There Will Be Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth

# 76 – Today's Du-votional comes from 1Sa 5:10-12, “Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. So it was, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, "They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people!" 11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people." For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 12 And the men who did not die were stricken with the tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven. (1 Sam 5:10-12) Pity the poor people of Ekron. Death and destruction has followed the ark of the covenant wherever it has gone, and now it's coming to their town. The people had no vote in the matter, no say. Suddenly it shows up in town and the “hand of God was very heavy there.” Death and destruction overwhelms the city. The cries of the inflicted, the wailing of the widows reaches up to the sky! One of the gravest misconceptions about God in our culture today is that He is nothing but love and mercy. People forget that He is also holy and just. Being holy, He cannot tolerate sin. Our dilemma of course is that we are all sinners, We all deserve the heavy hand of God. What to do? In His mercy and love God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins, and all who turn to Him and trust in Him, have their sins forgiven. But those who do not trust in Jesus will inherit the lot of the cities of the Philistines. Death and destruction. And on that Last Day, there will be no “sending away” the presence of God. Those who rejected Jesus will cry for the very rocks to fall on them rather than meet the holy gaze of Christ. Jesus tells us how it will be in Mt 13:41,42, "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 "and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Heed His warning from Lu 13:3b, “unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”