Based on Jeremiah 34:8-22 (New King James Version)
“This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem to proclaim liberty to them: that every man should set free his male and female slave—a Hebrew man or woman—that no one should keep a Jewish brother in bondage. Now when all the princes and all the people, who had entered into the covenant, heard that everyone should set free his male and female slaves, that no one should keep them in bondage anymore, they obeyed and let them go. But afterward they changed their minds and made the male and female slaves return, whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male and female slaves. Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, ‘At the end of seven years let every man set free his Hebrew brother, who has been sold to him; and when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you.’ But your fathers did not obey Me nor incline their ear. Then you recently turned and did what was right in My sight—every man proclaiming liberty to his neighbor; and you made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My name. Then you turned around and profaned My name, and every one of you brought back his male and female slaves, whom you had set at liberty, at their pleasure, and brought them back into subjection, to be your male and female slaves.’ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim liberty to you,’ says the Lord—‘to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth. And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it—the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf—I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth. And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army which has gone back from you. Behold, I will command,’ says the Lord, ‘and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’”
Today we will look at a very common problem among God's people, but one that God does not tolerate: the issue of momentary changes or conversions. God simply did not tolerate the constant instability of His people before Christ, and He will not tolerate it today in the dispensation of His grace. There are many who cling to this passage: “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy.” Psalm 145:8. Is God gracious and merciful? Of course He is. Is He abounding in loving-kindness? There is no one like Him in loving-kindness. But what does He say about His anger? He says He is slow to anger, but it implies within itself that "slow" does not mean that it will never come, if one persists in doing evil, if one tries to overstep one's bounds. His grace and mercy are incredible, especially for salvation, but God does not tolerate the instability of the believer, of the person who changes their mind according to their circumstances. This is very clear throughout His Word, and especially in the New Testament. God is love, but He is also Holy and consuming fire, as the Word teaches.
This message is not for the people who ignore the Gospel, but rather, for the people who profess to believe in Christ, who profess to have embraced a conversion, but who unfortunately takes the grace of God as something that can be abused, and who attempts to treat God as a toy, because that is the reality when a person does not take salvation seriously, when a person does not take care of what they have received by His grace, when a person takes the Lord’s continuous grace for granted or as an obligation, just as the people of God did before. The people of Israel and Judah were almost erased from the face of the earth by Nebuchadnezzar as the punishment that God Himself brought upon them for their continued transgression, for their fickle and momentary repentances. In the passage we saw, God gives His people an opportunity to do good before the punishment came, although by this time, Babylon had already attacked Israel, but God made them withdraw to give opportunity for repentance. Doesn't this sound familiar, that God sometimes allows certain events to help us come to repentance, and when the shock passes, so to speak, people go back to doing what was wrong with God? I remember when the 9/11 terrorist attack happened in the US, and that our churches were full of people, but after a while, when the shock passed, they stopped searching and fell back even worse than before.
What does the Word of God teach us about the instabilities of God’s people? “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” Revelation 3:15-16. “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:26-31. Do these passages give place for God to be mocked, that we can abuse of His grace? No. It says this also? “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” Galatians 6:7-8. And the Word of God says this also about the person that tries to play with God and take His grace for granted: “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.” 2 Peter 2:20-22. And God warns this way also: “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” Revelation 3:4-5. This last passage teaches that one must remain in the Lord until the end, the definition of overcoming, or else risk having Him erase your name from the book of life. If you have come to Christ, live by faith, live the new life He grants you through His grace and love once and for all. So, have you permanently turned from all your sins? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!