God divided the kingdom because of Solomon's pride. Solomon allowed his many wives to draw him away from God, worshipping at pagan altars. In the days of this divided kingdom, the kings of both Israel and Judah were not much better. Israel's kings were universally bad, while Judah's kings were generally good, although inconsistent and sometimes bad.
The lesson is: when the king (and the people) resorted to God, removing the pagan altars and priests, crying out to God in repentance and faith, worshipping God according to His dictates rather than their own desires, listening to God's Word through His appointed prophets, there was Victory over her enemies and Peace.
When Pride was king, there was defeat in battle, disaster in their plans and devastation in their crops. What we are to learn of all this is simply: The Battle Is The Lord's! Our responsibility is to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We are to rely upon Him for whatever victory there may be; to trust Him and His Word, not our own perceptions and abilities.
Failure is what defeats us, not the evils of this world, nor the circumstances of life. We will have peace and joy of heart in a dungeon, should our heart be right with God. The battle is not waged against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers; forces of wickedness in high places.
Contemporary views of Christianity, Salvation and Worship grow out of a denial of the doctrine of Total Depravity. Should our view of self collide with a biblical view of God, this problem would be instantly resolved!
So often, in Scripture, the judgment of God against a person or a nation, is that they will not hear [Isa. 6:9-11], with God therefore hindering the work of grace in their lives, as judgment [Rom. 1]. God's punishment is not arbitrary, we must earn it! We earn it through repeated and determined rejection of the grace He has bestowed. It's called 'hardening of heart.' When God hardens a heart, it is only after that heart has been hardened by sin.
Evangelical Christianity has always been about exposing the Light of God, pointing it toward the dark places of mans' heart. Much of The Evangelism of the last 50 years has had the opposite effect. Glorious emotional responses! Significant renovations! All of which paved the way for alternative doctrines, alternative worship forms, alternative power.
Neo-evangelicalism, of the late 1940's - 1960's, culminated in The Evangelical [political] Right of the 1990's. This was a movement more social and political than evangelical, although many in the movement didn't know it at the time. A movement co-opted and manipulated by more skillful operatives, leaving gullible Christians embarrassed and disheartened.
America is merely a moral and physical shell of her former glory, whatever that may have been. God is Out! Humanity is In! This means depravity, corruption and destruction on every hand. The News of the day is all we need in order to be convinced that things have changed.
What is a Christian to do? Learn the Lessons before it's too late. Realize our responsibility is to The Lord as Witnesses of His grace and mercy in Redemption, not as political change-agents. The world is hurling itself toward Armageddon! Nothing we do will stop that! Along the way there are glimpses of hope and possibilities for real change. These are fleeting events, more in the style of a Revival than any meaningful, long-lasting change.
We SHOULD vote! We SHOULD care! We are still citizens of a Free Country! But the change we seek is not at the ballot box. It is in the hearts of men and women, whom Jesus came to save. We are now the 'seekers' of those souls. They aren't color-coded, so we must BE what God made us to be and DO what God has instructed us to do, before every human being we can. Until Jesus Comes!
