12/11

Jeremiah 6:13-15

¹³"From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. ¹⁴They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace. ¹⁵Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them," says the LORD.

God's cry against the people was that there could not be found one righteous person in Judah. He declared that Israel was not as bad as Judah had become. The passage today lists some of the specific sins they were guilty of. It is hard for us to relate to the worship of carved images, but we can readily relate to the greed. Greed for wealth had permeated the entire nation from the beggar to the king. When our eyes turn from God to the things that He has made, we seek security in possessions. We should be looking to God who is the giver of all good things. Instead we trust in His gifts and focus on how to attain them.

The prophets and priests were all practicing deceit. The very ones people looked to for truth were deceiving the people in the name of God. In this generation we have seen a number of big name religious personalities who were caught in their deceit. How many more go uncaught? Only God knows. Consider their way of life and the fruits of the Spirit in their lives, not just their ability to impress you.

The religious leaders preached peace when destruction was coming upon them. When they should have been preaching conviction of sin, they taught that everything was fine. The woeful thing is that it did not even bother their conscience. They had done it for so long that their hearts were hardened against God. Their only goal was being comfortable today. They were about to face judgment.

Consider: God cannot ignore evil in any nation, group, or individual that is unrepentant. In His perfect time, justice will be served.