Reflection question:
-This was a tough chapter for me to read. God forces the people to drink from a cup of judgement and wrath. As I've been reading through this book, I'm realizing more and more that a lot of the reason God is so upset is related to the way people were treating one another. God was also mad about the way that they were treating the poor and needy. The people were clearly off-track and needed a wake-up call to help them reconnect with God. However, it's still really hard to read these words of condemnation. What are your thoughts?
PS: If you are from Stewartville, come on over to church at 6:45pm for our Lenten service at Zion.
Tonight our gospel lesson is Luke 7:36-50. It's a great text! Jesus talks all about forgiveness!
Tonight our gospel lesson is Luke 7:36-50. It's a great text! Jesus talks all about forgiveness!
I read this chapter as I have the others previous to it and find the people have been warned countless times. Many of the words spoken in this chapter were repeated from previous chapters, and it sounds as though God is finally at a breaking point where He needs to condemn those and their evil ways. Perhaps, He feels that the only way to get back to His ways and the way of truth is through the destruction of that which is wrong?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Amy. According to vs 3, Jeremiah had been trying to convince the people for 23 years to turn their lives around and get in step with God. I am sure that Jeremiah grew weary in well doing, but he didn't give up and stayed faithful to God instead of joining the ranks of evil that surrounded him so pervasively, A good message for us today to stay faithful to God no matter the evil surrounding us, and to keep living the Christian life as best we can. God is a just God, and although it seems so harsh, he had to "clean house" I believe as people were getting further and further away from his truths. They had to have consequences for their actions and attitudes and this was God's choice of punishment. When I realize how many chances they had to repent, the harshness makes a little more sense. God was beyond patient with them.
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