The Patience of God the Folly of Man

As I read each day I look for the character of God and the contrast of man. I have been seeing the folly of man in regards to the wisdom and patient lovingkindness of God. Today I read II Chron 36:15 The Lord God of their ancestor continually warned them (the Israelites) through his messengers, for HE felt compassion for his people and his dwelling place. II Chron 36:16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his warnings, and ridiculed his prophets

If we read this in context we see that Nebuchadnezzar, after capturing Jerusalem, made Zedekiah king. If you read Jeremiah you will see that Zedekiah had called Jeremiah into hear "a word from the Lord". He was told: surrender to the Babylonians and you and the city will be spared. His answer: I fear the Judahites. Now in II Chron 36 we see another facet of this intriguing tale. II Chron 36:12 "He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, the Lord’s spokesman." We get a hint of how he did not humble himself by what God said in II Chron 36:16. Zedekiah in essence mocked the words, despised the warning, and ridiculed Jeremiah. The end of Zedekiah was that he tried to flee, he was captured by the Babylonians, his sons were executed before his eyes, his own eyes were taken from him, and he sat in a Babylonian jail cell for the remainder of his life. Hindsight is truly 20/20 as I said in my blog yesterday. Would that we not be Zedekiahs but heed the words of the Lord.

Spiritual Truth: God is compassionate and longsuffering...even when His people mock, despise and ridicule His messengers.
Principle: Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows,

It seems that we are seeing this being played out in our time as God's messengers continually are raising the red flag of warning but those in leadership seem to be mocking God's Word, they despise His messengers and they ridicule those who stand for righteousness. BUT, God's longsuffering will end one day and then it will come to pass: II Chron 36:16 Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment.

The more I read the news lately my fears seem to be escalating. I fear that this is ahead for us because of this. How much longer will God be patient?

Now to apply this personally: Am I too despising the Word of God or is my heart sensitive to His pleading for righteousness? Those three characteristics the author of Chronicles gave: mock, despise and ridicule are very pointed. The NETBible defines mock as the translation of hathal, "to play upon," "mock," "deride"
To despise means to regard with contempt, distaste, disgust, or disdain; scorn; loathe.
To ridicule means to deride; make fun of.

May I be sensitive to the words of God and not be found guilty of these transgressions. Oh Lord how patient You are, keep me close to You so that I do not exhibit these character qualities, may I not be full of folly but full of wisdom. Keep me pure and holy before You.