Jeremiah 2 Sin: turning away from God

 Jeremiah Chapter 2 

Jeremiah’s prophesy was to the nation of Israel after its glory days of King David and King Solomon and before its final defeat at the hands of the Babylonians.  Jeremiah’s message at the beginning of his ministry chastised the people for neglecting the God.  He accused them of ignoring the moral, social, economic and political laws given by God to Moses on which the nation was built. He also accused them of neglecting to worship the God who had led and protected them.  Instead they devoted themselves to the accumulation of wealth and power and sought spiritual guidance through the worship of foreign gods.  Jeremiah claimed that their turning away from God and God’s Way would lead to disaster (and it did!)  We live in a place and time in which we have everything we could possibly need and reasonably want.  Yet we have turned from the Christian faith and values that built our society, devoted ourselves to the accumulation of individual wealth and neglected the worship of God and the teachings of Jesus.  Like the people to whom Jeremiah spoke, we have a chance to turn back to God, but we had better do it soon. 

Jeremiah 2:4-13 4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord: What wrong did your ancestors find in me     that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves? 6 They did not say, “Where is the Lord     who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness,     in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness,     in a land that no one passes through,     where no one lives?” 7 I brought you into a plentiful land     to eat its fruits and its good things. But when you entered you defiled my land,     and made my heritage an abomination. 8 The priests did not say, “Where is the Lord?”     Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me;     the prophets prophesied by Baal,     and went after things that do not profit. 9 Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord,     and I accuse your children’s children. 10 Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look,     send to Kedar and examine with care;     see if there has ever been such a thing. 11 Has a nation changed its gods,     even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory     for something that does not profit. 12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this,     be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the Lord, 13 for my people have committed two evils:     they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water,     and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns     that can hold no water.

Listen to God’s Word:  What was so wrong with the life of your parents and grandparents that they did not continue to teach and practice the Christian faith? Why did shopping replace going to church?                 photo by Anna Dziubinska (unsplash) Why did they not acknowledge that the social democracy that you value was built on the teachings of the Christian faith?   When your ancestors entered this land it had the promise of wealth and prosperity for all but you desecrated the land and attempted to destroy the people who lived here.   The lawmakers and even the church leaders forgot what it means to love your God and to love your neighbour as yourself.  They listened to the siren call of unrestrained capitalism and individual rights—things that without love lead to death.  Has there ever been a society that turned its face away from God—thinking that they were gods and not human beings, creatures in God’s creation?   It’s appalling when you think about it! You have committed two evils: You have forgotten your faith, the source of life, living water and have dug yourselves a deep leaky pit that is about to cave in on you, says the Lord.