Exodus 14:13 “Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.”

The U.S. Coat of Arms shows a bald eagle with outstretched wings, holding 13 arrows in its left talon (the 13 original states) and an olive branch in its right talon, symbolizing peace. The eagle has its head turned toward the olive branch, depicting our nation’s preference for peace, while always being ready for war whenever peace is threatened. In its mouth, the eagle holds a scroll reading ‘E pluribus unum’ (“out of many, one”), and over the eagle’s head is again the “glory” with the 13 stars of the original 13 states.

But this was not the original design for our Coat of Arms. Benjamin Franklin, one of our Founding Fathers, had chosen a Coat of Arms based on our bible verse for this week. Michael Medved, in his book “The American Miracle”, describes the events of July 4, 1776 leading to that original design.

“On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution asking Adams, Jefferson and Franklin to form a committee to ‘bring in a seal for the United States of America.’ Franklin’s suggestion, as edited by Jefferson, described: ‘Pharaoh sitting in an open Chariot, a Crown on his head and a Sword in his hand, passing through the divided Waters of the Red Sea in Pursuit of the Israelites: Rays from a Pillar of Fire in the Cloud, expressive of the Divine Presence and Command, beaming on Moses who stands on the shore and extending his hand over the Sea causes it to overwhelm Pharaoh. Motto: ‘Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God.’” Why the emancipation of Hebrew slaves from the tyranny of the Egyptians?

Medved explains: “This design for the seal reflected the thinking of the founders, as well as Lincoln’s – affirming the indispensable partnership between God and His people in implementing the process of redemption. The endangered faithful can initially ‘stand still and see the salvation of the Lord’, as Moses pledges that ‘the Lord will fight for you.’”

While statues of these very founding fathers are being torn down around or nation by youngsters with no education into our national heritage, the splitting of the sea and the safe passage of the Israelites held special significance for John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and later Abraham Lincoln.

It is our national reliance on the God of the Bible and His Son Jesus Christ, which is the basis for America’s exceptionalism, that is truly under attack. Medved goes on to explain why, especially on this July 4th, we should be celebrating American exceptionalism, showing our pride in our Founders who all risked their lives to provide us with the freedoms we as Americans have compared to all other nations in history:

“Those who deride the notion of American exceptionalism must confront an inconvenient truth about the struggle that launched the United States: among all such upheavals in some 3,000 years of recorded human history, the American Revolution stands as the only one to achieve unequivocal, long-lasting success. In every other instance, revolutionary victories proved fleeting or destructive, leading in short order to disaster or tyranny.

In the 1st century BC, the gladiator Spartacus led a sweeping slave revolt against the Roman Republic that achieved stunning triumphs on the battlefield before its complete collapse – and the crucifixion of some 6,000 of its surviving participants along the Appian Way. 19 centuries later, French insurrectionists overthrew the ancient regime, just 6 years after the Americans won independence. They sent the king to the guillotine and proclaimed a visionary republic that lasted barely a decade before yielding to Napoleon’s dictatorship and unceasing warfare that brought 4,000,000 casualties across Europe.

The 20th century upheavals in Russia and China produced tyranny and genocide that have lasted for centuries. The Russian Revolution led, in just 7 years, to the genocidal Stalin. The Chinese Revolution brought Mao to power with the resulting slaughter of at least 40,000,000 civilians.

By contrast, the American Revolution not only achieved permanent and independence for 13 thriving British colonies but succeeded in establishing a wholly unprecedented, self-governing federal republic that has endured and prospered under the same remarkable blueprint for more than 200 years.”

We must stand together as a united nation of beautifully diverse people under the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

standing up to those trying to erase the memory of our imperfect but courageous founders who fought for, and won, the liberty we all enjoy today.

The Evidence of Faith’s Substance – Article #405