Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand. Many times He delivered them; but they rebelled in their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity. (Psalm 106:42-43)

In a previous devotion, we addressed the fact that our God is a jealous God, meaning that He emphatically requires that we remain devoted exclusively to Him as a chaste and faithful bride should. He says, “You shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14). Consequently, when His people have strayed from Him to embrace the customs and practices of the nations, including worship of their gods, He begins to chasten them. At first, the chastening begins with a “gentle” nudge, as it were; but if that doesn’t provoke the necessary response, the chastening intensifies.

Judaism expresses the chastening of the Lord this way: in ancient Israel, an unrepentant sinner’s financial stability would begin to suffer, not completely, but enough to be noticed. If this didn’t compel the person to repent, their financial situation would worsen to the point that they would have to sell everything they owned to stay afloat. If this still didn’t melt their heart, that person would have to sell themselves as a slave, hopefully to a fellow Israelite, but in the worst of cases, to a foreigner. This scenario is what the psalmist hinted at when he said, “Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand…and were brought low for their iniquity.”

While this interpretation may or may not be exactly how God deals with each person, it does convey the idea that our God is just and merciful. He is reluctant to inflict physical harm on His people because He is loving, but because He is just, He will allow those things around us to be diminished in order to get our attention. In short, God deals with our sin gently at first; it is our hard-heartedness that provokes Him to anger and, consequently, a more intense approach to correction. That said, it isn’t necessarily the Hand of God that crushes the unrepentant as much as it is the weight of their own iniquity.

The remedy for this scenario is obvious — be people who walk in humility, always conscious of our need for a Savior. Be quick to receive His reproof and be thankful that He loves us enough to correct us before things get out of hand. As it is written, “Do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights” (Proverbs 3:11-12).

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill