Historical Injustice and Present Consequences

“Warning! Warning! Warning!” That was the message our then 5 –year- old grandson left on our message machine years ago. I will never forget his words: “There is a tornado warning nana—THIS IS NOT A WATCH—THIS IS A WARNING! Be careful!”  

 

Warnings are never popular messages, but many in the church are called to deliver them. This warning is one of many we have been getting. It is the loving nature of God to warn—knowing that people who hear the warning may not hear the powerful love behind the warning.  

 

We LOVE this nation! We LOVE the body of Christ! And many times WE feel like we are jumping up and down --shouting—RED LIGHT!! RED LIGHT!! 

 

Folks—hear our hearts—please!! This is where we are at in this nation! Intercessors and prayer warriors—we have long since by-passed the WATCHMEN phase, and have entered into the WARNING—the DIRE WARNING PHASE! Liked a TORNADO God’s judgments are closing in on AMERICA and soon it will be too late to head to the basement for cover. We need to fall on our faces where we are at, as many did in Joplin and now more recently in Oklahoma, and other such places where they didn’t have time to seek cover from the storm.  

 

We are experiencing disasters, droughts and pestilence and a heightened violence that many see as the beginning of judgments upon our nation. Looking to the word of God for guidance--there was a time when Israel came under similar judgment:  

 

The book of Joshua gives the narrative of Israel’s making a covenant with the Gibeonites and the consequences of coming into that covenant. (Jos. 9:1-10:43) The record tells us that all the kings feared Israel because they heard of the great victories Israel had in Jericho and Ai. (Jos. 9:1-2) Hearing the report, the people of Gibeon feared for their lives and instead of going to war against Israel, it says:

 

“they worked craftily, and went and pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us.” (Jos. 9:4-6)

 

However, Israel was not discerning and they did not inquire of the Lord:

 

“where are you from?” “Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel of the Lord. So Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.” (Jos. 7, 14, 15)

 

Now God didn’t tell them to make the covenant, and they erred in not asking God, but never the less, the bible says that God held them to honoring that covenant. When the people complained because they were deceived…all the rulers said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them.” (Jos. 9:18-19)

 

We must understand that God is so adamant about covenant that, although the Gibeonites were deceptive, God still held Israel to all that a covenant entails, including battling their enemies.

 

When the five kings of the Amorites surrounded Gibeon, and the men of Gibeon asked Israel for help, Joshua immediately went up from Gilgal with his men of war. (Jos. 10:3-7) Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not fear them for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.’ (Jos. 10:8) 

 

The rest of the narrative tells of how God gave Joshua victory over ALL the kings AND gave him ALL their land. “All these kings and their land Joshua took at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.” (Jos. 10:43) 

 

God did not tell Israel to covenant with Gibeon but after they did He not only required their upholding of that covenant, but also blessed their battles against Gibeon’s enemies! 

 

However, today the Church is losing battle after battle against the dark forces operating through the media, the government and other areas of society. One of the main problems is that the voice of the Church is not being heard in the nation. The prophetic voice has remained silent, there is no prophet --who when he speaks- the kings listen. In the Old Testament God’s prophets honored Him and spoke into the lives of the kings; the kings didn’t speak into the lives of the prophets!  

 

In the New Testament, John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded because he cried aloud day and night against the wicked king Herod and the religious leaders! I am sorry to say that we don’t have anyone in America today who is in jeopardy of losing their head because of their crying out against the wickedness of our leaders! Today, the Church in America stands silent concerning the evil perpetrated by our nation’s leaders!

 

        The Church in America has lost its power and authority to affect serious change in the nation.  

 

 

Why is that? There are many things that have occurred at the foundation of the nation that have been covered up and silenced by the Church. But God does not forget. A thousand years is like yesterday to the Lord (Ps. ). It was approximately 430 years from the time the Gibeonites had first made covenant with Israel to the time when Saul broke that covenant by massacring them. Although David wasn’t responsible for breaking the covenant — as Israel’s main gatekeeper God held David responsible to deal with the problem!  

Now a covenant and a treaty are alike in nature – in that both are written agreements between two or more parties to perform some action, behavior, or promise. They are both legal documents summarizing the agreement between two parties. Remember, just one broken covenant brought a three -year curse of drought upon all of Israel!

 

Think about it – just one broken covenant and yet America has broken hundreds of treaties with First Nations tribes! We have set ourselves up to experience more than a 3-year drought!!

 

             The Church in America has become cozy, comfortable and seemingly prosperous.  

 

It is frightening that the church has not wept over the hundreds of broken treaties that have contributed to the dire living conditions affecting millions of impoverished native people today! 

 

It is chilling that the church believes platform repentance will do the trick and now that it has done its duty it can now move on to the next event, trend, or so called move of God and actually think God’s heart for justice is satisfied!  

 

I am frightened FOR a nation where the Church conducts business as usual while in their backyard (their Jerusalem)

 

• Over 4 million people are living in third world conditions; 

• Native young people are committing suicide at 10 times the national average; 

• Native babies have less than a 50 % chance of survival their first year; 

• And, yet this people group is still NOT considered a valid mission field!

 

Dear Jesus --we as the Church should be absolutely broken over the fact that

 

• Hundreds of thousands of native children were forcefully taken from their parents and KEPT for YEARS in abuse infested boarding schools run by churches and paid for by the governments of the US and Canada! 

 

 

The Native Voice, Which Is A Prophetic Voice, was silenced through

• Abuse, intimidation, shame, and fear;

• Children were severely punished and beaten if they spoke their native tongue.  

 

         The native voice has been silenced for Over 150 years.  

 

Native young people have told us that no one cares and no one wants to listen to them. They told us their life is hopeless and they live day to day –each day trying to decide if this is the day they end it all through suicide.  

 

• Aspirations of hope and dreams of a bright future are not part of their world view in their struggle to survive another day, week, or month. For many the only escape route from the gloom, despair, and misery of an impoverished reality is to drink themselves into oblivion or exit their world through suicide.

 

When a curse came upon Israel—David asked God why?  

 

God told him it was because of the bloodthirsty house of Saul who broke the 430-year-old covenant (treaty) with the Gibeonites. At that point, David didn’t just go to the Gibeonites and say—“I am sorry. Will you forgive me?” He went to the people who had the leverage to end the curse that was consuming Israel and asked—“What must I do for you to bless Israel?”  

 

      David understood what the Church in America does not understand…

 

      David KNEW that the offended party has the greatest leverage to release blessing upon those who offended them! 

 

After David obediently fulfilled the Gibeonites request, then it says – after that God heeded the prayer for the land.” (2 Sam. 21:14)

 

There are CONSEQUENCES for Spiritual Precedents established in the land!

 

Why do the prayers of the saints seem to be falling on deaf ears?

 

Why is the church’s influence failing to impact our national leaders and the direction of our nation?

 

Why are our First Amendment rights and freedom of speech being attacked and at risk of being lost?

 

These are only a few of the questions we hope to answer by presenting several spiritual precedents that have set the church up for failure during this season of dire straits and social dilemmas. 

 

We are presenting the precedents to you for contemplation and prayer —in the hope that the Lord will unite us in strategic intercession to unravel the stranglehold the dark powers are amassing against our nation and our future generations.  

 

 The Church, which represents God on earth, must embrace its function as God’s primary authority and gatekeeper in the earth and responsibly take whatever steps are necessary to achieve break-through in this hour.  

 

 

Pray strategically:

 

• Ask God to show you the forming of the foundations of this nation the way He sees it.  

 

• Ask Him to break your heart for what breaks His. 

 

• Ask God to grant you and His Church the spirit of true repentance—not an apologetic event type of repentance—but a true broken heartedness for all that has been done.

 

• Ask God what He requires to lift the curse off the nation and be obedient to whatever He tells you to do