Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will set My face to bring disaster and to cut off all Judah. And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have resolved to go to the land of Egypt to reside there; they will meet their end. They will all fall by the sword or be consumed by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine; and they will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and reproach. vs11-12

He that believes on the Son will be saved, and everyone else will be damned. God’s given us an “OR ELSE” gospel! We believe, or else we’ll be destroyed. It is not all sweets: there is wrath to come.

First, people think God is a plaything, and He can be dishonored. There is no fear of the Lord that keeps them close to Christ! They walk in unbelief with seeming impunity, because God doesn’t strike them down, but He fattens them for the slaughter.

“Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.” [Eccl 8:11-13]

If you will not be corrected, then you must perish! If there is no repentance, then there will be death.

God gave the Jews who fled to Egypt every opportunity to do what is right [Jer 42]. Jeremiah warned them, and He sent them promises. But, in their haughtiness and UTTER CONTEMPT of God, they called Him a liar, dared His wrath, and provoked His fury.

When Jeremiah had finished telling all the people all the words of the LORD their God—everything that the LORD had sent him to say— Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to reside there.’ [Jer 43:1-2]

They did the opposite of what God says, which is what we do, if we do not believe the gospel: We despise the gift of His Son and the gift of eternal life [1 John 5:10-11]!

How could this be? Man is blind, deceived by Satan, and it takes sovereign grace to bring him out.

Secondly, if you are saved, look at what He saved you from: unbelief! It was not you yourself; it was God in the incalculable richness of His mercy! It was God shining on you!

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. [2 Cor 4:6]

Paul is on his way to kill Christians, when he’s stopped by our Lord Jesus Christ. He’s shown mercy, not because he sought it or deserved it, but because Christ DECIDED to give it to him before time began! He delivers us because of His own purpose of grace. God did not look into time to learn anything, but He appointed us to heavenly bliss, sent the Son to die, and then conquered us by the Spirit. He made us trophies of His grace, because He would do us good out of His own heart! There was no merit and no difference in us at all.

Let us praise Him and receive these gifts of grace; let us acknowledge that all is of God.

Thirdly, since salvation is of the Lord, all that you’ll ever need is freely given: There’s not one aspect of salvation that must be bought, but it’s all grace through diligence!

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;” [2 Pet 1:5]

Diligence says, “I’ll seek Him, and I’ll labor, but I have no merit of my own: I’ll use the power of the Spirit, which He gives. I’ll use grace to get grace, and I’ll rely on Christ. I’ll overcome and be more than a conqueror through His love! I’ll do exploits because of Him!”