READING: Jeremiah 5:20-6:30, 2 Kings 22:3-20, 2 Chronicles 34:8-28
It is, I suspect, a question all of us need to ask – yet I’m not sure we do. We might talk about the subject at times, but my guess is that we do it only superficially. We certainly don’t ask it like Jeremiah 5 does.
In fact, the question occurs twice in slightly different forms in that chapter—each from the mouth of God:
- “Do you not fear me?” (Jer 5:22)
- “Do you not tremble before me . . .?” (Jer 5:23)
This God was the One who “set the sand as the boundary of the sea” (Jer 5:22). He sent forth the rains and produced the harvest. He would be their judge, but still they did not listen to Him. Still they had no shame. They were only “foolish and senseless people” who had eyes but could not see, ears but could not hear (Jer 5:21).
The Lord looked for faithfulness among them and found them lacking (see Jer 5:3). Even the sea would not cross the boundaries God had established, but His people cared little about His standards. They lived for themselves and had little respect and reverence for God.
Here’s my question for you and me today: how would our lives change today if we truly lived in awe of the Lord? Surely trembling at the holiness and grace of God should transform us.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: How much do you live in reverent fear of God?
DAILY PRAYER: “Lord, break me of my foolishness in not fearing You.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 2 Kings 23:1-20, 2 Chronicles 34:29-33, 2 Kings 23:21-28, 2 Chronicles 35:1-19, Nahum 1:1-3:19
