What does the Bible say about forsaking god?
Bible Topic · WEB
The Bible teaches that forsaking God is a grave act of covenant unfaithfulness that brings righteous judgment, yet it also calls sinners to repent and return to the Lord. Israel repeatedly abandoned God for idols and foreign gods, as 1 Samuel 8:8 and 1 Kings 11:33 recount. Deuteronomy 28:20 and Deuteronomy 29:25 warn that rebellion brings curse and desolation because God’s people have forsaken his covenant. The prophets mourn this departure: Jeremiah 15:6 declares that Judah had rejected the Lord, while 2 Chronicles 29:6 confesses the fathers’ unfaithfulness. Yet God’s judgments are not arbitrary; they expose sin and summon his people back to wholehearted worship, trusting his mercy through the promised Redeemer.
Study outline
Curated topical outlines from classic public-domain study works.
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- Idolaters guilty of 1 Samuel 8:8; 1 Kings 11:33
- The wicked guilty of Deuteronomy 28:20
- Backsliders guilty of Jeremiah 15:6
- Is forsaking
- His house 2 Chronicles 29:6
- His covenant Deuteronomy 29:25; 1 Kings 19:10; Jeremiah 22:9; Daniel 11:30
- His commandments Ezra 9:10
- The right way 2 Peter 2:15
- Trusting in man is Jeremiah 17:5
- Leads men to follow their own devices Jeremiah 2:13
- Prosperity tempts to Deuteronomy 31:20; Deuteronomy 32:15
- Wickedness of Jeremiah 2:13; Jeremiah 5:7
- Unreasonableness and ingratitude of Jeremiah 2:5; Jeremiah 2:6
- Brings confusion Jeremiah 17:13
- Followed by remorse Ezekiel 6:9
- Brings down his wrath Ezra 8:22
- Provokes God to forsake men Judges 10:13; 2 Chronicles 15:2; 2 Chronicles 24:20; 2 Chronicles 24:24
- Resolve against Joshua 24:16; Nehemiah 10:29-39
- Curse pronounced upon Jeremiah 17:5
- Sin of, to be confessed Ezra 9:10
- Warnings against Joshua 24:20; 1 Chronicles 28:9
- Punishment of Deuteronomy 28:20; 2 Kings 22:16; 2 Kings 22:17; Isaiah 1:28; Jeremiah 1:16; Jeremiah 5:19
- Exemplified
- Children of Israel 1 Samuel 12:10
- Saul 1 Samuel 15:11
- Ahab 1 Kings 18:18
- Amon 2 Kings 21:22
- Kingdom of Judah 2 Chronicles 12:1; 2 Chronicles 12:5; 2 Chronicles 21:10; Isaiah 1:4; Jeremiah 15:6
- Kingdom of Israel 2 Chronicles 13:11; 2 Kings 17:7-18
- Many disciples John 6:66
- Phygellus, & c 2 Timothy 1:15
- Balaam 2 Peter 2:15
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