Day #222
Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 7 - 11 ...
The Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians that the Old
Testament was written as an example for us so that we would not do what THEY
did and face the same consequences. When I hear pastors and church
leaders and others talking about interfaith dialogue and uniting Christianity
with other religions and presenting the God of the Bible as desiring that all
men be one, regardless of their belief or lack thereof, I cringe, for I know
that the God who reveals Himself in His Word, the Bible, and in His Son, Jesus
Christ, will not tolerate such idolatry.
Here in Jeremiah, God displays His wrath against
those who take His mercy for granted and who worship other gods, then pretend
to be worshiping Him! God asks, "Will
you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and
follow other gods you have not known and then come and stand before me in this
house, which bears my Name, and say, 'We are safe!?'" (7:9-10). God Himself hands down the “GUILTY” verdict
upon those who worship idols.
God tells Jeremiah, "Do not pray for this
people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I
will not listen to you" (7:16). This hardly sounds like the God
people talk about today, who accepts everyone and overlooks sin as though it
were nothing serious. God says, "My anger and my wrath will be
poured out on this place" (7:20). Why? Because "truth
has perished; it has vanished from their lips" (7:28). Isaiah had declared the same thing about the
people of Israel and the same can be said about many in the visible church
today. They are more interested in an
outward “unity” than in the inward “oneness” for which Jesus prayed in John 17:20-23. Apparently, many have not learned from the
history of Israel and Judah, instead proclaiming that God’s love overrules His
justice, holiness and righteousness.
Oh, how dangerous it is to ignore God's justice and
wrath! Millions today are under the wrath of God and those who should be
issuing a warning are saying, "Peace, peace!" God says
through Jeremiah, "They dress the wound of my people as though it were
not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace. ...
They have no shame at all" (8:11-12). "They go from
one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me" ... "no one speaks
the truth" (9:3,5). God's
judgment was soon to come on this nation. And as He responded to idolatry
in the days of Jeremiah, God is storing up His wrath today ... and few seem to
see it coming.
What percentage of people in the world do you think
really know the true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? What percentage of those in the church even
believe that there is only ONE way to avoid God's wrath and that is through
faith in Jesus Christ? More and more people are following the path of the
people of Judah, claiming to worship God, yet tolerating sin as though it were
nothing serious in God's sight, excusing their behavior rather than repenting
and seeking to live by the power of the Holy Spirit. More and more people
hesitate to proclaim faith in Jesus Christ as the only way to be saved from the
coming wrath of God. Instead, sin is
either ignored, or in some cases, approved.
Other religious “paths” to God are not only accepted, but in many cases
promoted alongside “Christianity,” as though God presents a smorgasbord of
options from which man is free to choose.
Read again the words of Jeremiah as God 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, 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" (9:23-24).
For those who think that things are different in the New Testament,
listen to these words of Jesus, "When he (the Holy Spirit) comes, He
will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and
judgment" (John 16:8). Then
listen to Paul’s words to the Corinthians:
“The
message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who
are being saved it is the power of God.
… we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness
to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the
power of God and the wisdom of God” (I Corinthians 1:18,
23-24). Then he quotes Jeremiah: “As it
is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord’” (I Corinthians 1:31).
There is no comparison of God to idols - to any
other supposed god. God is supreme ... God is GOD! "There
is no one like you!" (10:7). "The LORD is the true God;
He is the living God, the eternal King. When He is angry, the earth
trembles; the nations cannot endure His wrath" (10:10). When
people today say that the gods of the nations are to be considered equal to our
God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who reveals Himself in His
Word, who is the Creator of all things, who sent His Son to save those whom He
has chosen by His grace ... when people deny that He alone is God, what will
God do??
"Do not pray for this people nor offer any
plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in
the time of their distress" (11:14). Why
would God say such a thing? Because idolatry brings God's wrath. It
was true in the days of Jeremiah and it is true today. As Jeremiah
condemned the people because of their stubbornness, Paul writes in Romans 2:5:
"Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are
storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when His
righteous judgment will be revealed."
Reading through the Bible and seeing mankind reject
God's grace and forgiveness is hard. Yet, knowing the true God requires
understanding His just judgment against sin. Unless you understand these
things, the cross is meaningless and Jesus' suffering and death was
unnecessary. Unless God's judgment and wrath against idolatry in all its
forms is just and right, there is no joy in salvation!
May God help us to read Jeremiah and the prophets
and understand that the wrath of God is coming and there is one escape:
faith in Jesus Christ, the only Savior!
"Lord God Almighty, You alone are God!
Your wrath and judgment are deserved by all who worship other gods.
Thank You for sending Your Spirit and revealing Yourself to me and to
others by Your grace. I acknowledge that You alone are God, now and
forever, and that peace, grace and forgiveness is found only in You. To
You alone be praise and glory, now and forever! In Jesus' name,
Amen"
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