How foolish are we! The simple command of the Lord is so plain and obviously what we SHOULD do! Further, if the positions are reversed, it is exactly what we demand from others; it is what we cry over when it is lacking, it is even what we SAY we believe... but if we address our hearts honestly, how often are we engaged in living it out by our own actions? What's more, when we are caught violating these principles, we are astoundingly quick to justify ourselves with a rich assortment of ready-made excuses. But the truth of God's Word is that we are simply guilty of refusing to obey what God has commanded... and what is more, we are refusing to do what is actually GOOD for us!! His commands are not burdensome, they are beneficial, they are a blessing! And we deny His rule, His wisdom, His goodness when we deny His instructions. And so, in the hardness of our hearts, (which we have made like flint), in our arrogance, in our foolishness, we stop up our ears and blabber like petulant children so we can pretend that we don't hear Him. And the result is plain, great wrath comes upon us from the hand of the Almighty!! But we refuse to see that also; blaming climate change, politicians, economic pressures, viruses... Oh beloved, it is still not too late! Let us all turn from our sin, seek the face of God in repentance and perhaps He will turn from His anger toward us! Perhaps He will still heal our land, perhaps He might still forgive us!! Let us cease our rebellion and find mercy and restoration in the arms of our God!!