Word –
"I Have Lifted Up A Hammer"
P#25
Re: Judgment of the US
February 10, 2009
At 9:21 pm, on February 10, 2009, I heard:
“Thus saith the Lord, ‘I have lifted up a hammer
over the United States, and I am about to strike at the very heart of the nation.’”
The heart of a nation generally refers to the seat of government. We see scriptural examples of
this with the two capitals of ancient Israel and Judah, Shiloh and Jerusalem, the two places
where the Lord placed His name, only to remove it when His people turned from Him to other
gods. He spoke His word of judgment over these two capitals and then proceeded to literally
destroy them by raising up foreign nations to conquer them.
We don't have to guess the meaning of the hammer, for the Word of God defines it for us.
“Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a
rock?”
(Jeremiah 23:29 NASB)
The hammer of the Lord is His Word, which is also likened to fire, which, in turn, is likened to
His law,
the fiery law of God
(Deuteronomy 33:2; Psalm 29:7; Isaiah 4:4; Romans 7:14). His
word is also
the sharp two-edged sword that divides soul and spirit
and
judges
(Hebrews
4:12).
The Hebrew word
pattiysh
is translated as the word
hammer
, which means “
to pound
,” and
refers to a hammer that is used to smooth metal, which could be likened to
something
precious
(Isaiah 41:7).
The Hebrew word
puts
is translated as the word
shatters
or
breaks
, which means “to
dash
in
pieces, literally or figuratively, especially to
disperse
– break, dash,
shake into pieces
, cast
abroad.”
The Hebrew word
sela
is translated as the word
rock
or
stone
, which means “
to be
lofty
; a
craggy
rock
, literally or figuratively a
fortress
.
From these definitions, we could say that the word of the Lord goes forth and pounds the
fortresses of man until they are shattered and reworked until something precious is produced.
So, as a hammer, the word of the Lord serves two purposes—to destroy that which stands
against Him (i.e., fortresses) and to build up or create something of value for Him or, we could
say, something that reflects His Son.
Thus, as His word of judgment goes forth to strike the heart of the US, it goes forth to destroy
fortresses, which in this case is every system and law of man that is in opposition to God and
every spirit that drives these systems. Paul makes it very clear.
(4) For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the
destruction of fortresses. (5) We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised
up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the
obedience of Christ, (6) and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your
obedience is complete.
(2 Corinthians 10:4-6 NASB)
We could say that the US political system is in for a pounding. The good news is that when
God's judgment is completed, we will once again sing
America the Beautiful
, for she will be
precious in God's sight.