When I read about the Israelites and Jeremiah, it is so easy for me to say how could they not listen to and obey the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah. For 40 years, Jeremiah prophesied about the destruction of Jersualem.
On 2 separate occasions the Babylonians (or Chaldeans) entered the land and took the people into captivity. The first to go were the "best" of the land, like Daniel and his friends. The last to go was everyone else except the very poorest of the poor. When there was just a few people left, some who had run away came back.
Again Jeremiah gave them God's word - stay in this land and don't go to Egypt. If you go to Egypt you will all die! So...they went to Egypt, taking Jeremiah with them. All Jeremiah's prophesies had come true yet they still did not believe him. They actually said, "You are lying."
The told Jeremiah things were better when they worshiped the queen of heaven, then they had food and peace. They would not listen to Jeremiah when he told them, God provided all that and He just got tired of their disobedience and took everything away.
It's easy for me to say how dumb those people were! But what about me? How many times have I brought diaster upon myself in relationships, in finances, in work - or any situation, by being my own woman...entering a relationship that I knew was wrong, spending money I knew I should not spend for stuff I did not need, working more hours than I needed to and not accomplishing as much as I should. God has let me suffer the consequences of my sin. If is painful to go through a divorce or work your way out of debt or not get the raise or promotion all the hard work did not bring.
So how dumb am I? How many times have I repeated mistakes before I actually learned the lesson? Am I still making the same mistakes? No, I don't think so but am I making others? Sometimes I just want to do what I want to do. If I am not listening, if God is not directing my paths, my thoughts, my actions, it always leads to trouble.
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