Do you not Fear Me?

Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people, Who have eyes but do not see; Who have ears but do not hear.  Do you not fear Me? declares the LORD. Do you not tremble in My presence?

Jeremiah 5:21-22

The prophet Jeremiah speaks to the nation of Judah, warning of coming judgment from the north if they do not turn from their rebellion against God.  The language of the opening chapters is abundantly clear.  They have no devotion, respect, or fear of God.  Using strong comparative language, Jeremiah rebukes Judah having behaved as a whore, lusting after false gods made of their own hands.  They have turned their backs on the God who provided, pursuing evil to the highest degree with no regard for God’s judgment.  Interestingly, the people longed for peace even as they committed abominations with no shame.

The warning of coming judgment was rejected as Judah turned a deaf ear to Jeremiah’s message seeking prophets who would give them a more favorable word from the LORD, consistent with what their ears wanted to hear.   After reading the account, it is tempting to wonder how Judah could treat God in such an abusive manner completely ignorant of their rebellious ways, callous toward their perversion, and lacking any fear of repercussion.     

They had no fear of violating God’s righteousness. 

Today

I wonder what has changed in the roughly 2650 years since the time of Jeremiah.  What would be Jeremiah’s message to those of us living in the 21st century?  We benefit from significant historical and theological hindsight to shape our current posture toward God.  Do we demonstrate fear and trembling in the presence of the LORD?  Are we hearing and seeing, yet deaf and blind?  Would Jeremiah condemn us as whores giving lip service to the holiness of God while satisfying our lusts for worldly pleasures, chasing after the false gods of money, prestige, power, and possessions? Perhaps our defense mechanisms would emerge citing church attendance, good works, bible studies, scripture memorization, and tithing as evidence of our devotion.   I fear that not unlike Judah, we dismiss such harsh condemnation as an exaggeration, seeking to justify our faith.  Scrambling for stability, we might call upon the claims of God’s unconditional love to anesthetize any concern for coming judgment.   

We pursue spiritual leaders who profess a message consistent with our desires. These modern false prophets declare that we must adjust to our culture, dismiss harsh and judgmental language, and present a welcoming message to all in the spirit of unity even as we seek contentment with our spiritual approach to God. Surely God would be pleased with such ecumenicalism. I was quite surprised by a recent comment made by Pope Francis – spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic church.

“All religions are paths to God. I will use an analogy, they are like different languages that express the divine.”

Whether Hinduism, Buddhism, Muslim, or Christianity, each declares a unique path to God – but the same God in the end. Such deceptive thinking is counter to God’s declared truth. Judah embraced many false gods made of human hands even while professing some level of faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It was a time of compromise to satisfy the desires of their flesh. Nothing has changed in the course of man in this regard. Yet One has come in the interim declaring a new covenant in which we now abide by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The means of blessing from this covenant are unequivocal.

God will not share his glory with another (Isaiah 42:8). Jeremiah was calling Judah to recognized their offensive ways before God, to acknowledge their wrong thinking, and to confess their adulterous ways in pursuit of selfish satisfaction. Roughly two and a half millennium later, the nature of man has not changed. While achieving amazing technological advancement, the inner man remains persistent in its quest to be his own god, lusting after worldly pleasures, and ignoring the rumblings out of the north. The word of the LORD declares the truth

Gather yourselves and come; Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations; They have no knowledge, Who carry about their wooden idol And pray to a god who cannot save. Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.

Isaiah 45:20-22

advancement

We live in a time of scientific advancement producing technological marvels that have transformed our lives in many ways. Such advancement however amplifies the very warning Jeremiah gave to Judah so many years ago. “Cursed is the man who trusts in the flesh and whose heart turns away from the LORD.” (Jeremiah 17:5 – NIV84). The fear of God was diluted to a state of irrelevance in the face of advancement in our scientific knowledge and investigation of the natural laws. A new way of expressing the very deceptive lie of Satan – to become like God – was born. The Baals and other man-made gods of Jeremiah’s time were substituted with Rationalism and Skepticism emerging in the “Age of Reason”. Building on the foundation of challenges to the reality of a sovereign God operating in a supernatural manner, biblical criticism came to the forefront in the 19th century. Based on scientific and naturalistic premises, much of the biblical accounts capturing miraculous or supernatural characteristics were brought into question. Such accusations spread like a cancer infecting the broader adoption of spiritual teaching from the biblical text. Perhaps the famous “God is dead” quote from the influential German Philosopher Fredrick Nietzsche best summarizes the outcome. Modern Liberal Theology stands as the representative of this 19th century movement.

Humility

I once watched my daughter as a toddler trying to complete a puzzle. From my perspective aligning the right shapes was quite obvious yet a significant struggle for her limited understanding. I could have taught her differential equations, but she didn’t even fully understand the concept of a number. Does it not seem arrogant that man, with all his rational capacity brought to bear, would attempt to dismiss the concept of a sovereign God given the mysteries that remains in this simple 3 dimensional existence? While acknowledging the advancement of knowledge achieved to date, the lack of understanding in the balance would highlight the infinitesimal progress that has actually been made. And how did man come to such an understanding of the sciences anyway but by the enabling hand of God.

The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”

Psalms 14:1

It seems preposterous to conclude that the advanced scientific mind has the capacity to understand the greater existence of God who is not limited by the natural laws He put in place in this created order. It calls to mind the Yiddish proverb that “Man plans and God laughs”. The struggle to align the simple puzzle of human existence supports the phrase that man’s wisdom is indeed God’s foolishness (1 Cor 3:19).

Gazing into the heavens with advanced optical technology, our hearts should be filled with wonder at the expanse before us. Humbled by the power and authority of our creator God, we should be moved to worship and praise at what He has allowed us to discover regarding His created order. And this is but the beginning of exploring the other dimensions of God’s existence completely beyond the limitation of man’s five senses. Jeremiah’s call to Judah to fear God with a reverent fear is equally applicable today. Turn from your rebellion, humble yourselves, and walk in awe of His majesty. Do you not fear the LORD? Pray that God might give your heart the ability to see and to hear.