To ignore Him is reckless

Jeremiah 2:29-37

Verse twenty-nine sets the stage for God’s case against Judah, “Why do you contend with me?  You have all transgressed against me, declares the Lord.”  Often I wonder, am I foolish to believe I can win a debate with my Creator?  To resist Him is not smart, to ignore Him is reckless, and yet I often do, and the results never favor me.  If you have these tendencies, wisdom will reveal where that led Judah, and that God has not changed, nor will He.

He tells Judah, “In vain have I struck your children; they took no correction; your sword devoured your prophets like a ravenous lion.”  One would hope that one’s child would be of great value and they would no longer contend with the Lord, but walk in submission to all that He has made clear to them.  But Judah and Israel were in total rebellion.  It seemed as if they, like us in the West have given God a divorce degree, and think about this as you read verses 31-32, “And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord.  Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of thick darkness?  Why then do my people say, ‘We are free, we will come no more to you’?  Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire?”  When it comes to God’s favor, it seems we have a short memory, had God not been the light that led Israel out of Egypt.  Was he not the God who parted the Red Sea, and the one who provided for all their needs, and the God who not only promised a different land was flowing with milk and honey, but He made sure they had a house to live in that they had not worked for or built?  That is the God they are contending with.

Now you and I would never be that foolish, would we?  It seems by observing our culture we like them are playing the whore, chasing after everything but God.

The Lord is clear that Israel and Judah have forgotten the covenants they have entered into and have become disgraceful in chasing after the desire of a heart that only wants the things of the flesh.  But they also have ignored the poor, and the poor are very dear to the heart of the Father, but when confronted by God’s spokesman they claimed to be innocent.  Often it seems the Church is doing the same and has turned over the responsibility to the State, could this be why the Church seems to have no authority?  You and I would be very wise to read and reread verse thirty-five, “you say, ‘I am innocent; surely his anger has turned from me.’  Behold, I will bring you to judgment for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’  Are we the church under judgment?  For the Scripture states in 1 Peter 4:7, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

Judah looked to Egypt for help against Assyria when they believed Assyria weakened by revolution, but it backfired on them, in that they looked to man and not to God.  What a lesson!  Come, Lord Jesus, rescue us from the foolishness of our desires that are based on what we can do.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice