Relationship Has Its' Benefits
In the 1990’s, American Express has a slogan that said “Membership has it’s privileges.” All of the Lessons this month in Jeremiah teach us that being in relationship with God has great benefits for us.
We often say “hindsight is 20/20” or “if I knew then what I know now” – and our meaning is that we would have made different decisions if we had the information we now have. God has perfect knowledge and the Bible refers to this as foreknowledge.
Romans 8:29 KJV – “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren”
Romans 11:2a KJV – God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew
Way back in Deuteronomy 31 which happened around 1500-1200 BC, God tells Moses that after his death the Israelites will disobey the covenant God established with them and ‘go whoring’ after other Gods.
The question is why – knowing what the Israelites were going to do – would God continue to put up with these stubborn, disobedient, hard-headed folks?
The answer lies in the covenant relationship God established with Israel first through Abraham and later Moses. You respond differently when in a relationship with someone. Imagine you call your bank and find out someone has used your debit card and charged $150. If it was a stranger, your next call would probably be to the police. But if you found out it was your teenage son or daughter, you would take a different strategy for handling it. Our response to the situation depends on our relationship with the perpetrator.
When God has a relationship with someone, He chooses to deal with us according to His love.
Psalm 103:10+11 – He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
Jer 31:36-37 – “I am as likely to reject my people Israel as I am to abolish the laws of nature!” Just as the heavens cannot be measured and the foundations of the earth cannot be explored, so I will not consider casting them away for the evil they have done.
Jer 31:20 – “Is not Israel still my son, my darling child?” says the LORD. “I often have to punish him, but I still love him. That’s why I long for him and surely will have mercy on him.
Jer 31:13 – I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee.
But we must not take God’s love for granted. His love reveals itself in both favor and also in judgement.
After the kingdom was divided, God warned Israel & Judah through various prophets that their actions were leading to judgement. The people of the day assumed that their position as God’s chosen people would absolve them of their sins and that no punishment would come to them:
In Jeremiah 5:11-12 ESV, “(11) For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly treacherous to me, declares the Lord. (12) They have spoken falsely of the Lord and have said, ‘He will do nothing; no disaster will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine.”
Boy were they wrong. God gave them time to repent of their idolatry but when they did not the corrective punishment came. Around 721 BC, Israel was invaded by Assyria and in 587 BC, Judah was invaded by Babylon and many Jews were exiled.
Yet, even in judgement God’s loving relationship with us matters. Even as God was decreeing judgement because of sin, He also spoke of a future time of restoration:
In Jeremiah 33:6-9 ESV, “Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. (7) I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. (8) I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. (9) And this city[c] shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.”
God’s relationship to individuals and nations reflects the relationship they have with Him:
David & Saul – In 1 Samuel 7:14 & 15: The Lord tells David through Nathan the prophet that his son will be the one to build the temple. He then says “and I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.”
Relationship has its Benefits - Related Verses
Psalm 103:2 – 5 KJV – (2) Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
(3) Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; (4) Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; (5) Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
