The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Jeremiah 3:1-5,
"'If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers— would you now return to me?' declares the Lord. 'Look up to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been ravished? By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers, sat like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame. Have you not just called to me: "My Father, my friend from my youth, will you always be angry? Will your wrath continue forever?" This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can.'"
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
"'If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers— would you now return to me?' declares the Lord. 'Look up to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been ravished? By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers, sat like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame. Have you not just called to me: "My Father, my friend from my youth, will you always be angry? Will your wrath continue forever?" This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can.'"
This accusation by the Lord against the people of Israel displays an intensity of emotion. It is the intensity of a man wronged by his wife who left him and ran off to prostitute herself.
What I don't see here is the sterility of theology. What I don't see here is an academic discussion of the attributes of God. What I don't see here is the infertile and impotent recitation of the liturgy of a Sunday morning "service". What I don't see here are the vestments of clergy, the trappings of proper utensils and accouterments of religious exercises performed. I don't see church membership rolls and business meetings and "ministries" to cover every possible diverse demographic imaginable.
What I do see here is our God, caught in the intensity of emotion that most never bother to notice. An intensity that only real life, where unfaithfulness breaks the heart, can produce.
Our God has a heart. A big god-sized heart that harbors big god-sized emotions. Real emotions at an intensity we can only be stunned by.
After all, what kind of passion drives our God to send his Son into the world to die an horrific death to pay for our sins? How could that intensity of love for us be measured? Certainly it is at least equal to the suffering our Lord experienced on that cross.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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