42:13-18
God was fully aware of the propensity of the people to disobey Him, even when they had promised to do otherwise. Indeed, this had been the history of Israel! So He warned them of the consequences. Note that God is also aware of the reasons for the temptation. They would think that in Egypt they would be safe, they would not then have to live their lives in constant fear or threat. We need to be aware of how subtle and deceptive our feelings can be. If they did go to Egypt the very things that they feared would overtake them. They would indeed see war and famine in Egypt. The only way to be free from fear is to trust in the Lord. Then see what it says in v17. “Or escape the disaster I will bring upon them”. God doesn’t bring disaster on people, we might say. Yes He does! The Bible says He does. They needed to fear the Lord, not man, and that applies to all of us as well. Jerusalem had been destroyed because of God’s wrath against the the sin of the people. If the people went to Egypt they would still be sinful people and therefore subject to the wrath of God. They needed to repent, and to demonstrate that repentance by obeying the Lord and staying in Judah.
4:19-22
Jeremiah re-emphasised the word and told the people plainly “Do not go to Egypt”. He then tells them that they had actually made things worse for themselves. For they had asked Jeremiah to give them the word of the Lord, and made a vow to obey the word, whatever it said. Now they had received the word, and Jeremiah knew that they would not follow it. We need to be aware that a pretence of commitment to the Lord, which is what this was, will not fool God. We deceive no one but ourselves. It is only a change of heart that counts for anything. At this point the people have not yet disobeyed the word, but Jeremiah is utterly convinced that they will. This insight was borne of the years of bitter experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment