The $2 Bill Illustrates The Power Of An Oath, Principles, Freedoms

The next time you’re in your bank, go to the teller’s counter and ask them if they have any $2 bills. Usually they have to go to the vault to get any. Often, they’ll have crisp new bills. They don’t get circulated much. People keep them. I use them for tips in restaurants.

Yes, the USA really does have a $2 bill. A $3 bill is phony, but a $2 bill is real. It’s the most beautiful piece of American currency still in use. On the back of America’s $2 bill there’s a scene depicting the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

I keep a newly minted $2 bill in my Bible for a bookmark. It’s a lovely bit of national history. It reminds me to pray for our nation. I once gave a $2 bill to every person in the church where I was speaking. It was a costly illustration, but effective.

Do you know what a $2 bill illustrates? The power of a solemn oath. The men who hammered out our nation’s birth certificate took months to debate the principles they believed in and the freedoms to which they aspired. This declaration and their revolt against the usurpation of the power by England’s King eventually led to the Constitution and the formal development of the government of the United States. This document became our national DNA.

While they were forging the Declaration of Independence, these men were being sought by the British soldiers. They had warrants to arrest them and take them to England for sedition. By signing the Declaration, they risked their lives.

It was a bold act of rebellion. America’s colonies were breaking away from England’s tyranny. It meant certain war. Many of them were killed as a result. Others were impoverished. But their cause was just, and they prevailed.

The power of a pledge shows us what men of good will can achieve if they band together for a righteous effort. It is the call to heroism against terrible odds, like “Remember the Alamo!” The last lines of the Declaration of Independence revealed that they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Their mutual oath became the trumpet sound which called forth an emerging nation.

A sacred oath is a powerful thing. In America, a person being sworn into office — or as a juror — must swear to uphold the Constitution or take an oath to tell the truth. The signors of the Declaration of Independence, as depicted on the obverse of the $2 bill, swore to each other and to the Divine Providence. Who is that?

It is the Almighty, the God of the Bible. Oaths are words that the Lord hears. He bears witness to them. He holds us to our words. Promises are meant to be walked out, unless and until we are released from our oath by the one to whom we made it.

In America, our military are oath-keepers. They stand watch over our national liberty: duty, honor, country; a high calling. Police (uniformed officers) are watchmen who have a sworn duty to protect and uphold the law. Are you a Promise-Keeper? Are you a man or a woman whose word is your bond? Can you — will you — keep your word even when the going gets tough?

For years as I taught God’s word, I would say: “Keep the covenant. Raise the kids. Honor God.” These things are rightfully our main pledge to God and to each other based on Christ’s salvation being worked out in our lives.