Return To God Before It's Too Late
Scripture Passage: Jeremiah 15:1-9 (NASB)
1 Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people. Send them away from My presence and have them go! 2 And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“Those destined for death, to death;
And those destined for the sword, to the sword;
And those destined for famine, to famine;
And those destined for captivity, to captivity.”’
3 And I will appoint over them four kinds of doom,” declares the Lord: “the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 I will make them an object of terror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.
5 “Indeed, who will have pity on you, Jerusalem,
Or who will mourn for you,
Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?
6 You who have forsaken Me,” declares the Lord,
“You keep going backward.
So I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;
I am tired of relenting!
7 I will winnow them with a winnowing fork
At the gates of the land;
I will bereave them of children, I will destroy My people;
They did not repent of their ways.
8 Their widows will be more numerous before Me
Than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man,
A destroyer at noon;
I will suddenly bring down on her
Shock and horror.
9 She who gave birth to seven sons withers away;
Her breathing is labored.
Her sun has set while it was still day;
She has been shamed and humiliated.
So I will turn over their survivors to the sword
Before their enemies,” declares the Lord.
SUMMARY
God tells Jeremiah that even if Moses and Samuel interceded for them, His heart will not be with them. God was angry! He was tired of putting up with them and waiting for their return. He appointed four kinds of doom: the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth to devour and destroy. The heart of Judah was hardened and full of sin. No one could plead mercy to God on their behalf. They were destined for destruction, and nothing could change their fate.
MEDITATION AND REFLECTION
God gave Judah so many chances to return to Him. He held back His judgement against them for a long time, but they continued to sin. God is so patient, but He also has limits to His patience. He will not tolerate hardened hearts and knows what we are destined to do. This past week I have been thinking a lot about my pride and how this is so embedded in me that I was not even aware how sinful I have been. I wondered how exhausted God must have been waiting for me. I realized I am no different from Judah. Just like Judah, I continuously went about my days. My heart was full of pride, judging others based on my own thoughts and standards.
APPLICATION
I will try to be on an alert of my sins throughout the day. I will do that by reading the word daily and guarding my heart in the word. I will also remember the consequences Judah faced and immediately cut off the thought of judgement or pride.
PRAYER
Thank you, Jesus for this important message. Thank you for being my patient father who waits tireless for me. Please help me to be on an alert of my sins and walk away from it while you are still with me. May I always have the heart to seek you, serve you and be with you.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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