Lent - His Love EnduresSample

I was driving my car one day when a light started flashing on the dashboard. I was over an hour away from home and had never seen it before. I decided to pull out my car manual to see what the light meant: check engine light “you should pull over and shut off your engine immediately”. “Surely it can’t be that bad” I thought and decided, with all my mechanical knowledge, that I would be fine to drive home carefully. I mean how bad could it really be? Five minutes from my home, my car slowly shut down and stopped working. I called my mechanic who was horrified that I drove home with it and told me of the dangers that could have happened. Thankfully I avoided a major disaster.

Things can look just fine on the surface, but rumbling beneath, the true worth will eventually reveal itself. In the case of Israel, God appointed Jeremiah as an “assayer” to determine what they were made of—and if they would be able to stand up (Jeremiah 6:27). An assayer is a “refiner,” one who tests the composition of minerals and determines their value. The Lord goes so far as to declare they are so stubborn that they “are bronze and iron; all of them are corrupt” (v.28). But no amount of blasting with fire will reveal valuable metals because the people have rejected the word of the Lord (v.17).

The culture described in these chapters is a startling reminder of my own: “they have grown powerful and rich… fat and sleek… [and] excelled in evil matters… and they have not defended the rights of the needy” (Jeremiah 5:27–28). God is calling us to listen to His words and turn from the enticements of this world. He warns that we will be measured and the truth of our hearts will be revealed.

Who can stand in the face of such an examination? Even though my car seemed fine to me, its impending disaster could not be hidden from the experienced eye of a mechanic. If we persist in not using our eyes to see or our ears to hear—if we refuse to listen to the Lord, our devastation is sure. Indeed, it is our own sins that withhold the Lord’s bounty from us (Jeremiah 5:25). Today if you hear His voice—in His word, in His creation, through His people—do not harden your heart, but listen and worship (Psalm 95:8).