See how Jerusalem, once so faithful,
has become a prostitute. Once the home
of justice and righteousness, she is now filled with murderers. Once like pure silver, you have become like
worthless slag. Once so pure, you are now like watered-down wine. Your leaders are rebels, the companions of
thieves. All of them love bribes and
demand payoffs, but they refuse to defend the cause of orphans or fight for the
rights of widows. Therefore, the Lord,
the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the Mighty One of Israel, says, “I will take
revenge on my enemies and pay back my foes!
I will raise my fist against you.
I will melt you down and skim off your slag. I will remove all your impurities. Then I will give you good judges again and
wise counselors like you used to have. Then
Jerusalem will again be called the Home of Justice and the Faithful City.” Zion will be restored by justice; those who
repent will be revived by righteousness.
But rebels and sinners will be completely destroyed, and those who
desert the Lord will be consumed. You
will be ashamed of your idol worship in groves of sacred oaks. You will blush because you worshiped in
gardens dedicated to idols. You will be
like a great tree with withered leaves, like a garden without water. The strongest among you will disappear like
straw; their evil deeds will be the spark that sets it on fire. They and their evil works will burn up
together, and no one will be able to put out the fire.
I am disheartened and at the same
time encouraged by this passage. I am
disheartened because I am so much like the people of Israel when it comes to serving
God. Not that I want bribes or payoffs,
but I want to do it when it is convenient for me. Isn’t that the same thing as trying to bribe
God, “I’ll serve you, but only if it’s easy for me” How easy it is for me to
let the distractions that satan throws out there get to me!
But the good news is that God will
use us if we just let Him! He will send
us wise counselors that are interested in us becoming a home of justice and a
faithful city. But if we’re not paying
attention (or have too much pride), we will miss them. Let’s not be like those who are worshiping
our idols under the trees, nothing but ruin lies that way.
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