May 29, 2023
Passage Read: Jeremiah 41-44
Meditation Verses: 44:24-28
Thought
Why does God even bother talking to these people? They have rejected Him to His face; they have declared their intent and fulfilled it to go against whatever He says. They rejected Jeremiah when they asked Jeremiah to ask the Lord whether they should go to Egypt or not. They won't listen to Jeremiah. They rejected him as prophet, even when everything he previously prophesied came to pass! These people have made it clear that they want nothing to do with God; they know best and will pursue what they think is good and right. So why does God bother trying to speak to them anymore? Jeremiah should return to Israel and live with whoever is left there.
Application
God is intent on proving Himself right and revealing the extent of their wickedness. This exchange justifies God; He doesn't need to do anything else for any and all spectators to know that these people are rotten to the core. But He will keep His Word and devastate this remnant, as a warning to any of the rest of us who might be tempted to resist the Lord: We may get away with it for a time, but in the end we will lose. There is no succeeding against the Lord. I don't want to cross God, resist Him and lose out on everything. My only choice is to humbly accept all He says and requires, to live to please and honor Him, not myself or anyone else.