Valentine’s Day Thursday, February
14, 2019
“So tell them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: May all your jars be filled with wine.’ And they will reply, ‘Of course! Jars are made to be filled with wine!’ “Then tell them, ‘No, this is what the Lord means: I will fill everyone in this land with drunkenness—from the king sitting on David’s throne to the priests and the prophets, right down to the common people of Jerusalem. I will smash them against each other, even parents against children, says the Lord. I will not let my pity or mercy or compassion keep me from destroying them.’” Listen and pay attention! Do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God before it is too late. Acknowledge him before he brings darkness upon you, causing you to stumble and fall on the darkening mountains. For then, when you look for light, you will find only terrible darkness and gloom. And if you still refuse to listen, I will weep alone because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be led away into exile. Say to the king and his mother, “Come down from your thrones and sit in the dust, for your glorious crowns will soon be snatched from your heads.” The towns of the Negev will close their gates, and no one will be able to open them. The people of Judah will be taken away as captives. All will be carried into exile. Jeremiah 13:12-19(NLT)
This part of Jeremiah’s prophecy
is consistent with his characterization as Israel’s weeping prophet. Jeremiah loves his homeland and their people,
and the word of God, flowing from his lips tell a harsh truth; they have blown
it, and judgment is on the way. Their
arrogance won’t let them see just how far they have fallen from being God’s people;
they’ve gotten to the point where God was their enemy, and trouble was already
on the way. Jeremiah would weep for
them, but only they could do something about it; only they could turn back to
God.
Now, wait a minute, preacher, this
is Valentine’s Day…this isn’t the time; can’t you just leave it alone for a day
and let’s talk about romance and love, dinner and a nice evening of dancing, or
watching a nice Hallmark feel-good movie?
Well…no, not really. Besides, “love” as this generation sees it,
is just exactly what Jeremiah called drunkenness. The prophet isn’t talking about inebriation,
falling-down foolish fraternity party stuff.
He’s pointing to losing control of our senses and being deluded into acting
like heathens have always acted…arrogant, as if we created ourselves, and have
no responsibility towards the One who did create us. And it is as evident in our culture as it was
in the 7th century BC. Jeremiah
spoke of the one sitting on David’s throne, the King of Israel, as well as the
priests and false prophets – something like our White House, Congress, and Supreme
Court. But this weeping prophet saw the
people were infected with it too. He
said it was all the way down to the common people of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah’s words are just as true for
today’s America and this world’s culture, as when he spoke them to his country
2700 years ago.
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In many ways America is on the
brink of game-over! Those
who think a stronger military, or more government, or louder trash-talk will
chase away the nightmare that’s coming on us for our willful rejection of Godliness,
blow-off any possibility that God will judge us. That’s just preacher-talk; it’s like a news
cycle – it’ll blow over in 24 hours.
No – that light at the end of the
news cycle tunnel is the train of God’s retribution for decades of arrogance
and selfishness. We are Jeremiah’s
tears, and it’s just about too late.
For You Today
Jeremiah’s message was love
in its purest form, truth; perfect for Valentine’s Day!
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