What other scriptures warn against turning away from God's commands and covenant? A ripple from Jeremiah 11:9 “The LORD told me, ‘A conspiracy has been discovered among the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.’ ” (Jeremiah 11:9) The “conspiracy” was simple: God’s own people had revolted against His covenant. Scripture rings that same alarm bell in every era. Foundational cautions in the Torah • Deuteronomy 8:19-20 — “If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods… you will surely perish.” • Deuteronomy 28:15 — “If you do not obey the LORD your God… all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.” • Deuteronomy 30:17-18 — “If your heart turns away and you are drawn away… I declare to you today that you will surely perish.” • Deuteronomy 29:18-20 — the stubborn heart “The LORD will never be willing to forgive him; His wrath… will burn against that man.” • Exodus 19:5 pairs the warning with promise: obedience keeps the covenant alive; refusal breaks it. History class: Joshua through Kings • Joshua 23:15-16 — every good promise kept, “so He will bring on you every evil thing… if you violate the covenant.” • 1 Samuel 12:15 — “If you disobey the LORD… His hand will be against you.” • 1 Kings 9:6-7 — turning aside would mean being “cut off” from the land and even the temple rejected. • 2 Kings 17:13-15 — Israel ignored repeated prophetic calls, “rejected His statutes and the covenant,” and exile followed. Prophetic echoes • Isaiah 1:19-20 — “If you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” • Isaiah 5:24 — judgment falls “because they have rejected the law of the LORD.” • Ezekiel 18:24 — the righteous man who turns aside “will die.” • Hosea 6:7 — “Like Adam, they have transgressed the covenant.” • Amos 2:4 — “They have rejected the law of the LORD and have not kept His statutes.” • Zechariah 7:11-12 — ears stopped, hearts like flint, judgment inevitable. Songs and sayings • Psalm 78:10 — “They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by His law.” • Psalm 119:118 — “You reject all who stray from Your statutes.” • Proverbs 28:9 — “Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable.” New-covenant reinforcements • Matthew 7:26-27 — hearing Christ’s words yet not acting ends in a great collapse. • John 15:6 — the branch that does not remain “is thrown away… and burned.” • Hebrews 2:1-3 — “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” • Hebrews 3:12 — beware “a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God.” • Hebrews 10:26-27 — willful sin after knowing the truth leaves “a fearful expectation of judgment.” • 2 Peter 2:20-21 — turning back after escape means being “worse off at the end than at the beginning.” • 1 John 2:3-4 — knowing God is inseparable from keeping His commands. Threading the warnings together From Sinai to the prophets, from the psalmist’s harp to the writers of the New Testament, the message stays consistent: God’s covenant is unbreakable on His side, yet our enjoyment of its blessings is conditioned on faithful obedience. To turn away is to step outside the place of safety and invite the very judgments Jeremiah and so many others foresaw. Staying close to the Word, keeping soft hearts, and walking in daily obedience guard us from repeating Judah’s conspiracy and keep us living in the full light of God’s enduring covenant love. |
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