Disobedience Has Consequences

 By:  Dale Weckbacher

 

Text:  Jeremiah 14:1-12

 

Jeremiah 14:11-12

The Lord said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. ¹² Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”

(ESV)

 

Every morning when we begin the new day, we should thank God for his new mercies (Lamentations 3:22-23) and the grace that saves us (Ephesians 2:8). for without God’s mercy and grace we would all die in our sins (Romans 3:23, 6:23).  God also loves us so much, that He sent His only Son, not to condemn us, but to die in our place so we may have eternal life (John 3:16-17).  Before we go further with this study, I want to invite those reading this who have not made a profession of faith in Jesus as their savior to do so now by praying with me,

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

The text of Jeremiah 14:1-12 consists of a word from the Lord given to Jeremiah concerning the drought plaguing the land.  The text consists of three sections dealing with,

 

1)      How the drought is affecting Israel and Judah (Jeremiah 14:1-6) – The drought affecting both Israel and Judah have brought about,

A.      Fear (Jeremiah 14:2) – The fear of man is a trap and since fear is not from God, something we should avoid when making important decisions (Proverbs 29:25; 2 Timothy 1:7).  However, the fear Judah is experiencing is rooted in disobedience which requires repentance or a turning away from their worship of other gods and seeking forgiveness from God.  Judah mourns at their situation and what is about to happen but does not have repentance for they still love to wander from God (Jeremiah 14:10), indicating a lack of repentance in their hearts.  Therefore, their fear is not an entrapping fear of man but a fear of the wrath of God due to their continued disobedience. 

B.      Shortages (Jeremiah 14:3-4) – Food and water are two necessities in life.  Due to the drought in Judah, the cisterns which store water have gone dry causing a shortage of water.  There is also a shortage of food due to a lack of rain to water the crops.  The response of the people to these shortages is covering their heads in shame rather than addressing the root cause of the problem, their disobedience of God.  God promised rain and prosperity to Israel as long as they remained obedient to God and His Word (Deuteronomy 28:1-14).  The priests who studied the scripture were aware of God’s blessings for obedience and the drought should have raised red flags indicating the existence of disobedience.  However, their response to the consequences of the drought is holding their heads in shame (Jeremiah 14:3-4) and continuing to wander away from God (Jeremiah 14:10).  Once again, we see a lack of repentance and seeking of forgiveness from God in Judah. 

C.      Is widespread (Jeremiah 14:5-6) – Unfortunately, disobedience to God can have widespread consequences that affect the innocent.  In this instance, human disobedience is affecting the animals due to a lack of food. 

2)      Jeremiah’s plea for mercy from God (Jeremiah 14:7-9) – Jeremiah asks the Lord to act and acknowledges the backslidings and sins of the people of Israel and Judah (Jeremiah 14:7).  Jeremiah is then honest with the Lord and wonders why the Lord seems to be a stranger in the land who only visits occasionally like a stranger seeking lodging for the night (Jeremiah 14:8).  Jeremiah also asks the Lord why he appears like a man confused instead of a mighty warrior in the land (Jeremiah 14:9).  Jeremiah then acknowledges that the Lord does dwell with the people called by His name, Israel and Judah, and makes a plea for the Lord not to leave them (Jeremiah 14:9). 

3)      God’s response punishment by the sword, famine, and pestilence (Jeremiah 14:10-12) – God responds to Jeremiah’s plea, not with forgiveness and restoration, for that would require repentance by the people, but with the disciplines of the sword, famine, and pestilence (Jeremiah 14:10-12).  When one is in disobedience to God, restoration is available by either repenting of disobedience and the seeking of forgiveness from God or the discipline of God.  Judah’s continued wandering means they must go down the path of discipline through the sword, famine, and pestilence. 

 

Jeremiah receives a word from the Lord concerning the drought that has come upon the land.  This indicates that even though Judah and Israel are in disobedience to the Lord and have turned to other Gods (Jeremiah 14:10), Jeremiah continues to intercede for Israel and Judah.  The consequences Judah is about to experience are dire for the people of Judah lack the necessities of life, water, with the cisterns dry, and food since there is no water for growing crops (Jeremiah 14:3-4).  The drought even affects the animals as they too lack food and water (Jeremiah 14:5-6).  Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, continues to make intercession for God’s people and wonders why the Lord acts more like a stranger instead of the savior in the time of trouble (Jeremiah 14:7-9).  However, the Lord does something no person would want to hear, he tells Jeremiah to stop his intercession for the people because they show no propensity to repent of their sin of wandering from God.  This rejection by the Lord means he no longer accepts them, and they will incur the discipline of to the sword, famine, and pestilence.   

 

While no weapon formed against the Church will prosper (Isaiah 54:17), God is a good father that must discipline his children when they are disobedient.  Jesus taught that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy with Jesus coming to give His people abundant life (John 10:10).  While salvation is based on the grace of God and not our works, it is crucial for God’s people to shut the door of sin and disobedience, not allowing the enemy to come in to steal, kill, and destroy.  A chaotic world in need of revival needs to see the church focused on its mission of sharing the Gospel, making disciples, and living obediently to the Word of God.  I encourage those reading this to search their hearts for any disobedience to God, shutting the door on this disobedience, and living in obediently to God as lights in these dark and chaotic times.