Early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the LORD: “This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the LORD’s house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the LORD. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. Say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: If you do not listen to me and follow my law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened), then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.'”
Jeremiah 26:1-6
Warning with a Purpose
A man goes to the doctor's office for his yearly checkup. "Joe," the doctor says, "you really have to make some changes in your lifestyle. Your weight is well above what is considered the healthy range. Your blood pressure is skyrocketing despite the medication you're taking for it. Your cholesterol levels are off the charts. You're a ticking time-bomb for having a heart attack. And even if that doesn't happen, you're staring at heart disease or diabetes in the very near future. You need to stop eating junk food and get on an exercise program, or quite frankly, you're not going to be around much longer."
Joe never enjoyed going to the doctor, and he was once again reminded why. He didn't like what the doctor had to say. It was unpleasant for Joe to hear the honest truth. But the honest truth from his doctor is exactly what he needed to hear. It was a warning with a purpose: to save Joe's life.
In Jeremiah chapter 26, God directed his prophet, Jeremiah, to deliver a warning to the people of Judah. It was a difficult assignment, but a necessary one. Judah stood on the brink of spiritual ruin and death. Through Jeremiah, God was saying, "Turn away from your sin and rebellion against me, or you will perish."
The people of Judah are not the only ones to receive such a warning from God. We receive such a warning in God's law. And just like it was for Joe, it's difficult for us to hear. It's unpleasant to be confronted with the fact that we are "dead in our sins" (Ephesians 2:1). It makes us squirm when Jesus says to us in Luke chapter 13, "Repent, or you too will perish!" But that is exactly what we need to hear, because we need to know the dire straits we are in spiritually and eternally.
God warns us with a purpose: to turn us from our sin. After God shows us the seriousness of our sin through that warning, he shows us his mercy. He does not want us to perish, just as he didn't want the people of Judah to perish. About 650 years after Jeremiah, Jesus the Son of God, suffered and died for us. Jesus endured the curse of sin and death to win forgiveness for our sins. Through his death and resurrection, God saves us and gives us life everlasting.
Heed God's warnings. Take them seriously. Turn away from sin. And take comfort in the fact that through faith in Jesus, you will not perish but have eternal life. Thank God for his warning with a purpose.
Prayer:
Merciful God, help me to take your warnings about sin seriously. Work in me sorrow over my sin and turn me to my Savior Jesus for forgiveness. Strengthen me that I may follow your will all my days. Amen.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Devotions are brought to you by WELS and 
Print 
PDF
No comments:
Post a Comment