Since my people are crushed, I am crushed;My Understanding: In the eighth chapter of Jeremiah we have a picture of a people of God who have turned away from the Lord, they cling to deceit, and they refuse to repent and to return to the Lord their God. God has listened to them, but they do not say what is right. Each person pursues his own course without regard for God and for what he desires of them. God says his own people do not know the requirements of the Lord. They have rejected the word of the Lord. The leaders of the people, as well, are greedy, practice deceit, don’t take sin seriously, and offer words of peace and comfort when heart surgery is in order instead. Yet, they are not even ashamed of this behavior.
I mourn, and horror grips me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then is there no healing
for the wound of my people?
Oh, that my head were a spring of water
and my eyes a fountain of tears!
I would weep day and night
for the slain of my people.
2 Oh, that I had in the desert
a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,
a crowd of unfaithful people.
3 “They make ready their tongue
like a bow, to shoot lies;
it is not by truth
that they triumph in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
they do not acknowledge me,”
declares the LORD.
4 “Beware of your friends;
do not trust your brothers.
For every brother is a deceiver,
and every friend a slanderer.
5 Friend deceives friend,
and no one speaks the truth.
They have taught their tongues to lie;
they weary themselves with sinning.
6 You live in the midst of deception;
in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the LORD.
7 Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says:
“See, I will refine and test them,
for what else can I do
because of the sin of my people?
8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
it speaks with deceit.
With his mouth each speaks cordially to his neighbor,
but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
9 Should I not punish them for this?”
declares the LORD.
“Should I not avenge myself
on such a nation as this?”
10 I will weep and wail for the mountains
and take up a lament concerning the desert pastures.
They are desolate and untraveled,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard.
The birds of the air have fled
and the animals are gone.
11 “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
a haunt of jackals;
and I will lay waste the towns of Judah
so no one can live there.”
12 What man is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the LORD and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?
13 The LORD said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. 14 Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their fathers taught them.” 15 Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. 16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have destroyed them.”
… 23 This is what the LORD says:
“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
24 but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the LORD.
25 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the desert in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”
So, God said he would judge his people. That is why Jeremiah was crushed in spirit and was weeping over the sins and the punishment of his people that he knew was inevitable, as he called out for healing for the wounds of his people. He was praying for revival, because he knew, all too well, the spiritual condition of his people and that God would eventually have to bring judgment upon them, yet his hope was that they would be revived in heart and mind and would be healed spiritually so that they would not have to go through judgment.
In the ninth chapter of Jeremiah, we have a more detailed description of the spiritual condition of the people of God. They are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people. They willfully plot and carry out deceit as a weapon engaged against others. They triumph over others via lies and deceit. They go from one sin to another, and they do not acknowledge God. They have even taught their own tongues to lie, and so deceiving themselves. They weary themselves with sinning. They speak cordially to their neighbors, but in their hearts they set a trap for their friends, neighbors, and companions. In other words, they say nice things outwardly and give impressions that are false in order to deceive, manipulate, use and take advantage of other people. They have forsaken God’s laws, they have not obeyed God, and instead they have followed the stubbornness of their own hearts. As well, they have followed the ways of “other gods” which are not gods.
There is a warning given, to those who are not included among the liars and deceivers, to not be trapped or tricked by the lies and deceit of friends, neighbors and companions. In other words, we are to pay attention and we are to have discerning spirits so that we are not caught up in the lies of others and are brought down by their lies and deceit. We should never put our 100% trust in man, for we are all sinners by nature, and we will fail each other at one time or another. Our trust, instead, must be in our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, and we ought to ask for discerning spirits so that we are not deceived. We should then trust our friends, neighbors and companions to God to work in their hearts and lives and to bring them to repentance and to revive their hearts. We ought also speak the truth in love to our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we should warn them against such deceit and should call them to renewal of mind and heart and restoration to a right relationship with their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, instead of just ignoring their sin or trying to put spiritual Band-Aids over serious sin, because we care more for ourselves than we do them.
Because the people have forsaken their Lord, have relied upon lies and deceit, have rejected God’s truths found in his Holy Word, the Bible, have not acknowledged God, have been unfaithful, go from one sin to another without true repentance, and have followed the ways of the gods and idols in their lives that replace the One and Only True God in their lives, God will refine and test them. This is speaking to us, the church, today. God will bring judgment upon us if we are living like this passage of scripture describes God’s people as living in open rebellion against him and yet having a form of godliness and appearing nice on the outside. God is saying even today, “What else can I do because of the sin of my people?” If you are a parent, I am certain you have felt that way about your children, too. You don’t enjoy punishing them, and you try reasoning with them and gently prodding them to do what is right, but they continue in their rebellion, and so you say to them, “What else can I do?” You must discipline, though in your heart you wish there was another way to get their attention and to get them to obey you.
Our God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is a God of compassion, kindness, love, mercy, tenderness, justice and righteousness. He delights in all these things. He is slow to anger and abounding in love, yet he will punish us if we are circumcised only in the flesh, i.e. if we are cleaned up on the outside and have the appearance of righteousness but in our hearts we are uncircumcised, i.e. the sins of our flesh have not been completely cut away, but we are still holding on to them. God doesn’t want our “good deeds.” He wants our hearts.
Isaiah 30:15: This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”
Rest for the Weary / An Original Work / April 23, 2011
Rest for the weary; peace for the soul;
Light in the darkness; mercy untold;
Perfect salvation; pardoned and free,
For Jesus died so that all may believe.
While we are waiting for Your return,
Jesus, Redeemer, let our hearts yearn
For your soon coming to get Your bride,
Washed in Your blood, having been sanctified.
Father, Son, Spirit, all three in One
Giveth salvation through redemption;
Jesus provided the sacrifice,
For our sins blood bought, for He paid the price.
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
Song
No comments:
Post a Comment