I hope that we can all agree that God is good. Even though he is good, he is also just. In Jeremiah 4, we see that justness, in a God that is like my mama used to say, “fed up.” At the time of Jeremiah prophesying, Judah has been warned for at least 40 years to repent and still was choosing to display these outward actions of devotion, but their hearts were not fully surrendered to God. They were just going through the motions…kinda like being on a hamster wheel. They were going round and round, but never getting anywhere with God. Worshipping idols and being circumcised as an outward showing of God’s people, but their lives were saturated with sin and their hearts hardened. When you get on the wheel of sin, it’s like it keeps you going in circles, oblivious to everything around you. It’s fun, it feels good and you get distracted. Nothing else matters except getting that adrenaline rush from being on that “sin-wheel.” That’s how I pictured the people of Judah when reading this morning.
Toward the end of the Chapter, Jeremiah sees a small glimpse of what life with God is like and it causes him to lament in agony (verses 19-26) the tragic consequences of their sin….the destruction of their homeland. It’s hard to see destruction around you when you are constantly spinning in sin. You can have warning after warning, but until you make the choice to fall at the face of Jesus in true repentance, you will always be running in circles! Just remember that God’s goodness doesn’t take precedence over His justness. Eventually the cage is rattled and the wheel no longer spins. You are face to face with God and the destruction around you. The decision is yours…is it life or death? Heaven or Hell? The integrity of God in Jeremiah is the same as it is today. If it wasn’t, He wouldn’t be God. His heart wants us to have true repentance, not because He wants to punish us, but because He is good and He desires and intimate relationship with us.
I praise Him for the jolts to my life’s cage and the still small voice that guides me to make decisions that are pleasing to Him. I want a life that always seeks to honor Him outwardly and a heart that runs tirelessly to Jesus!
