"'I have abandoned my people, my special possession.
I have surrendered my dearest ones to their enemies.
My chosen people have roared at me like a lion of the forest,
so I have treated them with contempt.
My chosen people act like speckled vultures,
but they themselves are surrounded by vultures.
Bring on the wild animals to pick their corpses clean!'"
I have surrendered my dearest ones to their enemies.
My chosen people have roared at me like a lion of the forest,
so I have treated them with contempt.
My chosen people act like speckled vultures,
but they themselves are surrounded by vultures.
Bring on the wild animals to pick their corpses clean!'"
Even as God declares his abandonment of his people, he uses love language. "My people, my special possession, my chosen people"—twice he says this last part. God may punish, but he does it with great grief. Sin is serious, it must be paid for, and it gives God only anguish to express the just part of his nature. If we think there's a conflict between love and justice on God's part, there is! Even within God's own heart. God's dilemma is spelled out in Jeremiah, but it's resolved in Jesus' taking on the punishment for sin. That's our good news!
No comments:
Post a Comment