"I Was Wr_______, I Was Wr______"

Did you ever watch "Happy Days" on TV?  Remember Arthur Fonzarelli, a.k.a "The Fonz" having to admit that he made a mistake?  He had a hard time admitting fault, and would utter the phrase in the title of today's posting.  "Wrong" was a hard word for him to say.

I began devotionally reading Jeremiah.  It's a long book, and I will not likely blog on each chapter.  As a brief background, Jeremiah was a prophet who foresaw Judah's looming exile.  He received the call from the Lord to point out to Judah the reasons for the coming judgment.  He was a voice of righteousness surrounded by people who had turned their backs on the Lord.

In chapters 1 and 2, God, through Jeremiah, reminds Judah of where they have come from, how God had brought them to the promised land through so much adversity, how Israel was holy, set apart, by God.  Appropriately, God had expectations of His people.

In return, His people were guilty of two sins:  forsaking God by idolatry, and self-reliance, whereby they worshiped the works of their own hands (also referred to as "hewing their own cisterns").

What really struck me near the end of chapter 2 was Israel's response to God and His completely just indictment.  "I am innocent".  They made excuses, and expected God to overlook their sin.  I tend to wonder what would have happened if Israel as a nation would have said, "You know what, God, You are right, we are wrong, please forgive us."  Rhetorical question, I know.  But that is what God wanted in response to Him.  Daniel's prayer in Daniel 9 is his attempt to do just that.

In Psalm 78:39, God completes a summary of His people's failings by remembering that they are merely flesh, and He knows they will falter.  But when they are called on their actions, He also expects them to humbly admit those failings, and turn back to Him in repentance and guidance.

So we can be indignant at Israel's idolatry and failing, but really, perhaps we should lament their lack of repentance, since that is the core of the matter.

Salvation is no different.  God has indicted mankind as sinners.  He commands all to repent and obey the Gospel.  He commands all to accept what He has said about them (confess) and turn to Him and His saving grace.  It is very relieving when someone truly repents, truly changes his ways, and perhaps that is why the angels rejoice when someone gets saved.  It means there is one less person who is an enemy of Almighty God.  "I was wrong" is beautiful when it is meant and acted upon.

Jeremiah had to stand up for truth in the midst of an ugly, wicked time.  How are we as Christians much different?