August 10, 2001
"Furthermore, tell the people, 'This is what the LORD says:
See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.
Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague.
But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who
are besieging you will live; he will escape with his life.
Jeremiah 21:8-9
There are several things about the heart of God that jumped out from these verses today. God always gives us a choice.. that is his heart. We may feel at times that we are being forced but that's because to obey God oftentimes there is only one rational or right course of action. At times I may not want to take it and thus feel I have no choice but this is never true. God never forces our hand or makes us love him. If we don't offer our love and obedience out of a willing heart it's worthless to him.
In order to live the people must choose to surrender. It's obvious that for God's chosen people that was a lot to get their minds around. How could surrendering to the most violent & ungodly nation bring them life? Despite how difficult it is to fully understand - it was true. Certainly not what God envisioned for them from the very beginning but because of their sin and the state they were in - God was still providing a way out and this was it. Sometimes in my life the way out involves surrendering to the pain of difficult circumstances and trusting that God will lead me through it - this is the way to life that he has charted for me in those moments or circumstances. Maybe its not what he envisioned for my life from the very beginning but because of my sin or others... this is where I am right now and surrender is the only way to find life.
The last thing that struck me in this is that Jeremiah knew with confidence that the words he spoke were from God. Life could only be found in surrender to the Babylonians... many people heeded the message and many did not. Jeremiah freely chose to stay behind and share the agony and the suffering of those who chose foolishly - those who refused to listen to his message (Jer 40:1-6). The heart of the prophet displays the heart of God! He could have chosen to go live in safety. In a sense his mission was completed with the fall of Jerusalem, he could have moved on with his life but he chose to stay with the people.. people who were now suffering even more because of their own sin and foolishness. Jeremiah didn't give up because God never gives up on us! God never stops working in our lives and on our hearts no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in. That is the heart of God!