Lamentations 4:1-5:22; Hebrews 2:1-18; Psalm 103:1-22; Proverbs 26:23
Every act of sin (disobedience) leaves a debt which needs to be satisfied. You can think of sin like a credit card. Every time you use it, you will have to pay with interest. Israel repeatedly sinned (disobeyed) and their sin debt skyrocketed.
When it was time to pay the price, they were unable and unwilling. The price was that they had to be exiled from the land and everything that they had built would be destroyed. Instead of being an independent nation led by God, they would be slaves in a foreign land and their homeland would be under foreign leadership. Jeremiah felt this was a high price to pay. Once Israel paid the price, Jeremiah says that the Lord’s anger was satisfied.
The same is true with our sin. When Jesus died on the cross, He satisfied all of our sin debt once and for all. God is no longer mad at us and He responds to us based on Jesus’ blood. But, sin still exists and it still remains a stumbling block for us! It is a tool of the devil to stop our purpose.
Sin always costs us something! And, it is usually more than we are willing to pay in the end. God challenges us to think about sin and its built-in consequences. If we try to enjoy the pleasures of sin, they will only last momentarily. But, when the due date comes, we cannot make a minimum payment. The devil will require maximum payment plus penalties.
Tomorrow’s Reading: Ezekiel 1:1-3:15; Hebrews 3:1-19; Psalm 104:1-23; Proverbs 26:24-26