Learn from His-story

Greetings in the Lord~

This week I've been reading from the book of Jeremiah, and quite frankly, it makes me nervous and a bit sad.  This whole book is basically about the overthrow and exile of Judah/Israel, and about His judgments to the pagan nations.  The Lord sends the prophet Jeremiah to warn the people to repent of their idolatrous ways and return to the Lord--for He desires to heal them of their wayward hearts.  However, a portion of the people and Judah's leaders do not listen, but rather, become even more insolent and rebellious.  They persecute Jeremiah and the godly people of the land ultimately, by continuing in their senseless destruction of the bountiful land the Lord had given them.  How?  By adopting the corrupt ways of the world -- desiring only wealth and power for themselves and throwing God's commands behind their backs.  Oh, they give God lip service, but reject seeking any of His counsel or wisdom and instead worship worthless idols.  Well, at some point the Lord just turns them over to reap the fruit of their wicked hearts.

"Among My people are wicked men who lie in wait for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind.  They continually set traps to catch people.   Like a cage filled with birds, their homes are filled with evil plots.  And now they are great and rich.  They are fat and sleek, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds.  They refuse to provide justice to orphans and deny the rights of the poor.  Should I not punish them for this?" says the Lord.  "Should I not avenge Myself against such a nation?  A horrible and shocking thing has happened in this land--the prophets give false prophecies, and the priests rule with an iron hand.  Worse yet, My people like it that way!  But what will you do when the end comes?" Jeremiah 5:26-31.

This week I have read verses from Jeremiah chapters 5, 6, 9, 10 and 3, and let me tell you, it does not read well for many of God's people.  In their hearts, they want to be like the rest of the pagan nations of the world--loving money, self, power and treachery--and whatever else comes with the worship of idols and evil spirits behind those idols.  It is a real spiritual and literal mess!  So, what are some of the takeaways from these passages?

Well, let's consider a historical case story--there was only ten years or so from Lenin to Stalin, in which millions of people died under his psychotic rule.  They bought into the lie of socialism--peace and prosperity for all under man's terms, not God's laws.  Well, a country can be overthrown in a very short amount of time, and usher in a very wicked regime.  True, the actions leading up to the overthrow take some time, but really, things can and do often change over night.  And what would they be changing to--most of the pagan nations of the earth are rife with corruption, human rights abuses, and a wide disparity of wealth among the populace.  So, it seems ironic that ancient Israel and today's "Christian" nations like the U.S. would seek to be like the pagan nations of the world.  And yet, here we are, witnessing a bold globalist/socialist agenda that is seeking to take over many of the democratic nations of the world--those that once upon a time were based on Judeo-Christian values.  So, in essence, we can say that this mindset wants to take all of the wealth and power and "blessings" for themselves and be like the pagan nations.  

Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that.  For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. James 3:16  Worldliness begets worldliness, not blessing.  Just look at China--they make everything in today's world but are always on the brink of economic collapse and environmental toxicity.  Why?  There is no blessing in their worldliness.  They want desperately to always do things their way instead of God's way--and suffer for it continually; two steps forward and one step back.

So, when I read these chapters from Jeremiah, I worry and wonder about the U.S.--is she looking to surrender her blessedness to be like the rest of the world?  In 8 months we will have another national election, and if it is tampered with again, rigged beyond all repair, it may just usher in the end of things as we know it.  The greedy reprobate globalists would lick their chops at all the fruit of the land to devour for themselves.  Yes, indeed, things could get very difficult here in the U.S. and maybe even unrecognizable.  These are the things I wonder about as I read those chapters in Jeremiah.  Could it be that very serious/difficult days are ahead?  

The other main takeaway from these chapters is that in every time of judgment, mercy will still triumph.  The Lord desires to heal us of our waywardness and to bless us.  Those that stay close to Him during hard times will come out on the other side.  Even when the Lord was having Jeremiah preach these hard words to his fellow countrymen, there were promises of God's redemption in the future.  And it was very specific at times, so that those in the future could pray into it and remind God of His promises and ask that He bring them forth according to His word.  That is the kind of God we serve--merciful and loving, ultimately.  

So, today I pray, Lord, let us cling to You tightly as we acknowledge our waywardness; may we seek shelter in You as the tough days approach, and as our blind leaders walk off aimlessly leading many to outer darkness, may we follow the light of Your word instead and keep to Your path for us always.  In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

~Be blessed and be a blessing.