Thought from today’s Bible reading from Jeremiah 4-6.
“But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and departed. They do not say in their heart, ‘Let us now fear the Lord our God, who gives rain in its season, both the autumn rain and the spring rain, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of the harvest’” (Jeremiah 5:23-24).
As Jeremiah warned the people of the coming judgment from God, they were uninterested and saw no need to repent. They wanted to go their own way, so they departed from the Lord. They did not fear divine punishment for their actions.
One must fear God if he wishes to please God (Ecclesiastes 12:13; Acts 10:34-35). God is “a consuming fire,” so we must therefore serve Him “with reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12:28-29). The inhabitants of Jerusalem failed to do this. We must not repeat their mistake.
But an interesting point in this passage is the reason it gives for why we should fear God. When we think of reasons to fear God, we typically think of His work in Creation, miracles, and divine punishment. Yet this passage, instead of citing His miraculous work, cites His providential work – He “gives rain in its season… [and] keeps for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”
This common, ordinary work of providence is often overlooked by man. Yet as Paul would later say, these works serve as a “witness” of God that all men can see and understand (Acts 14:17). The blessings He provides should cause us to acknowledge God (Acts 14:17; Romans 1:20), serve Him (Hebrews 12:28), and fear Him, knowing that as He gives, He also has the power to take away (Job 1:21).
Let us not ignore the common blessings of life. These ought to remind us of God and our need to serve Him in godly fear.
Tomorrow’s reading: Jeremiah 7-9
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
