“The Lord, the God of their
fathers, sent word to them
again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and
on His dwelling place; but they continually
mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets,
until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no
remedy.” (vv.15-16)
Have you ever been warned
about something, but went your own way despite the warning, and then wished you
hadn’t? Me too. Most warnings come to us out of love and concern, and probably
a result of a history of bad choices. Our text today sites heavenly warnings that came to God's people, (through the mouth of His prophets), that were ignored over and over again, and eventually brought the destruction of Jerusalem.
When God saw His people in Jerusalem crafting and worshiping
idols, He “sent word to them . . . again and again, because he had pity on his
people” (v. 15). God spoke His warning through the prophet Jeremiah, but the
people said, “We will continue with our own plans” (Jer. 18:12). Because of
this, God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Jerusalem and capture most of its
inhabitants.
Second
Chronicles 36 reminds us that God will not allow His children to continue in
sin. Even though He is “longsuffering, not willing that any should perish, but
all should come to repentance”, His patience has limits. If we don’t correct
the problem ourselves, we can be sure that He will, even if it means the rod of
discipline.
God’s
warnings are proof of His compassion for us. He sees what’s ahead and wants us
to avoid the problems that will come. His warnings are to protect us, not to
punish us. We then are in control of our own future consequences, either
through our stubbornness or our repentance. I for one choose to repent. How
about you?
The
Truth
“He
who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed.”
(Proverbs 29:1)
