“Hear this now, O foolish people without understanding, who have eyes and see not, and who have ears and hear not: Do you not fear Me? Says the LORD. Will you not tremble at My presence?” (vv.21-22)
At this point Israel had completely abandoned her allegiance to God and no longer walked in the fear of the Lord. On a practical level, this meant that people felt a license to sin. The fear of God’s judgment, which had once been a restraining force, was discarded. They no longer believed that God would involve Himself in any meaningful way in their lives, and certainly would not judge their sin.
Dishonesty, adultery, rebellion, greed, injustice: these had all become commonplace in the lives and culture of Israelites of that time. And perhaps worst of all, no one showed remorse. No one had any sense of having offended God and the requirements of His Law. Instead the culture they had created, both political and religious, affirmed all of their wrong choices. They had completely rejected God’s authority. Sound familiar?
Today, people feel a freedom to sin. The thought of a divine being judging their sin seems out-of-date, medieval almost. And sadly, some churches (and even entire denominations) no longer preach the judgment side of our Holy God not wanting to offend.
When we abandon the fear of the Lord, it often happens gradually. First, we forget to see God as the provider of all good things. Our hearts aren’t grateful for all that we’ve been given. Second, we think we are self-reliant. Our blessings become the very things that have turned our hearts from God, convincing us that we don’t really need Him. And finally, we lose sensitivity to sin and we no longer hate it.
Jeremiah pointed out the folly of such thinking. He reminds us of how much we should respect God’s power (v.22), that short-term pleasures will bring long-term losses (vv.28-29), and that sin thrives on self-deception and doesn’t look ahead to the end result (v.31). Therefore, fear the LORD, and abandon sin (not God), and live.
The Truth: “The fear of the LORD leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil.” (Proverbs 19:23)
At this point Israel had completely abandoned her allegiance to God and no longer walked in the fear of the Lord. On a practical level, this meant that people felt a license to sin. The fear of God’s judgment, which had once been a restraining force, was discarded. They no longer believed that God would involve Himself in any meaningful way in their lives, and certainly would not judge their sin.
Dishonesty, adultery, rebellion, greed, injustice: these had all become commonplace in the lives and culture of Israelites of that time. And perhaps worst of all, no one showed remorse. No one had any sense of having offended God and the requirements of His Law. Instead the culture they had created, both political and religious, affirmed all of their wrong choices. They had completely rejected God’s authority. Sound familiar?
Today, people feel a freedom to sin. The thought of a divine being judging their sin seems out-of-date, medieval almost. And sadly, some churches (and even entire denominations) no longer preach the judgment side of our Holy God not wanting to offend.
When we abandon the fear of the Lord, it often happens gradually. First, we forget to see God as the provider of all good things. Our hearts aren’t grateful for all that we’ve been given. Second, we think we are self-reliant. Our blessings become the very things that have turned our hearts from God, convincing us that we don’t really need Him. And finally, we lose sensitivity to sin and we no longer hate it.
Jeremiah pointed out the folly of such thinking. He reminds us of how much we should respect God’s power (v.22), that short-term pleasures will bring long-term losses (vv.28-29), and that sin thrives on self-deception and doesn’t look ahead to the end result (v.31). Therefore, fear the LORD, and abandon sin (not God), and live.
The Truth: “The fear of the LORD leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil.” (Proverbs 19:23)
