The day no one ever thinks will come, came for Israel… Judgment Day. The Lord finally said, ‘Enough! You have sinned and sinned. You have rejected my prophets with their call to return to me over and over again. Your sins have piled up and now it is time to pay. Judgment day has come!’
This entire chapter records God’s judgment against Israel. God’s indictment can be summed up in just a couple of verses:
All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. …
So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence…. (7-8, 18).
Those final 5 words are frightening… God removed them from his presence. That is the definition of Hell. Israel experienced hell on earth… a foretaste of the ultimate and eternal judgment. Without God’s presence to moderate the sinfulness of humankind, life deteriorates into despair.
We may not like chapters like this, but they are sprinkled through the Bible, a constant reminder that all people will be judged one day for the sins they committed. The only remedy prescribed in the Bible is faith in Jesus Christ. This alone is the answer for our sins. Faith in Christ alone releases us from the penalty of our sin because it places the guilt of our sin on Jesus who pays the judgment we should have paid.
The Apostle’s Creed reminds us he descended into Hell… for you and me.
Judgment day is coming… are you prepared?
Think about it…
Oh, God, thank You for Jesus. Jesus, words cannot express my gratitude for Your great love for me and the world. You came willingly and took the sins of all who believe in You. You died so that we could live. Halleluiah! Praise be to You, Lord Jesus. Amen.
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