NO NEED TO ASK, “WHY?”

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In Christ, Mark

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

This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there: ‘Hear the word of the Lord to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates. This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. But if you do not obey these commands, declares the Lord, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”

For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah: “Though you are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon, I will surely make you like a wasteland, like towns not inhabited. I will send destroyers against you, each man with his weapons, and they will cut up your fine cedar beams and throw them into the fire.”

“People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’ And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’”

“Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss; rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled, because he will never return nor see his native land again.”

Jeremiah 22:1-10

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

The Israelites had driven the Lord to the end of His patience. Over and over, they chose to worship pagan gods and idols in direct disobedience to God’s command to only worship Him. And over and over, they refused to listen to His calls for repentance and warnings of judgment if they continued their sinful ways.

God’s people were challenging Him and as they were about to find out, they couldn’t have made a worse choice than that.

As we look at our passage for today, we are reminded that God demands justice from His people because He is a just and fair God. No estimation God makes is wrong or inequitable and so no punishment He doles out is unmerited or unwarranted. If the Israelites wanted to avoid penalty, then they needed to act in ways that were right and that meant making proper decisions that would be pleasing in God’s sight. Doing so would place them in His favor. Violating His expectations would bring His wrath and resultant consequences which the scriptures tell us included death and destruction.

The choice was squarely in the court of the people of God and the option they selected would determine their fate.

As we know, they chose sin over righteousness and so God chose to make good on His promise of bringing demise and devastation on them, sending King Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian forces to ransack, ruin, and plunder Judah and Jerusalem before hauling the Israelites away into exile for seventy years.

The Israelites had nobody to blame but themselves and just in case anyone decided to try and feel sorry for them or wonder how something as terrible could have happened to God’s people, the Lord had this to say:

“People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’ And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’”

In other words, there was no need for anyone to ask, “Why has the Lord done such a thing?” because the people of God had foolishly asked for it. They denied and disrespected God and then dared Him to make good on His promised threats, forgetting that God never fails to keep His promises. He will always do what He says He will do.

So what are we to take away from this today?

I pray that we are paying attention so that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past and adopt the faith attitude of the Old Testament Israelites of Jeremiah’s day. For if we so choose to sin when we know from God’s word that He hates sin and will send consequences on anyone who willfully and willingly opt for wickedness over righteousness, then we can fully expect God’s judgment to come and when it does it won’t be any more pleasant for us than it was for the people of Israel.

And further, no one need to ask, “Why has the Lord done such a thing?” because we will be receiving what we deserve.

Let’s all do ourselves a favor and remain obedient to God and all His commands. We’ll make it a lot easier on ourselves and the question others will be asking will be more positive, kingdom-advancing fashion for they will ask, “Why is the Lord sending so many blessings on him or her or them? Why is the Lord doing such a thing?”

And the answer from the Lord will be, “Because they have chosen to obey Me and allow My will and way to be their own.”

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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