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    Consequences can be a tragic thing. The description of Israel after the death of Joshua and the elders of Israel leads us to the consequences that resulted from their sin: God would no longer be with them in their almost continuous fight against their neighbors for possession of the Promised Land.
    Yet, we know that all things work together for those who are in God, and that promise was just as true then as now. For the Israelites, it meant waiting hundreds of years until David became king, establishing the line that would eventually defeat Israel’s enemies of that day and establish the family line from which the Christ would come.
    For us, that promise means that sin is followed by repentance and that the consequences of sin for those who are under Grace are another opportunity to witness to God’s love through our lives. This promise is not a blanket license to sin, but rather a reminder that even in sin, God’s promise of Grace is not derailed. Because we have this promise, we can repent of our sin confident that we remain in God’s love and that His grace will continue to be revealed to us.
DLH
