What 'Freedom' Looks Like

Scripture: O my people, listen to the words of God: Have I been unjust to Israel? Have I been to them a land of darkness and of evil? Why then do my people say, "At last we are free from God; we won’t have anything to do with him again!" Jeremiah 2:31

Observation: Jeremiah, prophesizing in the time after the defeat of the northern kingdom of Israel bug while Judah has been spared, calls out these questions from God. Has he been unjust to destroy them? Was he evil toward them? No, it is already established they were destroyed because they rejected God first. So then he asks ... why do people continue to seek a condition where they are "free from God"? Why do the exiled Israelites, and the spared Judahites, continue to think that being left alone by God - ignoring his laws and thus living outside his promises - is a good thing?

This makes no sense, of course. God had cared for and protected the entire family of Israel for centuries. The kingdom then divided and the northern kingdom went into permanent rebellion against God, and he brought about his previously defined corrections - which they rejected - until the final act was exile. God is making it clear, however, these were not evil punishments, but rather they were chosen outcomes. The people chose "freedom" from God. The people chose to have nothing to do with Yahweh. It should be no surprise that the darkness of evil of the world is then what comes next.

Application: The world today rightly believes there exists both good and evil in the world. However, it errs in understanding where 'good' comes from. It believes there is a human-defined and human-managed 'good', if only we could manage the situation properly in order to reject evil. In this arrogance, we reject God's definition of good for our own.

Oh, that our nation would turn to the Lord! As more and more of our society declares their "freedom from God", we sink deeper into chaos and despair. Who has declared freedom from God? Everyone who fights ... church involvement in communities, public prayer, invocation of God's name at events, rules that uphold God's moral law, the sanctity of the traditional family, to name a few. Sure, they take up other causes that appear to place them on the side of 'good' ... social equity, environmental care ... but these would honestly be achieved as outcomes of biblical alignment.

We pray for revival. However, we also know that, some day, revival simply won't be an option. We can say we've ready the last page of the bible and know everything turns out well. However, we have also read the next-to-last page, and know that everything will get very, very, very dark first.

The United States boasts of freedom. It is nearing the point where it will boast of freedom from God. I pray for mercy on the faithful remnant.

Prayer: Lord, I know that, in our entire country, you have placed us in a specific region that is darker than most. My sight is clouded by this darkness. However, you are my light, my hope, my love, and my salvation. Please guide us in these times, and in this place. Amen.