It sounded good at the time. A small group of people, left behind after Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem, came to the prophet and pledged to do whatever God said even if He said something they did not like (Jeremiah 42:5-6). There was only one problem. That small group of people were big time liars, saying what they thought God wanted to hear. Yet, while their lips said one thing, their hearts were set on doing their own thing no matter what.
They had already planned to go to Egypt and nothing Jeremiah said was going to change their minds. Their hearts were not surrendered to God and they were not willing to obey the LORD unless He said what they wanted to hear. It seems they only wanted to put on a good religious show before they followed their own path. Their proud boast about obedience was nothing more than an attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the prophet and over the eyes of his God.
Ten days after the remnant made their great boast, God sends Jeremiah back with an answer to their prayers (Jeremiah 42:7-12). His decision? They should remain in Jerusalem where God promises to take care of them even as they live under Nebuchadnezzar's rule. He then warns them of what will happen if they go to Egypt (verses 13-17). Why did God specifically single out a trip to Egypt as part of His warning? Well, He knew they were being hypocritical (verse 20) and He called them out about their lies. Their fake attempt at showing how devoted they were fell flat as God sees the heart with all its wicked intentions. (This is what God said in 1 Samuel 16:7 as He shot down Samuel’s standard for picking someone worthy to be king.) In the end the remnant did go to Egypt, defying God and bringing a curse upon themselves.
I believe that when we accept Jesus as savior we also accept Him as LORD. We receive salvation as a free gift, one that cannot be earned. At the same time we recognize the authority held by our Creator: authority that demands obedience to His perfect will. As a result our lips should declare Him LORD and so should our actions!
It’s easy to talk a big game, to do the church thing and even to do a few good works. But how far does your (and my) commitment go? Are we ready to follow our LORD no matter what?
Is your commitment to obeying God for real or is it for show?
