GOD'S DISCIPLINE AND THE REASONS FOR IT 1

5 WITH MY [God] GREAT STRENGTH AND POWERFUL ARM I MADE THE EARTH and ALL ITS PEOPLE and EVERY ANIMAL. I CAN GIVE THESE THINGS OF MINE TO ANYONE I CHOOSE.
6 NOW I will GIVE your COUNTRIES to King NEBUCHADNEZZAR of BABYLON, WHO IS MY SERVANT. I HAVE PUT EVERYTHING, even the wild animals, UNDER HIS CONTROL."
Jeremiah 27:5,6 (NLT)

• God has control over every creature. He is Supreme. He does as He Wills.

• God raised Nebuchadnezzar to discipline or punish the Israelites because of their Sins.
• God can use the unrighteous one to discipline His child, a believer, the righteous one who went astray—disobeyed His Word.
• The Israelites were warned severally by God. He sent prophets to them but they did not change their ways:
  "I HAVE ALSO SENT TO YOU ALL MY SERVANTS THE PROPHETS, RISING UP EARLY AND SENDING THEM, saying, ‘TURN NOW EVERYONE FROM HIS EVIL WAY, AMEND YOUR DOINGS, and DO NOT GO AFTER OTHER GODS TO SERVE THEM; then you will dwell in the land which I have given you and your fathers.’ BUT YOU HAVE NOT INCLINED YOUR EAR, NOR OBEYED ME" (Jeremiah 35:15 NKJV).
  READ: Jeremiah 29:13; 32:33; 44:4
• God's patience or forbearance and long-suffering was being taken for granted by the Israelites (Romans 2:4,5). His patience should not be taken for a weakness, He is only being slow in Anger (Psalm 103:8; 145:8).

• Why would God need to use the wicked to correct or discipline or judge His children who rebelled or strayed from Him?: "YOU ARE OF PURER EYES THAN TO BEHOLD EVIL, AND CANNOT LOOK ON WICKEDNESS. WHY DO YOU LOOK ON THOSE WHO DEAL TREACHEROUSLY, AND HOLD YOUR TONGUE WHEN THE WICKED DEVOURS A PERSON MORE RIGHTEOUS THAN HE?" (Habakkuk 1:13 NKJV).

• Since Evil are not found in God, all He needed to do is to withdraw His presence from a believer who rebelled against Him, and that automatically gives the devil a chance or an opportunity which he had been looking for.
• Whatever a child of God, a believer, did wrongly gives the devil a chance or an opportunity to rob or afflict him or her.
• When it is said that God would punish or discipline, It means He would deny a disobedient child of His, things of values which could not be gotten without God:
  His presences, protections, provisions, substances, peace or whatever.
• The Israelites could not stand before their enemies, He permitted the heathen to invade their land and cause the enemies to prevail over them.
• If you are being run over, oppressed, afflicted, or at the mercy of the wicked people, without any reason for their deeds; It means you had disobeyed God, He is no longer on your side—He is angry with you.
• God did allow Nebuchadnezzar to evacuate, take captive the Israelites and remove them from their land. Nebuchadnezzar was the rod or Cane which God used in disciplining them, and express His Anger. God employed his, Nebuchadnezzar's, services to perform or carry out His threat, or express His Anger, so to speak.

• The first step in the discipline was, the Israelites should submit to Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, and If they did not, they would suffer—be punished:
6 NOW I WILL GIVE YOUR COUNTRIES TO KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR OF BABYLON, WHO IS MY SERVANT. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control. 7 All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his time is up. Then many nations and great kings will conquer and rule over Babylon. 8 SO YOU MUST SUBMIT TO BABYLON'S KING AND SERVE HIM; PUT YOUR NECK UNDER BABYLON'S YOKE! I WILL PUNISH ANY NATION THAT REFUSES TO BE HIS SLAVE, SAYS THE LORD. I [God] WILL SEND WAR, famine, and disease upon that nation UNTIL BABYLON HAS CONQUERED IT" (Jeremiah 27:6-8 NLT).

• Someone says God is a military and He rules by decrees. And the term is, obey first before you complain. That is If God said to do a thing, even If what He said to do is not logical, you obey first before you say anything.
  YOU do not complain and be giving the reasons or excuses why what said to be done could not be done or achieved. If He said it, you go ahead and do it.

• The instruction to the Israelites was to put their neck under the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, and whoever would not do it would be punished (Jeremiah 27:8).

• If you obeyed first, you can later approach God to plead and tell Him whatever you had to say. This must be after you had obeyed, submitted to His Will.
• Possibly If the Israelites obeyed the terms of the discipline or punishment God meted out to them, they might not have been taken away or out of their land. That is, all the discipline or punishment would have been carried out in their land—the land of Judah.
  IT was when they disobeyed, when they submitted not to the Babylonian king, that they had to be taken away from their land.

• If you offended God, did contrary to His Word or Will, His discipline usually starts with an instruction given to you to do something which you might consider demeaning or denigratory—hurt your pride or bring low your egos.

• So It was to the Israelites, when God said they should put their neck under the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar the Babylonian king, an idolater; How could God say that? (Jeremiah 27:8; Habakkuk 1:13).
• If God instructed you to do a demeaning thing, degrading or humiliating thing, know that He is a just God, He must have seen a wrong thing in what you are doing, or your life, and wanted to correct you.
• If you submissively obeyed, in the process of being under the yoke, or discipline, you would see or discover your wrong or mistake, where you had missed It—because God does not chastise or discipline unjustly. Then, you would be able to repent and approach God and ask for His mercy and forgiveness.

• You will not fail in Jesus' name.

• Whatever the ailment in your body is rebuked and uprooted in Jesus' name.
• You will live in health as from now onwards in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
  Peace!
  TO BE CONTINUED

STEPS TO SALVATION
• Take notice of this:
IF you are yet to take the step of salvation, that is, yet to be born-again, do it now, tomorrow might be too late (2 Corinthians 6:1,2; Hebrews 3:7,8,15).
a. Acknowledge that you are a sinner and confess your Sins (1 John 1:9); And ask Jesus Christ to come into your life (Revelation 3:20).
b. Confess that you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that you confess it with your mouth, Thus, you accept Him As your Lord and Saviour (Romans 10:9,10).
c. Ask that He will write your name in the Book of Life (Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:8).

• If you took the steps As highlighted above, It means you are saved—born-again. Join a Word based church in your area and Town or city, and be part of whatever they are doing there. Peace!