Sandyford Henderson Memorial Church

IN these verses Jeremiah continues telling the people of Judah of the terrible judgment God is bringing on them. Yet even in this coming judgment God was going to use the people’s sins to advance His own plan of salvation, just as centuries later He used the Jews’ hatred of Jesus to bring about His death for our sins. God’s judgment is always a tool of His mercy.

            The pagan worship practised by the Jews was sickening. They had brought idols into God’s temple and had worshipped a god called Molech that demanded child sacrifice. If we find this revolting just think how the Lord felt about it. The only remedy was to destroy Judah, carry the people of into exile in Babylon and make a fresh start years later.

            All this is certainly relevant today. We hear more and more about ritual child abuse and in the churches people often decide to worship God in their own way rather than in His way set out in the Bible. That is nothing less than bringing idolatry into the house of God.

            Sin brings its own punishment. When the Babylonians captured Jerusalem, the valley outside the city where child sacrifice was practised became a rubbish dump. The graves of Jewish kings and priests were opened and their bones left open to the stars that these high-ranking Jews had encouraged their people to worship. All this could have been avoided if the people had remained true to the Lord.

            The Bible says “Be sure your sins will find you out.” Our actions each day of our lives have eternal implications. We need to ask the Lord to keep us true to Him, however hard it may be at times- and He will always give us the help we need if we turn to Him.