Heart’s desire

Friday 28^th August

Read Jeremiah 5:14-20

“Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says:

‘Because the people have spoken these words,
    I will make my words in your mouth a fire
    and these people the wood it consumes.
¹⁵ People of Israel,’ declares the Lord,
    ‘I am bringing a distant nation against you –
an ancient and enduring nation,
    a people whose language you do not know,
    whose speech you do not understand.
¹⁶ Their quivers are like an open grave;
    all of them are mighty warriors.
¹⁷ They will devour your harvests and food,
    devour your sons and daughters;
they will devour your flocks and herds,
    devour your vines and fig trees.
With the sword they will destroy
    the fortified cities in which you trust.

¹⁸ ‘Yet even in those days,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not destroy you completely. ¹⁹ And when the people ask, “Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?” you will tell them, “As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.”” (NIVUK)

The balance between mercy and justice is challenging to grasp. The prophet declares that destruction is descending in the form of a foreign nation who will devour them. When plaintive cries rise up, ‘woe is us, what have we done to deserve this’ the answer is completely just. Their heart’s desire was to serve foreign gods so Yahweh is granting their heart’s desire in full. No longer will they have to make do with worshipping these gods where those gods don’t dwell, they will be taken to where these gods reign and there they can worship at will (v19). Paul understood this fully. God hands those who refuse to worship Him over to their desires (cf Romans 1:18-32).

It is a painful path they choose to walk though. The words of their ‘prophets’ concerned peace and accommodation with Yahweh – that He is happy with their compromises and sin. But the true word, contained within Jeremiah himself, is a fire that will consume them, devour them, and the people with them. The vivid image of a mouth full of fire captures the power of God’s word fully – a creative, and destructive, power. Able to tear down and build up (cf Jeremiah 1).

Not all will be destroyed (v18), a remnant will survive the inferno, and the hope is that they are purified and refined in the process. They will inherit a land free from entanglements with foreign gods and rulers. They must await the arrival of Jesus for that new kingdom to be established, where a people whose heart’s desire is to honour and serve God, with the law written on their hearts (cf Jeremiah 31, Matthew 5).

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’” (Hebrews 12:28-29) (NIVUK)