“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be earnest and repent”, the Lord is speaking in Rev. 3:19, and, too, in Deut. 5:7 “You shall have no other gods before me” .
Jesus answered the Pharisee lawyer who asked what was the greatest commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. This is the first and greatest commandment, and the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself” Matthew 22:37-40.

For thousands of years God has tried to get mankind to be faithful to do His will. God would be merciful and forgiving to us; we would repent and be faithful for a while then turn right back to our old sinful and idolatrous ways of worshiping idols. We, mankind, allowed images carved from wood to take the place of the one true God. Calves molded from gold and silver took the place of God. Chastisements made only a temporary improvement.

God used severe judgments such as allowing the earth to give way under thousands of people, and using pagan nations to take His people into exile.
Human nature hasn’t changed. While our idols today are different from those in past centuries, they are just as dangerous and abhorrent to God.

We replaced (and replace) God with our idols of money, power, possessions, entertainment and other transient things. We have taken God out of the schools and homes. Church attendance has steadily declined for decades. Children are disrespectful to their parents. Drunk drivers are killing people on the highways. Leaders who should set examples for others quarrel like undisciplined children, call each other bad names and say bad about each other. We kill millions of unborn babies. Scammers and con artists are stealing money especially from older people. We may not be getting any more chastisement than we deserve!

We often experience chastisement because God loves us, so a scourge that blankets the world should make us sit up and take notice as to where we will be in 150 years, or so, from today. Jesus said, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life” John 6:57. Think About It!