No Way to Escape God’s Judgment
October 16, 2021
Commentary
The final section of this chapter concludes with God pouring out his vengeance upon His rebellious people. So great is God’s indictment upon mankind that the victims of this coming disaster will be like dung upon the ground. Both the rulers and the people will be destroyed. This prophecy is not only descriptive of God’s judgment upon Judah and the surrounding nations following the seventy-year captivity, but also His judgment upon apostate Israel and the nations which will culminate in the second coming of Christ (Matt. 24:30 & Rev. 1:4-19). This judgment was pictured as a mighty storm that would encompass all nations (vv. 30-31). In its path the slain were scattered everywhere (v. 33). The leaders of these many nations would weep and wail and roll in the dust as they mourned (v. 34). They would try to flee but there was no place to escape (v. 35). God would destroy their land and prowl around like a lion among the sheep. For the time had come that judgment must begin at the house of God (vv. 36-38).
The warnings of Jeremiah some twenty-five hundred years ago needs to be headed by the ungodly nations of our day and unless they repent will rise no more (v. 27). In just my life span I can see a tremendous degeneration of the society in which we live. The acceptance of immorality and lying recently by our president is only an indicator of the wickedness of our nation. According to a recent poll over 75 percent of the people don’t care about the sinful ways of our president as long as the economy is strong and they are prospering economically. Homosexuality is fast becoming an accepted life style and murder of the unborn is referred to as a woman’s choice. These are things that would not have been tolerated when I was a boy growing up. Most of the nations around the world have embraced an ungodly lifestyle and have no desire to live by the principles of God’s Word.
Application
I praise the Lord that in spite of all the sin around us God has made a way of escape through His son the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you Lord for saving me from the penalty of sin!
Jeremiah 25:30– 38 (NET)
30 “Then, Jeremiah, make the following prophecy against them: ‘Like a lion about to attack, the Lord will roar from the heights of heaven; from his holy dwelling on high he will roar loudly. He will roar mightily against his land. He will shout in triumph, like those stomping juice from the grapes, against all those who live on the earth.
31 The sounds of battle will resound to the ends of the earth. For the Lord will bring charges against the nations. He will pass judgment on all humankind and will hand the wicked over to be killed in war.’ The Lord so affirms it!
32 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘Disaster will soon come on one nation after another. A mighty storm of military destruction is rising up from the distant parts of the earth.’
33 Those who have been killed by the Lord at that time will be scattered from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned over, gathered up, or buried. Their dead bodies will lie scattered over the ground like manure.
34 Wail and cry out in anguish, you rulers! Roll in the dust, you who shepherd flocks of people! The time for you to be slaughtered has come. You will lie scattered and fallen like broken pieces of fine pottery.
35 The leaders will not be able to run away and hide. The shepherds of the flocks will not be able to escape.
36 Listen to the cries of anguish of the leaders. Listen to the wails of the shepherds of the flocks. They are wailing because the Lord is about to destroy their lands.
37 Their peaceful dwelling places will be laid waste by the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 The Lord is like a lion who has left his lair. So their lands will certainly be laid waste by the warfare of the oppressive nation and by the fierce anger of the Lord.”
Illustration: Your Dog is Keeping me Awake
A college professor answered his telephone at 3:00 A.M. “This is your neighbor, Mr. Smith,” said the voice. “Your dog is barking and keeping me awake.” The professor thanked him kindly and hung up. The next morning Mr. Smith’s telephone rang at exactly 3 A.M. “This is the professor,” said the caller. “I just wanted you to know that I don’t have a dog!” (Encyclopedia of Illustrations #14107).