"Returning to the God of grace"
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Introduction
Introduction
One of the most common characteristics of the Old Testament relationship between God and Israel is the statement by God “and I will be your God.”
Beginning with the covenant with Abraham we see this unfold:
And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it.
Ezekiel
even in the second to last book in the English Old Testament we see these words:
and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”
Zechariah
The Characteristics we see in these passages is the God of all creation willing to allow His people to return from their sin, to return from chasing other gods, to return from walking away. We see God slow to anger, patient with His children, providing a time for His children to return.
Throughout the Old Testament time and time again we see Israel walk away from God, chase after the gods of other nations, commit abominable sins against God, and yet He offers them an opportunity to return to Him in humble repentance that they may be saved from His wrath poured out against them for their unrighteousness. God offers His people the opportunity to return. This begs the question: Why would God allow an obstinate, rebellious nation to return? Because God desires the best for His people, He desires to guide them and lead them, and show the ultimate love to them so they can likewise show that love to the world. God brings the nations back to Himself so he can bless them with the best, the greatest.
Today we will look at one such moment where God must once again offer forgiveness to His people, but in this moment they reject him, choosing to submit themselves to God’s wrath instead of His grace. Turn with me to .
Context
Context
What we are about to read is God’s judgement on Israel in light of His statements in Chapter 18. We will at times look back at Chapter 18 as we read our passage for today but a very quick synopsis of chapter 18 is that God, through Jeremiah, offers Israel an opportunity to return to Him, to repent of their evil ways and return to God. Israel refuses this offer and instead acts as though there is no fear of God in them. Jeremiah concludes the chapter praying for Israel before in Chapter 19 Jeremiah is given a task and a judgment to Prophesy.
Let us read .
Exposition
Exposition
God tells Jeremiah to go buy a piece of Pottery, gather some of the elders of the people and the priests and take them to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the entry to the Potsherd Gate. Surrounding Jerusalem there were walls and at certain points in the walls were gates with names that typically described their function, like those found in Nehemiah. This gate was significant for two reasons, one which we will look at now and another which we will look at later. As a potter makes his Pots he may at times make a mistake or need to throw away a pot that was made unusable in the firing process. This location was the gate where potters would go to dispose of those unusable pots.
The words Jeremiah is informed to give likely have the same response from 21st century readers as they did, yet in a different way, to those gathered around him on this day.
“Because the people have forsaken me...” v.4
In Jeremiah 18
Let’s look at
Here Jeremiah tells the people of Israel they have the opportunity to return to God.
v.14 God is using imagery to show the people that what they have done is unnatural. Just as it is unnatural for snow to leave a certain area and water to dry up, so also is it unnatural for Israel to abandon their God.
v.15 yet they have done just this. God’s initial call for His people to be a light in a world of darkness has been abandoned. Instead of being a city on a hill they have left the city and become tied with the world. They have abandoned God.
v.18 The people do not fear God. They scheme to kill His prophet instead of responding in repentance. This place that Israel finds itself is a dangerous location.
Recall how the pagans of Nineveh responded in , they responded in belief in God and repentance. Contrast that with these Israelites response. They did not fear God and did not repent.
Because they did not fear God, and instead forsook Him, He speaks His judgement to His people through Jeremiah.
How had they forsaken God: (v.4-5)
Made offerings to other gods, whom they had no connection to
Israel took other gods and worshipped them instead of the One true God
spilled the blood of innocents
They offered their children as sacrifices to the god of the Canaanites Molech.
The second reason that it is important that Jeremiah took them to the Potsherd gate is because here at Topheth, where they sacrificed to Molech they would gather the remains of the sacrificed and put them in clay jars and stack them in this area. God is accusing Israel of their sin and presenting them the evidence of their sin in the same location.
built high places to worship Baal
High places were places built to worship false gods, places where the people gathered all throughout the region.
Since they had done all of this and refused to repent God speaks His judgement to them through Jeremiah:
Punishment will be so severe that the place name will be changed from Hinnom, which means wailing, to Haregah, which means Slaughter.
Anytime a name change happens it is important, and something we need to pay attention to.
God is telling His people that the punishment for their rebellion will be the siege and capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Now obviously we do not see those exact words here but history shows that a short time after this prophesy Jerusalem was laid under siege and eventually conquered by Babylon in 586 BC. Throughout the Old Testament God uses the people surrounding Israel as the means of discipline for His peoples’ sin. Here we see the Prophecy of what the discipline for their sin of forsaking God is.
“plans of Judah and Jerusalem”
Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’
“But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’
passages like this should shake us, they should cause us to pause and watch.
Often times we so quickly read passages like this one, if we even read them at all, and we don’t stop long enough to really hear the weight of what is happening. God says to his people “discipline is coming but I am offering you the opportunity to return to me” and Israel says “no thank you, we enjoy our evil.”
This should be cause for shock when we see a people openly reject God, yet also a cause for reflection on ourselves, have I likewise rejected God? Have I, likewise, chased after temporal, earthly gods instead of running to God? When have I knowingly sinned and refused to turn to God for help?
[PAUSE]
Jeremiah continues the passage by describing what this discipline will look like. He described how Israel will be besieged and conquered by an enemy nation. Jeremiah’s description of events fulfills the covenant Israel took with God in . This curse God was laying before His people was not out of nowhere, it did not catch them off guard, instead it was the exact fulfillment of what God said would happen to Israel if they chose to live a life of disobedience and rebellion before Him.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
Just as Israel had an opportunity to return to God so do we.
shows us that opportunity that was laid before Israel.
Application
Application
Some of you are likely asking yourselves “what on earth does this have to do with me? I am not a 1st century BC Israelite living under the Mosaic law.”
or perhaps you are thinking “well I don’t want that punishment leveraged on me.”
or “I’ve never worshipped a false god, or killed and innocent person, or set up an altar to a false god.”
You’re right, you probably have never done any of those things but I want us to consider something.
What are the gods of my life that I place before God?
sports
possessions
wife or kids
money
successful career
education
When God says you will have no other gods before me He doesn’t mean that it is ok for us to have other gods as long as they are behind him on a list, He means we will have no other gods besides Him.
When God says you will have no other gods before me He doesnt mean that it is ok for us to have other gods as long as they are behind him on a list, He means we will have no other gods besides Him.
Share story of African man that just wanted whatever you could offer because surely something would work.
I was told by a mentor of mine one time “If you want to know who someone serves look at their bank account, look at where they dedicate their time and their energy.”
We may not sacrifice before Baal but we do forsake God when we refuse to obey Him. We forsake God when instead of running to him with our problems in prayer we decide to cope with life through entertainment, work, or approval by others. In today’s culture we may not be surrounded by the ancient god’s of Baal, Asherah, and Molech but we are instead surrounded by the god of money, status, authority. If we place the service of these gods before the submission and obedience of God then we serve false gods.
Jeremiah took the clay jar that he brought with him and he smashed it before the people, declaring to them “ So will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, so that it can never be mended.” (v.11)
Why did God declare this through Jeremiah?
“because they have stiffened their neck, refusing to hear my words.” (v.15)
Some of you may even remember a time before you came to God, you may have been like these Israelites, living in sin and not wanting anything to do with God. This was the story for me, I thought I could trick God and still live in sin. The truth is that I can’t
This brings me to ask myself and you today a few questions:
Do I fear God? or do I fear losing my gods?
Do
Our choices to obey God show whether we fear or revere God or not.
says “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”
Do I worship God with my life? or do I worship false gods with my life?
does my daily life reflect God or reflect self
If God told me to give up something (possessions, money, time) would I withhold it from Him?
If I trust God, then I will lay my life at His feet
Have I given my life to God or have I stiffened my neck, refusing to hear his words?
Today we have three options before us as a means of response to what we have heard
We submit ourselves to God in belief, perhaps for the first time
Some of you today may not have accepted Christ into your life. Just as God offered a way for Israel to be saved from the wrath to come so also God offers salvation to you today through the gift of His son. You see, everyone of us is guilty of sin before God, we may think we are good enough to get into heaven but scripture tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Just as God offers a way of forgiveness for Israel he also provides a way through Jesus. Jesus came, lived a perfect life, and died and rose again to give you and I the opportunity to have our sins forgiven and be brought back into relationship with God.
Some of you today may not have accepted Christ into your life. Just as God offered a way for Israel to be saved from the wrath to come so also God
If this is you then I want to offer you an opportunity during the time of response to come forward and I can talk to you more about what that means, to follow God and accept Christ blood as forgiveness of your sins.
Just as God offered a way for Israel to be saved from the wrath to come so also God
We submit ourselves to God in repentance of our sin
Consider the passage from that shows that we even the discipline of God is meant for our good.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
repentance
Some of you may be in the boat that you have already accepted Christ but perhaps you were convicted today of sin or placing false gods before God. During our time of response I encourage you to lay those things before God, humbly repenting of sin in your life and asking God for the strength and guidance to tear down those idols in your life.
We submit ourselves to the wrath of God
If we refuse the opportunity to follow God and receive His grace, as Israel did, then we submit ourselves to His wrath.
Israel submitted themselves to God’s wrath in and chapter 19 is the judgement God spoke out over them.
As we enter into this time of reflection I want to encourage you to thoughtfully and prayerfully consider what your response will be. I hope that you do not respond as the Israelites do, I pray you find yourself in one of the first two responses.
