What Jeremiah Thinks

I am gaining a new respect for the prophets. In teaching Jeremiah last night, one in my class said, "You know, the things they are dealing with are the same things we are dealing with. Nothing has changed that much." BINGO!!! That's what Solomon said, "There is nothing new under the sun."
Which brings me through the back door on worship once again. Two elements of worship, gratefulness (I might add overwhelming gratefulness) and (to overuse the phrase) overwhelming sense of who God is. Jeremiah dealt with them both. He said, "They say to wood, 'You are my father,' and to stone, 'You gave me birth.' They have turned their backs on me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, 'Come and save us!'" (Jeremiah 2:27) They were worshiping idols. Things made of wood and stone. Then he said earlier, "Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me,' declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty." (Jeremiah 2:19) There it is again. They turned their backs and not their faces to God (ungrateful) and they had no awe (overwhelming sense of who God is). Notice how 2:19 ends after mentioning not having awe of God. It doesn't say, "says the Lord." It doesn't say, says the Lord Almighty." It says, "says the Lord, the Lord Almighty."
And by the way, while I'm thinking about it, this is worship. This isn't what we do on Sunday morning. It's the way we live our lives. The Sunday (or Saturday in their case) stuff doesn't matter one whit when they rest of the time is not there. It's our life. It's our life. It's our life. Maybe one day we'll understand that. Have a great day!! JW