God Let's You Do What You Want To Do, BUT...

We've been using the book of Jeremiah to uncover part of God's character and learn how God deals with nations. When does He bless nations and when does he curse (withdraw blessings) nations.

Does God force people to behave in a certain way? Is Christianity a religion of compulsion, that forces people to live and behave a certain way? About 2,500 years ago Babylon had conquered Israel, leaving just a remnant of the Jewish population behind. Those Jews started worshipping the Queen of Heaven, a pagan god. They refused to stop disobeying the LORD God and continued to worship the Queen of Heaven. So this is what God said:

"You and your wives have said that you will never give up your devotion and sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven, and you have proved it by your actions. Then go ahead and carry our your promises and vows to her!" - Jeremiah 44:25

If you choose to turn your back on God... if you refuse to obey God... he let's you do that. It's your choice to make and you may do as you wish. BUT, there are consequences both to you as an individual and to a nation that turns its back on God. The consequence for a nation is that God withdraws His blessing, and that brings disaster. In the case of the Jews God spoke to in Jeremiah 44:25 the consequences included "war and famine until all of you are dead." (Jeremiah 44:27)

In America today we are turning our backs on God both individually and as a nation. Individually, after our death, we all will stand before God to be judged. If you have disobeyed God in any way, the penalty is death (hell). As a nation the consequences don't come after the death of that nation, they are more immediate and may result in the death of the nation.