Another Name?
Like a lion that has come up from its lair
the one who destroys nations has set out
from his home base.
He is coming out to lay your land waste.
Your cities will be left in ruins and
lie uninhabited. Jeremiah 4:7
As we continue our journey through Jeremiah, I am inspired to continue writing about the dialogue from our Lord through Jeremiah. What is captured in these words is both the love, and faithfulness of our Lord and the serious nature of our God when it comes to covenant.
What is concerning to me is the current views of our God. Its the presentation that our God is so filled with Love, Mercy and Grace, that He would somehow be in capable of carrying out Vengeance and Wrath on those who reject Him or refuse to follow and obey. While we do understand that each man will be held accountable for his own actions, we have a view of judgement day that is more like “Shark Tank”, “The Voice” or maybe “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?.”
The Word informs us that He will divide sheep from goat, almost like the lawless swipe their way through Tinder. Yep, either covered or uncovered! Our God swept through Egypt looking at the doorpost, laying to rest the first born of those who were not covered, swallowed up almost all of humanity in a flood, rained down fire on an unrighteous town, allowed famines to come, and allowed His people to be held in captivity (among many other events). This God, my friends, has been labeled so loving and so forgiving, that He will not honor His Word.
Let me take the time today to point out a name that is not given to our Lord by His people, but a description of our Lord from His own lips to Jeremiahs ears and heart. God says He is “the one who destroys nations.”
We forget that our God’s Word hold back the four corners of the earth, and that one Word from Him can flood the earth, can open up the ground and swallow up rebellious followers. How quickly we forget that 40 years passed before entering the promised land, laying to rest generations of His chosen ones because the grumbled and complained, and that His chosen vessel died before entering the land promised to him because of disobedience. This same God gave the man after His own heart the plans for the temple, allowed him to collect all the resources and then wouldn’t let him build! This God people is the same God, now and forever more. And despite our teaching and characterization of God, all the interpretive face lifts and implants will not change who He is, just who we believe Him to be.
God has suffered many advertising campaigns that have painted an vague picture of a God; who, has a high concern for righteousness, obedience and covenant. God reminds His people through His servant, I am “the one who destroys nations.” Many times the children prayed to God, were outnumbered, not as well equipped, not strategically placed, and the children advanced into foreign territory and dominated because God has either gone before them, or the opposing nations had headed about God to such the capacity that their heart were gone before the children lifted their swords.
This same God allowed His children to lay waste to enemy territory, putting to death women, children and even the animals. He reminds them that He is capable of not only parting seas, and providing clouds and fire to guide them, but is able to curse the very ground the labored on and remove the hedges that formerly protected them.
They have been fooled into believing that the worst is over. They think that being in exile was the harshest punishment or that being under the ruler ship of a foreign leader who lacked morals and worshiped a foreign God was the worst that could happen to them, but Jeremiah brings to them a word of warning.
Listen to the Words of our Lord, who is describing Himself. He says, “Like a lion that has come up from its lair…” It’s as though He has been in His lair, ignoring the sounds from the entrance of His cave.
The people outside play, taunt and keep up drama and noise in His presence, ignoring the sheer danger of the lion, and playfully beacon from Him to emerge from His throne. I can see people throwing rocks down the entrance, waving fresh flesh at the caves entrance, yelling into the caves empty threats, growing bolder and louder by the moment before He appears.
Then, like a thief in the night, God (much like He left from eternity) stands up from His throne and makes His entrance. While God came in the form of man to free and not to judge, here we find God telling the people that He is going to “set out from his home base” and “lay your lands waste…in ruins and lie uninhabited.” Just when they thought they had experienced the worst, God determines that their actions have called for judgement. What they had experienced before is punishment, and now they would experience His judgement.
There is a difference between punishment and judgement.
This bothered me. I hear person after person talking about our earthly inhabitants being hell on earth. This is particularly hard to hear us spoiled Americans recite. Its as though we believe this earthly dwelling is the hardest life could ever be. We say this knowing that a different level of struggle exist in other countries, and recall this knowing what has been revealed to God’s Prophets. How foolish we are!
God presents to Him a plans to take action on and from the thing that was a blessing to them, but became a stumbling block to them.
The place where He purposed to meet them was eventually shared by false Gods, and became a place of manipulation and disobedience. The law He created for mankind to abide by, because a tool to chastise and prosper those in power with positions. And it is this bold, public rejection of God that causes God to put into works a public judgement.
In conclusions, He is El Shaddai, Jehovah Jireh, Jehova Rapha & Jehovah Nissi, but He is also “The one who Destroys Nations!”
#PastorJDO3
