The Benefit of Hindsight预览

Actions & Consequences

Consequences are a hard thing to deal with.

We tend to think of consequences as primarily negative. The reality is that all actions have consequences. Life is simply like Newton’s third law: actions have equal and opposite reactions. In life, our actions have outcomes; most of the time, they are in line with what we have done.

That’s the point of today’s passage. It starts with a single word that both accepts and acknowledges the human condition:

“When.”

After the Temple was finished, God visited Solomon again to claim it for Himself as a place of sacrifice. That place of sacrifice for sin would be needed. There is no “if” in the human condition. God acknowledges that there will be days ahead when the consequences of Israel’s sinful actions would need to be addressed.

The Temple was where amends could be made, and the situation could be changed. God would forgive.

God has always been a forgiving God. From the first days of human existence, He has exercised His forgiveness and patience. And though there must be consequences, His forgiveness has never been in question.

There are two parts to today’s passage that are difficult to struggle through. We want to celebrate God’s forgiveness, and rightly so. But we are usually quick to overlook the consequences of our actions and the requirements of His forgiveness.

On the first count, we need to see God’s grace. If we were simply allowed to continue in our sin and rebellion, we would never see the error of our ways and return to God. The consequences here—drought, locusts, and plague (v. 13)—were a reminder from God that Israel had wandered from Him. They were punishments, but not for punishment’s sake. They were God’s call to return to Him.

On the second count, forgiveness and healing require something from us, too. The four-fold path to forgiveness outlined in verse 14 begins with humbling, perhaps the most difficult part of the process. It requires owning up to our behavior.

Men, this can be hard. A new start is easy. We can commit to doing things differently. But admitting we did things wrong in the first place is difficult. We have to set aside our pride, which is usually connected to sin in the first place. Humility requires that we admit we aren’t enough.

God will not ignore our actions, but God will forgive. Will we humble ourselves enough to seek Him?

Prayer: God, thank You for the promise of forgiveness. Thank You that even the consequences of our actions are a demonstration of Your grace. Help me to be a man who is humble enough to seek You when I need You. Amen.

Reflection: Is there any sin you need to acknowledge before God today? Where do you need to humble yourself?