Because They Have Forsaken God!

"Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah: Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched." (2 Chronicles 34:24,25)

What happens when we forsake God and forget about all He has told us to do? Ugly things happen and continue to happen until people repent--usually after they have been reminded of what God has said.

This was the case with the King (Josiah) who got rid of all the high places where people burned living children in sacrifice to a hand-made God, where they worshipped the works of their own hands and falsely believed those who told them to kill children to appease their hand-made God. Josiah repented after hearing The Words of God that had been forgotten and forsaken. He finally understood and obeyed and his obedience kept him from falling into the judgment of those who refused to repent.

The same God--not made by hands--who is self-existing and needs no one else to counsel Him--who allowed judgment to fall upon entire kingdoms because of their disobedience then, will do the same thing today--if we continue to forsake God's Word!

Perhaps, the problem is that many refuse to attend places of worship that have made the Word of 
God of no effect because of their traditions. Perhaps, the problem is because no one is reading The Word, seeking understanding of how God wants us to live. Perhaps, the problem is because many people spend far more time worshipping those things that man's hands have made and they cannot see or understand the importance of knowing what God has said.

People worship their cars, their jobs, their bank accounts, their homes, their children, their spouses and when people and things become more important than God--we go astray. We forget to read The Word; we forget to hear The Word; we forget to study The Word and seek Him for understanding. With all of this forgetting about The Word--we disobey God and create (in our minds and with our own hands) new rules--that contradict God's Word. We create laws and statutes that are in total opposition to what God has said and we do it--to be politically correct and inclusive--desiring to please men, more than God!

And when we forsake God--all the ugliness of the world--is exposed to the light and we see the end results--chaos, unrest, and violence, not realizing that sin impacts our environment and the just and unjust suffer the same consequences.

The solution to all the aforenamed problems is simply for everyone to get in The Word, understand what God has said and repent--humbly seeking His forgiveness for all we have done that is not of Him.

When we forsake God and His ways, He forsakes us and allows us to do our own thing--obtaining our own results--without His involvement. God does not cause the problems we have in our society--we do--because we have forsaken God!

Help us, O Lord, to get our priorities right and come back to the place where we can receive The Word and forgiveness for all the wrong we have done. Have mercy on us, O Lord, and lead us to the place You would have us to be--always focused upon You and what You would have us to do so we can achieve greatness to Your glory!