“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 NIV)
As I write this, in my Bible Recap plan I’m about 3/4 of the way through Ezekiel. I have decided that Jeremiah and Ezekiel (at least so far) are hard to read and understand. These books are focused around the ancient prophecies of the destruction of ancient nations because of ancient sins against God’s ways and God’s people. When reading all this ancient literature, the Biblical writings can seem irrelevant to our lives today. While there are nuggets of beauty, like “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16 NIV), these books can seem to go on and on and on…. So, why would God include them in the Bible?
One, I think that he wants us to know that our sin matters to him. The God who sought out Abram, made a covenant with him and his descendants, brought them out of Egyptian slavery, settled them in their own land, and simply wanted to be in relationship with them, was heartbroken when they repeatedly chose idolatry and other sins against the Holy God of the Universe. If your children chose to turn away from you, even after all you did for them, after many warnings and attempts at reconciliation, wouldn’t you be heartbroken, too? God’s messages to his people through the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel are strong warnings.
Two, I think that he wants us to see that the sins of people who are not God’s children also matter to God. In 6 chapters in Jeremiah and 8 chapters in Ezekiel he gives messages to the nations around Israel and Judah to warn them of their upcoming judgement and fall because of their sins against his children. Even as God is warning his children of their fall, he’s still guarding and caring for those children – even as the “bullies” in the neighborhood threaten them.
Three, I think God still loves the “bullies” of the other nations. Think about it. If one of your kids was being bullied you would intervene – you’d go talk with the child or parent or teacher and try to end the bullying. God has done the same. And even as he warns these bullies, he’s also lamenting their actions. In Ezekiel 27 God spends a whole chapter lamenting the fall of Tyre, a rich shipping port. You can almost hear the prophet (or God) crying over their fate:
“The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, take up a lament concerning Tyre. Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea, merchant of peoples on many coasts, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘You say, Tyre, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’ Your domain was on the high seas; your builders brought your beauty to perfection. When your merchandise went out on the seas, you satisfied many nations; with your great wealth and your wares you enriched the kings of the earth….Now you are shattered by the sea in the depths of the waters; your wares and all your company have gone down with you. All who live in the coastlands are appalled at you; their kings shudder with horror and their faces are distorted with fear. The merchants among the nations scoff at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’” (Ezekiel 27:1-4, 33-36 NIV)
You have to read the entirety of these chapters, putting them in context of the entirety of the Old Testament, (and a study Bible or various commentaries help!), to see them within the larger meta-narrative of scripture. But they really show us why Jesus’s death and resurrection was the only way forward. Humanity couldn’t stay in right relationship with God, no matter how much he loved, gave, taught, warned, or anything else. We are just too sinful by nature. We could not stay close to the Creator God of the Universe who pours out his love on his Creation, so God made a way for us to come close to him through Jesus. This is grace. Grace that God loves us, grace that he cares about sin, and grace that he offered us freedom from that sin.
God,
Thank you for loving us, your created ones, and for continually seeking us out. Thank you for your relentless efforts – even in sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins – so we could be in relationship with you. Thank you for your rich mercy, your grace, and the fullness of your love we can’t even understand. Make us complete in the fullness of grace, life, love, and your Spirit, we pray in Jesus’s name, AMEN.
“All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” (Ephesians 2:3-5 NLT)
“May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Ephesians 3:19 NLT)