Presumption
This week's verses are Jeremiah 14:11-16:
When you read these verses, they don't really sound like the God of grace and mercy we know from the new testament. On the one side we have Jesus who let himself be dragged to the cross in order to accommodate our sin, and on the other we have a God who refuses to budge even if people make wild religious spectacles, frenzied self-sacrifice, and have confidence that he'll be there for them. And yet it's the same God. What's different is the people and the attitude.
The difference is that the people in Jeremiah's time don't actually have a relationship with God. They've taken him for granted to such a degree that they presume to be able to manipulate him through religious behavior, or by putting words in his mouth. It's presumptuousness, and it means they hold God in contempt, like he is beneath them.
Charity is when you offer a house guest food when they show up unannounced and haven't eaten. Presumption is when they show up and ask what's for dinner, or just start serving themselves out of your cupboards. Love is when you buy someone dinner because you want them to enjoy it. Presumption is when you buy them dinner because you expect them to have sex with you. The presumptuous person assumes you exist to fulfill their needs. They presume your consent without asking for it. You're an accessory to their plans, or a kind of vending machine, not a person.
The people in Jeremiah's time were so well taken care of for so long that they just took God for granted. Presumption drove them to just assume that if they fasted, or had a long worship weekend, or gave a big donation to the offering plate, that God would have to grant their wishes and look out for them. They treated God like a prostitute who would perform whatever tricks they wanted if they paid the right price, or as an employee who needed their contributions so badly that he'd tolerate their contempt out of fear of losing out.
Worse, they were so presumptuous that instead of asking God what his plans were, they assumed that a righteous God would never let them be invaded, so they "proclaimed in faith" that they wouldn't be. They were "saying" rather than "praying." "Why would I ask God? His job is to do what I want, and if he doesn't I'll stop paying him with my churchiness."
Even Jeremiah is a bit startled by God's hard line on this. It's a train wreck about to happen. The people are blissfully unaware of how offensive they have become, and are fully convinced that God will just validate any plans and desires they may have. It's worse than when someone's a terrible singer and they think they're awesome and they're about to go before a panel of judges on TV. There's more than pride and reputation on the line here. In this case, humanitarian disaster is imminent and they are proclaiming to each other that they have nothing to worry about. Tragically, nobody can rescue them from their delusions.
Presumption exists when you want the benefits of a kind of relationship but you don't have that kind of relationship. Think of marketing emails where they use your first name over and over again, because that's supposed to make you reciprocate with friendly feelings. Think of the salesman who "thinks past the sale" and asks you if you want to pay cash or credit for an item you haven't even asked to buy. It enters without knocking, crosses sacred boundaries, and cheapens the fruits of true relationship.
Are we ever like that with God? Do we just show up to church, or to our private devotional time, expecting to be served? Are we callous about behaviour and risk because we expect God to just follow us around cleaning up our messes? Do we brush off miracles or scold others for getting excited about them because "that's just what our God does?" Do we only ever "get serious" with God when we want something?
God was really upset when his people did that to him in Jeremiah's time. We're not going to go to Hell for upsetting him, but that doesn't make it okay. That's like saying that once you get married you don't have to worry anymore about pleasing your spouse because you've got a covenant with them. If we love God, and our relationship with him is valuable to us, then his feelings will be valuable to us too.
If you've been taking God for granted, or have been holding him to promises he never made, or have tried to manipulate him with religiosity, have a conversation with him. Apologize, make up, and move forward. Maybe he's already planned to give you everything you have ever wanted or asked him for. Maybe he's got something better in mind that you could never have understood until it happened. You'll never know unless you put the time in to find out. Better that than to treat him cheaply by being presumptuous.
Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.”
But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine. Indeed, I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”
Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds. Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish by sword and famine. And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them, their wives, their sons and their daughters. I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.
When you read these verses, they don't really sound like the God of grace and mercy we know from the new testament. On the one side we have Jesus who let himself be dragged to the cross in order to accommodate our sin, and on the other we have a God who refuses to budge even if people make wild religious spectacles, frenzied self-sacrifice, and have confidence that he'll be there for them. And yet it's the same God. What's different is the people and the attitude.
The difference is that the people in Jeremiah's time don't actually have a relationship with God. They've taken him for granted to such a degree that they presume to be able to manipulate him through religious behavior, or by putting words in his mouth. It's presumptuousness, and it means they hold God in contempt, like he is beneath them.
Charity is when you offer a house guest food when they show up unannounced and haven't eaten. Presumption is when they show up and ask what's for dinner, or just start serving themselves out of your cupboards. Love is when you buy someone dinner because you want them to enjoy it. Presumption is when you buy them dinner because you expect them to have sex with you. The presumptuous person assumes you exist to fulfill their needs. They presume your consent without asking for it. You're an accessory to their plans, or a kind of vending machine, not a person.
The people in Jeremiah's time were so well taken care of for so long that they just took God for granted. Presumption drove them to just assume that if they fasted, or had a long worship weekend, or gave a big donation to the offering plate, that God would have to grant their wishes and look out for them. They treated God like a prostitute who would perform whatever tricks they wanted if they paid the right price, or as an employee who needed their contributions so badly that he'd tolerate their contempt out of fear of losing out.
Worse, they were so presumptuous that instead of asking God what his plans were, they assumed that a righteous God would never let them be invaded, so they "proclaimed in faith" that they wouldn't be. They were "saying" rather than "praying." "Why would I ask God? His job is to do what I want, and if he doesn't I'll stop paying him with my churchiness."
Even Jeremiah is a bit startled by God's hard line on this. It's a train wreck about to happen. The people are blissfully unaware of how offensive they have become, and are fully convinced that God will just validate any plans and desires they may have. It's worse than when someone's a terrible singer and they think they're awesome and they're about to go before a panel of judges on TV. There's more than pride and reputation on the line here. In this case, humanitarian disaster is imminent and they are proclaiming to each other that they have nothing to worry about. Tragically, nobody can rescue them from their delusions.
Presumption exists when you want the benefits of a kind of relationship but you don't have that kind of relationship. Think of marketing emails where they use your first name over and over again, because that's supposed to make you reciprocate with friendly feelings. Think of the salesman who "thinks past the sale" and asks you if you want to pay cash or credit for an item you haven't even asked to buy. It enters without knocking, crosses sacred boundaries, and cheapens the fruits of true relationship.
Are we ever like that with God? Do we just show up to church, or to our private devotional time, expecting to be served? Are we callous about behaviour and risk because we expect God to just follow us around cleaning up our messes? Do we brush off miracles or scold others for getting excited about them because "that's just what our God does?" Do we only ever "get serious" with God when we want something?
God was really upset when his people did that to him in Jeremiah's time. We're not going to go to Hell for upsetting him, but that doesn't make it okay. That's like saying that once you get married you don't have to worry anymore about pleasing your spouse because you've got a covenant with them. If we love God, and our relationship with him is valuable to us, then his feelings will be valuable to us too.
If you've been taking God for granted, or have been holding him to promises he never made, or have tried to manipulate him with religiosity, have a conversation with him. Apologize, make up, and move forward. Maybe he's already planned to give you everything you have ever wanted or asked him for. Maybe he's got something better in mind that you could never have understood until it happened. You'll never know unless you put the time in to find out. Better that than to treat him cheaply by being presumptuous.
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