“I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger and fury and great wrath . . . Now you shall say to this people, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.'” (vv.5, 8)
In today’s chapter, the king of Judah, Zedekiah, asked Jeremiah if the Lord would be on their side when the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, attacked (v.2). God’s response made it clear that He was about to use the Babylonian army as an instrument of His discipline (v.4). Not only would the Babylonians be against them, but God Himself would be as well (v.5).
It is never a good thing to have God against you in what you are doing in your life. It can take a while for some to figure this simple truth out, while others never will. But God desires to be our greatest support and advocate. However, if we go against His will, He will become our greatest foe and worst nightmare.
But in His glorious grace God still offers us a choice, just as He did with Zedekiah and the people of Judah here in our text, "the way of life," or "the way of death." For Zedekiah the way of “life,” obey the LORD and surrender to captivity and live, the way of “death,” do not obey, but stand and fight and be destroyed (vv.8-10).
Nothing has changed from Jeremiah’s day until today. Man still must make the choice, obey God or not, to follow Him into everlasting glory or turn from Him into everlasting torment. What's your choice?
The Truth: “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many (who believe) will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)
In today’s chapter, the king of Judah, Zedekiah, asked Jeremiah if the Lord would be on their side when the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, attacked (v.2). God’s response made it clear that He was about to use the Babylonian army as an instrument of His discipline (v.4). Not only would the Babylonians be against them, but God Himself would be as well (v.5).
It is never a good thing to have God against you in what you are doing in your life. It can take a while for some to figure this simple truth out, while others never will. But God desires to be our greatest support and advocate. However, if we go against His will, He will become our greatest foe and worst nightmare.
But in His glorious grace God still offers us a choice, just as He did with Zedekiah and the people of Judah here in our text, "the way of life," or "the way of death." For Zedekiah the way of “life,” obey the LORD and surrender to captivity and live, the way of “death,” do not obey, but stand and fight and be destroyed (vv.8-10).
Nothing has changed from Jeremiah’s day until today. Man still must make the choice, obey God or not, to follow Him into everlasting glory or turn from Him into everlasting torment. What's your choice?
The Truth: “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many (who believe) will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)
