Devotions: Repeating History

 

Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? But they have not become contrite even to this day, nor have they feared nor walked in My law or My statutes, which I have set before you and before your fathers.

Jeremiah 44:9-10 New American Standard Bible 1995

 

The Israelites had forsaken God. They had turned away from Him to worship other gods and practiced horrible rituals, including sacrificing children. As a result, God used Babylon to conquer and exile those who survived. He warned them time after time, but instead of listening to the prophets and learning from the mistakes of their ancestors, they continued in their sin. They forgot that the wages of sin is death. They did not repent of or feel remorse for their sin. They did not respect or obey God or heed His laws or ways. God told them the best way to live, but they went their own way. They saw the destruction it caused their ancestors but were convinced it would be different for them. Unfortunately it wasn’t. They refused to learn from history, and so were doomed to repeat it.

This happens to everyone who is arrogant and hard hearted, who refuse to learn from the past or listen to God. Mankind wants to declare itself god and determine its own rules and path of life. Unfortunately, we don’t get to make that call. We choose what we do or believe, but that does not change the truth. God is God, we are not, and we will be judged for the life we choose. We need to revere and obey God, and live His way. We need to learn from those who went before us so that we do not repeat their mistakes rather than ignorantly assuming that we can get away with it. We need to humble ourselves, acknowledge the truth and our sin, and turn to God. The sentence brought on Judah affected not only those who committed those acts, but also everyone else. Just because we live rightly does not necessarily mean that we will escape. We need to pray for revival, repent of our sins and the sins of our country as Daniel did (ch 9), and do what we can to influence those around us in a godly way.

Do you respect God and live according to His ways? Do you heed what God says and repent when you do wrong? Do you try to be a light to the world around you?

 

 

 

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