In God We Trust
We all know this phrase. It is a motto found on our currency. It derived from the general desire of Civil War era Americans to reflect the religious roots of our country ensuring that America is never seen as a “heathen” nation. At this urging, Secretary Chase told the Director of the Mint to establish a motto for our coins. He did so in the following memo: “Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition.” Chase eventually approved and released the motto: “In God We Trust.” Please visit https://www.treasury.gov/about/education/Pages/in-god-we-trust.aspx for more information.
Regardless of disagreements that we may have regarding the personal lives or beliefs of our founding fathers and the new nation of people that followed, these people did understand that governments fail. They understood history and they lived through oppression and tyrants. They wanted God to be on their side because God cannot fail. Of course, anyone can see that morally our nation has slid further and further from God although many of us still hold strong to the notion that we are a Christian nation. The good intention of early Americans is now more of a tradition of independence clutched to by at best apathetic Christians if not non-Christian patriots.
As I read through Jeremiah and Ezekiel, I see that the nation of Israel was very similar. After miraculous signs and reforms, the Jewish people would change their lifestyles to follow God. But after a few years and the rise of a wicked leader, the people would fall away again into their same old sin. Even during the time of their greatest wickedness, however, they would hold firm to the temple of God – probably like we hold firm to notions such as the motto “In God We Trust.” They believed that if they just worshipped in the temple a little bit and say that they loved Jehovah, everything else they did didn’t matter. Why? Because God would never destroy His temple (Jeremiah 7:4).
In Ezekiel 24:19-27, God addresses this false perception. He tells the Jews that the sanctuary they held so dear and that they put such trust in will be destroyed. You see, the Jews put their trust not in God, but in the temple of God. They would participate in child sacrifice, but then enter into the temple to pray. They erected idols in the temple next to the alter of God! In so doing, they have defiled the temple they claim to love.
Ezekiel 24:21
Speak unto the house Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.
Judgement was coming to Jerusalem. It had already been decided. All of God’s options for repentance has gone ignored, so now God will reveal his strong arm. It is at the very DAY of this prophecy that Jerusalem (400 miles away) is besieged by Babylon and completely destroyed. Most are killed in the 3 year siege, as promised by God, by either famine, pestilence, or the sword. The few remaining alive are taken captive to Babylon to tell their fate to the Jewish captives already there.
This is why Jeremiah, Ezekiel’s counterpart prophesying in Jerusalem, issued the warning in Jeremiah 24:1-10:
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Trust ye not in the lying words saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these…Behold ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?
As we read through God’s heavy rebuke, we can hear the disdain in His is voice as He wonders, how the Jews could think that they could openly and knowingly disobey God’s word and then turn around and worship Him. The answer is simple: they can’t. It doesn’t work that way. You see, God never wanted a fancy temple, He wanted their hearts!
God goes on to say in Jeremiah 24:14-15:
Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, where ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your breathe ring, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
God promises that the presence of the temple will not save them (I detail this in another article: Preaching at the Doors of the Church).
God points out that this action is not unprecedented. God allowed the Philistine’s to take the ark of the covenant away from the Jews during battle. You see, the Jews believed that if they brought the ark of the covenant with them into battle, God would fight for them despite the fact that their nation was encased in sin. They put their trust in the wrong place! The ark is just an ark. It was symbol of God’s presence (1 Same 4:10-11).
Furthermore, the great flood is an another example of this same principle. God was willing to and did destroy the human race (except Noah and family) due to sin. And it will happen again: God will destroy much of the earth and the wicked before the Millennial kingdom and again will destroy the wicked and the earth before New Jerusalem.
There will come a point again where sin will infiltrate to such a level that God will have to slam His fist down and judge. There will be only so many opportunities to repent. We can claim that we are a ‘Christian nation,’ but are we? Is our nation deserving of judgment. Absolutely. We may say we put our trust in God, but do we?
Our trust cannot be place in a constitution, church buildings, the amount of prayer in schools, or the president we follow. While all these are good things, we must place our trust in God. Trust place anywhere else is misplaced.
If recent events of the covid-19 virus and the racial unrest has taught us anything, it is that medicine, government, and political correctness cannot save us. Only God can do that. Let’s not misplace on trust even on good things!