June 10

Jeremiah 5
I have spent a lot of time ministering to a friend of mine lately. He recently said that he was making a recommitment to the Lord. Yesterday he spoke honestly, and it revealed the true state of his heart. He was sharing some things that he had done in the past in order to keep from starving. They were acts of dishonesty where he preyed upon the dishonest motivations of other people. Another friend semi-jokingly said, “Oh, but I am sure you have repented of that.” By his defensiveness it was clear that he was not repentant and justified the dishonest act in his own mind. He was in a defensive mood the rest of the day. It erupted in a lot of discussion about the issues of justice, especially between rich and poor and different ethnic groups.
Jeremiah had a tough message from the Lord to bring to the people of Jerusalem. Destruction from the Lord was coming. The Lord challenged them to search the whole city. If they could find one man who executed judgment (lived justly), then He would not destroy the city. I live in Stillwater, Oklahoma, a city of about 45-48,000 people, perhaps the same size of Jerusalem at that time. If God were to give that challenge to Stillwater, could that man be found? Am I just? Do I execute judgment? Jeremiah said,
Surely these are poor.
They are foolish;
For they do not know the way of the LORD,
The judgment of their God.
5 I will go to the great men and speak to them,
For they have known the way of the LORD,
The judgment of their God.”
But these have altogether broken the yoke
And burst the bonds.
My friend justified himself because he was poor, but what about the rich? The Lord said that they were spiritual adulterers. They assembled themselves to seek other Gods like soldiers in whore houses. I have lived near towns that have army bases. I think I understand the pervasiveness of the imagery. When Jeremiah brought the message, the people denied that it was true. They said that the message was a lie. They rejected the message that judgment was on the way. They refused to believe in the Lord’s standard of justice. Indeed not a man was to be found in Jerusalem who believed in true justice, either among the poor or the rich. The Lord sent the destruction that He promised. Do I believe in His justice?
The Lord sums it all up in the end by saying:
“An astonishing and horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?
So where is the glory of the Lord in all this? I must learn to delight in the excellence of His justice. I must not pervert it by trying to twist it to my ends. I must love the excellence of His justice even more than my own life. When I do so, then I can go on to delight in His mercy. Then I will truly understand mercy. Then mercy will be valuable to me. Then showing mercy will be a priority to me. His justice is far beyond my understanding, but His mercy is greater still. Lord, let me not misrepresent justice nor rule my own power. Let me not love anything less than your justice and mercy. Let me love the cross for it is there where justice and mercy meet. Let me die in Jesus on the cross, for then I shall truly live. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john