There is a Direct Causation Between Our Sin and Our Misfortune

Jeremiah 3:2-3, 19-20: "Look up to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been ravished? By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers, sat like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen . . . . How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation. I thought you would call me 'Father' and not turn away from following me. But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel."

In this word from the prophet Jeremiah we find a sobering reality, namely that national calamity can be the result of our chronic rebellion against the Lord. In the situation cited above, the Lord had brought drought upon the land in response to the people's wickedness. They could have had the blessing of the rains that would have brought the blessing of an abundant harvest; instead, these wicked people chose to defy the One True God, bringing His divine judgment instead.

We must pause to reflect upon our present economic crises and ponder if a similar fate is befalling our nation because we have forsaken our allegiance to the Lord. Could it be that our loss of national prosperity is correlated to our consumption with our own exaltation above all others (including God Himself)? I would argue that our present financial tragedies extend beyond mere correlation and are in fact caused by our forsaking our obedience to the Lord.

We would do well to hear this most important word from Jeremiah. God is desiring to shower us with His blessings; still, He expects unwavering allegiance to Him as Lord. When we forsake the Lord and begin to follow our own sinful ways, we should not expect that the Lord will bless us; in fact, we should not be surprised if we find that the Lord brings disappointment and difficulty in our lives. Coupled with the Lord's honoring of His Holiness is His redemptive purpose in His judgments. It is the Lord's will to draw us back to Him, in order that He might shower us with blessings . . . and He will do whatever it takes to get our attention.

Let us not waver in our faith in obedience to the Lord. Let us revere His name and follow His commands for us. If we do, we can expect that the Lord will be faithful to His promise to bless us for our passionate commitment to Him.