Retracted Liberty

{Jeremiah 34}

From all appearances, they seemed to be following the counsel of the Lord. However, it was not long before they had reversed all their virtuous actions.

They set free. But then made captives.

Thankfully, my Master is not anything akin to the fickle Israelites. 

My God only gives freedom; He never takes it away. 

Only by our own actions can we retract the liberties He has granted us.

Seventy Years

{Jeremiah 25}

Seventy. Perfection’s number plus a zero.

Yes, even this banishment evidenced greater love on the part of their Savior. 

Nothing He does is without purpose.

Yet because of the great knowledge He had given them, which they had spurned, their punishment must be in proportion.

What He longed for most was for this experience to act as a purging fire to purify them from all that has previously separated His adopted children from their Father’s side. For them to emerge from captivity rejoicing not only in physical freedom, but spiritual freedom in Him. 

He desired perfection for His people more than anything else…

And the same is true for us today.

There is nothing that God desires more than for us, as His representatives, to become perfect through His strength.

And it doesn’t have to take seventy years…

Naughty Figs

{Jeremiah 24}

I remember first reading this passage as a young girl and finding the wording highly amusing. Naughty figs? I guess I had just always correlated the word “naughty” with the word “children.” I laugh now at my naivete. I was subsequently enlightened to the fact that the old English definition was “bad” and so my vocabulary expanded. Nevertheless, that phrase from Jeremiah was indelibly fixed in my memory.

Yet looking at this passage again with a broader understanding and closer examination, I find in two baskets of figs something of deeper significance.

A basket of rancid figs. A basket of ripe figs.

Symbolic representations of the people of Israel. Those taken into captivity and those left behind.

And I begin to ponder the fact that the good figs are representative of those in captivity. 

It seems strange. For wouldn’t the captives be represented by the bad figs?

Yet perhaps freedom is not appreciated without captivity. 

Perhaps captivity was but a means to awaken them from their spiritual slumber. 

Perhaps blessings could not be appreciated without the experience of captivity and the jubilation of release.

Despite the temporary benefits of captivity however, God’s people were not destined to remain slaves. Freedom was theirs, if they would but claim it.

My unfocused gaze is directed out my window as I contemplate my own life. Am I still in captivity?

I have to admit the realization is altogether possible. Yet the experience of being a captive has taught me many lessons. 

It has allowed me to relate to other captives. 

It has taught me the value of freedom. 

It has taught me lessons of warfare. 

It has shown me Love in a way otherwise impossible.

And so I am in gratitude for captivity. Yet I am in greater gratitude for freedom, although it might not be fully mine yet.

For after the horrors of captivity, freedom is truly sweet…

Stay or Surrender

{Jeremiah 21}

Death or life. Polar opposites. Obvious choice, right…?

You would think so.

“I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.”*

Surrender and you will live. Stay and you will die.

Why then do so many die?

Because they choose to remain within the familiar and comfortable. 

The city, though it be their undug grave, is all they’ve ever known… 

It holds a certain amount of security. 

To surrender to an unknown army, and unknown future is downright frightening. 

It is directly disregarding everything that has been ingrained in them since birth.

And so they stay…

Yet only in surrender is there life.

Then why do we shy away from surrender, from risking all we’ve ever known, from leaving the familiar and embracing uncertainty with the eye of faith?

Why are we content to remain within the comfort of our walls, forgetting that to stay means death?

Why do we cling to the chains which hold us fast when the gift of freedom is dangling above our heads?

Because in the familiar is a sense of security.

But that’s just the devil’s lie to keep you in bondage until you rest in the grave.

Risk yourself by pushing open the city walls and surrendering.

For only in surrender is there life…

*{Jeremiah 21:8}

Cause Them to Know

{Jeremiah 16}

Horrible things. Absolutely horrible.

Degrading. Defiling. Desecrating. Defaming. And ultimately, destroying…
They have sinned big-time. And they deserve their punishment.

But even though God declares that He shall first doubly recompense their evil, He promises to show mercy still…

Echoes from history mostly forgotten by Jews of their current society reverberate in the words uttered.
He will yet again cause them to know… To know His hand. His might. His name.

His hand… yes, the hands scarred forever. Engraved with my name, your name… A perpetual reminder of His grace, His sacrifice, His love.

His might… Strength Himself employed to break our chains, to make us free…

His name… a character so perfect that sin cannot remain in its presence. Yet He delights to call us by His name.* He rejoices to cover us with His spotless robe and call us to perfection.

Those three elements are the secret to breaking bonds of sin.
Forgiveness and cleansing are not the work of lifetimes, but moments…

Yes, scars take time to heal…
But chains take only moments to break if we will but realize His intense love and plead for His rescue.

Examine His hand. Claim His might. Receive His name.

He will cause you to know… Him.

*{2 Chronicles 7:14; Isaiah 43:7}