“There Will Be Consequences”

 

BIBLE READING: Jeremiah 51-52


                King Zedekiah was the last king of Judah; he was the son of king Josiah (the same Josiah that God used to return Judah to Back to Him) Well unlike his father he did not follow God, Zedekiah followed the path of the three kings before him. (Jehoiachin -nephew, Jehoiakim – brother, and Jehoahaz – brother) God’s patience had run thin and it was time to let the people know he had had enough!

                You would think a son of Josiah would follow in the footsteps of his father and lead Judah back to God especially after his brothers and nephew’s horrible reign. God warned Zedekiah, through Jeremiah and other prophets, multiple times that the Babylonian invasion was happening because of the sins of the people. They instructed him to not rebel against the Babylonians. But He threw Jeremiah in jail and proceeded with his plans to rebel against King Nebuchadnezzar. He only made things worse for Judah. God was still trying to be merciful, but Zedekiah did what he wanted to do thus making Judah’s down fall much worse.

                God has an awesome amount of patience, more than we can ever imagine. But Just because He is patient does not mean He won’t act on the people whom he has constantly warned. He will allow the consequences of their rebellion to come forth if they do not heed His warning and turn to Him and obey what He is telling them.

 

Yes, Jesus died for all our sins. But that does not give us a license to do as we please. Our lifestyle should be one that is habitually working toward God. If we stray off the path, the Holy Spirit will warn us; that is when we make the necessary changes to keep following God. We don’t use Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as an excuse. If we did that, we would be making a mockery of Christ’s sacrifice.

                Have you been warned by God multiple times to stop doing something or to do something? Now is the time to heed His warning before you reap the consequences.

                                                                                                -Brandon Sawyer (Morning Coffee Devotions)

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