Good Morning Friends,
The people of Israel were in captivity in
Babylon -- and Daniel understood why. “The Lord our God is merciful and
forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the
LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. All
Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. Therefore
the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God,
have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. You have
fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon
us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what
has been done to Jerusalem. Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this
disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God
by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. The LORD did not
hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in
everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.” (Daniel 9:9-14)
Despite the merciful and forgiving spirit of
the Lord, the people of Israel continued in their sin. God brought the
captivity in Babylon and the desolation of Jerusalem because of their sin. It was
a drastic measure, but it was God’s wake-up call for Israel. It was God’s
attempt to get their attention and get them to turn back toward Him.
Daniel’s conclusion was – “Yet we have not
obeyed him.” God’s discipline of Israel had not worked because their hearts
were too hard. There was a remnant of righteous people -- like Daniel -- but
the majority of Israel was deaf even to the shouting the Lord was doing to them
in their captivity.
That is the common thread throughout the
history of Israel. In gentle ways, and then in harsher and harsher ways, God
sought to get Israel’s attention. Yet, Israel most often failed to hear Him!
I wonder how many times God has sought to get
our attention -- in gentle ways or in harsh ways -- but we have failed to
listen to Him? The captivity in Babylon was difficult, but it was not done out
of hatred, but out of love -- God wanted His people back. They could have
spared themselves great pain if only they’d listened!
So can we!
His, by Grace,
Steve
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