In chapter 2 of Jeremiah, God charges Judah with committing spiritual adultery. She wandered away from her spiritual Husband, Who had selected her to His Bride. He called Jeremiah to speak God's very words, and remind Judah of all He had done and would do if she repented of her adultery.
God called the Jews His people not because of anything they had done. He gave them the Promised Land out of His affection for them. He nurtured them out of His affection for them. He wanted them not to commit spiritual adultery, so upon entering the Promised Land, they were to forsake all others (gods):
This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. (Deut. 7:5-6)
Why did God pick these people?
The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him. (Deut. 7:7-10)
Judah saw how Israel, who went down the exact same road years before, was warned and because they refused to turn form their wicked ways, disappeared into the dustbin of history when the Assyrians swept in and destroyed them.
Judah watched how God was true to His word.
Yet, they did not repent.
We have their history too as a warning.
Will we repent?
God, who loves us so, will not stand idly by while we are consumed with our idols. He will confront us, tell us where we have sinned and show us the way back to full restoration. Is America in any way like Judah? Are we God's people, and having turned away to lust after modern gods, will be both wooed and warned in the days to come?
Yes. America was founded by people who wanted "a city on a hill." They wanted the Bible front and center and they knew that God's blessings still were in operation to a people dedicated to Him.
We didn't replace Israel, but our founders desired to have a country where the Judeo-Christian ethic was fully in view, and informed both public and private life. Were our founders hypocrites for holding slaves and yet declaring that "all men are created equal"?
Yes. But show me people who aren't.
Church and our American past doesn't have the corner market on hypocrisy--despite all the claims being made today. If you don't want to be around hypocrites, then stay home. Whoops...you would still have yourself to deal with. How so?
The word for "hypocrite" in the Greek comes from the word for actor--that is, one who wears a mask. Ancient Greek theater was held in large amphitheaters, and the actors wore large, highly stylized masks of character types: the old man, the old woman, the ingenue, the servant, etc. People could see these rather large representations of the human face and its corresponding character type from a distance. Of course, the audience knew the actors had masks on, but for the length of the play, the actors assumed another persona.
Sound familiar? Do we wear masks that influence how our "audience" sees us? Are we nice and patient in church and a hellion on the road? (Yes, sadly, that would sometimes be me.) Are we one way with our kids and kick into another way when our friend calls?
We have all done it.
In a culture that now prides itself on tolerance and suspending judgement, the current cancel culture does nothing but judge, with people in the past being a favorite target.
In fact, judgment, self-righteousness, failure to acknowledge personal wrong-doing and excoriating those who dare to disagree with us is the new idol we bow down to in America.
Idols don't demand we repent and become contrite over our poor treatment of others. Idols are there for it to be all about us. Judah loved its idols for the very same reason: The idols stood by while the people sinned. They did not exhort the people to consider a morality tethered to a higher set of values. The idols said, in their complicit silence,
It's all about you and your needs, your values, your wants. Who cares about others? We don't. We care about you and what you want to keep your little universe operational. So, if your child has to burn to death in the arms of a hot metal idol, it's a small price to pay.
Who told them these lies? The people in charge.
Who believed these lies? The people who listened to the people in charge.
But everyone knew the Mosaic covenant and history of God and His commandments for His people. No one could claim ignorance.
Everyone was involved with turning away from God's word.
Today, we are turning our backs--leaders and people alike--from God's Word. It details all we need for a just society and for living lives that reflect God's standards.
But we are listening to the silent message from our idols: It's all about us.
What are our idols?
Sex: Tolerance, no judgment, lust, affairs, underage, non-binary, non-everything that the Lord has designed. Even the Biblical design of male and female is being reframed to where our identities are our choice and no one should say anything to us or about us that is less than celebratory.
Social Media: Conspiracy theories, stories that must be "true," selfies, a verbal gladiatorial arena that mocks, scorns, derides and then eliminates the competition.
Entertainment: Distractions, virtual reality and video games that take us deeper into the dark side of imagination.
Politics: If we agree, then we can strut around with self-righteousness and excoriate those who disagree with us--fellow and non-believers alike--and if we disagree, woe unto you. The man in the White House is either celebrated or vilified, and we are absolved of any responsibility because we want him to do our job.
Greed: It's everywhere. We want more and yet we scorn those billionaires who have made money providing that "more" to us.
Our reaction to all of this? Are we growing quiet, and seeking God's face with a contrite heart, or are we plunging deeper into sin, running away from our conscience and wanting more our words than God's?
God says this of Judah:
"My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water...
Your wickedness will punish you;
your backsliding will rebuke you.
Consider then and realize
how evil and bitter it is for you
when you forsake the Lord your God
and have no awe of me,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
"Long ago you broke off your yoke
and tore off your bonds;
you said, ‘I will not serve you!’
Indeed, on every high hill
and under every spreading tree
you lay down as a prostitute.
I had planted you like a choice vine
of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
into a corrupt, wild vine?'
I find these word especially sad and convicting:
As a thief is disgraced when he is caught,
so the people of Israel are disgraced—
they, their kings and their officials,
their priests and their prophets.
They say to wood, ‘You are my father,’
and to stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
They have turned their backs to me
and not their faces;
yet when they are in trouble, they say,
‘Come and save us!’
Where then are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them come if they can save you
when you are in trouble!
For you, Judah, have as many gods
as you have towns.
Why do you bring charges against me?
You have all rebelled against me,”
declares the Lord.
If we are not blaming God for our woe, we are blaming everyone we disagree with or scorn. We blame America. We revile God's light as we bask in the fire light of burning cities.
But it starts with us: Are we truly seeking Him? Living in Him and for Him? Acting like a child of God or are we, like Judah?
On your clothes is found
the lifeblood of the innocent poor,
though you did not catch them breaking in.
Yet in spite of all this
you say, ‘I am innocent;
he is not angry with me.’
But I will pass judgment on you
because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
God is angry at the sin, to be sure, but He is very angry at the lack of remorse and a willingness on Judah's part to acknowledge it and repent from it.
Are we any different right now?
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