Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Character
- Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person. It is hearing from God and obeying. It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.
Imagine
being Jeremiah. You promised that God
would bring destruction upon Jerusalem if the people would not humble
themselves before God and surrender to the Babylonians. The people didn’t. God fulfilled His promise. You got to see the character of the people
and the character of God.
Now
Jeremiah has been kidnapped and dragged to Egypt. Once more God warns the people to obey
Him. They disregard the message and
desire their own ways. They want to live
their life the way they want it. They
want to make sense of the world around them based on their own thoughts, not
based on a wisdom that is beyond the typical human existence. They find themselves in judgment one more
time. God promises destruction, even in
Jerusalem.
What a
great lesson in character. The people
want what makes sense to them. Their
character isn’t to look for a greater truth and live by what is good for the
community around them. They want to
sacrifice to gods that they think make a difference. They want to flee rather than be humble and
submit. Their character is flawed, and
we see it again and again in their refusal to submit.
What’s
neat, though, is that the people in Babylon will be the remnant. These people who have left for Egypt will
disappear into history without a trace.
What do they get for their troubles?
They get to disappear in history as Babylon and Egypt clash. God promises to forget them, and we forget
them, too. God is raising up more
faithful people away from these people who have shown a disobedient character.
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