I’ve thought all week about what I would write as the world watches with rapt attention at the events going on the Ukraine.

Can we line up the events going on in Ukraine with events in Daniel and Revelation? Probably not… though Matthew 24 might have some things to say about watchfulness.

Is the invasion of Ukraine by Russia categorically wrong? Yes.

Is it right for Ukraine to defend itself? Yes, I think it is.

For more info on just war theory I would highly recommend today’s podcast by Albert Mohler. That can be found here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-briefing-albertmohler-com/id390278738.

But I finally chose to write answering the question above when I saw a meme on Facebook this morning that bothered me. In this meme you see Charlie Brown and snoopy sitting on a dock. The caption above them says “Snoopy, many folks are praying for God to heal our land, but I think he’s still waiting for people to humble themselves, repent and turn from their wicked ways.”

The meme is drawn off of 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

THE BIG QUESTION

So the question before us is this… when something bad happens in our land is it because God is judging us for our sin? Was 9-11 punishment for sin? Hurricane Katrina? Covid? Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?

Is God, like he did with Assyria on Israel and Babylon on Judah, judging the people for their sin and bringing discipline on them for their wickedness? I think the answer is no. And if the answer is no for Ukraine, then the answer is no when bad things happen in the US.

ITS ALL BECAUSE OF SIN

In one sense every bad thing that happens in the world is because of sin. Sometimes it is because of an individual’s sin. For example, the many sins of Vladimir Putin have led to this invasion, ordered by him, of the nation of Ukraine. Or the sins of men who got on planes and crashed them into buildings.

Sometimes it is just the general effects of sin in the world that lead to problems. We see in Genesis 3 that God cursed the world we live in after Adam and Eve’s sin. The reality is that earthquakes and storms and pandemics are part of the effects of living in a cursed world. Thank God that some day he will make a new heaven and a new earth for us to live in with him forever.

But we are still left with the question, is God judging the Ukraine right now? Or the US for that matter?

JUDGMENT IS BEING RESERVED

God has revealed to us that he will judge the sin of the world. Both the sins of individuals and the sins of nations. These judgments are revealed to us in the book of Revelation as well as other places in the prophets.

Acts 17:30-31 tells us that “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

God will judge the world! But notice that the day of judgment has been fixed on which he will judge the world. All of this is in the future tense. Romans 1 reminds us that God is patiently bearing with the sins of the unrepentant because he is storing up wrath for the day of judgment.

God will judge the world, but right now he is patiently waiting for that day. Why? Romans 2:4 tells us that it is so people will repent. God’s kindness is supposed to lead us to repentance. And so while judgment will be had, it is being reserved for that day that God has fixed by his own authority!

SO WHAT ABOUT 2 CHRONICLES 7?

So what do we do with a verse that says that God will heal the land if people humble themselves, repent, and pray? Answer: we leave the verse in its context. Let me explain.

Israel was promised more than salvation. Israel was promised a nation, land, kings, and blessing. And in Deuteronomy God tells the nation that if they obey him he will bless them, but if they disobey he will curse them. There are many ways that he promises to do so, but one of those ways is to strike the land that they were promised. And we see this come true as Israel is attacked throughout its history in Scripture by many nations. In the book of Judges God uses several nations to judge his people. Assyria and Babylon are also examples of that. When the people aren’t faithful to the covenant, and they often were not faithful to the convenant, God would strike the land.

2 Chronicles is the last book of the Hebrew Scripture in the Hebrew order. This is because 1 and 2 Chronicles are reviews of Israel’s history. The books of Samuel and Kings are written to draw us into the events like they are happening. The books of Chronicles are historical reviews of the nations history. And as we understand Israel’s history we see that they often depart from obedience and faithfulness to God, God then strikes them with affliction which often includes a strike upon the land, and then the people repent and God heals them…including healing the land.

But the church is nowhere in the Scripture promised land. We are promised a kingdom, but even Jesus told us that his kingdom was not of this world. Peter reminds us that we are exiles on earth because our citizenship is heaven. Paul also reminds us of that in Philippians 3.

HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND?

So what should our response be? I can think of several things.

1. We should stop brow beating America with 2 Chronicles 7:14. After all, revival could break out in America, or any other country, and God will still bring the kingdoms of this world to an end as they are doomed to pass away (1 Cor. 2:6).

2. Pray for the Ukraine. Pray for the safety of the people. Pray for an end to the invasion. Pray that Christians would boldly proclaim the gospel. Pray for peace.

3. Pray for Russia. Pray for all of the same things in Russia. And pray for the repentance of Vladimir Putin (1 Tim. 2:1-2).

4. Share the gospel. If you really want our land to be healed, and you should, then tell people about the great healer who can heal our land by changing hearts.

The kingdom is advanced in this world one heart at a time. One gospel opportunity at a time. Will you be bold enough to tell someone about Jesus? The Ukrainian Christians are a great example to us of boldness in the face of danger. May we learn from them before we are in a situation like theirs.