Refusing to listen to God’s Word is nothing new! It started in the garden of Eden and has continued to this day. In Jeremiah 25 we see that the refusal of God’s people will lead to exile. God’s people will lose their land. We are told that by not listening to God, they have provoked Him. It is incredibly arrogant to refuse to listen to Almighty God, to think we know best. How foolish to provoke Him.
We have even less excuse when we consider how God’s Word has been fulfilled in the past, why would we doubt Him today? In Jeremiah 25, we see not only that God’s people will be taken into exile in Babylon, but for how long it will be – 70 years. And as we look back we see that is exactly what happened. Yet the king was so stubborn that he even burned God’s Word (Jeremiah 35).
What is the result of refusing to listen to God’s Word? God tells Jeremiah that He will make people drink the cup of His wrath. He is rightly angry at our sin, and He must punish sin. We tend to think our sin is not that serious. We compare ourselves to others and think “I’m not that bad” but when we compare ourselves to God, we realise how much we fall short.
The result of our disobedience is that we deserve to drink the cup of God’s wrath. Here is an awful cup of God’s judgment for the way we’ve treated Him and others. Our offence is against an eternally holy God, and therefore our punishment should be eternal. How awful it is to be facing such a severe punishment.
Is there any way to avoid it? We can’t just try harder, because not only will we fail again, but we can’t make up for all the times we haven’t kept God’s Word. We are in a terrible state. But, wait, there is no need for despair. See your Saviour in the garden of Gethsemane, wrestling in prayer for you. He is facing drinking that cup of wrath for you. He dreads drinking it, He knows how awful it will be to face the wrath of His holy Father. He has only ever known His pleasure. He cries out, if there’s any other way, take this cup from me. But He knows, there is no other way. It’s him or us. If He won’t drink it, we will have to. So He submits himself to His Father’s will. He will drink the cup for you! See the love of Christ for you.
Because He is the eternal Son of God, His blood is of infinite value. He can pay for your sin that deserves eternal wrath.
Have you let Him take it for you? It was foolish for God’s people to ignore His Word and face exile. How much more foolish for us to refuse Jesus’ offer to drink the cup of wrath for us. What joy when you know He’s taken it for you! Every single day you know you are getting better than you deserve.
Praise God for our wonderful Saviour.
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