Hi Friend,

It’s no accident that the Founding Fathers saw God’s hand in the exodus of America from England and the exodus of Israel from Egypt as parallel events.  Even a casual reader of the Bible or an armchair historian can recognize the astounding similarities.

When a group of historians toured the home of George Washington, they stood in the driveway at the conclusion and Mona Charin asked David McCullough, the tour guide, how could it be that this group of wise and brilliant men were able to assemble at the same time in the same place to establish this country.  McCullough’s answer was, “It was providential.”

Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and others believed that the biblical exodus formed the basis for American independence.  To those who bent the words of the Apostle Paul to require submission to the king, they replied, “Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.”  In their minds, America was the second great exodus from the murderous overreach of Pharaoh.

Man’s weakness is his lack of gratitude for the generations that have paid the price.  That weakness is caused by our failure to remember.  So it was that the Egyptians, who had been saved from starvation by one man, Joseph—the nation whose power and wealth had been given to them by the God of Abraham—failed to remember the source of their blessings.

The Bible says that Joseph and that generation died and “a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power.”  (Exodus 1:8)  The moral of the story is that men who don’t remember what God has done for them, make gods of themselves and slaves of their subjects.

Nations, like individuals, are their memories.  When men are resurrected from the grave to receive eternal life, we must remember the experiences of this life.  If there were no memory of the life we live now, what benefit would life have?

That’s why it is important for a nation to remember the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, and the Gettysburg Address.  It is why churches must remain connected to the Old Testament.  It is how we appreciate the acts of God in history.

But, Israel forgot—that was worse than the ignorance of the Egyptians.  So God reminded the Israelites that they were eye witnesses to His greatness. “You, yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.”  (Exodus 19:4)

Why should the world or America care what God did to Egypt or Israel?  We may as well ask why we should care that a soldier in the Revolutionary War spilled his blood on the battlefield?

The answer is simple—God’s acts in Israel were the cradle for civilization.  It is where the concept of freedom emerged.  And freedom is indissolubly linked to morality and morality is indissolubly connected to God.

The eagle carries its young on its pinions to protect them from danger.  As long as America remains on the wings of her eagle, America will remain protected.

Until next time,

Jim O’Brien