Hopefully, you are now saying the right prayers for your nation, particularly if you suspect it is corrupt. We stay with the national problem and consider divine scattering. That is because, even if your life is abundant, you cannot truly enjoy it amid national corruption. Consider Lot, that righteous man who lived in Sodom, a nation of corrupt practices. The Bible says his soul was grieved.
Perhaps you are righteous, but suffer from a grieved soul because of your corrupt environment. Divine scattering is what God does with a nation that disobeys Him, an outcome of national corruption. You might recall that God promises to build up a country that obeys His voice. Our previous post was on the intersection of nations and God’s promises.
All the capable men and women have fled your country and settled in other nations. Of those who remain, a high proportion of the educated ones bemoan being left behind while seeking all sorts of means to flee. We take to social media to discuss it, taking sides with or against it. That is because we believe the situation is new and remarkable. Not so.
Does the Bible not say that there is nothing new under the sun? Ecclesiastes 1.9 states that that which has been is what will be; that which is done is what will be done. God is responsible for that scattering, an example of divine scattering, but it did not start today. There was a divine scattering much earlier in human history. The first chapter of Nehemiah contains a graphic description of such an event. It is so clear that you could laugh, if it were not so sad.
Israel Suffered Divine Scattering
In its opening chapter, Nehemiah is praying. “Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant, Moses. You said, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’
Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name. And let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
Evidently, Nehemiah believed God could solve all problems. He enveloped every act, every word, and every thought in prayer. God will raise prayer warriors in our corrupt nations as we suffer from divine scattering, in Jesus’ name, Amen. Please note that prayer warriors do not pray from the pulpit. You cannot wage a prayer war in public.
When Jesus needed to wage war against the devil in prayer in Gethsemane, even His bosom friends – James, Peter, and John – had to stay out. So, my prayer is not for more pastors. Indeed, some data suggest that the more pastors a nation boasts of, the more corrupt that nation is. It may or may not be true. My prayer is for men like Nehemiah who would do battle in private for their countries.
The Origins Of Divine Scattering
Nehemiah’s prayer reveals that divine scattering and national corruption have the same root: sin. “Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant, Moses. You said, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations.” It is possible that God started with divine scattering in Israel because it was a chosen nation. Imagine if your favorite child offends you. It upsets you more deeply than if just any other child offends.
But we see God did not wait for corruption to eat at the national fabric. If Israel sinned, Israel would suffer from divine scattering, no ifs or buts. So, unfaithfulness to God will result in your educated ones leaving as soon as they have the opportunity.
The opposite is also true, and we include it to encourage you to pray for your nation. There is a future time when the divine scattering will be reversed, because the covenant with Moses had two parts. Sin would lead to scattering. “But if you return to Me, keep My commandments, and do them. Though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.”
That was, and is still, the covenant. Remember, God keeps covenants. Often, we desire God to be selective in keeping covenants. We hold Him to sweet covenants as we sing, “Covenant-keeping God, there is no one like you, Alpha and Omega, there is no one like you.” Of course, there is no one like God, but He keeps all covenants, bitter and sweet. He is neither selective nor partial. Sin leads to divine scattering; repentance results in divine gathering. Simple.
Nehemiah Prayed Aright
From Nehemiah’s example, one prayer warrior is enough. Secondly, your prayer warrior could be one of the people in exile. Nehemiah started by reminding God of His covenant. You recall that God is a covenant-keeping God and honors His word more than His name. Unfortunately, many believers do not know the word they want to remind God of. But if we receive instruction from God, we will know.
Next, he confessed that they had fallen short of God’s commands and glory. The bible says that if we pretend or say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. It is always good practice to include confession in all our prayers, whether for ourselves or our nation. God granted his request and prospered his assignment to rebuild the wall of his country.
After our period of divine scattering, God will raise someone, depending on your prayer warrior’s fervent prayer, to rebuild your walls. And your experts will return home. Could it be that you are that prayer warrior? Is that why God is letting you read this now? Perhaps God wants to use you to stop the divine scattering in your nation.
Maranatha!
