I dare say that Today’s Holy Nougat was written for one particular set of people, the Israelites, though we can interpret it for our context today.
Psalms 33:12 NIV
[12] Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.
Blessed People
I have heard this phrase before, and each time I’ve heard it, it has been a call to repentance. I’m not sure I would say that it was futile, because repentance and righteous living are daily individual commitments. This suggests that nations are justified in seeking God’s face more than once.
In fact, when we think of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, we realise that God’s elect also ensured that they recommitted themselves annually. As a nation, they did not leave things up to chance. We realise then, that if God’s elect make time to recommit, so should we. Even then, we know that the Fruit bears proof of the Vine.
Self-Check
What does our mean to us for our nation to make God our Lord?
Application
Many countries have made claims to being among God’s chosen. In fact, there’s the doctrine of divine destiny assumed by many nations, Christian and otherwise. Countries like the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the Vatican, and Jamaica have made their religious allegiance visible in their currency, leadership and anthems.
The motto found on US notes clearly state, In God we Trust. Although the currency makes this statement, that is not the defining proof of making God Lord. And the doctrine of Manifest Destiny assumes a racial tone to God’s divine choice for God’s elect. If that holds as truth, what does is there for other non-whites to access salvation? And do we simply overlook the actions of white leaders that do not reflect godly lifestyles?
The United Kingdom’s spiritual culture is connected to the monarch being the head of the church, but the monarch often pays lip service to Christianity, while possibly engaged in other spiritual practices. Again, this isn’t necessarily the mark of a nation whose God is the Lord. For, while godliness today doesn’t demand annihilation of other religious groups, it should see the nation’s leader being a clear devotee of the God one declares as Lord.
On the contrary, as the head of the church, which has is own nation state to undergird it, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope, does carry far more spiritual clout in his nation. However, if the people associate the Pope with God, rather than as one of God’s messengers, then the Vatican and its adherents have also failed to make God their Lord.
It stands to reason therefore, that having a national anthem dedicated to El Olam does not make Jamaica a godly nation. In fact, having most of the leaders professing membership or allegiance with Christianity does not make us a godly nation. Don’t mishear me – Jamaica, like many other nations, professes Christianity as our official religion. That is all well and good. But professing Christianity and living for God are not always the same thing. Not even when there are annual prayer breakfasts, official national services and other rituals that suggest our allegiance is with God.
What matters ultimately, is the lifestyle of the people. Given the call for the righteous to lift the praise song of justice, righteousness and love to God (see Psalm 33:5), we can deduce that the nation whose God is the Lord is among God’s elect and demonstrates this with intentional individual and collective lifestyles that seek to please God always.
1 Peter 2:7-11 suggests that it is God’s people all over the world, who look to God as Sovereign, are yielded and submitted to God’s will that comprise the nation whose God is the Lord. In verse 9, Peter states, But you are God’s chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, [God’s] special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Peter continues with an admonition to abstain from sin, live good lives among those who do not adhere to godliness, to submit to human authority, while ensuring that our freedom does not condone evil. These are attributes by which we ought to live.
Siblings, it is good for our current nations to be known as Christian countries. What is even more important is that in acknowledging God as Lord, the leadership and peoples of those nations genuinely prioritise God’s will. Not the will of one man, woman, or group.
Further, we need to ensure that we place our hope in Y’shua, Whose death and resurrection paved the way for us to gain our Heavenly citizenship. His sacrifice restores us to right relations with YHWH and establishes us amongst God’s chosen. That is indeed a blessing. Let’s help others get their Heavenly nationality secured.
Point to Ponder
How might we share the blessing of being God’s chosen with others today?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
