Allies....
Jeremiah 2:31-37 "You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord:
"Have I been a desert to Israel
or a land of great darkness?
Why do my people say, 'We are free to roam;
we will come to you no more'?
[32] Does a maiden forget her jewellery,
a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten me,
days without number.
[33] How skilled you are at pursuing love!
Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.
[34] On your clothes men find
the lifeblood of the innocent poor,
though you did not catch them breaking in.
Yet in spite of all this
[35] you say, 'I am innocent;
he is not angry with me.'
But I will pass judgment on you
because you say, 'I have not sinned.'
[36] Why do you go about so much,
changing your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt
as you were by Assyria.
[37] You will also leave that place
with your hands on your head,
for the Lord has rejected those you trust;
you will not be helped by them.
Reading these words I can feel the sadness in God’s heart as he acts. The story of the Jews since they inherited the Promised Land was one of slow religious decline. There were periods of economic prosperity and religious revival, but more often than not the trend was downwards. God’s people had been called to be different from the other nations around them, to live under the protection and guidance of the Lord, and by doing so to point the nations towards the Father. But they had failed to do so, their dependence on him waned and they began to trust in politics – while their enemies, in Jeremiah’s time the Babylonians, came against them, instead of trusting in the Lord they made alliances with the nations around them, the once mighty Assyria and the declining Egypt. God’s word here is that these alliances would fail and that the Jews would be defeated and enslaved. And God, as a punishment for their disobedience would allow this to happen….
I wonder about the Church. It too has been called into obedience to, and dependence on God, all to point people around them to Jesus. But I think the message of Jeremiah to us would be this – be careful what plans and alliances you make. Watch out that you are not becoming proud, or entering into rebellion by following your own wisdom, not the Lord’s. Do not lust after acceptance from the communities you are part of, but long to live prophetically for Jesus. This is your calling.
"Have I been a desert to Israel
or a land of great darkness?
Why do my people say, 'We are free to roam;
we will come to you no more'?
[32] Does a maiden forget her jewellery,
a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten me,
days without number.
[33] How skilled you are at pursuing love!
Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.
[34] On your clothes men find
the lifeblood of the innocent poor,
though you did not catch them breaking in.
Yet in spite of all this
[35] you say, 'I am innocent;
he is not angry with me.'
But I will pass judgment on you
because you say, 'I have not sinned.'
[36] Why do you go about so much,
changing your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt
as you were by Assyria.
[37] You will also leave that place
with your hands on your head,
for the Lord has rejected those you trust;
you will not be helped by them.
Reading these words I can feel the sadness in God’s heart as he acts. The story of the Jews since they inherited the Promised Land was one of slow religious decline. There were periods of economic prosperity and religious revival, but more often than not the trend was downwards. God’s people had been called to be different from the other nations around them, to live under the protection and guidance of the Lord, and by doing so to point the nations towards the Father. But they had failed to do so, their dependence on him waned and they began to trust in politics – while their enemies, in Jeremiah’s time the Babylonians, came against them, instead of trusting in the Lord they made alliances with the nations around them, the once mighty Assyria and the declining Egypt. God’s word here is that these alliances would fail and that the Jews would be defeated and enslaved. And God, as a punishment for their disobedience would allow this to happen….
I wonder about the Church. It too has been called into obedience to, and dependence on God, all to point people around them to Jesus. But I think the message of Jeremiah to us would be this – be careful what plans and alliances you make. Watch out that you are not becoming proud, or entering into rebellion by following your own wisdom, not the Lord’s. Do not lust after acceptance from the communities you are part of, but long to live prophetically for Jesus. This is your calling.
posted by Gordon at
8:20 am
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