READING: 1 Chronicles 7-9
“But Judah was exiled to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.”
1 Chronicles 9:1
Sometimes there is a lot of tragedy packed in a single sentence. In today’s reading, one of those sentences is, “But Judah was exiled to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness” (1 Chron. 9:1). The people of God had turned against Him, and the consequences were severe. God would in grace and forgiveness bring them back eventually, but still they would pay the price of bondage in Babylon. Exile would be the penalty for their sin. It’s just one sentence, but it's filled with pain: “Judah was exiled to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.”
It is so easy to assume that our sin does not have consequences. Sure, we understand that unforgiven sinners suffer eternal judgment, but we don’t think much about present-tense consequences for our wrong. What we fail to recognize is that God sometimes allows the consequences of our sin to work themselves out in our lives. He does that to bring us back to repentance, but we cannot ignore our commitment to Him without expecting some repercussions. God keeps His hand on us, but it’s the hand of discipline as well as the hand of love.
These truths ought to change the way we live today. Judgment may not come with each sin we commit, but every sin is one step closer to risking the hand of God’s discipline. Obedience to God motivated by love for Him is always the best way to live.
ACTION STEPS:
- Make obedient choices each time you face temptation today.
- Pray for another believer who seems to be struggling with sin.
PRAYER: “God, I don’t want to be the subject of a sad sentence. Grant me grace to be fully obedient to You.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 2 Samuel 5:1-10, 1 Chronicles 11-12, Psalm 133