CONSEQUENCES
Hebrews 12:6
For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.”
Today I am going to talk about a subject that very few people seem to know or care about anymore…consequences. We seem to be in a society where consequences are minimalized and in many cases removed. We are teaching a generation that they can do what they want, when they want and how they want and nothing is going to happen. However, we learn from God’s word that there are indeed consequences to our actions. We really do reap what we sow.
Galatians 6:7
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
I did a word search on ‘consequences’ on biblegateway.com and here are some of the results:
Deuteronomy 28:15-20 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Consequences of Disobedience
15 “But it shall come about, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.
17 “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
18 “Cursed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
19 “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
20 “The Lord will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke, in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me.
Acts 7:42-43 The Message
“God wasn’t at all pleased; but he let them do it their way, worship every new god that came down the pike—and live with the consequences, consequences described by the prophet Amos: Did you bring me offerings of animals and grains those forty wilderness years, O Israel? Hardly. You were too busy building shrines to war gods, to sex goddesses, Worshiping them with all your might. That’s why I put you in exile in Babylon.
Colossians 3:25 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.
What does this mean for us? I believe that the Bible was written for our example and to teach us right from wrong. I believe Israel shows us what happens when we disobey YAHWEH as well as what happens when we do obey. The Bible clearly shows us the consequences of our choices, whether good or bad.
If you are experiencing some of what is described as the curse in Deuteronomy, then repent of any disobedience in your life. Next read what the blessings looks like in Deuteronomy 28.
Deuteronomy 28:2-9 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
2 All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God:
3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4 “Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the off spring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 “The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. 8 The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 9 The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.
This is not just for Israel. This is for us as Peter preached in his second sermon found in Acts 3 17-26 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
17 “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also.18 But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you. 23 And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. 25 It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
Today I implore you to seek YAHWEH Yeshua and ask Him, “What are the things in my life that are causing negative consequences?” He will show you and when He does, repent and start sowing good things. Walk in obedience and reap the blessing.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20 by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”