God and Responsibility for "Bad Stuff"

There is a somewhat stunning acceptance of responsibility on the part of God in Ezekiel 5.16,17. He will bring about a lack of food and water for his own people! They will rot away because of their punishment. God brings this upon his people for their unwillingness to follow him and his commands.

This is a sobering truth, but one that we find again and again in the Scriptures. Like a good shepherd, God will keep his people close to him, even if that means he must humble them through difficulty to do so. Staying close to God does not mean that our lives will escape difficulty; it does, however, mean that our difficulties will not come because of our disobedience, and that is a good thing.