When people grow up and have kids of their own, they often, at the height of frustration, end up repeating the words of their parents. Words they swore they would never say:

“Don’t make me stop this car!”

“How many times do I have to tell you?”

“I’ll give you something to cry about!”

Perhaps the worst line we never thought we’d say as parents, but eventually do is:

“Because I said so!”

As our spiritual Father, God can get as frustrated as human parents do when His children refuse to listen. But unlike human parents who sometimes don’t back up their authority with action, God can say, “Because I said so!” and mean it.

The effectiveness in any parent shows up when a child believes in the consequences of misbehavior as much as he or she believes in the fullness of their parents’ love.

Isaiah 34 paints a picture of a parent “reading the riot act” to a disrespectful, disobedient, delinquent child. The parent is God, and the child are the wayward nations who refuse to act with honor and decency toward Him and toward those who follow Him.

When God promises a consequence or blessing, He means what he says. What He says, He will do.