All through these chapters, God is telling the people of Israel to return to Him. He warns them what the outcome will be if they don't heed this warning. Chapter 5:19 says;
And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, "Wherefore doeth
the Lord our God all these things unto us?" then shalt thou answer
them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your
land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
Throughout the Bible, we read of the Israelites, God's chosen people, and how they would turn their back on God. When things got bad for them, they would cry out to God. God would hear their cries and once again help them. They suffered many hard times because of the actions yet they continued to make mistakes. There were times when reading of their actions I wanted to scream at them, "How can you be so foolish? Can't you remember all the things He has done for you and your people?"
Oh, do I hear a small voice inside of me saying, "How self-righteous of you. Do you not remember the times you turned away from me? Are you not doing the same thing they did?" Sadly, I need to answer, "Yes, I am guilty." When things are going great in my life, I thank God. When things go bad, I ask God where he is and why has he failed me even though I know I have brought a lot of it upon myself by not listening to God's warning to me.
So many times I have heard people say they can't believe God would let them go to Hell because of what they have done if he is a loving God. We correct our kids because we love them, but we don't expect our Heavenly Father to do the same thing.
Father, forgive me for the wrong and sinful things I have done. Forgive me for turning my back on you when you told me I was doing wrong. Help me to live the remainder of my life living for you and to serve you.
Ms Boots, we certainly do look in a mirror with these verse don't we? The last few verses we read stuck with me. Lord, keep refining us- but don't let us start mistaking the dross for precious metal. Keep showing us what has true value! Great post as always!
ReplyDeleteOh your words ring so true in my ears Ms. Boots! SO MANY times I have turned my back on the Lord and have NOT listened to His warnings to me. And the pain this has caused me!!! I am SO thankful we have a God who ALWAYS welcomed us back with open arms! Thank you for your heartfelt honesty Ms. Boots!
ReplyDeleteSo happy God welcomes us with open arms in the good and the bad times. We can come as we are to God-broken-hearted, happy, sad, angry, estatic, emotional, fearful. God welcomes us even when we go time periods where we don't even think of Him. I am thankful for a God who unconditonally loves us and holds us in His arms.
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