Isaiah 49:1-13, Jesus: A Light to the United States

Today is July 4.  It is Independence Day, the celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  There had to be the declaration of the “inalienable rights” to, among others, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”  Note that the document did not argue the case for these rights.  Rather, it assumed them to be granted by the Creator.  Certain truths are “self evident,” including the fact that all men are created equal and that to all men these rights have been “endowed” by the Creator.  And there had to be established the “Right of the People” to alter or abolish the tyrannical British government.  A list of 27 grievances against King George served to establish that right. 

The Declaration led to a difficult war against the Brits in which many lost their lives and many became household names because of their heroism.  One of those was Patrick Henry, who is often called the firebrand of the American Revolution (a title, by the way, that I have also seen applied to Sam Adams and James Otis and probably others).  We remember Patrick Henry for his words, “Give me liberty or give me death”. But in current textbooks the context of these words is deleted. Here is what he said:

“An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle sir, is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.”

Is it true that God presides over the destinies of nations?  It seems to me that the Apostle Paul thought something like this to be true when he spoke to the pagans at Lystra of, the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways (Acts 14:15-16).  Likewise, to the Athenians, he affirmed that God the Creator, He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us (Acts 17:26-27).

Let me share one other quote from Patrick Henry that remind us that the problems that burden us in the United States are deeper than mere political division.  We have issues of the heart.  If there is not a change in the hearts of the majority, we can expect that the recent victories in our Supreme Court will not last long. 

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here." - Patrick Henry

In my view, the greatest accomplishment of the United States to this date is its role in the great missionary movement of the 19^th and 20^th centuries.  It fits what God is doing in history: honoring His Son as Lord of all.  As today’s passage notes: it was not enough that He be the king on David’s throne; His Father also made Him the “light to the Gentiles/Nations that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isa. 49:6).  Apart from submission to Christ and the gospel those “self-evident” truths involving our Creator will be suppressed in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18).