The leaders of Israel felt that their nation was the chief nation on earth and that no other could withstand it. They boasted that other nations were no match for the power and wealth of Israel. The people rejoiced over recent victories and claimed to have overcome strength with greater strength by their own power. God views their strength as having little consequence. A nation of even greater strength will completely conquer them. The Israelite leaders compared themselves with others instead of with God. By ignoring their spiritual health, they could neither lead and guide the nation nor help and counsel others. Pride in their strength produced their self-pleasing religion, their overconfidence in their strength, and their self-indulgent lifestyles.

Morality and righteousness make a nation strong, but immorality and unrighteousness will always bring it to ruin. Where religion is powerless, government, business, and community become ineffective because their moral undergirding is gone. Israel's rejection of God and His truth produced corruption, immorality, injustice, oppression, and violence, which built a barrier between the people and God. At the height of her economic, political, and military power, Israel became powerless because her religion was a sham. God turned Himself against Israel as an enemy and fought against her. He declares that an adversary shall be all around the land and shall sap her strength from her, so that her palaces shall be plundered. The nation's preoccupation with self-interests prevented response to external threats, and the nation fell easily. America's adversaries could not conquer it on the battlefield when its general level of morality was high, but as American moral fiber weakened, they began to destroy it in the business world. As American economic power is being sapped by moral cancer, its fighting spirit is being drained. America's allies know it is often a weak branch to lean on. Behind all this is God, who sees the corruption.

Men see the strength of a nation in its wealth, population, armaments, technology, and knowledge. The Bible reveals that the cause of the rise and fall of nations is moral and spiritual. No nation can rely on its strength, power, and wealth to save it from the devastating effects of moral decay. Moral, ethical, and spiritual problems cannot be resolved by money, strength of arms, social programs, intelligence, or humanitarian goodwill. Moral societies are the only ones that work. There is a direct and invaluable relationship between personal integrity and the society's prosperity. It is faith in God that provides the anchor for a culture. Without it, a culture is cast adrift and robbed of any means of determining right from wrong.