As Jeremiah continued his
lament concerning Judah and Jerusalem, he saw the Lord “as and
enemy”. Although God appeared
to be so, He was correcting disobedience and rebellion that was among
the people of Israel, and His correction was thorough. Neither
person, practice or material things were outside of the reach of His
mighty hand, and in chapter two and verse six we learn more of the
correcting path of God where we read:
And he has violently
taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he has
destroyed his places of the assembly: the LORD has caused the solemn
feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and has despised in the
indignation of his anger the king and the priest.
The
verse begins, “And he has violently taken away his tabernacle,
as if it were of a garden:” Let's notice first
what was not off limits to God - “his tabernacle”. The
place of worship was simply a “place”, and although it was
formerly used for praising and learning about God, it was “violently
taken away”. This sacred place was torn away like “a
garden” or “the cottage place of a garden”, and where
worship once was ordained there was now silence.
The
verse goes on to say, “he has destroyed his places of the
assembly: the LORD has caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be
forgotten in Zion,...” Even the “places of assembly” or
“the appointed places of meeting” like the temple and other
synagogues were “destroyed”. We might think they should be exempt
from the Lord's destruction, but like church building that are in the
path of tornadoes, no building had special privileges. In addition
the “solemn feasts and sabbaths” were no longer observed
and were even to the point of being “forgotten” in “Zion”
or “Jerusalem”. The devastation was so complete that even the
religious observances were no longer upon the people's minds.
The
verse continues, “and has despised in the indignation of
his anger the king and the priest.” Not
only were the sacred places and practices destroyed, “the
king and the priest” were
within “the indignation of his anger”
which means “to spurn, contemn, despise, and abhor”. No
political, powerful or religious ranking was off limits when the
Lord's anger was brought against this rebellious land.
As we think about these
words, we might be inclined to be amazed at the Lord's disregard for
what we might deem sacred territory, however the apostle Peter wrote
in the book of First Peter in chapter four and verse seventeen:
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the
house of God: and if it first begin at us, what
shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
When God
brought judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem, there was not an exemption
for sacred buildings, practices or people. The idea was corrective
for them, and perhaps there are “sacred” areas within our lives
that He would like to address. May the grace of God flow over our
souls as He brings these things to mind, and may we be wise enough to
obey Him since His Son Jesus paid the price in advance for the things
that we have done.
Next
time we will see how the altars, sanctuary and palace walls were
destroyed by the Lord, so read ahead, and we shall join together
then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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