A Nation in the Balance

 By:  Dale Weckbacher

 

Text:  Jeremiah 18:1-23

 

Jeremiah 18:7-10

If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, ⁸ and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. ⁹ And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, ¹⁰ and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.

(ESV)

 

To the Lord, the nations are like a drop in a bucket and accounted as dust (Isaiah 40:15).  However, he has concern for the people within the nations, not wanting anyone to perish in the sin (2 Peter 3:9).  Judah and Israel have committed a horrible sin by turning away from God and to other gods, yet God gives them one more opportunity to repent and avoid the disaster the Lord has for them.  The fate of the nation of Judah hangs in the balance, hinging on whether the people will repent. 

 

The text of Jeremiah 18:1-23 is in three sections each dealing with why Judah is about to undergo the judgment of God.  The sections include,

 

1)      A call to repent (Jeremiah 18:1-11) – Using the illustration of a potter working with clay, the Lord instructs Jeremiah to go to the potter’s house and see how the potter takes a soiled piece of clay and fashions it into another vessel.  With the Lord acting as the potter, he can fashion Judah into a nation serving God as God intended but only if they turn from their evil (Jeremiah 18:7-8), placing themselves in the hands of the potter. 

2)      Continued rejection of God (Jeremiah 18:12-17) – Unfortunately for Judah and the people of Israel, they decide to continue following their plans and continue to act according to the stubbornness of their evil hearts (Jeremiah 18:12).  The Lord responds by reminding Judah that they have done a horrible thing by forgetting God and making offerings to false gods (Jeremiah 18:13-15).  The sin of Judah has made the land a horror and something people hiss at, shaking their heads in disbelief (Jeremiah 18:16).  More horrific than what has happened to the land is God’s intention to scatter Judah before their enemies, turning His back on them, and offering no help (Jeremiah 18:17). 

3)      Attacking the messenger (Jeremiah 18:18-23) – In response to the Lord’s call to repentance and pronouncement of his intentions to scatter them, the people could have still repented and received reconciliation with God.  However, they instead attack the messenger, Jeremiah, with their tongues and do not listen to any of his words (Jeremiah 18:18).  This prompts Jeremiah to speak, telling the Lord to listen to the voice of his adversaries (Jeremiah 18:19).  Jeremiah has done no evil to Judah and interceded for them in an attempt to turn them back to God and avoid the coming judgment, that is until the Lord told Jeremiah to stop (Jeremiah 7:16).  Jeremiah now sees that Israel intends to repay the goodness of his heart towards Judah with evil and joins the Lord in turning his back on them so God can execute His judgment. 

 

 

Once again it is obvious Judah has no intention to repent and turn from their worship of other gods and back to God.  While they could become clay in the hands of the Lord as the Potter and have the Lord fashion them into a new vessel serving God, they once again refuse (Jeremiah 18:12).  Even the pronouncement of a sentence of exile and God turning his back on them is not sufficient to bring them to repentance.  Judah has placed themselves in a position where God has no choice but to execute the judgments He set in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. 

 

Even though God deals with the Church through grace and not the law (Galatians 2:8), the Church can become lukewarm and sicken the heart of God (Revelation 3:14-22).  The purpose of the Church is not to just make people feel good, but also to challenge their hearts and transform them from conformity to the world to conformity and reconciliation with God (Romans 12:1-2).  I encourage those reading this who have not accepted Jesus as their savior and received reconciliation with God to do so by praying with me now,

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

My prayer is that each person reading would heed, and not reject the conviction of the Holy Spirit and repent of the sin in their lives.  My prayer is that the Church would prepare for spiritual battle using the armor of God and remain alert through prayer (Ephesians 6:10-18).  May God challenge and bless everyone reading this post.