Daily Bread for Aug 14, Jer 4-6

Today’s readings are Jer 4-6.

In Jer 4, we begin to hear how total the destruction of Jerusalem will be. Jer 4:14 urges Jerusalem to " …wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved. How long shall your wicked thoughts lodge within you?", a significant verse as it shows God graciously giving Judah time to repent. 

We hear of desolation, famine, and drought. Nonetheless, Jerusalem stubbornly refuses to repent. Jeremiah begins to describe the invaders and the horrifying things that are coming her way.

Judah has earned God's wrath which will be poured out fearfully. Yet, there is hope in Jer 5:18 "But even in those days, declares the Lord, I will not make a full end of you." God's intention is not to eliminate His people, but to refine them. The process will be painful. There is always a price to pay for rebellion and unrepentant sin. But God intends to preserve, not destroy, those that are His.

Jer 6 is fearful and sad. In Jer 6:17, God says, in effect, "I tried to warn you." But they refused to listen. The rest of the chapter details the consequences of taking God too lightly.

In a day when the popular notion of God portrays Him as a passive, gentle old man, Jeremiah's story reveals a sobering truth about our great God. He will protect and preserve His people. But there will be a horrific price to pay for treating Him too casually or for neglecting to deal with the sin in our lives. He promises to preserve those that are His, but He will sanctify them as well.

The notion that God will not only allow hardship to enter the lives of His children but may bring it Himself is alien to a lot of believers. Yet, we see this frequently in Scripture. God always allows trials to get His people’s attention and call them back to Him. God uses hardship as a refining tool. As believers, we would do far better to ask what we’re supposed to learn in our trials rather than worry about how we got there or how we are going to get out of them.