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The Rise and Fall of the West

King "Hezekiah trusted in the Lord … He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook."¹

According to an article in Restore magazine, Edward Gibbon in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire said that there were five major attributes that marked the closing days of the great Roman Empire. 1. There was an increasing love of show and luxury; that is, affluence. 2. There was a widening gap between the very rich and the very poor. 3. There was an obsession with s-e-x. 4. There was freakishness in the arts masquerading as originality and creativity. 5. There was an increased desire to live off the state.

The application for today is obvious. Without a doubt our nation needs God. Many well-informed people believe Western civilization is in an accelerating moral decline, which, if it continues, will eventually weaken and cause us to fall.

At the time of King Hezekiah ancient Israel had collapsed morally and spiritually, had turned from God, and had become weak and powerless. The nation was divided and Israel, the Northern Kingdom, had been taken into captivity. King Hezekiah was king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah and because he led his nation back to God, God delivered them from destruction in an amazing way. In one night the angel of the Lord put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men of the Assyrian army who were poised to attack and destroy Jerusalem.²

Where do we begin to turn our nation back to God? We do so one person at a time. We do this in our heart, our manner of life, our dedication to genuine worship of God, in serving God by helping others, in our giving, in prayer, and in our witness for Christ.

As it is Federal Election Day in the USA tomorrow, we urge every U.S. citizen-reader of Daily Encounter to accept their responsibility and to vote. Be certain that you know all you need to know about the ones you vote for and do so based on their past performance, not on what they say they are going to do; to vote for men/women of character; and to pray earnestly for God's guidance at such a critical time in the ever-increasing anti-God and anti-Christian mind-set, and the ever-increasing moral decline here in the U.S.A.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I'm available. Please begin your work in me; make me usable; and use me to be 'as Jesus' in some way to every life I touch every day. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. 2 Kings 18:5-7 (NIV).
2. 2 Kings 19:35.

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