I have been reading through Jeremiah and today was amazed at how much the Lord pleads Truth on our behalf. I know that context can illuminate scripture but the Lord has also been reminding me that his word is eternal and in being so it is as applicable today as it was when it was written. In Jeremiah 10 the Lord pleads with his people to acknowledge the emptiness of idols. Here is some of what he says:
"Do not fear them for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good." V. 5
"They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!" V.8
"They are worthless, a work of delusion." V.15
As I read this I began to think about the cultural application for us and wondered what the Lord would put in place of wood and silver and gold. Our idols are made by a different kind of craftsmen but they fill our culture. They are made of steel with racing strips. They are towering homes of brick. They are seemingly infinite combinations of liquid anesthetic. They are pills that promise deliverance from our problems. They are other people eager for 5 minutes of fulfillment. They are boxes that promise hours of mental relaxation. They are anything that we are tempted to find our security in believing it to be more concrete than the promises and presence of the living God. Here is what he says about himself:
"But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting king! At his wrath the Earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation." V.10
"It is he who made the Earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the Earth. He makes lightening for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouse!" V. 12-13
There is none like the Lord! There is much in this world that promises deliverance at the cost of our standards and leaves emptiness where the Lord desires fulfillment. There is much that promises security for the price of compromise and delivers desperation. But the Lord is in control of all things and though it may seem that our compromise escapes his attention scripture assures us that it does not. God is love and he is holy. I want to learn to live in awareness of both truths. In his great mercy as I learn to live by his word, the fulfillment of his presence in my life offers strength to turn down more idols that offer counterfeit security. The Lord's heart is only for our good! May we learn and understand the freedom and joy that comes from the fear of the Lord.
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