); and it will all come to be through his suffering, his death, his resurrection, and by faith in him and repentance from our sin, his forgiveness will blanket us forever.

On this Independence Day weekend, we have another covenant to rejoice in. The Declaration of Independence was given, not as an incomplete, half-hearted, idealistic hope, but as an expectation of peace and freedom from oppression, of equality for all people, that all people are recipients of God’s righteousness, and that all must be guaranteed “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.

Declaration of Independence

In 1892, Francis Belemy developed a piece that we know today as the Pledge of Allegiance. It was intended to be a statement of commitment to the precepts that our nation should stand for, and was formally adopted by the United States Congress in 1942, and since 1954, the pledge reads:
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Every time we say these words, we need to remember that, regardless of who we are and who our ancestors may have been, that we are a single people who are under the authority of God, and that we pledge to ensure that “liberty and justice” are available for all.

We have two covenants before us – the one that Christ Jesus became 2,000 years ago, and the one that the founders of these United States gave us 244 years ago. And if we are honest, we will admit to our failure to fully embrace them both.

It’s time that the Church begins to live in the great Covenant that the Lord God has sent to us. He came to teach us about God, to be an example of how to live a righteous life, to show us what a Godly love, a Godly justice, a Godly mercy are all about, and that the only way we will ever bring honor to him is to surrender our own ways, and begin living an obedient life, instead of one that only reflects our own desires.

And it’s about time that our nation began living in a way that reveals the liberty and freedom that the covenant of 1776 proclaimed. No political agendas, no treading on the rights of others, no shutting down the voices that may disagree with us, and no longer putting God out in the cold. Independence brings with it responsibility, and we need to accept it in the light that was intended.

If we live this life in a way that reflects them both – the covenant of faith, and the covenant of liberty – we can’t even imagine the benefits that will come our way. May our Lord God Almighty be praised through both.