August 9, 2001
"Inquire now of the LORD for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us.
Perhaps the LORD will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us."
I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in anger and fury and great wrath.
Jeremiah 21:2, 4
Not too many 'feel good' verses in this part of Jeremiah.... when I read through this section this morning the sense of impending doom was palpable for Jerusalem. King Zedekiah who had long ignored God's commands, had allied himself with King Nebuchadnezzar is now in great anxiety asking Jeremiah to implore God on their behalf. God's answer comes back loud and clear in vs 4. He will no longer protect them from themselves, they will be handed over to feel the effects of their sin. This reminded me of a now famous line, from a political cartoon from the 50's -- "We have seen the enemy and he is us" (Walter Kelly, in Pogo). God will protect us from any enemy, any trial, any challenge as long as we cling to him but when we become the enemy, in the sense that we are the problem; when our stubborn refusal to change, to repent or to see God is what blocks God, he will no longer protect us from the ill effects. In fact, he will allow them specifically to teach us, to break us, to humble us - ultimately to draw us back into relationship with him. In all the prophecy about Israel's & Judah's suffering God continually holds before them his hope and his plans for their future. As hard as it is for us to grasp... when God allows us to suffer the painful consequences of our sin... it is an act of love on his part!!