Soaking Rain - Jeremiah

I have been doing an online study of Jeremiah with Kay Arthur and we just finished the first half which took us through Chapter 24. God was very patient with his chosen people but there reached a point where he was bound to punish them for their sins. Despite their chosen-ness and the fact that they had the scriptures and the temple and a reputation for being the people of God and for having a God that worked miracles on their behalf and fought their battles for them, they were still punished. You just can't take God for granted and think that he won't punish disobedience.

God told the Israelites that he was punishing them for three reasons.

1) They had forsaken God
2) Made sacrifices to idols
3) They worshipped the works of their own hands

You can see the similarities in America and ancient Israel if you look closely. Our country has been moving with speed to forsake God in all levels of its society. Removing prayer, removing his commandments - these are just the visible elements, the tip of the iceberg. Underneath, there is a society that no longer knows it's God, who can hold in its mind a belief in God without having to be accountable to him. Abortion, sexual immorality, violence, lies, greed, oppression of the people ... you don't have to pick up the newspaper to read about it, though you can ... all you have to do is turn on a TV. For what is in the heart of the nation is laid bare on the screen every day. We cannot watch it without knowing that we are reflected by it. We have become what we see.

I cannot hear about the tremendous salaries paid to sports figures, actors and politicians ... to corporate CEO's ... without thinking about sacrifices made to idols. What a man reveres is his god.

And in prosperous America we have built so much ... and are proud of it. We're proud of our institutions and proud of our traditions, proud of our wealth and prosperity, proud of our power and the strength of our hand. We are a materialistic society - that's why we are so in debt, each of us individually and the nation corporately. How does that not qualify for worshipping the works of our hands ? We have become just like them.

Are we seeing the beginning of God's punishment for our sins ? There are worse in the world than us, you might say. But they are not God's people, are they ? Judgement always starts in the house of the Lord.

And yet ... God gave reprieves when his people repented and turned back. Towards the middle of Jeremiah, he says ... if you will only just keep the Sabbaths ... I will relent. Only the Sabbaths ... show me that you are trying just a little and I will hold back. But they would not.

Will we ?

Our Sabbath is the Lord Jesus Christ and in him we must place our trust. Will we ?