August 5, 2024
Warning -- Part 1
Jeremiah 8:4-6
08/05/2024
4 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD: When
men fall, do they not rise again? If one turns
away, does he not return?
5 Why then has this people turned away in perpetual
backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they
refuse to return.
6 I have paid attention and listened, but they have
not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil,
saying, What have I done? Everyone turns to his
own course, like a horse plunging headlong into
battle. (ESV)
There are surprising parallels between the Old Testament
nation of Judah and the United States. Before Judah spent
seventy years in Babylonian captivity, the prophet Jeremiah was
sent by God to warn the people of the consequence of their
rejection of the truth. God commanded Jeremiah:
You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD: When men
fall, do they not rise again? If one turns away, does
he not return? Why then has this people turned away in
perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they
refuse to return. I have paid attention and listened,
but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his
evil, saying, What have I done? Everyone turns to his
own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
This warning is for all people who reject the Word of God.
We daily see the result of the decrease in religion as there is
more violence, including an assassination attempt on a
presidential candidate, rise in LGBTQ affiliations, an increase
in out of marriage births, and millions of children murdered in
the womb. Yet, as a nation, we do not repent and turn to God but
turn away from Him.
How long can we last as a nation as we deny that which not
only brings the comfort of the forgiveness of our sins, but
teaches us to love our neighbors? May our Lord grant that we
turn from the lies of the devil, the world, and our own sinful
flesh and cling to Christ Jesus as our Redeemer from sin and
death. Amen.