Daily Devotional for Monday, September 2

The Pain of Israel

“O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps,” Psalm 79:1.

This lament was probably over the destruction of the Temple and the murder of God’s people by the Chaldeans during the reign of Zedekiah. He reigned eleven years and did evil in the sight of the Lord (2 Chronicles 36:11, 12). This led Judah to also rebel against the Lord.

The Lord sent warning after warning to repent and turn from their evil ways because God loved His people and had compassion on them, but they did not care. The king and the people did not listen to those whom God sent. “But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy” (2 Chronicles 36:16).

Because of this, God brought death and destruction to them. The Chaldeans had no compassion on them as they ripped through the Temple and killed many. Did they deserve this? God is longsuffering; yet, there comes a time when one reaps the consequences of their actions. Even in all this, there was one pleading for God’s people.

Asaph saw what had happened and reminded the Lord who His inheritance was and that His inheritance had become a reproach to those around them. The neighbors would look upon the Lord’s children and determine that the Lord could not take care His own. So, for the Lord’s sake, Asaph wanted mercy upon Judah.

How often has the Lord shown mercy in your life? He sends warning after warning to give a chance of repentance but sometimes it is ignored. Galatians 6:7 says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Your actions will reap rewards or consequences. Yet, if you reap the latter, God gives mercy to you if you repent of your disobedience.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Sometimes you can save yourself a lot of grief by choosing obedience.

Karry Irizarry