THRUST FROM GOD'S PRESENCE

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In Christ, Mark

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

“Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for My Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. While you were doing all these things,” declares the Lord, “I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears My Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. I will thrust you from My presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.”

Jeremiah 7:12-15

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

The people of Judah and Jerusalem had angered God, choosing to worship false gods and idols in direct disobedience to His commands. Perhaps there could be no more disrespectful act the people could have done before a God who was always watching, a God who had always provided faithfully for His people’s needs.

And so God brought judgment upon His people for their wicked, sinful spiritual adultery and as we see from our scripture passage today, part of the penalty would involve His people being thrust from His presence. Look again at these verses here:

“Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for My Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. While you were doing all these things,” declares the Lord, “I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears My Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. I will thrust you from My presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.”  Jeremiah 7:12-15

There’s a lot to cover here so let me break things down into three parts.

First, note what led to the Israelites being thrust from God’s presence.

The word of God tells us that they were a wicked people, which means they were inclined to sin and sin often. And as God does when His people sin, He tried to speak to His people and convict them of their wrong doing with the hope that they might receive His direction and get back on the right and righteous track. But unfortunately, there was one big problem. The Israelites were not listening. They were so caught up in doing what they wanted to do that they ignored any overtures from God as to what He wanted them to do. Thus, God had to go to another level, one that was much more taxing and painful, to get His people’s attention.

Secondly, note that the Israelites would no longer find refuge in the temple because they were being cast out of it. The temple was where God’s presence abided and He was about to depart that temple, abandoning His people to be carried away into a seventy year exile, an exile where they would learn that it’s never pleasant to live outside of God’s presence. The temple would be destroyed and left in ruins by the Babylonians.

Ultimately, the Israelites did it to themselves. They chose to worship gods and idols that could offer them nothing, gods and idols that were as lifeless as the faith-life of the people of God. And so the Israelites would have plenty of time to consider their sinfulness and the dire consequences it brought upon them.

Finally, note that this wasn’t the first time this had happened. When the people of Israel first conquered the land of Canaan, the land God had promised them, they assembled in the Ephraimite city of Shiloh where they set up the “Tent of the Lord’s presence” which was essentially the tabernacle where the ark of the covenant was kept, the tabernacle where the Lord was present (Joshua 18:1). The tabernacle would remain in Shiloh until the time of Eli when the people of Israel committed acts very similar to the ones committed by the Israelites in Jeremiah’s time. Look at these words from the 78th Psalm:

But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep His statutes. Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow. They angered Him with their high places; they aroused His jealousy with their idols. When God heard them, He was furious; He rejected Israel completely. He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had set up among humans. He sent the ark of His might into captivity, His splendor into the hands of the enemy. He gave His people over to the sword; He was furious with His inheritance.”  Psalm 78:56-62

Putting God to the test. Rebelling against the Most High. Not keeping God’s statutes. Disloyal and faithless to God. Worshipping other gods and idols.

All common denominators between the early Canaanite Israelites and those during the days of Jeremiah. Here’s something else that was in common. God rejected His people completely and abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh before thrusting His people from His presence and giving them over to their enemies. Such was His anger and fury with them.

The people of God during Jeremiah’s tenure were no different than their ancestors. They were simply repeating the mistakes of the past.

So where does this leave us today? Are we continuing to sinfully error in the same way as the Old Testament believers detailed in these scriptures?

In my opinion, we are. We act like we haven’t learned a thing and friends, we had better wake up because you better believe that God will not tolerate a people who are disloyal and unfaithful to Him. Woe to anyone who chooses to behave in a way that stokes the flames of God’s anger like the Old Testament Israelites we’re studying today because there is only going to be one outcome in the end and it’s one that nobody should ever want to experience.

What’s that outcome?

It’s the one where we are thrust out of God’s presence and left to fend for ourselves without Him.

Frankly, I can’t think of any more fearful place to be than that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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