What other scriptures warn against the consequences of rejecting God's commands? The Backdrop: 2 Kings 17:20 “So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel; He afflicted them and delivered them into the hands of plunderers, until He had cast them from His presence.” Israel’s exile is the living illustration of a principle woven through the entire Bible: persistent disobedience invites God’s judgment. Scripture repeats that warning in every era and genre. Echoes in the Law • Leviticus 26:14, 17 — “But if you will not listen to Me and carry out all these commands… I will set My face against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies.” • Deuteronomy 28:15, 20, 63 — “If you do not obey the LORD your God… all these curses will come upon you… The LORD will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke… He will be glad to cause you to perish and be destroyed.” • Numbers 14:22-23 — after Israel’s unbelief at Kadesh, God says none of that generation “will see the land that I swore to give.” Prophetic Voices Sounding the Alarm • Isaiah 1:20 — “But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” • Jeremiah 7:13-15 — “Because you have done all these things… I will cast you out of My presence, just as I have cast out all your brothers.” • Ezekiel 18:24 — “If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity… none of his righteous acts will be remembered.” • Hosea 4:6 — “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you.” • Zechariah 7:11-13 — “They made their hearts like flint… Therefore, just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen.” Wisdom Literature Weighs In • Proverbs 1:24-31 — “Because you rejected my call… they will eat the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices.” • Psalm 81:11-12 — “But My people would not listen… So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.” New Testament Confirmation • John 12:48 — “The one who rejects Me and does not receive My words has a judge; the word I have spoken will judge him on the last day.” • Acts 3:22-23 — those who will not listen to the promised Prophet “shall be completely cut off from the people.” • Hebrews 2:1-3 — “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” • Hebrews 10:26-27, 31 — “If we deliberately keep on sinning… only a fearful expectation of judgment… It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” • 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 — the Lord will deal “out retribution to those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel… These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction.” Takeaway: One Consistent Warning From the Torah to the Prophets, from Wisdom books to the New Testament, God speaks with one voice: rejecting His commands invites real, measurable consequences—loss of blessing, exile, even eternal separation. The mercy He offers is just as real, but it is never a license to ignore His word. |
    |