Topical Bible: Judgments: Different Kinds of Continued Sorrows

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In the biblical narrative, judgments often manifest as continued sorrows, serving as divine responses to human disobedience and sin. These judgments are not merely punitive but are intended to lead individuals and nations to repentance and restoration. The Bible provides numerous examples of such judgments, each illustrating the consequences of turning away from God's commandments and the enduring nature of divine justice.

1. Judgment on Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:16-19): The first instance of continued sorrow as a form of judgment is found in the account of Adam and Eve. After their disobedience in the Garden of Eden, God pronounced specific judgments that introduced ongoing hardships into human existence. To the woman, He said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you" (Genesis 3:16). To Adam, God declared, "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground, because out of it were you taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). These judgments introduced a life of toil and pain, reflecting the sorrowful consequences of sin.

2. The Curse on Cain (Genesis 4:11-12): After Cain murdered his brother Abel, God pronounced a judgment that resulted in continued sorrow for Cain. "Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth" (Genesis 4:11-12). This judgment not only affected Cain's ability to cultivate the land but also condemned him to a life of restless wandering, illustrating the enduring nature of divine retribution.

3. The Plagues of Egypt (Exodus 7-12): The plagues that God sent upon Egypt serve as a dramatic example of continued sorrows as judgment. Each plague brought increasing levels of distress and suffering to the Egyptians, culminating in the death of the firstborn. These judgments were designed to compel Pharaoh to release the Israelites from bondage and to demonstrate God's supremacy over the false gods of Egypt. The repeated nature of the plagues underscores the persistent sorrow that accompanies divine judgment when there is a refusal to heed God's commands.

4. The Babylonian Exile (2 Kings 24-25; Jeremiah 25:11): The judgment of exile upon Judah represents a prolonged period of sorrow and suffering. Due to persistent idolatry and disobedience, God allowed the Babylonians to conquer Jerusalem and carry the people into captivity. Jeremiah prophesied, "This whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years" (Jeremiah 25:11). The exile was a time of deep sorrow, as the people were removed from their homeland and the temple was destroyed, yet it also served as a period of purification and eventual restoration.

5. Judgment on Israel's Leaders (Ezekiel 34:1-10): The leaders of Israel faced judgment for their failure to shepherd the people faithfully. God declared through the prophet Ezekiel, "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?" (Ezekiel 34:2). The continued sorrow for these leaders was the loss of their positions and the scattering of the people, highlighting the responsibility of leadership and the consequences of neglecting God's flock.

6. The Final Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15): The ultimate expression of continued sorrow as judgment is found in the eschatological vision of the final judgment. Those whose names are not found in the Book of Life are cast into the lake of fire, experiencing eternal separation from God. This judgment is the culmination of persistent rebellion against God and serves as a sobering reminder of the eternal consequences of sin.

Throughout Scripture, continued sorrows as judgments serve as both a warning and a call to repentance. They reveal the seriousness with which God views sin and the lengths to which He will go to bring His people back to Himself. These judgments underscore the holiness of God and the necessity of aligning one's life with His righteous standards.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Psalm 32:10
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusts in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Psalm 78:32,33
For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Ezekiel 24:23
And your tires shall be on your heads, and your shoes on your feet: you shall not mourn nor weep; but you shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

An Essay on the Scriptural Doctrine of Immortality.
... practices, that of sacrificing animals was continued long after ... kinds of sorrow and
trouble, and different kinds of death ... 13:8, the beginnings of sorrows (odinon ...
/.../an essay on the scriptural.htm

Book Four this is the Story of his Years among the Manicheans. ...
... my God; how unsearchable are the depths of thy judgments! ... feeling had come over me,
quite different from this ... patched me up again with earlier kinds of pleasure ...
/.../augustine/confessions and enchiridion/book four this is the.htm

The Temples and the Gods of Chaldaea
... the remotest parts of the desert, the different kinds of stone ... worshipped under
different names in different localities ... he has matured or the judgments which he ...
/.../chapter iithe temples and the.htm

The Greater Prophets.
... take the form of actions, and are of two kinds: ... of Zion, in connection with God's
awful judgments upon the ... days of Joshua, but upon an entirely different plan. ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter xxii the greater prophets.htm

Period ii. The Church from the Permanent Division of the Empire ...
... profitable. And why are they not profitable to all, except it be because of
the different kinds of lives that men lead in the body? When ...
/.../ayer/a source book for ancient church history/period ii the church from.htm

The Evening of the Third Day in Passion-Week - on the Mount of ...
... silver, gold, and gems, while all kinds of jewels ... combined reports of addresses,
delivered at different times ... these travail-pains' are the judgments on Jerusalem ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter vi the evening of.htm

The Necessity of Diligently Seeking the Saints' Rest.
... How diligent is Satan in all kinds of temptations! ... In his judgments he is serious ...
the godly rejoicing on the right hand, and their different sentences pronounced ...
/.../baxter/the saints everlasting rest/chapter vii the necessity of.htm

Nature of Covenanting.
... than God himself,[15] but there the judgments of God ... Accordingly, all kinds of oaths
are generally promissory. ... with the name of God in different other passages ...
/.../cunningham/the ordinance of covenanting/chapter i nature of covenanting.htm

Of the Necessity of Divine Influences to Produce Regeneration in ...
... to fix a conviction in your judgments and consciences ... as they were appointed for
a very different end ... the reproaches of its enemies, they have continued to this ...
/.../practical discourses on regeneration/discourse vii of the necessity.htm

"And There is None that Calleth Upon Thy Name, that Stirreth up ...
... part of your guiltiness, no, not in kinds, let be ... heart would have gone as many
different ways to ... impossible to awake men, by general judgments, to apprehend ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/sermon xviii and there is.htm