THE PUNISHMENT FOR DELIBERATE DISOBEDIENCE

PROCLAMATION

“ ‘Why should I forgive you?  Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods.  I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.  They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man’s wife.  Should I not punish them for this?’ declares The Lord.”  Jeremiah 5:7-9 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These are the words of The Lord God which were spoken to the prophet Jeremiah and proclaimed to the people of Judah.  The Lord God had become frustrated with the children of Israel.  They had all turned away from Him.  There was not one honest, truth seeking person in the city of Jerusalem. (Jeremiah 5:1-2)  He had tried mild forms of punishment but that did not work. (Jeremiah 5:3)  The poor people did not know the ways of The Lord and neither did their religious leaders. (Jeremiah 5:4-5)  Therefore, The Lord God had decided to let their neighboring nations, the Babylonians and the Chaldeans, destroy them. (Jeremiah 5:9-29)  He describes their destruction as attacks by a lion, a wolf, and a leopard tearing them to pieces. (Jeremiah 5:6)  The people were likened to an ungrateful and unfaithful spouse.  Given their behavior, He asks a series of rhetorical questions, “Why should I forgive you?”  “Should I not punish them for this?”  “Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?” (Jeremiah 5:7-9)

APPLICATION

Unfortunately, today we use many slang phrases which contain references to God which are used in vain such as:  “Oh my God” and “Lord have mercy.”  We talk about “mother nature” and “father time,” and we complain about the weather without acknowledging that these are all controlled by God.  We don’t want to follow The Lord’s commands and, even though we call ourselves “Christians,” we have unyoked ourselves from Him. (Jeremiah 5:4-5)  A lot of the bad things that happen to us are things which we brought upon ourselves.  If we had behaved differently then the hedge of protection which is around us would have kept bad things from us. (Job 1:10 and Isaiah 5:5)  The Lord God, by His permissive will, allows some things to happen to us as punishment for our disobedience.  If we change and return to Him, then things in our lives will change. (2 Chronicles 7:14)