"My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
Have you not brought this on yourselves
by forsaking the Lord your God
when he led you in the way? Now why go to Egypt
to drink water from the Nile?
And why go to Assyria
to drink water from the Euphrates?
Your wickedness will punish you;
your backsliding will rebuke you.
Consider then and realize
how evil and bitter it is for you
when you forsake the Lord your God
and have no awe of me,"
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty. "Long ago you broke off your yoke
and tore off your bonds;
you said, 'I will not serve you!'
Indeed, on every high hill
and under every spreading tree
you lay down as a prostitute. "In vain I punished your people;
they did not respond to correction.
Your sword has devoured your prophets
like a ravenous lion. Why do you go about so much,
changing your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt
as you were by Assyria.
(Jeremiah 2:13, 17-20, 30, 36 NIV)
There are so many ways small and big we turn from our God our creator and our savior.
We turn from the true God to worthless worldly idols and temporary things that will not truly satisfy. We often look for what we need and life in things that will disappoint. But God gives us in abundance by following his word.
Our own decisions and sin will bring the terrible consequences that result. God rebukes us through these consequences and other ways. If only we would listen.
Sometimes we must feel the pain of our choices before we can truly feel the desperate need for God and realize in our hearts he is our only hope.
Lord please help me to listen. For I am stubborn. I am unwise. I seek life in things that do not satisfy. But I also now I need you and you are my only hope. In you and your word their is abundant life. Remind me of this day after day.
Amen
Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:
ReplyDelete"See, I will refine and test them,
for what else can I do
because of the sin of my people? Should I not punish them for this?"
declares the Lord.
"Should I not avenge myself
on such a nation as this?" Who is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross? I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them." This is what the Lord says:
"Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:7, 9, 12, 16, 23, 24 NIV)