Exile and Devastation

Exile and Devastation

(The Lord told the Israelites what would happen after He punished them.)

“And for those of you who survive, I will demoralize you, in the land of your enemies. 

You will live in such fear… that the sound of a leaf, driven by the wind, will send you fleeing. 

You will run, as though fleeing from a sword, and you will fall, even, when no one pursues you. 

Though no one is chasing you, you will stumble over each other, as though fleeing from a sword. 

You will have no power, to stand up, against your enemies. 

You will die, among the foreign nations, and be devoured, in the land of your enemies. Those of you, who survive, will waste away, in your enemies’ lands, because of your sins and the sins of your ancestors. 

“But at last, My people will confess their sins, and the sins of their ancestors, for betraying Me, and being hostile toward Me. 

When I have turned their hostility back on them, and brought them to the land of their enemies, then at last, their stubborn hearts will be humbled, and they will pay for their sins. 

Then, I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. 

For the land must be abandoned, to enjoy its years of Sabbath rest, as it lies deserted. At last, the people will pay for their sins, for they have continually rejected My regulations, and despised My decrees. 

“But despite all this, I will not utterly reject or despise them… not while they are in exile, in the land of their enemies. 

I will not cancel My covenant with them, by wiping them out, for I am the Lord their God. 

For their sakes, I will remember My ancient covenant, with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, in the sight of all the nations, that I might be their God. 

I am the Lord.” 

These are the decrees, regulations, and instructions, which the Lord gave through Moses on Mount Sinai, as evidence of the relationship, between himself and the Israelites. 

Leviticus 26:36–46 (NLT)

Praise be to God!


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