No Remedy
II Chronicles 36
11 Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
12 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord.
13 And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel.
14 Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
15 And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
16 But they MOCKED the messengers of God, and DESPISED his words, and MISUSED his prophets, UNTIL the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, TILL THERE WAS NO REMEDY.
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It is truly hard to imagine that a people would willingly choose to get so far removed from God that they’ll oppose Him to their own decimation. But that’s just what happened here in the text before us.
God had warned them through Jeremiah that they were headed to ruin but they wouldn’t heed his words. —
17 Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.
18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon.
19 And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
20 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:
21 To fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years.
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After 70 years of captivity during which the “land had enjoyed her sabbaths',” God “stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia” to let the people go back to their homeland.
22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up.
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Why did the people that ended up in captivity (why does anybody for that matter?) persist in such defiant rebellion against God? They had the Word of the Lord presented to them numerous times over many years. And yet … they chose not to heed God’s Word and repent. It was all so unnecessary, wasn’t it?
Notice the key words:
“Humbled not” - V. 12
“Stiffened” - V. 13
“Hardened” - V. 13
“Transgressed very much” - V. 14
“Mocked” - V. 16
“Despised” - V. 16
“Misused” - V. 16
There is nothing here that could not have been remedied. Nothing is here that was the beyond their limits if only there had been a willingness to yield to the Word of God. That was man’s problem THEN and it is man’s problem NOW.
Today’s global society is aptly described and defined by any or all of these descriptive words. The difference now though is that, all of a sudden and at the same time, the whole global perspective is descending into the dangerous abyss of God’s declaration — NO REMEDY. As it was in the days of Noah so it is now — worldwide.
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There is one word in all of this that presents a window of hope for a temporary reprieve. Mark my words, however, the end will and must come. The timing has always been the question. But personally, I don’t see much, if anything, that has to be fulfilled from a biblical perspective before the end and the return of Yeshua.
What is that one word?
It’s the “UNTIL” of God in verse 21. “But they MOCKED the messengers of God, and DESPISED his words, and MISUSED his prophets, UNTIL ….”
Said a different way: God is “longsuffering” —
2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
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I’m beginning to wonder if the world is in God’s final holding pattern of the … “UNTIL” of God.
As usual, my specific concern isn’t just with the world and its categorical dismissal of God from virtually everything. My concern is with the people of God that are still living with blinders on their spiritual eyes of understanding.
There is no excuse for us, God’s people, to not discern the signs of the times into which we are now down-spiraling headlong. I submit that it’s impossible to not see the prophetic end-time wheels turning. It’s all in plain sight if we really desire to see it. God, through His Word and the guidance of the Holy Ghost, will give us the eyes to see.
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How long is God’s “UNTIL”? When will the “UNTIL” be over? Will it be soon? Will it be in the remaining days of my life? When … ?
I don’t know. But, I do know something is up on a scale of which the world, and the people of God, have never seen. Truthfully, I’m not sure there’s much holding God back. Except …
His “UNTIL” and His “LONGSUFFERING.”
During this time we need to check our own attitudes (humility), condition (stiffened, hardened), spiritual leaders (the priests), and perhaps most importantly — the corporate body of Messiah (the people, transgressed very much).
It is vitally important that you know you are right with God through the shed blood of Christ … not just in your head, but in your heart.
That’s the only —
Remedy