Stubborn resistance to God’s plan always leads to destruction. There can’t b an example more clear than what we read today.
So, having read this passage my emotions have taken a roller coaster ride. Unlike Jeremiah, I really believed that the people were serious when they said “we will do whatever God asks us to do”. To then read how they went back on their word and openly defied God publically is really depressing.
When I was younger I wanted a dog. My brother and I promised that we would feed the dog every day, and make sure he had water, etc. You already know what happened, right? Shortly after we got the dog, our enthusiasm waned and we quit taking care of it. It wasn’t too long after that the dog was gone. I think we cried and pleaded….but it didn’t do any good; we had brought the consequences down on ourselves.
Reading about the people of Judah reminds me of my promise to care for the dog. And it reminds me of the parable of the soils….where one seed came up quickly but then died when it had no root system. Promises are easy to make, and harder to keep…so don’t run around making lots of promises about what you are going to do. Don’t carelessly take a vow before the Lord..because He will expect you to keep your vow…and will be upset with you if you break it, even if the activity isn’t sinful. Does this mean that we shouldn’t promise to do things for God? No. But when you promise, make sure you keep it. Judah made promises they had no intentions of keeping…for the life of me I can’t understand why they even wanted Jeremiah to inquire…they had already made up their mind.
The action of the people is the pinnacle of sin. They deny the power and promises of God Himself. They say aloud “we will worship the Queen of Heaven because she can do what God cannot.” This is an outrageous and audacious claim, certainly meant to be taken as a deliberate change in religions. That God’s chosen people could sink so far into sin that they rejected him outright is incredible. Even reading what they said scares me, I don’t think I would ever repeat it aloud, or make it my testimony.
What lesson can I derive from today’s reading? Well, first I decide to never go down the road these people did. I genuinely want to follow God wherever he leads. Sure, I may get that wrong from time to time, but I decide each day that I am going to be completely surrendered to His will for me, whatever that is…even if it means death. Secondly, I decide that I will listen to the godly counsel of those who have a proven history of speaking the truth. I’m not sure if we have “prophets” in the Old Testament sense anymore, but we certainly have teachers and preachers whom God uses to call us to a deeper relationship, beginning with repentance. I want to listen objectively and openly to those voices and allow God to speak deep into my life. That means I will have to do some research into each person I listen to….I don’t want to allow someone who is often “getting it wrong” to speak with authority to me about my spiritual direction. Tagging onto that, I think that I should not allow social media or non-christian friends to choose my path for me.
The consequences of drifting and rejecting Christ have serious consequences, and require serious spiritual attention and preparation.
Faithfully,
PR