Thought from today’s Bible reading from 2 Chronicles 27; Isaiah 9-12.
“For those who guide this people are leading them astray; and those who are guided by them are brought to confusion. Therefore the Lord does not take pleasure in their young men, nor does He have pity on their orphans or their widows; for every one of them is godless and an evildoer, and every mouth is speaking foolishness. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away and His hand is still stretched out” (Isaiah 9:16-17).
God’s people were in a wicked and sinful condition. The Lord indicted the spiritual leaders of the people as being the ones who led them astray. The Scriptures show us repeatedly that those who teach and those who hold positions of leadership will be held accountable, not only for their own sins, but for how they have influenced others (Ezekiel 3:17-21; Hebrews 13:17; James 3:1). These leaders had led God’s people into apostasy and would have to answer to Him for it.
Yet God did not absolve the people from responsibility. Having been deceived by those who ought to have been teaching and leading them in the truth did not excuse their own wickedness. They would be punished by God as well because they were godless and practiced evil (Isaiah 9:17).
We need to take this as a warning. If God finds that we have failed to follow Him according to His standard, we are not going to be able to blame those who led us astray. They will certainly answer for their own sins, but we will answer for ours as well. Therefore, “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting” (2 John 10). Paul told the brethren in Thessalonica, “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). Their neighbors, the Bereans, did this and were commended for it: “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11).
Be careful what you listen to and what you accept. Your soul is too important for you to blindly trust in man. Study the Scriptures, find out what God has revealed, believe it, and obey it.
Tomorrow’s reading: Micah 1-7
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
