May 15, 2026
- May 15
- 5 min read
On Sunday, We Rewrite Our Epitaph
Rededication 250: A Day of Prayer, Praise, and Worship will take place this upcoming Sunday, May 17th. Please pray that it accomplishes everything the Lord desires…and requires.
I have written previously about the Hebrew words for dedication/rededication. They also mean “consecration” or “set apart unto.” One of those words, qadash,(1) is used on four very important occasions when the people of Israel were told to dedicate themselves to God as a nation. Looking at these occasions will help us understand how to pray for Sunday.
SINAI
The first is in Exodus 19:10. Moses was told to qadash (dedicate) Israel for two days at the foot of Mount Sinai, before he went up the mountain to meet with God. Yahweh was preparing to supernaturally give Moses the government for Israel, formalizing them as a nation: laws, policies, procedures, important dates, etc. Four verses before these instructions, the Lord had told them: “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” (verse 6). Sinai was, among other things, “government mountain.” And before Israel was formally born there, they were prepared by these two days of dedication.
This upcoming Sunday, we will meet at America’s “government mountain” to rededicate ourselves as “one nation under God.” We’ll declare allegiance to His will and ways, and worship Him there. Pray that His presence, power, and glory come spiritually over our nation, just as they did tangibly at Sinai.
THE PRIESTHOOD
In Exodus 28:41, Moses was told to qadash (dedicate) Aaron and his sons to the Lord before anointing them as the beginning of Israel’s priesthood. Qadash precedes anointing. God wanted more than a religious nation; He wanted a relationship, a connection, with people. And ultimately, not just with Israel, but with all people.
Israel was to play a significant role in this, helping Him save the world and recover His family: the Messiah would come through them! This partnership, obviously, would require that the connection remain strong. To aid in this, the priesthood was essential. And for this significant role, they had to be dedicated to Him.
America was also created by God to partner with Him in saving the world. Pray that our spiritual leaders rededicate themselves to this cause, and receive a fresh anointing to lead.
ENTERING CANAAN
In Joshua 3:5, Joshua told the people to qadash (dedicate) themselves to the Lord before crossing the Jordan into the promised land of Canaan. They were about to receive the fulfillment of a 430-year-old promise to Abraham: the gift of a homeland. But first, the Lord told them to spend a day connecting with Him. This shows us that the condition of our hearts affects our land and possessions.
Pray that this Sunday makes possible the healing of our land (2 Chronicles 7:14). The blood of multiplied millions of babies, as well as violence, broken covenants, immorality, and idolatry, have defiled our land. Ask that the blood of Jesus cleanses our homeland from ALL sin and unrighteousness (1 John 1:7).
RESTORATION
Joel 2 is a desperate, urgent call to national repentance amidst a catastrophic insect plague and severe drought in Israel. This plague - a judgment from Israel’s sin - threatened total economic destruction, just as their sin threatened spiritual destruction. The solution, Joel prophesied, was a national return to God. In Joel 2:15-16, the prophet declared that the people of Israel should qadash (dedicate) themselves to Him once again, to allow for the incredible restoration God wanted to perform. “Connect with Me, so I can heal you.” God told Israel He wanted their hearts, not religious ceremonies (verses 12-13). And He wanted to bless them abundantly (verses 18-27), including the pouring out of His Spirit (verses 28-29).
Pray with us that on Sunday, our nation responds in such a way that God can restore us, remove the curses we have brought on ourselves, and pour out His Spirit. There has already been much repentance for America by millions of believers; we have stood in the gap, repenting for the whole. Throughout history, God has accepted the repentance and intercession of a remnant for the sins of a nation. I believe He has for America, as well, and that restoration and revival are coming to our land. Ask that what happens on Sunday be the capstone for this.
In the book Is It Real When It Doesn't Work? Doug Murren and Barb Shurin recount:
“Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel awoke one morning to read his own obituary in the local newspaper: ‘Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, who died yesterday, devised a way for more people to be killed in a war than ever before, and he died a very rich man.’
“Actually, it was Alfred’s older brother who had died; a newspaper reporter had
bungled the epitaph. But the account had a profound effect on Nobel. He decided he wanted to be known for something other than developing the means to kill people efficiently and for amassing a fortune in the process. So he initiated the Nobel Prize, the award for scientists and writers who foster peace. Nobel said, ‘Every man ought to have the chance to correct his epitaph in midstream and write a new one.’”(2)
God is giving America a chance to rewrite our epitaph. If written now, it would read, “Weighed in the balances and found wanting.”
On Sunday, we can change it.
Pray with me:
Lord, thousands will gather at America’s “government mountain” this weekend, and millions will join online, to rededicate our nation to You. We believe You led our President to ask for this. In response, we ask You to come to this mountain with Your presence, power, and glory, just as You did at Sinai. Re-consecrate America.
Purify and recommission our spiritual leaders, symbolized by Aaron, his sons, and Israel’s priesthood. Bring revival to the church, and start with the leaders.
And heal our land. As we dedicate ourselves to You on Sunday, let healing flow to our “Canaan,” our inheritance. Our land is defiled and groaning. From sea to shining sea, please cleanse our nation from innocent bloodshed and all other defilements.
Finally, restore us to You, and to our destiny. The plagues of Joel have become the plagues of America (Joel 1:4 KJV). “Worms” and “locusts” are eating us from the inside out; devastation is everywhere, and our land is ravaged. In wrath, please remember mercy. As we gather with You on Sunday, let us rewrite our epitaph. We pray this in Yeshua’s name. Amen.
Our decree:
Say it with me: America shall be saved/America is being saved.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 6242.
Craig Brian Larson, Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993), p. 123. Adapted.
My decree: Thy kingdom is come, Thy will is done, on earth as it is in heaven! America is saved, Glory to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
Thank you, Dutch! I wonder where would the best place to turn it on, to leave it on, beginning to end, like we did for America Reads the Bible?