Consequence of Not Walking with the Lord
Scripture Passage: Jeremiah 7:16-28 (NASB)
16 “As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger. 19 Is it I whom they provoke? declares the Lord. Is it not themselves, to their own shame? 20 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.”
21 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. 22 For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ 24 But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. 25 From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day. 26 Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.
27 “So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. 28 And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.
SUMMARY
God tells Jeremiah to not pray for the people who are being judged by God. God will not hear any of it because He has seen the ceaseless sins of His people. They work together to offer sacrifices to other gods. Therefore His anger is to be poured out on all the living things. He commanded them to simply obey time and time again. Yet they walked by their own advice and went backwards instead of forwards. Even though God had sent them His servants and prophets daily, they still strayed and did not listen. Now God will make them known as the nation that did not obey and perished.
MEDITATION AND REFLECTION
God gave what He could to His people to keep them from worshipping other idols. He sent warnings and prophets to guide them. But they still disobeyed and tested God's patience. If God had allowed Jeremiah to pray for them, what more could it do? If the people aren't willing to turn to God themselves, they shouldn't rely solely on the faith of others to get them out of this mess. Even when God gave them a way to repent and receive mercy, they still did not listen. Verses 24-25 show that they walked by their own advice and in their stubborness went backwards instead of forwards. God sent them His servants and prophets DAILY, again and again. This shows me how important it is to be filled daily in order to open my eyes and ears to the Lord. Since God's people weren't spending time with Him daily, they could not hear or see how much their lives were being consumed by sin.
APPLICATION
I have noticed that whenever I am so in touch with God, I feel more aware of sin and the influences of the world. During the times when I don't spend time with God, I become numb or blind to sin. This passage really highlighted the consequences of not walking with the Lord. The people leaned on their own understanding and were hardened with evil. I want to intentionally be sensitive to God's voice and have an obedient heart towards Him. That means I have to melt away the things that have made my heart hardened by continuous quality time with the Lord. I must pray for alignment with His heart and pray for a repentant heart. I will continue to push forward and be faithful with my time with the Lord..
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father,
You are such a gracious God. You provide and make my paths straight. You are so faithful and understanding of my circumstances and you reach down to me with compassion. I pray that you will meet with me as I seek you every day. Soften my heart and melt away the strongholds of sin. I pray for ears that can hear and eyes that can see. I pray for a heart that is pure and surrenders to you. May I not be overtaken by this world but be continuously refreshed in my quiet times with you. I pray for awareness and discernment over every detail of my life. May I walk in wisdom and obedience to you. I praise you and pray for all these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
Please share your personal meditations on this Scripture passage with the HolyWave community in the comments section below. (We reserve the right to moderate comments.)