THE MIND OF THE REBELLIOUS

SCRIPTURE: Jer.43:1-3; Jer. 44:15-18
¹ When Jeremiah finished telling the people all the words of the LORD their God—everything the LORD had sent him to tell them— ² Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to settle there.’ ³ But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon.”

¹⁵ Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, along with all the women who were present—a large assembly—and all the people living in Lower and Upper Egypt, said to Jeremiah, ¹⁶ “We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD! ¹⁷ We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our fathers, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. ¹⁸ But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.”

OBSERVATION: It's amazing how even though the Lord has had extreme patience with His people in warning them of the consequences of their idolatry and disobedience, they still persist in their rebellion. They had sworn to obey what Jeremiah the prophet told them the word of the Lord was in their current crisis, yet when they hear it, they immediately justify what they want to do. They refuse to believe Jeremiah is telling them the truth and call him a liar, even though his track record is perfect. Though they profess loyalty to God with their lips, they reject obedience the moment the Lord tells them something they don't want to hear. And they justify their sin by ascribing their good times to their idolatrous actions rather than to God's patience.

APPLICATION: This is so typical of those Christians who love to come to church and worship but do not want to change their lifestyle to line up with God's Word. They either twist or ignore the Word so that they can justify their continuing to choose their own way. They are Christians in name but not in deed. The Word has no effect on their choices. They do not deny themselves any pleasure they want to enjoy and yet deceive themselves that they are a part of the people of God. They have no faith to believe that God's ways are best, and that to receive God's best, they may have to deny getting what they want through their own efforts and wait patiently for Him.

PRAYER: Father, the Church has been so harmed by people who call themselves by Your Name and yet willfully disobey You. I admit that at times I have fallen into that category myself. I repent! Cleanse Your Body, The Church, and make us a Bride prepared for You that is without spot or wrinkle. May we take Your call to holiness seriously and in so doing, glorify You in the eyes of the world so that many would be drawn to You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.