July 28

Lamentations 2
In January of 1995 I moved from a suburb of Oklahoma City to North Carolina. In April of 1995 Timothy McVeigh and his accomplice left a rental truck filled with fertilizer in front of the Murrah building in Oklahoma City. When it exploded, it shook the nation. As I watched the destruction on the news and the internet, I was absolutely aghast. I knew one person whose office was located in the building. As far as I know, his body was never found. My mind immediately landed in Lamentations. “Young and old lie on the ground in the streets.” Jeremiah was familiar with such devastation inflicted by humans against humans. In what way does destruction and death reveal the glory of the Lord?
Jeremiah lays the blame for the destruction of Jerusalem at the feet of the Lord. He does not blame the Babylonians. Time and again he charges the Lord with the authorization of the destruction of His people. But in the midst of the charge against Him, Jeremiah introduces a rationale for the Lord’s judgment. Speaking to Israel the Lord says, “Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not uncovered your iniquity, to bring back your captives, but have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions.” One of the roles of a prophet is to act as a prosecuting attorney on behalf of the Lord. He is to denounce the sin of the people so that they may repent and return to the Lord. Jeremiah had spoken clearly in that role, but the leaders and people would have nothing to do with it. Instead they listened to false prophets who proclaimed a message they wanted to hear. It is the glory of the Lord to warn a people of their sin and to judge them if they do not repent. It is the glory of the Lord to warn a people of their sin and to grant them mercy if they repent.
Was there a particular sin of which Oklahoman’s needed to repent when the Lord permitted the OKC bombing? Maybe, maybe not. But more importantly, when events like these happen, we need to come to the Lord and ask, “Lord, how are you speaking to us through this event?” What about the USA right now? Our economic system seems to be on the brink of economic disaster, and our congress cannot agree on how to address it. Is this a time when perhaps we should be corporately calling out to the Lord and asking, “Lord, how are you speaking to us through these events?” Our churches in America are dying. Every year we close more churches in the USA than we open. There is not a single county in the USA where percentage of church attendees in the county is on the increase. Yes there are churches that are growing, but the statistics would seem to indicate that overall, the shift is just from one church to another. Is it not a time when we should begin asking, “Lord, how are you speaking to us through these events.”
The Lord will glorify Himself in one of two ways. He will glorify Himself in His great justice. He will glorify Himself in His great mercy. In His glory, He lets us choose which one in which we will participate! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john