Forsaking and reclaiming
This week is on Jeremiah 2:1-8:
Jeremiah was a prophet with a rough job to do. He was sent to call Israel into repentance, but Israel ignored him. That's why he's traditionally remembered as a fairly miserable and depressed prophet. He was like Cassandra in Greek mythology. Cassandra could predict the future but was forced to helplessly watch people destroy themselves, because nobody listened to her.
These verses are one of the first messages God delivers through Jeremiah. Israel had abandoned God and gone after the idols worshiped by their neighbors. In the beginning, they were passionate for God. He brought them out of slavery and mistreatment, provided for their every need, even protected them viciously against their neighbors. Nobody had it better than they did. They were the firstfruits of God's harvest, kind of a prototype of the sort of blessing we enjoy as Christians.
Israel rejected God. They rejected him so fully that even in hardship they didn't cry out to him or mention him. They went fully into the idolatry of their neighbors. Nobody talked to him. They replaced him with worthless idols and false gods. To them, God was more worthless than fake religion and useless objects.
God's question is "What did I lack? Where did I fall so short that you left without even saying goodbye?" Really he's asking how a perfect God can be flawed. God isn't flawed. It was the confusion and rebellion of the Israelites that made him seem that way. If you take a confused and rebellious man off the street and tell him "You can eat anything in the fridge except for the bottle of medicine for the dog," he will say "Why are you holding out on me? And what's with all these rules anyway? I'll eat what I want and do as I like. Some host you are." He'll ignore you, make himself sick, and then blame you for poisoning him.
Armies were poised to invade Jerusalem. God and Israel had built it together but Baal worship had moved in and defiled it. Nobody was crying out to God to protect the city. They were in denial. "Baal will protect us, like he's protected our neighbors. His prophets have told us so." But God was like "I did everything for you, and you've ruined it all. Where did I go so wrong that you've left me for a bunch of wood, metal and lies? And now I have to watch you die as strangers to me. I had such hope for you. Please reconsider."
We do this stuff as Christians too. We get excited when we first find God, but we fall away. Maybe we find another religion, or maybe we start getting focused on career or politics, or maybe we lose our religion altogether and start living like the people around us. Is it because God is flawed that we do this? Or are we confused and rebellious? We may still wear the Christian label, and we may still do good moral things, but do we acknowledge God? Do we seek his direction and input? Do we celebrate what he's done for us? Is he part of our lives, or do we just wear the T-shirt with his logo on it without really caring what it means? Your death certificate says "Religion: Christianity" but maybe your life doesn't really say anything.
Idols are worthless. False gods are false. God is both real and valuable. There is still time to turn back to God if you've turned away. We don't have to be like the Israelites who looked over Jerusalem's thick walls and said "I'm safe. See? The works of my hands have protected me, and it's all because of Baal." They didn't expect it any more than we do, but we can learn from their mistake. If you've forsaken God, allow him to reclaim you again.
The word of the Lord came to me: “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:
“This is what the Lord says:
“‘I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,
through a land not sown.
Israel was holy to the Lord,
the firstfruits of his harvest;
all who devoured her were held guilty,
and disaster overtook them,’”
declares the Lord.
Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob,
all you clans of Israel.
This is what the Lord says:
“What fault did your ancestors find in me,
that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.
They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,
who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
through a land of deserts and ravines,
a land of drought and utter darkness,
a land where no one travels and no one lives?’
I brought you into a fertile land
to eat its fruit and rich produce.
But you came and defiled my land
and made my inheritance detestable.
The priests did not ask,
‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who deal with the law did not know me;
the leaders rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
following worthless idols.
Jeremiah was a prophet with a rough job to do. He was sent to call Israel into repentance, but Israel ignored him. That's why he's traditionally remembered as a fairly miserable and depressed prophet. He was like Cassandra in Greek mythology. Cassandra could predict the future but was forced to helplessly watch people destroy themselves, because nobody listened to her.
These verses are one of the first messages God delivers through Jeremiah. Israel had abandoned God and gone after the idols worshiped by their neighbors. In the beginning, they were passionate for God. He brought them out of slavery and mistreatment, provided for their every need, even protected them viciously against their neighbors. Nobody had it better than they did. They were the firstfruits of God's harvest, kind of a prototype of the sort of blessing we enjoy as Christians.
Israel rejected God. They rejected him so fully that even in hardship they didn't cry out to him or mention him. They went fully into the idolatry of their neighbors. Nobody talked to him. They replaced him with worthless idols and false gods. To them, God was more worthless than fake religion and useless objects.
God's question is "What did I lack? Where did I fall so short that you left without even saying goodbye?" Really he's asking how a perfect God can be flawed. God isn't flawed. It was the confusion and rebellion of the Israelites that made him seem that way. If you take a confused and rebellious man off the street and tell him "You can eat anything in the fridge except for the bottle of medicine for the dog," he will say "Why are you holding out on me? And what's with all these rules anyway? I'll eat what I want and do as I like. Some host you are." He'll ignore you, make himself sick, and then blame you for poisoning him.
Armies were poised to invade Jerusalem. God and Israel had built it together but Baal worship had moved in and defiled it. Nobody was crying out to God to protect the city. They were in denial. "Baal will protect us, like he's protected our neighbors. His prophets have told us so." But God was like "I did everything for you, and you've ruined it all. Where did I go so wrong that you've left me for a bunch of wood, metal and lies? And now I have to watch you die as strangers to me. I had such hope for you. Please reconsider."
We do this stuff as Christians too. We get excited when we first find God, but we fall away. Maybe we find another religion, or maybe we start getting focused on career or politics, or maybe we lose our religion altogether and start living like the people around us. Is it because God is flawed that we do this? Or are we confused and rebellious? We may still wear the Christian label, and we may still do good moral things, but do we acknowledge God? Do we seek his direction and input? Do we celebrate what he's done for us? Is he part of our lives, or do we just wear the T-shirt with his logo on it without really caring what it means? Your death certificate says "Religion: Christianity" but maybe your life doesn't really say anything.
Idols are worthless. False gods are false. God is both real and valuable. There is still time to turn back to God if you've turned away. We don't have to be like the Israelites who looked over Jerusalem's thick walls and said "I'm safe. See? The works of my hands have protected me, and it's all because of Baal." They didn't expect it any more than we do, but we can learn from their mistake. If you've forsaken God, allow him to reclaim you again.
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