15 And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. 16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy. ~ 2 Chronicles 36:15-16
The LORD God sent warnings to the people of Israel over and over and over again by His messengers. Why? Because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place, which is the Temple. The people had abandoned God and were serving false gods. Still, God kept warning them to turn back to Him, because they were His people and His inheritance and He was jealous for them. And if they did not turn from idolatry and back to serving the One True God, then judgment would fall on them. But here’s the thing: God does not take pleasure in the death of the sinner, nor is it His delight to render just judgment. He would rather forgive than punish. But His people refused to turn back to Him. In fact, they mocked the messengers that He sent, and by doing so they despised His words of warning. They scoffed at the messengers and jeered at them as they poked fun and laughed them to scorn. This did not sit well with God. It actually awakened the wrath of the LORD against them until there was no remedy left for them.
The same pattern operates in the individual life, the family, the Church, and our modern society. Make no mistake, our God has patience with us, but there comes a time when His patience will run out, and there will be no remedy left. It’s not that He is cruel or unjust. He keeps saying, “Stop! Don’t do that! Quit it! Return to Me!” But when His warnings go unheeded, and His messengers are mocked, God takes that personally. If He has to continue sending warnings every single day with no change, then there will come a final warning, and God will act in judgment. There will eventually come a time when He will say, “Enough is enough.” Then there will remain no remedy but only the dreadful expectation of judgment. So may the LORD keep our hearts soft, our ears open, and our wills ready to turn while the day of mercy is still called “today.”
Heavenly Father, please guide my heart that I might hear Your voice, and when I hear, that I might obey Your commands. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen.