Jeremiah mourns Israel’s alienation from God. He proclaims, “Come back to God,” but the people refuse. The drought in the land reflects the drought in their souls. The people wonder why God has abandoned them. Yet the people of Judah have taken God’s mercy for granted.
Instead of relying on God, the people have relied on the Temple, false prophets, idols, and their own imagination. But God, through Jeremiah, cautions them about their folly. God warns that their disrespect will bring horrible consequences. The citizens of Judah believe their safety rests in being God’s special people, but they forget that God disciplines the ones God loves. Long before Babylonia conquers the city and carries them away, they have many chances to repent; but they continue to disrespect the Lord. Such is the obstinacy of misconduct. They discover the pain of suffering as slavery, poverty, and hopelessness become their self-imposed penalty for disrespect.
Their mistake, like ours, comes in wrongly supposing that the relationship between God and humanity is just a game. It isn’t. It’s a responsibility and privilege. The people of Judah exemplify God’s intentional love. God holds them up as a light to the world.
We can choose to respect or disrespect God. We cannot anticipate that our church, our education, or our reasoning will spare us from God’s justice. Unlike the Israelites, we cannot ask, “Where is God?” when we turn our backs and ignore God’s presence among us. Jeremiah warns, “Come back to God, for your own welfare.”