How do nations die and why?

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9; 3:15). Solomon’s wisdom from God, declares this truth: occurrences and actions repeat themselves, over years and centuries, albeit in a “new dress”.

About the Disintegration of Nations:

God’s Chosen One of Old, and all the Others, Then, and Now, too.

All Belong to God. All belong to His history!

Proverbs 14:34 — “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”

Proverbs 11:11— “Through the blessings of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.”

Proverbs 11:14 — “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many [good and righteous] advisers make victory sure.”

Isaiah 10:1 — “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees.” “To deprive the poor of their rights and rob my oppressed people of justice.” (v.2).

Isaiah 59:14 — “So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.”

Micah 7:2 — “The godly have been swept from the land; not one upright man remains. All men lie in wait to shed blood; each hunts his brother with a net.” (Also: Ezekiel 22:27.28)

Isaiah 1:23 — “Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless, the widow’s case does not come before them.”

Isaiah 5:20 — “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” In this chapter, from verse 8 on, (read it to the end!) God pronounces woes on the Israelites, their nation, because they have become unfaithful to God, they had become independent of Him, become self-sufficient because of their prosperity. They had no regard for the deeds of the Lord, no respect for the work of His hand (verse 12b). Therefore they were condemned to go into exile. So, this “woe” is not only pronounced on the individual, or a group of people, but also, and with it, on the whole nation.

David said earlier in Psalm 11:2 — “For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.” So his lament is: “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (v.3). They, we, can do many godly things! Befriend and teach our neighbors, possibly, even mainly? But in the end, all goes according to God’s will and plan:

Psalm 33:10 — “The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples.” (v.11) — “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.” This is our confidence!

Psalm 145:13 — “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and Your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made.”

Jeremiah 27:5 — “With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please.” (Context: God hands over several countries to His servant, Nebuchadnezzar, His tool for the punishment of wicked nations.) (God the Creator: Psalm 24:1,2; Haggai 2:8).

Psalm 115:2,3 — “Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?‟ Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him.”

Psalm 75:6,7 — “No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God Who judges; He brings one down, He exalts another.”

Daniel 2:21 — “He changes times and seasons; He sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to discerning.”

And some day, there will be an end to the history of mankind:

2 Peter 3:10 — “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare”.

1 Timothy 1:17 — “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”