Monday 17th August
Read Jeremiah 4:5-6
“‘Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say:
“Sound the trumpet throughout the land!”
Cry aloud and say:
“Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities!”
6 Raise the signal to go to Zion!
Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster from the north,
even terrible destruction.’” (NIVUK)
The warning at the end a long passage on the nature of true repentance, that the consequences are dire if the offer is rejected, is brought to fruition in a terrifying manner. These two lines begin a nightmare passage of fear, war, destruction and death that gives substance to Jeremiah’s warnings.
There is a deliberate, chaotic structure to Jeremiah’s awful vision. Judgment is unpredictable by nature, you do not know when it will strike, or how, and this is reflected in image after disjointed image. The poetry matches the emotions it is designed to elicit.
Despite this chaos, it is clear what Jeremiah is describing. It is the destruction of Jerusalem ‘from the north’ (v6). The bringer of that destruction remains unclear – the certainty of it’s arrival however is signaled by the sounding of the trumpet and the call to gather for protection behind city walls (v5-6).
These verses give substance to the essence of Pascal’s famous wager concerning faith. Put simply, he argued that the consequences of faith in Jesus if it turns out to be a false hope are inconsequential. But the consequences of denying faith when God is real, and engaged, and one faces Him on the last day – are horrifying. The logical decision is to at least consider the evidence!
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28) (NIVUK)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFxZeY2D5tc&list=RDMMFFxZeY2D5tc&start_radio=1
