Up to now, we get the feeling that Jeremiah's message is falling on deaf ears. People are choosing to listen to their leaders, who are assuring them all is well, God will be fine with their sin, no worries.
What happens, then, when a man stands up for the truth, leaders hear, and then have to make a decision? Well, in Jeremiah's case, chapter 18 shows what happened to him. "Then they said, 'Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah. Surely the law is not going to be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the sage, nor the divine word to the prophet! Come on and let us strike at him with our tongue, and let us give no heed to any of his words.'" (verse 18)
Seems like an answer someone might get even today. "Let's plot against him, lie about him, and then ignore him." They wrote him off as a lunatic, someone crazy enough to believe God.
Friends and family, that is where we are today, in my humble opinion. I do not expect a nation like ours to turn to God and create some Old Testament Israel version of a country. That does not seem to be God's plan. However, I do tend to take it personally when God is mocked, when sin is excused, as if it does not matter.
I wonder when God will say "enough" to how the church treats Him at times, or how we as individual Christians treat Him. He understands that the lost does not know how to live a righteous life for Him. It does not excuse them, however. Moreso then, I have the responsibility to follow Him, listen to, believe, and obey His word.
There are those among us boldly taking a stand for His truth. I pray that "those" include us, wherever it is that God has us living, and whomever He has us living around. Jeremiah's day called for a strong proclaimer of the truth. Tell me how today is any different.
Holding Fast to the Name of our Creator
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