Purpose: To understand that there are disastrous consequences to breaking covenant with God.Scripture: 2 Chronicles 36:15-21, Psalm 137
What is the best way to discipline a child?
What about a child that is being totally disobedient and not responding to discipline?
What about an employee who doesn’t do his or her job as required? What is the best way to discipline them?
What method of discipline works best for you? To which do you respond to?
What are some examples of behaviors that often lead to painful consequences?
In Proverbs 1 Wisdom is depicted as a woman who "cries out in the streets".
Can you think of any circumstances in your lives that you have made wrong choices that could have been avoided had you heeded God’s wisdom?
What consequences have you had to face as a result of these poor choices?
Pro 1:20-33 ESV
(20) Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice;
(21) at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
(22) "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?
(23) If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.
(24) Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
(25) because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof,
(26) I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you,
(27) when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.
(28) Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
(29) Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD,
(30) would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof,
(31) therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.
(32) For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them;
(33) but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster."
Does that sound like a parent getting very near to stop the warnings and start the discipline?
Pro 1:20-33 MSG
(20) Lady Wisdom goes out in the street and shouts. At the town center she makes her speech.
(21) In the middle of the traffic she takes her stand. At the busiest corner she calls out:
(22) "Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance? Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism? Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn?
(23) About face! I can revise your life. Look, I'm ready to pour out my spirit on you; I'm ready to tell you all I know.
(24) As it is, I've called, but you've turned a deaf ear; I've reached out to you, but you've ignored me.
(25) "Since you laugh at my counsel and make a joke of my advice,
(26) How can I take you seriously? I'll turn the tables and joke about your troubles!
(27) What if the roof falls in, and your whole life goes to pieces? What if catastrophe strikes and there's nothing to show for your life but rubble and ashes?
(28) You'll need me then. You'll call for me, but don't expect an answer. No matter how hard you look, you won't find me.
(29) "Because you hated Knowledge and had nothing to do with the Fear-of-GOD,
(30) Because you wouldn't take my advice and brushed aside all my offers to train you,
(31) Well, you've made your bed--now lie in it; you wanted your own way--now, how do you like it?
(32) Don't you see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots? Carelessness kills; complacency is murder.
(33) First pay attention to me, and then relax. Now you can take it easy--you're in good hands."
How is God’s Wisdom "shouted out" to us?
Through His Word and the word of His messengers.
What is our culture's response to God’s Wisdom as given in His word and through His messengers?
Our culture (as is true of all cultures at all times) scoffs and refuses to listen to the call of Wisdom.
What difference would it have made in your life if you had always heeded Wisdom’s call?
Let’s pray:
O God,
We offer to you our praise and adoration. We give you thanks for your many blessings, for the gift of life and the opportunity it gives us to make a difference in your world. As we study your Word, make us aware of the benefits that come from living in covenant with you and the disastrous consequences of breaking that covenant.
In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen
Last week’s lesson offered a glimpse at a bright spot in the history of the Judaic monarchy.
Josiah was more faithful to the call of God’s Wisdom than any other king of Judah or Israel.
Josiah repaired and restored the Temple, restored the observance of the Passover Feast, brought about a general repentance of the people of Judah after discovering books of the Law which had been lost through lack of use.
How long did Josiah’s reforms last?
Until his death. Josiah was killed in an unwise military excursion against Pharaoh Neco of Egypt on the plains of Megiddo. Following his death, Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz, became king. Jehoahaz only lasted three months before being dethroned by the king of Egypt and replaced with another son of Josiah, Eliakim, whose name was changed to Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim ruled for eleven years before being taken captive to Babylonia. His son Jehoiachin, was crowned king at the age of eight. His reign lasted three months. The last king of Judah was Mattaniah, whose name was changed to Zedekiah. Zedekiah was an older brother of Jehoiachin.
Like all the kings who followed Josiah, Zedekiah "did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God." Not only the king but "all the leading priests and the people also were exceedingly unfaithful."
What do you think was God’s response to the continual disobedience of His people?
2Ch 36:15 ESV
(15) The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.
2Ch 36:15 MSG
(15) GOD, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent warning messages to them. Out of compassion for both his people and his Temple he wanted to give them every chance possible.
What characteristic of God do we see in this verse?
God’s love for the Israelite people led repeatedly in the past to God’s work of salvation. When the people would fall into sin, God would send messengers and deliverers. God would forgive the people, but then the cycle would start all over again. For over 1000 years God had shown pity, compassion, and patience to the descendants of Abraham. Despite the continued unfaithfulness of the people, God continued to have "compassion on his people." God "persistently" responds to unfaithful people with grace.
How do you think the people of Judah responded to God’s compassionate pleas?
2Ch 36:16 ESV
(16) But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy.
2Ch 36:16 MSG
(16) But they wouldn't listen; they poked fun at God's messengers, despised the message itself, and in general treated the prophets like idiots. GOD became more and more angry until there was no turning back–
What does this verse tell us about God’s patience?
God’s patience has a limit. God is very patient but will not always abide our self-indulgent ways or tolerate our willful disobedience.
Would the outcome have been different if the people had responded differently?
2Ch 7:14 ESV
(14) if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2Ch 7:14 MSG
(14) and my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I'll be there ready for you: I'll listen from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land to health
The people of Judah probably could have averted their exile, but eventually there is a point of no return - "until there was no remedy."
God tried to get the people to wake up and rethink the character of their national life, but they wanted nothing to do with that.
Could the same thing be said of today’s church? Do you think that we need to wake up and rethink the character of the church?
In what ways do we need to rethink the character of the church?
In what ways do you and I personally need to wake up and rethink our character?
In what ways do we (either personally or as the Body of Christ) "mock the messengers of God", "despise his words", and "scoff at his prophets"?
Are we mocking the messengers when we make attending church or Sunday school a low priority?
Do we "despise his word" when we neglect Bible study?
Are we scoffing when we call ourselves Christian but continue to live our lives as we please?
From Wesleyan Christian Advocate:
Nowadays we talk about "making wrong choices." That is what we used to call sin. It is somehow more palatable to speak of choosing the wrong option - picking Door Number 2- instead of following God’s commandments and Christ’s commissions....We need to acknowledge our forgetting of God, seek forgiveness and follow in God’s way...
As people of the New Testament, we know the redemptive power of God through Christ. However we have a responsibility to obey God’s commandments and to honor the covenant "written on our hearts". How do we forget God in our church and in our lives?
Does God ever give up on us?
Did God’s compassion for the Israelites reach it’s ultimate limit?
2Ch 36:17-21 ESV
(17) Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand.
(18) And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon.
(19) And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels.
(20) He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia,
(21) to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
2Ch 36:21 MSG
(21) This is exactly the message of GOD that Jeremiah had preached: the desolate land put to an extended sabbath rest, a seventy-year Sabbath rest making up for all the unkept Sabbaths.
Is God’s grace evident even in God’s judgement?
From Wesleyan Christian Advocate:
God’s grace is found even in God’s judgement. Maybe some of us feel like we’ve "blown it." Perhaps our choices have led us to our own place of exile. We find ourselves in the wilderness of our failure and sin. But something can be happening during that exile that we don’t always see.........
Looking back we can see that Israel’s exile was its Sabbath rest. It became as formative for her faith as the Exodus from Egypt and the sojourn in the wilderness. It was out of exile that a whole new theology was forged that strengthened and honed God’s people.
Can we see God’s grace working even in the circumstances of our own "wrong choices"?
From Wesleyan Christian Advocate:
The same is true of the exiles of our lives. The divorce, grief, failures in our family life, alcohol or drugs can all be redeemed in time. When all our bad choices have led to hard hearts and brokenness; when all the doors seem to slam shut, and judgement rains down, then, in God’s grace, exile can become a period out of which new possibilities emerge.
Does God ever give up on us?
Our behaviors definitely have consequences. It is not a very long road from recreational drug use to total drug dependency. An angry and hateful attitude leads to loneliness and bitterness as even loved ones are driven away. If we fail to listen to God’s Wisdom we separate ourselves from God.
Why is it that we humans tend to have to "hit bottom" before rebounding?
God offers forgiveness and can redeem any situation we create for ourselves, but we still must live with the consequences of our actions.
From Wesleyan Christian Advocate:
The door of grace always stands open, no matter what a mess we’ve made of our lives. There will be scars that never quite fade, regrets that never entirely go away, effects of sin that still cause pain. But more importantly, there is also the grace of a new beginning and the hope of a new future.
In what ways does our relationship with God change when we are faced with the results of our own actions?
Did the exiled Judahites realize the error of their ways?
Psa 137:1-6 ESV
(1) By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.
(2) On the willows there we hung up our lyres.
(3) For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
(4) How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?
(5) If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!
(6) Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!
Psalm 137 was written by one of the exiled Judahites. What seemed to be in the author’s mind in this Psalm?
As the author recalled his experiences, he was overwhelmed by bitter memories of oppression and brutality. His anger could not be contained, and it was given expression in this violent outburst. His anger was not only directed toward the treatment of the Jews by the Babylonians, but is primarily concerned with what the Jewish people had lost. They had been forced to leave behind the Promised Land.
Most people do not know the value of something until it’s gone. It took captivity for the Israelites to realize what they had lost. They had not only lost their home and their temple, but had lost their relationship with God.
Our challenge is to seek the grace of God even in challenging circumstances that we bring upon ourselves. We can pity ourselves and wallow in our failures or we can allow our failures to be the launching pad for redemption and change. We cannot escape the cost of breaking covenant with God. Disobeying God takes a terrible toll, but in Christ we can find forgiveness and the power to change our circumstances.
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