Accusations

by: Michael Wilcock

The young prophet Jeremiah had a staunch ally in King Josiah, who was only a few years his senior. King Josiah was a force for reform and was equally keen to bring the nation back to God. Both in his own southern kingdom of Judah and in what was left of its northern sister Israel, which had been devastated by invaders a hundred years earlier, the king did his best to put wrong things right.

But no government can actually make people good. They may be persuaded, or compelled, to obey godly laws, but do they have godly hearts? No law can change a heart; only love can.

That is why marriage is such a good picture of the relationship between God and those who are truly his own. Once, long before, God and the people of Israel had exchanged wedding vows. In the days of the exodus, at Mount Sinai, the Lord and his people Israel had pledged themselves to each other in a loving, lasting union. The question now was, did this present generation want that sort of relationship? No, they didn’t, said Jeremiah; and he was right. “`Unfaithful . . . Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,’ declares the Lord” (v. 10 NIV).

Many today live in, and appreciate, a broadly Christian culture down here and assume there is a vaguely Christian God up there. It’s not enough. What he longs for is that they should love him, with a total, life-long commitment.