Location and TimesI Kings 9:9 And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.
Grace is never an excuse to sin but rather a call to serve. God had made great promises to Solomon about Israel. He told Solomon that if he would honor God with his life that God would do great things with the country. However if the nation Israel decided to worship other gods and not obey God then they would lose all His blessings.
Israel does end up losing all of God’s blessings. They will be kicked out of their country. The nation will be mocked. All because they decide to take God for granted. They decide that they can have God and other gods as well. They suffer the consequences.
I think sometimes there is a tendency because we understand that God loves us, that we are saved by His grace, to take Him for granted. We think that because He loves us we can just about ignore Him. Our behavior doesn’t affect our salvation, nor does it affect His love for us but sin does have consequences.
If I don’t honor Him then He will not honor me. If I lightly esteem Him then He will lightly esteem my desires and comforts. Sin hurts. If you do not honor God you must know that your disobedience will affect your family. It will affect you. He is good but that doesn’t mean that you can ignore Him or take Him lightly.