What is a person to do?

 Jeremiah 14:1-12

What is a person to do when the wisdom of that generation is exposed to be foolishness when the Lord speaks these words to His messenger: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. When they fast, I am not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them. Rather I am going to make an end of them by the sword, famine, and pestilence.”  (Jeremiah 14:11-12)

Who is the Lord speaking about, is it not the people of Judah?  The envoy is the prophet, Jeremiah.  The timeline is between 626 B.C. and 586 B.C.  I’m not sure those of us who had the city turn off the water in our neighborhood for maintenance and we are without water for half a day, have any understanding of what is happening in the nation of Judah.  The well is dry, the cisterns are empty, the rain has not come for months, and there is no water to be found in the land.  Not only are the people and the livestock dying of thirst, but also all of the wildlife.

When an individual or nation come to grips with their act of rebellion or the reason disaster has come, they, like Judah have come to this point they begin with a confession to the god they trust in, to whom they have rebelled.  But Judah is different they confess to “Yahweh” the God they know, the God who they have entered into a Covenant with, the God who has called them His chosen people.  They come with full disclosure; we have sinned and broken your commands, but now in this judgment, they are concerned that God’s name will be brought low in the minds of the people of the earth.  So they are asking God to act for the sake of His reputation and honor.  They are telling God that He is treating them the same as a traveler who is passing through the land, as a foreigner. 

What happens when God has had it with a nation, with people who are His chosen and yet they are not thankful, nor are they willing to put away the little gods they have run to.  I believe verse 10 has the answer: “Thus says the Lord to this people, “Even so they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check. Therefore the Lord does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity and call their sins to account.”  It is big trouble because God cannot be swayed by our ritual and not only is there no water in the land and the sword, famine, and plagues have been released by God to this rebellious people.

My prayer is that the people, the chosen, the body of Christ, His church will hear the words of verses 10-12.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice