September 11, 2001
Biblical examples of national punishment (NIV)
Deuteronomy 28:45 All these curses will come upon
you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed,
because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave
you. 46 They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. 47 Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and
gladly in the time of prosperity,
Jermiah 5:6 Therefore a lion from the forest will attack
them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns
to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great and their backslidings
many. 7 "Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods
that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to
the houses of prostitutes. 8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another
man's wife. 9 Should I not punish them for this?" declares the LORD. "Should I
not avenge myself on such a nation as this? 10 "Go through her vineyards and ravage
them, but do not destroy them completely. Strip off her branches, for these people do not
belong to the LORD. 11 The house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly
unfaithful to me," declares the LORD. 12 They have lied about the LORD; they said,
"He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine. 13
The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them; so let what they say be done to
them." 14 Therefore this is what the LORD God Almighty says: "Because the people
have spoken these words, I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the
wood it consumes. 15 O house of Israel," declares the LORD, "I am bringing a
distant nation against you-- an ancient and enduring nation, a people whose language you
do not know, whose speech you do not understand. 16 Their quivers are like an open grave;
all of them are mighty warriors. 17 They will devour your harvests and food, devour your
sons and daughters; they will devour your flocks and herds, devour your vines and fig
trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust. 18
"Yet even in those days," declares the LORD, "I will not destroy you
completely. 19 And when the people ask, `Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?'
you will tell them, `As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so
now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.' 20 "Announce this to the house
of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah: 21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who
have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: 22 Should you not fear me?"
declares the LORD. "Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary
for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot
prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. 23 But these people have stubborn and
rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. 24 They do not say to themselves,
`Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us
of the regular weeks of harvest.' 25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have
deprived you of good. 26 "Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait like men who
snare birds and like those who set traps to catch men. 27 Like cages full of birds, their
houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful 28 and have grown fat and
sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win
it, they do not defend the rights of the poor. 29 Should I not punish them for this?"
declares the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? 30 "A
horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: 31 The prophets prophesy lies, the
priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do
in the end?
Hosea 10:10 When I please, I will punish them;
nations will be gathered against them to put them in bonds for their double sin.
... 13 But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of
deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors, 14
the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be
devastated-- as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were
dashed to the ground with their children. 15 Thus will it happen to you, O Bethel, because
your wickedness is great. When that day dawns, the king of Israel will be completely
destroyed. 11:1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my
son. 2 But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the
Baals and they burned incense to images. ... 7 My people are determined to turn from me.
Even if they call to the Most High, he will by no means exalt them.
Jeremiah 14:7 Although our sins testify against us, O LORD, do something for the sake
of your name. For our backsliding is great; we have sinned against you. 8 O Hope of
Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are you like a stranger in the land, like a
traveler who stays only a night? 9 Why are you like a man taken by surprise, like a
warrior powerless to save? You are among us, O LORD, and we bear your name; do not forsake
us! 10 This is what the LORD says about this people: "They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet. So the LORD does not accept them; he will now remember
their wickedness and punish them for their sins." 11 Then the LORD said to me,
"Do not pray for the well-being of this people. 12 Although they fast, I will not
listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not
accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague." 13 But
I said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, the prophets keep telling them, `You will not see the
sword or suffer famine. Indeed, I will give you lasting peace in this place.'" 14
Then the LORD said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not
sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions,
divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore, this is what
the LORD says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet
they are saying, `No sword or famine will touch this land.' Those same prophets will
perish by sword and famine. 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out
into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to
bury them or their wives, their sons or their daughters. I will pour out on them the
calamity they deserve. 17 "Speak this word to them: "`Let my eyes overflow with
tears night and day without ceasing; for my virgin daughter--my people-- has suffered a
grievous wound, a crushing blow. ... 20 O LORD, we acknowledge our wickedness and the
guilt of our fathers; we have indeed sinned against you. 21 For the sake of your name do
not despise us; do not dishonor your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us and
do not break it. 22 Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies
themselves send down showers? No, it is you, O LORD our God. Therefore our hope is in you,
for you are the one who does all this. 15:1 Then the LORD said to me: "Even if Moses
and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people. Send them
away from my presence! Let them go! 2 And if they ask you, `Where shall we go?' tell them,
`This is what the LORD says: "`Those destined for death, to death; those for the
sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to
captivity.' 3 "I will send four kinds of destroyers against them," declares the
LORD, "the sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds of the air and the
beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 I will make them abhorrent to all the
kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in
Jerusalem. 5 "Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem? Who will mourn for you? Who
will stop to ask how you are? ... 6 You have rejected me," declares the LORD.
"You keep on backsliding. So I will lay hands on you and destroy you; I can no longer
show compassion. 7 I will winnow them with a winnowing fork at the city gates of the land.
I will bring bereavement and destruction on my people, for they have not changed their
ways. ...11 The LORD said, "Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose; surely I
will make your enemies plead with you in times of disaster and times of distress. 12
"Can a man break iron-- iron from the north--or bronze? 13 Your wealth and your
treasures I will give as plunder, without charge, because of all your sins throughout your
country. 14 I will enslave you to your enemies in a land you do not know, for my anger
will kindle a fire that will burn against you." ... 19 Therefore this is what
the LORD says: "If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter
worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but
you must not turn to them. ...
Leviticus 26:1 "`Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for
yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the
LORD your God. 2 "`Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the
LORD. 3 "`If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, 4 I will send
you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field
their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will
continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your
land. 6 "`I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make
you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through
your country. 7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you.
8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your
enemies will fall by the sword before you. 9 "`I will look on you with favor and make
you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. 10 You will
still be eating last year's harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the
new. 11 I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. 12 I will walk
among you and be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who
brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke
the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high. 14
"`But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, 15 and if you
reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate
my covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting
diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and drain away your life. You will plant
seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. 17 I will set my face against you so that
you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will
flee even when no one is pursuing you. 18 "`If after all this you will not listen to
me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. 19 I will break down your stubborn
pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.
Isaiah 10:20 In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob,
will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy
One of Israel. 21 A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God.
22 Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand by the sea, only a remnant will return.
Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous. 23
The Lord, the LORD Almighty, will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land. 24
Therefore, this is what the Lord, the LORD Almighty, says: "O my people who live in
Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians, who beat you with a rod and lift up a club
against you, as Egypt did. 25 Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be
directed to their destruction." 26 The LORD Almighty will lash them with a whip, as
when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb; and he will raise his staff over the
waters, as he did in Egypt. 27 In that day their burden will be lifted from your
shoulders,
Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to
bring against you who live in the land: "There is no faithfulness, no love, no
acknowledgment of God in the land. 2 There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and
adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3 Because of this the
land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of
the air and the fish of the sea are dying. 4 "But let no man bring a charge, let no
man accuse another, for your people are like those who bring charges against a priest. 5
You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your
mother-- 6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected
knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God,
I also will ignore your children. 7 The more the priests increased, the more they sinned
against me; they exchanged their Glory for something disgraceful. 8 They feed on the sins
of my people and relish their wickedness. 9 And it will
be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them
for their deeds.
Hosea 5:1 "Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites! Listen, O royal
house! This judgment is against you: You have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on
Tabor. ... 4 "Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of
prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the LORD. 5
Israel's arrogance testifies against them; the Israelites, even
Ephraim, stumble in their sin; Judah also stumbles with them. 6 When they go with their
flocks and herds to seek the LORD, they will not find him; he has withdrawn himself from
them. 7 They are unfaithful to the LORD;
they give birth to illegitimate children. Now their New Moon festivals will devour them
and their fields.
6:1 "Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal
us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. (prophetically
speaking of Christ hundreds of years before!)3 Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us
press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to
us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth." ... 10
Israel's arrogance testifies against him, but despite all this he does not return to the
LORD his God or search for him. ... 13 Woe to them, because they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem them but they
speak lies against me. 14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail upon their
beds. They gather together for grain and new wine but turn away from me. 15 I trained them
and strengthened them, but they plot evil against me. 16 They do not turn to the Most
High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their
insolent words. For this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt. 8:1 "Put the
trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the LORD because the people have
broken my covenant and rebelled against my law. 2 Israel cries out to me, `O our God, we
acknowledge you!' 3 But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue him.
9:7 The days of punishment are coming, the days of
reckoning are at hand. Let Israel know this. Because your sins are so many and your
hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac. 8
The prophet, along with my God, is the watchman over Ephraim, yet snares await him on all
his paths, and hostility in the house of his God. 9 They have sunk deep into corruption,
as in the days of Gibeah. God will remember their wickedness and punish them for their
sins. 10 "When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw
your fathers, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to
Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the
thing they loved. 11 Ephraim's glory will fly away like a bird-- no birth, no pregnancy,
no conception. 12 Even if they rear children, I will bereave them of every one. Woe to them when I turn away from them!
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