Jeremiah 7 God's Reluctance

It is quite obvious that God's not keen to do what he has to do. It's like He's trying to talk himself out of it - give His kids one last chance. Speaking as a parent myself I hate having to discipline yet you know if you don't you'll end up with brats and you'll spoil them. I know parents who haven't disciplined their kids properly and they're unbearable - the kids that is. There is that line in "Pride and Predjudice" by Jane Austen delivered by Mr Collins when he comes to condole with the Bennetts over Lydia's elopement

"This behaviour stems from a faulty degree of indulgence"

In truth it is an indulgence - laziness on the part of the parent not to discipline that leads to the spoilt brat syndrome - the kid just does what kids will do when they are not corrected.

So Father God gives his kids another chance:

"Reform your ways and your actions and I will let you live in this place" 7:3

There continues in this chapter that sense that the Israelites are bringing disaster on their own heads. But here God expresses his anger:

"... My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground, and it will burn and not be quenched." 7:20

It is a terrible thing to fall under the wrath of God. It is one thing to loose His blessing but to experience His anger as well is a terrible thing. Our society heads this way in many of the things that it does - they are echoed in these pages - chasing after prostitutes and experiences sacrificing our children to our careers. Verse 31 with it's talk of child sacrifice reminds me of the thousands of children we sacrifice through "women's choice". We will pay the price individually and as a society if we don't reform our ways.

The good news is that God still loves us passionately.