And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
The verse is a sure warning that if Israel still would not listen to God and keep His commandments after earlier punishment, He would punish them seven times more for their sins. It belongs to His covenant in which obedience brings rain in season, fruitful land, safety and His presence, while disregard of His requirements brings the opposite. It makes every difference to a people whether they are obedient or disobedient to the law of Jehovah.
The increased punishment breaks the pride of power and brings wasted labor and crop failure, with heaven as iron and earth as brass, the land yielding no increase and the trees yielding no fruit. With it come terror, wasting disease and sorrow of heart, sown seed eaten by enemies, and strength spent in vain. God sets His face against the disobedient, so there is defeat and death by enemies, rule by those who hate them, and fleeing when no one pursues.
In one application, failure to use entrusted means for God's glory brings this warning to bear through God scattering withheld wealth by losses such as crops or livestock. The warning applies to God's people today, where greater light brings greater responsibility, and disobedience can lead to God withdrawing prosperity and Satan taking control of the mind. The chapter is to be read for instruction as a call for hearts open to God's Word and for brotherly love shown in practical self-denial, including helping a brother support himself, with those who refuse this duty facing similar need themselves.
The verse is a sure warning that if Israel still would not listen to God and keep His commandments after earlier punishment, He would punish them seven times more for their sins. It belongs to His covenant in which obedience brings rain in season, fruitful land, safety and His presence, while disregard of His requirements brings the opposite. It makes every difference to a people whether they are obedient or disobedient to the law of Jehovah.
The increased punishment breaks the pride of power and brings wasted labor and crop failure, with heaven as iron and earth as brass, the land yielding no increase and the trees yielding no fruit. With it come terror, wasting disease and sorrow of heart, sown seed eaten by enemies, and strength spent in vain. God sets His face against the disobedient, so there is defeat and death by enemies, rule by those who hate them, and fleeing when no one pursues.
In one application, failure to use entrusted means for God's glory brings this warning to bear through God scattering withheld wealth by losses such as crops or livestock. The warning applies to God's people today, where greater light brings greater responsibility, and disobedience can lead to God withdrawing prosperity and Satan taking control of the mind. The chapter is to be read for instruction as a call for hearts open to God's Word and for brotherly love shown in practical self-denial, including helping a brother support himself, with those who refuse this duty facing similar need themselves.