A close examination of the Old Testament texts reveals a familiar pattern in the manner in which God deals with the nations. When God acts in judgment, He frequently judges the gods of the nation he is judging. The most obvious example is the plagues in Egypt. The ten plagues were actually judgments against the pagan deities of the Egyptians.
For example, they worshipped ...
The Nile -- God turned it to blood.
Rah, the sun god -- God covered Egypt with darkness.
Apis the bull and Hathor the cow goddess; their livestock died.
Heckt (shaped like a frog) -- Egypt was infested with frogs.
Imhotep (god of healing) -- the Egyptians were stricken with boils.
Osiris (lord of life) -- God slew the first-born of Egypt.
There is no question that the plagues were judgment against the idols of Egypt.
Ex 12:12-13: “For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments – I am the LORD. (See also Ex 18:10-11)
Num 33:3-4: And they journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month … while the Egyptians were burying all their first-born whom the LORD had struck down among them. The LORD had also executed judgments on their gods.
2 Sam 7:22-24: "How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you … and who is like your people Israel-the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for Himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?
This familiar theme in scripture seems to suggest a “modus operandi” for God’s judgment:
Jer 43:12-13: He will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt; he will burn their temples and take their gods captive … he will demolish the sacred pillars and will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.
Jer 46:25: The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says, "Behold, I am going to punish Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her gods and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who trust in him.
Zeph 2:11: The LORD will be awesome to them when he destroys all the gods of the land. The nations on every shore will worship him, every one in its own land.
Isa 19:1: An oracle concerning Egypt: See, the LORD rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.
Paul teaches us that the Old Testament was written for our instruction:
Rom. 15:4: “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
1 Cor. 10:11: “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”
If God’s judgment follows the pattern of the past He will surely judge America’s gods. Can anyone question that the chief deity of America is Mammon? On the basis of scripture it seems logical that when judgment falls, it will fall first on the nation’s economy.
The true American idol (Mammon -- money) is starting to topple. Which of America’s gods might be next? What about the idols in the church? What about our personal idols? Will they be spared?
Jer 51:17-18: "Every man is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. His images are a fraud; hey have no breath in them. They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish.
