Repent of Injustice

May 24, 2020 Background Scripture: Jeremiah 22 Lesson Passage: Jeremiah 22:1 – 10 Last week’s lesson examined God’s response to King Zedekiah’s request for deliverance from the Babylonian siege. Part of that response began to outline steps required to demonstrate repentance. When the people of God sin—and not if they sin, God requires repentance to mend the disruption in our relationship with God. This week’s lesson continues to examine repentance. It is difficult for me to imagine the extent of the offense sin has towards the holiness of God. It is just as mind-boggling to witness God begging His people to repent in order to avoid punishment. As a parent, I reflect on my emotions when instructing and correcting a disobedient infant, or young child. It is emotionally painful to deny children something that will temporarily make them happy or bring them joy; however, as a parent, you know how important it is for them to learn the proper way to live in society. So, there is a balance between finding ways to help children have a life filled with joy and disciplining them to help them be well-adjusted citizens in society. Parents do this with no true knowledge about the future state of the society their children will live in. In other words, we can only prepare children for the world as we know it. I don’t know how different my parenting would have been had I known what society would be like for my adult children. But I do know I would have done some things very differently. Children are innocent and unaware of the moral and ethical norms of the society around them. Parents train children to be able to navigate society as the parent understands society to be. There are some elements of that training that we don’t like but we view it as necessary for the best outcome for our children. I say all of that because I believe parenting allows us to at least peek into the door of God’s emotional experience with His children. Unlike human parents, God always has perfect knowledge of the moral and ethical norms of society. Tomorrow’s society is just as clear to God as yesterday’s society. God knows everything that we will ever have to navigate in society—no matter when it will happen! God’s perfect instructions will always give us the proper guidance. This is true for all times. When God begs His people to repent, it is because He sees what the end results of our actions will be. Mankind was created in the image and likeness of God. God loves us, and when He looks at us, He desires to see a reflection of Himself. Sin changes our spiritual image because it keeps us from being in the likeness of God. God is holy. In Him is light, and there is no darkness at all. Sin is darkness. We are saved to become children of light. To sin is to walk in darkness. God is going to destroy all darkness and evil in the final judgment. King Zedekiah and his leaders were part of the covenant people of God. However, they were purposely living evil lives, and as leaders, causing others to go astray from God. God was not going to allow this to continue. God’s people should love mercy and promote justice. To live contrary to this is to live contrary to God. God judges evil, and yet He does not want to punish His children. Therefore, He pleads with them to repent of their injustice. Robert C. Hudson May 7, 2020

Practice Justice

May 17, 2020 Background Scripture: Jeremiah 21 Lesson Passage: Jeremiah 21:8 – 14 Jeremiah had an extremely difficult assignment as a prophet of God. Jerusalem was under siege by King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army. Zedekiah had been appointed king in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar after the Babylonians had captured his nephew, King Jehoiachin, and laid claim to Judah as a Babylonian territory. Rather than fill the role as a puppet king, or governor of the province, King Zedekiah led a rebellion against Babylon. Meanwhile, King Zedekiah did not set the kind of godly example that God expected for the leader of His people, Judah. Because Zedekiah had done evil in the sight of the Lord, God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to besiege the city of Jerusalem, again. Zedekiah responded by sending two of his officers to Jeremiah and requested that he intercede for them by asking the Lord to cause the Babylonians to withdraw from them. No doubt Zedekiah was familiar with how God had responded to the prophet Isaiah during a similar situation in Israel’s past. However, the word the Lord gave Jeremiah to send to Zedekiah was just the opposite of his request. Rather than turn back the weapons of Babylon, the Lord was going to turn back the weapons of war being used by Judah. That’s right! God was not going to fight against the Babylonians on Judah’s behalf. Instead, God was going to use Babylon to fight against Judah! Since Jeremiah was a citizen of Judah, this could not have been a comfortable message for Jeremiah to give the officers of Zedekiah. Yet, Jeremiah knew quite well the evil deeds of Zedekiah and his officers. In fact, because of Jeremiah’s earlier prophecy, he had been tortured severely. Yes, King Nebuchadnezzar was more wicked than King Zedekiah, and the Babylonians were more wicked than the Jews. But God was not grading on the curve. God’s declaration has always called for nothing less than holiness: You be holy because I am holy. On our own merit, we are all doomed. But thanks be to God for His unmerited grace towards those who put their complete trust in Him. And too often, that’s when the water gets a little murky. We recognize and embrace God’s grace without considering that it is not a license to continue living as before. God expects an effort to be made, under grace, whereby we attempt to live up to His standard. Jeremiah’s message to King Zedekiah was not just a cruel cold rejection of his request. There was something else within that message. First, God offered the citizens of Jerusalem an opportunity to preserve their lives by surrendering to the Babylonians. If they stayed within the walls of the city, they would either starve to death or be killed when the walls were broken down by the Babylonians. If they left the city and surrendered, they would be kept alive. Their lives were literally in their own hands. Secondly, God gave instructions to King Zedekiah and his family. God wanted King Zedekiah to practice justice and deliver the oppressed from the oppressor. God was offering the king a reprieve if he would amend his ways by doing the right things. Unfortunately, it sometimes seems impossible to break old habits. An evil king has no earthly authority over him. He has absolute power against people. And it has been said that, Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Practicing the unfamiliar can be very difficult. God was not requiring King Zedekiah to pay for his past deeds, but rather to get his act together and do what is right in God’s presence moving forward. People deserve justice. It is up to civic leaders to ensure that people receive justice, and God demands that godly leaders practice justice. More on this next week. Robert C. Hudson May 5, 2020