FATAL ERRORS are something more akin to computer system failures these days than real life instances of consequences of situations that have gone beyond repair, or warnings that have gone totally unheeded with the result of excrement hitting the fan. This is something that still happens, however. When we’ve clean out of warnings. The next time we ‘slip up’ it’s not going to be pretty. It’s judgment time.
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When we are warned about something it is best to take heed of the warning is it not? Diligence and prudence would advise us to ‘not go there.’
When we are warned about something it is best to take heed of the warning is it not? Diligence and prudence would advise us to ‘not go there.’
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There are times when we fail to see warnings and we happily proceed in life without much pain or problem; you try it one more time, then whack! You’re gone! All of a sudden, seemingly without warning, there is a dire consequence that in retrospect was always a threat to occur, but we somehow never saw it or heeded it. A common, easy-to-understand metaphor is the speeding ticket. How many times do we speed, even marginally? How many times do we get a ticket? Not often. We implicitly know we’re getting away with it, and then we cringe when we finally do get one; knowing with an intense level of frustration and mild embarrassment that we should’ve known better!
There are times when we fail to see warnings and we happily proceed in life without much pain or problem; you try it one more time, then whack! You’re gone! All of a sudden, seemingly without warning, there is a dire consequence that in retrospect was always a threat to occur, but we somehow never saw it or heeded it. A common, easy-to-understand metaphor is the speeding ticket. How many times do we speed, even marginally? How many times do we get a ticket? Not often. We implicitly know we’re getting away with it, and then we cringe when we finally do get one; knowing with an intense level of frustration and mild embarrassment that we should’ve known better!
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So it was for the Hebrews back in around 586 B.C.E. They had been warned and warned and warned, and then they had been warned some more. Israel had become a corrupt nation. Although the odd monarch was relatively faithful and just, on average the holy nation was rotten to the core, and asking for divine trouble. This trouble was going to come from Yahweh, of course, in the form of judgment.
So it was for the Hebrews back in around 586 B.C.E. They had been warned and warned and warned, and then they had been warned some more. Israel had become a corrupt nation. Although the odd monarch was relatively faithful and just, on average the holy nation was rotten to the core, and asking for divine trouble. This trouble was going to come from Yahweh, of course, in the form of judgment.
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They were conquered by the Babylonians as Jerusalem fell and they suffered 70 years of captivity. The words of Yahweh resound. “No remedy,” for the nation who had not listened to the prophets. No remedy for decade after decade of depraved practices and crooked rulers. No remedy for the people.
They were conquered by the Babylonians as Jerusalem fell and they suffered 70 years of captivity. The words of Yahweh resound. “No remedy,” for the nation who had not listened to the prophets. No remedy for decade after decade of depraved practices and crooked rulers. No remedy for the people.
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The quote from Proverbs 29:1 is chilling. It’s alarming simply in its stark truth.
The quote from Proverbs 29:1 is chilling. It’s alarming simply in its stark truth.
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“Whoever remains stiff-necked [and refuses to change] after many rebukes will be suddenly destroyed—without remedy.”
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It’s about making the same mistake and falling short, time after time and never learning. It is the consequence for not learning some key life lesson.
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Where is this happening in our lives? Where has it in fact happened? We’ve continued on intrepidly in a certain venture, and it has brought about ruin. We see it in others’ lives too don’t we?
Where is this happening in our lives? Where has it in fact happened? We’ve continued on intrepidly in a certain venture, and it has brought about ruin. We see it in others’ lives too don’t we?
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- Where are you running out of time?
- Where are you running out of time?
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- Are people running out of patience with you?
- Are people running out of patience with you?
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- Is it time to change and respond to what they’re saying, before it is too late?
- Is it time to change and respond to what they’re saying, before it is too late?
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- Some warnings bring quite dire consequences.
- Some warnings bring quite dire consequences.
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- Are you ready for the pain of these consequences?
- Are you ready for the pain of these consequences?
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- Or, are you willing to change?
- Or, are you willing to change?
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© Steve J. Wickham, 2008. All rights reserved Worldwide.
© Steve J. Wickham, 2008. All rights reserved Worldwide.
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