Jehovah's Holy Wrath Against Sinners-Consequences of Sin-11

Does GOD really hate sinners? Can a loving GOD punish sinners? How does He view sin? He has told us that He considers sin as detestable and abominable! How did He pour out His holy, divine punishment upon an unrepentant Israel and Judah?

Jeremiah 16:1  The word of the LORD also came to me saying, 6:2  "You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place." 

Jeremiah had been a prophet to many kings in Judah, all the way back to Josiah. He is not a young man anymore. But, here we read that Jehovah is forbidding him to marry and have children. Why?

6:3  For thus says the LORD concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bear them, and their fathers who beget them in this land:16:4  "They will die of deadly diseases, they will not be lamented or buried; they will be as dung on the surface of the ground and come to an end by sword and famine, and their carcasses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth." 

This is a horrifying revelation from GOD. Children’s dead bodies will lie in the streets of Jerusalem, they will not be mourned or buried. Parents either no longer care, have the strength to do the right thing, or are dead themselves!

Jehovah is using the Babylonians to execute His divine wrath upon an ungodly, idolatrous, unrepentant nation. He used the the Assyrians to express His wrath against the 10 northern tribes some 100+ years earlier, when He divorced them. However, Judah did not learn anything from this and so are now experiencing His wrath personally.

6:5  For thus says the LORD, "Do not enter a house of mourning, or go to lament or to console them; for I have withdrawn My peace from this people," declares the LORD, "My lovingkindness and compassion. 6:6  "Both great men and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, they will not be lamented, nor will anyone gash himself or shave his head for them. 16:7  "Men will not break bread in mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone's father or mother. 6:8  "Moreover you shall not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink." 

This seems almost heartless and cruel to not offer any sympathy or comfort to these grieving people and parents. Why? It could be that offering condolences or sympathy to the ungodly would seem to be confirming their lifestyles and choices. Instead to calling out their sin, we may be allowing them to remain in their sin. Regardless, GOD told him to avoid them.

6:9  For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I am going to eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your time, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride. 

It seems to be getting worse. Jeremiah will personally witness GOD’s judgment upon Judah. There will only be death, sorrow, mourning, pain, and suffering. All according to the will, plan, and purpose of Jehovah. Also, all could have been avoided if only they had repented and obeyed.

6:10  "Now when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, 'For what reason has the LORD declared all this great calamity against us? And what is our iniquity, or what is our sin which we have committed against the LORD our God?'16:11  "Then you are to say to them, 'It is because your forefathers have forsaken Me,' declares the LORD, 'and have followed other gods and served them and bowed down to them; but Me they have forsaken and have not kept My law. 

It has been about 800 years since Moses warned the people to obey Jehovah or face all of these consequences. Jehovah has been patient, merciful, and loving, but their time is up. There is no more time to hold off His judgment upon them. It would all be too little and too late.

16:12  'You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me. 6:13  'So I will hurl you out of this land into the land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will grant you no favor.' 

No more mercy, no more time, no more second chances, no more blessings only curses, and only judgment, condemnation, and wrath. His offer has expired. Their eternal and present fates are now unchangeable. Their physical loss, as great as it was, cannot compare to their eternal destination and despair.

Do you know anyone who may be still ignoring His calling and warnings? Do they know what could lie ahead for them? Do they not take Jehovah seriously as His word?

More next Saturday.