Friday, October 23, 2020
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An Unnatural Apostasy
Therefore, thus says the Lord, “Ask among the nations – who has heard the like?”
God speaks to us of a behavior that has gone far away from the norm.
Truly horrible things has virgin Israel done!
We know this story – Israel has rejected her close relationship with God and has chosen to align herself with pagan gods.
Does the snow of Lebanon desert the rocky heights? Do the gushing waters dry up that flow fresh down the mountains?
Israel’s actions are as unnatural as snow melting in freezing weather or rivers ceasing their journey through mountain valleys.
Yet my people have forgotten me: they burn incense to a thing that does not exist.
Israel abandons the covenant that has brought her out of Egypt and established her in fertile lands.
They stumble out of their ways, the paths of old, to travel on bypaths, not the beaten track.
Israel goes against all advice and convention to insist on her own journey that is full of danger.
Their land shall be turned into a desert, an object of lasting ridicule: all passers-by will be amazed, will shake their heads.
Those who do not remain faithful will find their lives arid; they will be embarrassed by their own actions once they have the opportunity to look back on what they have done.
Like the east wind, I will scatter them before their enemies; I will show them my back, not my face, in their day of disaster.
Old Testament thinking sees God as an angry, vengeful creator. New Testament experiences God through a messianic lens that perceives God as merciful and forgiving, beckoning and tending, guarding and guiding. New Testament thinking teaches us that we can trust the creator to care for us when we look for wisdom and peace. Messianic thinking places hope in the presence of the creator among us in human form. Messianic hope teaches us that no one is too lost, nothing is too disastrous and no obstacle is too impossible for our God who loves us dearly and well.
Jeremiah also brings us these words: For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)
When we reflect on Israel’s unnatural turning away from so great a love, let us also consider our own relationship with God. Do we scatter before the east wind . . . or do we cleave to the source of all good and all hope? Do we bow to an unnatural apostasy . . . or do we remain as steady as the snows upon the high mountain tops . . . and rush down mountainsides with joy as we fall into God’s own hands?
Image from: http://www.crosscards.com/cards/scripture-cards/jeremiah-29-11-5.html
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