According to the footnote, this chapter encompassed eight short years from 38 to 30 BC. During that short period of time they experienced an marked decline in their righteousness, their liberty, their prosperity. How have we done in the past eight years of our lives? Could the same thing be said of us? Collectively, it is plain to see that we are not prospering as we once did. How are we doing spiritually? How are we prospering militarily? Economically? Environmentally?
If we watch the news, we hear a pretty gloomy state of affairs. I'll let you judge whether or not we have reached the bottom of our present decline. Might I suggest that we notice in the following chapters, how quickly things could turn around if we were to humble ourselves and trust the Lord. We can take a nose dive alarmingly fast as is apparent to all. It is important to observe that the Lord can help us recover just as quickly if we will individually and then collectively turn to Him in humility and faith. Consider the eight years between 1941 and 1949.
I, for one, am very hopeful for the next eight years. I see many who have chosen to humble themselves because of the current level of dismay. The most important things to watch for in the next few chapters are the means by which the marvelous improvements take place. They don't come by military might and intellectual mastery. They come by the Spirit as people humble themselves and yield their hearts to God. How much nicer it would be if we would just stay humble.
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