Who Does God Forsake?

By John Duvall In In Remembrance On May 8, 2016

The religious world’s general perception of God is that God does not forsake anyone. Many people believe in the perseverance of the saints. That is to say, once you are saved, then you can never be lost. However, as we will show in this article, the Bible contains warnings about God forsaking certain people.

To begin this study, allow me to bring to your remembrance a covenant which God entered into with the people of Judah. In 2 Chronicles 15, Azariah delivered the following message to king Asa and the nation of Judah:

“. . . Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.  (3)  For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law;  (4)  but when in their trouble they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them.”  (2 Chronicles 15:2-4)

Take notice of the specifics of this covenant. If Judah and Benjamin would seek the Lord, then they would find the Lord. If Judah and Benjamin would forsake the Lord, then the Lord would forsake them. Later in the chapter we find that Judah made the decision to seek the Lord. The writer of 2 Chronicles records the following:

“Then they took an oath before the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns.  (15)  And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around.” (2 Chronicles 15:14-15)

When king Asa and Judah sought the Lord, they were able to find the Lord.  However, if king Asa and Judah had not sought after the Lord, then they would not have found Him.  The Lord would have forsaken king Asa and Judah.

While it may seem harsh to say the Lord would forsake a person, in truth the choice to forsake is on the part of the man who chooses to forsake the Lord. God will not look upon a faithful follower and forsake that person. Throughout Bible history, God did not forsake His faithful followers, those who loved Him and faithfully served Him. The decision to depart has always been on the part of man. Consider a couple of examples showing this truth.

1. God told Moses that the Israelites would “rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land.” The Lord God said the people would forsake Him and break His covenant which He had made with them. (Deuteronomy 31:16)
2. Joshua warned the people, saying, “If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.” (Joshua 24:20)
3. King David warned his son, Solomon, saying, “If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)
4. The Lord God charged Israel, saying, “But you are those who forsake the Lord, who forget My holy mountain, who prepare a table for Gad, and who furnish a drink offering for Meni.” (Isaiah 51:11)
5. The Lord God charged Judah with the same sin, saying, “O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be ashamed. ‘Those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.’” (Jeremiah 17:13)

God will never forsake the one who has found Him. God remains constant and true. Go to God and He will never leave you. The secret to remaining in faithful fellowship with God is to stay in His presence. You must stand by Him in order to be near to Him. The time in your life when the Lord no longer stands by your side is when you walk away from Him. The apostle John reinforced this truth by writing the following:

“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  (6)  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  (7)  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”  (1 John 1:5-7)

Who will God forsake? God only forsakes those who forsake Him. As long as you seek the Lord with all your heart and soul, you will find the Lord and will stand by His side. He will never leave you nor forsake you. However, if you forsake the Lord, walking away into sin, then He will forsake you and you will stand alone.