There’s a reason the Founding Fathers often quoted Scripture—whether in public speech, personal letters, or the principles baked into the Constitution itself. They didn’t see America as a new Israel in the theological sense or a replacement of God’s people, but they recognized something sacred in the process of forming a nation under God. And whether they called it Providence, Liberty, or Natural Law, the roots ran deep into the soil of the Bible. In fact, the first five books of the Bible—the Torah—offer a striking blueprint that parallels the formation of the United States. We would do well to remember it and return to our ancient roots.
Genesis is the book of beginnings, where God makes a covenant with Abraham to establish a people with purpose. The American parallel? The Declaration of Independence and Constitution served as a covenant between the people and their government. Not a king ruling by bloodline or brute force, but a republic built on mutual agreement, trust in God, and inalienable rights. The Founders, like Abraham, weren’t just breaking away—they were stepping into a destiny. Exodus tells the story of deliverance from tyranny. Israel was enslaved in Egypt; America was politically and economically in bondage to the British Crown. Just as Moses declared, “Let my people go,” the Founders said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” Liberty doesn’t come cheap, but it does come with divine backing when the cause is just.
Leviticus is the law book. Israel wasn’t just freed from Egypt to wander; they were given structure—laws, morals, and responsibilities that defined their identity. America followed suit. After the war, we didn’t descend into chaos. The Constitution was written not to control the people, but to restrain government. It was a framework of ordered liberty grounded in timeless principles—not unlike Israel’s commandments. Numbers is about counting and organizing. Israel took a census, assigned tribes, and prepared to enter the land. America, too, had to define its population, establish state representation, and manage westward expansion. Nation-building is never abstract—it’s built on people, place, and purpose.
Deuteronomy is Moses’ final charge. It’s not new law—it’s a reiteration and reinforcement. Before entering the Promised Land, Moses reminds Israel: obey God, honor the covenant, and beware the pride that comes with prosperity. Our early presidents echoed this. Washington warned against abandoning faith and morality. Adams said our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. Jefferson feared what would happen if we forgot the Source of our liberty. So here we are. A nation with roots in faith, framed in freedom, now struggling to remember how and why we began. We don’t need a new system. We need a return to the one that worked—because it worked with God, not in spite of Him. As recited in Psalm 33:12, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.”
