“Your own wickedness will punish you. You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is to forsake the Lord your God, having no fear of him. I, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, have spoken!” Jeremiah 2:19
Aaaaahhhhh!! Shriek!!!!!!! Wow! Them’s some powerful words. I don’t know about you guys, but that just scared the begeezies out of me. You’re probably thinking holy mackerel, I can’t believe she just blurted out that scary verse. That can’t be in the Bible, you say? That’s not the God I know, you say?
I didn’t put it there to scare you or shock you. I put it there for the Flag Factor. What’s the Flag Factor? Glad you asked. You see, it started out oh so harmlessly. I’m doing Robert Murry McChayne’s Read Your Bible in a Year studies. I’ve been reading in Genesis, Mark, Job and Romans each day. I want to tell you one thing, I love, love, love Genesis. It is riveting, no kidding! In fact, I’m supposed to read a chapter a day in each of those books, and lately, I’ve been reading all four chapters in Genesis. Oh course, that sets me back a bit, but I just can’t put it down. It’s like a good book?!? Sorry, rabbit hole, Where was I? Ok, right – the Flag Factor. There was a verse in Genesis that had a cross reference in Jeremiah. I started exploring.
I found that the prevailing theme of the Book of Jeremiah is that of national sinfulness and imminent judgment. It’s a book of warnings. I know, I’m such a Debbie-downer today. The messages of Jeremiah were to convince God’s people to turn from their sin back to Him. Know anyone else with that same message? Jeremiah was written to Israel, specifically, the southern kingdom of Judah and its capital, Jerusalem. Ah, he’s talking to the folks of The Holy City. Jerusalem! Jerusalem! The same Holy City that Jesus rode through on a colt on Palm Sunday while the crowds sang Hosanna! Hosanna! We’re a little bit like Israel too, aren’t we? Disobedient to God one minute, singing His praises the next.
Anyway, Jerusalem was destroyed, the Temple was destroyed, and the Israelites were captured and taken off to Babylon. All because of sin. Sin has serious consequences. We don’t like to think about that too much. Jeremiah is a book of messages from the Lord. Jeremiah the Prophet gives the messages from the Lord, issues warnings, and then weeps in anguish for their disobedience because he knows they are working out their own destruction. As I was reading, I came across this verse and couldn’t stop thinking about it:
Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land. Cry out loudly…Lift up a signal flag toward Zion. Run for cover! Don’t stand still! Jeremiah 4:5-6
Lift up a signal flag. It’s the Flag-Factor. Why would you wave a flag? To signal. To advise. To warn. To alert. Jeremiah was one flag waving dude. Change your ways, be obedient to God, because there are consequences. The alarm was sounded because the message was alarming.
But God also gave Jeremiah a message of hope for the captives:
“The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you”, says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and bring you home again to your land.” Jeremiah 29:10
Here’s the beauty of the message – God rescues his people – to give them a future and a hope. It’s always the same story. Rescue. Hope.
So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you keep following it, you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live. Romans 8:12-13
Same message. It sounds much more palatable from Brother Paul though, doesn’t it? More gentile, more lovey, less harsh. Nevertheless, the message is the same. Sin has consequences. Here’s the beauty in the message, God gave us a way out, the only way out. God sent His Son, they call Him Jesus.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
Don’t you just love the buts…the free gift of God is eternal life, a future and a hope, through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Here’s the question I asked myself – if we as Christians are to build each other up, we are to encourage each other in the faith, we are to help each other stay on the path to the narrow gate, be the flag wavers – how are we doing? Are we sounding the alarm? Shouldn’t we be? Would we let our children walk into the street if we saw an coming car? No, we would tell them to stop, look both ways, decide whether you have time to cross before the oncoming danger. Stop. Look. Listen. Why would we do that? Because we love them and they could die. Jeremiah loved his people enough to wave the flag. Paul loved his people enough to wave the flag. John loved his people enough to wave the flag. Peter loved his people enough to wave the flag. Jesus loved his people enough to wave the flag, in the form of the cross. Shouldn’t we too love our people enough to wave the flag? To alert. To warn. To signal. To advise. To sound the alarm. Isn’t that what we’re called to do?
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.” Jeremiah 1:5
Look what the Lord said to Jeremiah. There are so many messages packed into that one verse. We’ll leave all that unpacking for another time. It says what it say. Look at Jeremiah’s response to the Lord:
“O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”
Jeremiah 1:6
Jeremiah’s saying “Send Aaron!” We too have many excuses, don’t we? But look what the Lord says to Jeremiah:
“Don’t say that, for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and take care of you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” Jeremiah 1:7-8
So, are you willing to signal the flag? To warn? To alert? To advise? Do you love someone enough to do that for them? To save them from the consequences? Are we afraid to do that? Sure we are. But didn’t He say He would be with us? Didn’t He say He’d take care of us? He, the Lord, has spoken.
It is our job to take care of each other and sometimes that’s an uncomfortable task. But wouldn’t you want someone to signal the flag for you if you were headed in the wrong direction? Me too. If we truly love each other we will signal the flag and we will appreciate it when the flag has been signaled for us. That’s what true love is.