THE PATTERN OF FALLING AWAY AND RESTORATION OF ISRAEL

The nation falls into apostasy. They turn from the one true God YHVH and worship idols. They begin to sacrifice their children into the fire to these gods. They build pillars and worship the sun and the moon. They also turn to fertility gods whose rituals are sexual. They eat at pagan tables and drink blood. Drinking blood is supposed to transfer the power of that animal to the drinker. The overall morality of the nation descends into depravity and everyone does what is right in their own mind.

The government begins to fall apart ethically. Bribing public officials becomes standard practice in order to curry favor. Judges and magistrates are bought and sold. Even the priests are bribed off in place of sin offerings. Financial instability replaces fair trade. Inflation rages, weights and measures are false.

Sexual infidelity becomes the norm. Adultery is common practice. Prostitution is common in the city. The pagan temples allow sex as a religious ritual. The population has less and less regard for the laws of God.

Political alliances are formed with unethical nations. These alliances are made for protection against invasion or to conquer other nations. Foreign policy has no focus. The political leaders are only interested in furthering personal gain in these relationships.

The Lord sends prophets to warn the nation. These prophets plead with the nation to return to their God. They plead for the people to repent of their sinful ways and honor the Lord. The prophets take symbolic actions for the people to see and warn of coming invasion and destruction of cities. These warnings by various prophets occur over decades. The populace pays no attention. Their hearing becomes dull and their eyes are blind. The prophets continue to plead as the political and financial situation becomes worse.

The prophets are accused of being seditious. They are looked upon as traitors and despised, but they continue to warn the nation. During this process there are occasionally periods of revival where the nation turns from their ways to worship the Lord, but they are short periods followed by continued apostasy. The warnings of the prophets become louder, but to no avail.

The nation comes under invasion by foreigners. Sometimes several invasions are experienced before the nation is defeated and Jerusalem burned to the ground. The nation is totally devastated and burned. Refugees flee to surrounding areas and many are taken captive to a strange land. Those left behind are most likely killed, the rest flee or are taken into exile.

Once in the foreign land the survivors begin to realize what they have lost and begin to turn back to their God. The prophets explain to them what has happened and give the survivors hope for return to the homeland. The survivors long for the homeland and begin to turn back to their old ways and respect for their God. They are told by the prophets to become good citizens of the land, build homes, and prosper. They are told that at the appointed time they will be restored to their homeland.

At the appointed time, after mourning for their former apostasy, the people are allowed to return to their homeland and rebuild the waste places. They have finally learned that they have a great and just God, and never turn back to idolatry again. They once again live in their homeland and revere the Lord.

HOW THIS PATTERN IS RELAVENT TO INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIANS
We can easily visualize our personal walk with the Lord in the pattern above. We often start out as excited new born Christians with many great expectations. As time goes on we become complacent as the cares of the job, family, and financial issues begin to weigh upon us. At his point some become stronger Christians as they trust the Lord in these situations, others find things too difficult and lapse into the former lifestyle.

Those that experience a lapse are often reminded of their former walk with the Lord by friends, family, and people they come into contact with in their daily lives. Sometimes we repent and return to the Lord, other times we turn away and refuse to listen. Each one of us has their own personal experience.

Some of us have to fall pretty far before we realize how good we had it when we walked with the Lord. At this point if we return and ask forgiveness, the Lord is quick to forgive and reestablish our faith. It takes some time and effort on our part, but the return is sweet. The Lord is quick to forgive if we approach in the right spirit and truly repent.

Some believers go through this process more than once while others have a strong faith right from the start. We all, however, experience this pattern in our personal lives in a major or minor way. Some don’t necessarily fall away or backslide, but there are areas in their lives the Lord wishes to deal with. It is up to us to allow Him to deal with those areas if we are to move forward in the faith. This can be an unpleasant period, but if we genuinely seek His way it transforms us into His image over a period of time. These are the times of testing we all go through. It is our job to recognize it for what it is and respond to the Lord and yield to the Holy Spirit’s wisdom.

THE PATTERN ON A NATIONAL BASIS IN MODERN TIMES
The pattern for nations today are similar. Once a godly nation, the populace grows more and more distant from the ways of God. Morality and ethics begin to collapse as people are more interested in self than in the ways of God. The ethical collapse leads to a breakdown in the financial service industry. Gain becomes more important than solid ethical investment. The industry becomes more like a casino than a place to protect the client’s interest.

In politics there is a decline in ethical practice. Personal gain takes president over what is good for the country at large. Big business begins to call the shots through lobbyists and large donations to individuals or party. Gridlock overcomes partisanship as nothing constructive gets done. Budgets soar out of control as an entitlement mentality grips the public. Politicians pander to the public and promise to give the populace benefits that are not affordable.

The public becomes obsessed with celebrity, sports, and entertainment. Real issues are avoided and the public slowly begins to lose their hard won freedom due to their apathy. Poor behavior is rewarded and those who work hard and follow the rules find themselves despised. What was formerly shocking behavior is now common place. Family values come under attack and alternate lifestyles are glorified. The entertainment industry becomes baser and baser each passing decade. The dumbing down of the nation begins in the schools and carries over into all areas of society.

Secular and religious prophets warn of disaster but few pay any attention. The churches, which once set a standard of morality, now condone what was formerly thought to be ungodly behavior. Endless wars, unchecked spending, and “in your face” behavior in both politics and civil relations become worse and worse. Slowly the nation descends into depravity and all order is lost as financial and political institutions crumble. The process takes decades to reach a climax, but when the climax comes it is destructively quick as society sinks into anarchy.

This is the Biblical pattern revealed in the books of the prophets. We have all walked this path.