Friday, July 27, 2012 - Jeremiah 5:14-6:30

Friday, July 27, 2012
Jeremiah 5:14-6:30

God is going to punish Israel and Judah through the nation of Babylon.
But why? Steve Edwards spoke at length in yesterday's blog about the
sin of spiritual adultery as reason. Today's passage confirms this sin
as well; "As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your own
land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own"
(Jeremiah 6:19). In addition, Israel and Judah had many other sins,
which I've listed below (not exhaustive), from today's reading:

1) Among my people are the wicked who lie in wait like men who snare
birds and like those who set traps to catch people. (Jeremiah 5:26)
2) Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they
have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek. (Jeremiah
5:27)
3) Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not seek justice. They do
not promote the case of the fatherless; they do not defend the just
cause of the poor. (Jeremiah 5:28)
4) The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own
authority, and my people love it this way. (Jeremiah 5:31)
5) As a well pours out its water, so she pours out her wickedness.
Violence and destruction resound in her; her sickness and wounds are
ever before me. (Jeremiah 6:7)
6) From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets
and priests alike, all practice deceit. (Jeremiah 6:13)

In other words, when a nation follows their way over God's way, evil
becomes the norm. The wicked destroy the innocent. People gain riches
through extortion and deception. The defenseless (orphans, the poor,
the homeless) are treated unjustly. Spiritual leaders arrogantly use
God's name to follow their own agenda. Wickedness flows like water.
Violence and destruction is prevalent. Across the socioeconomic scale,
all live lives of selfish ambition.

I must confess; throughout this bible reading journey, I've often
questioned God's wrath. But after truly acknowledging the
aforementioned sin, it becomes obvious that God's wrath is a
necessity. Otherwise justice would not prevail. In today's world, I
often ask myself, "where is the justice?" In our country alone, there
are countless kidnappings, rapes, and murders. The defenseless are
treated unjustly. In fact, I have a short story about how unjust our
system is towards the defenseless:

I have a sister who was orphaned at two-years old. From the age of two
to seventeen, she lived with foster parents that seriously abused her.
Her foster parents made her sleep on the floor. They made her eat food
off the floor. They beat her. And what made matters worse is that my
sister was born with cerebral palsy. In other words, she is completely
physically disabled. She can't control the movements of her own limbs.
She has been in a wheel chair her entire life. It is in this
condition, my sister withstood all this abuse. To top it off, the
family that abused her had an outstanding reputation as foster
parents. These people weren't jailed. They still live at home as free
citizens.

Injustice? Yes. But my family is attempting to imitate the same
forgiveness and patience that God demonstrates in the Bible. The
Israelites stray from God's path for years, yet God is so merciful
that He gives His people years upon years to turn back to Him. God
waits generations at a time before bringing His righteous punishment.
God even gives warning, "Take warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn away
from you and make your land desolate so no one can live in it"
(Jeremiah 6:8). God allows His people to fall away to the point of
destruction before disciplining and saving them.

In the same way, my family must be merciful. We must forgive these
abusive foster parents. We must pray and hope for God's mercy to
change these people so that they will turn away from their sin and
towards God. If they don't choose to change, they choose destruction.
God can't cohabitate with evil. God is Holy and in order to be with
Him, we must choose to walk with Him.

"This is what the Lord says: 'Stand at the crossroads and look; ask
for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and
you will find rest for your souls'" (Jeremiah 6:16).

Let's follow God today and find rest for our souls.

God Bless,
Anthony