A FRUSTRATED GOD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Why do you bring charges against Me? You have all rebelled against Me,” declares the Lord. “In vain I punished your people; they did not respond to correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a ravenous lion.”

“You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord:”

“Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to You no more’? Does a young woman forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten Me, days without number. How skilled you are at pursuing love! Even the worst of women can learn from your ways. On your clothes is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor, though you did not catch them breaking in. Yet in spite of all this you say, ‘I am innocent; He is not angry with me.’”

“But I will pass judgment on you because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’ Why do you go about so much, changing your ways? You will be disappointed by Egypt as you were by Assyria. You will also leave that place with your hands on your head, for the Lord has rejected those you trust; you will not be helped by them.”

Jeremiah 2:29-37

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever thought how frustrated God must get with us?

Maybe it’s never something you may have thought about. Maybe it’s something you think about frequently.

The former approach would only frustrate God more because we simply go about our lives, most of the time chasing after our own desires and the world’s ways while ignoring His word and will and way. We carry ourselves as if God does not count in life, although we wouldn’t have life in the first place if it weren’t for Him.

The latter approach leads us to an acute awareness of our fallen state, understanding that we are all sinners and thus commit acts that are not pleasing to God. This awareness leads to repentance and a realization that God’s reluctance to wipe off the face of His creation is an absolute testimony of His goodness and love and grace and mercy and forgiveness.

So what category do you fall into?

This is the question the Lord asks for us to ponder today as we look at the case of the Old Testament Israelites who, as we will see in the closing verses of Jeremiah 2, had completely frustrated God to the point where He was preparing judgment to come upon His people.

What were His frustration points? Look again at this passage:

“Why do you bring charges against Me? You have all rebelled against Me,” declares the Lord. “In vain I punished your people; they did not respond to correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a ravenous lion.”

“You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord:”

“Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to You no more’? Does a young woman forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten Me, days without number. How skilled you are at pursuing love! Even the worst of women can learn from your ways. On your clothes is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor, though you did not catch them breaking in. Yet in spite of all this you say, ‘I am innocent; He is not angry with me.’”

“But I will pass judgment on you because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’ Why do you go about so much, changing your ways? You will be disappointed by Egypt as you were by Assyria. You will also leave that place with your hands on your head, for the Lord has rejected those you trust; you will not be helped by them.”  Jeremiah 2:29-37

First, God was frustrated that His people had rebelled against Him. He had clearly spelled out what He expected of them and demanded their obedience but they turned their backs on Him to chase after false gods and idols. Despite His complete faithfulness to them, they chose to be completely unfaithful to Him in return.

Second, God was frustrated because His people had failed to learn from the lessons of the past. Their ancestors had been rebellious as well and this resulted in God sending His punishment upon them. You would think that would be enough to lead a new generation into a different life attitude toward Him but that didn’t happen. Instead, they repeated the mistakes made by the Israelites of old.

Third, God was frustrated because His people had rejected Him. They decided that they did not need to go to God anymore because they were free to do whatever they wanted to do. Living apart from God was something they thought they would get away with but as God would show them, He was free too, free to exact His judgment on anyone who disrespected and disregarded Him.

Fourth, God was frustrated because His people had completely forgotten Him. He had become an afterthought to them, even though He had blessed them with everything they had. They had taken God for granted and stopped worshiping and praising Him for all He had done for them. Soon they would experience the full brunt of His consequences and get to experience first-hand what it would feel like to be abandoned and forsaken.

Finally, God was frustrated with His people because they refused to see their sinfulness and guilt before Him. They thought they were innocent and thus free from God’s wrath when their actual state couldn’t have been more precarious.

Question: Do you see yourself committing any of these actions in your own life?

If so, then you can bet that God is just as frustrated with you as He was with His people more than 2,000 years ago and that’s a place no one should want to be.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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