“I myself said, ““‘How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.”’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me.”
– Jeremiah 3:19
Hi James and Ellen,
What gets you out of bed each morning? What drives you to do what you do each day? What makes your day? For your grandpaa to receive a B.A. from Moody Bible Institute, your grandpaa needed to have a required number of liberal arts credits. Because your grandpaa did not have the requisite number of liberal arts credits when he first graduated from Moody Bible Institute in the spring of 1977, your grandpaa graduated from Moody Bible Institute with a diploma. Because Moody Bible Institute would give a B.A. to your grandpaa if your grandpaa accrued the number of liberal arts credits that Moody Bible Institute mandated and then took two additional module classes at Moody Bible Institute’s campus in Chicago, your grandpaa – during his 1982-83 yearlong furlough break from the South America Mission field missionary team in Bolivia, took random classes at South Dakota State University’s campus in Brookings, South Dakota in order to accumulate the obligatory number of liberal arts credits. One of the classes that your grandpaa took at South Dakota State University was taught by a guy who referred to himself as being an ‘avowed Marist’. This teacher spent time in Lima, Peru with Gustavo Gutiérrez. Gustavo Gutiérrez was a Catholic University professor who had become internationally recognized as the principal proponent of liberation theology. Your grandpaa still remembers 28 years later this teacher’s very radical, ideological passion that included advocating in his classes for the kind of Marist socialism that is still found in Cuba. Your grandpaa has no idea how this guy ended up as a South Dakota State University professor but . . . even though the guy did not believe that the Bible was the inspired word of God, the guy at times would use Bible verses to help underpin what he was trying to get across to his students. One of the verses that your grandpaa remembers the teacher quoting is the verse in the beatitudes which says that ‘the meek shall inherit the earth’ – which the teacher equated to be all the poor guys, gals and kids who are living on planet Earth, as license for poor guys, gals and kids to do what they have to do to go in and take over wealthy landowners’ land as their land as they will – per what Jesus said as a beatitude, ‘inherit’ that land one day anyway so why not right now. Even though the teacher could quote scripture a whole lot better than what your grandpaa knew that he could, your grandpaa senses the regret spirit still haunting him for not having gone through his guy’s life door which the teacher had opened up to your grandpaa – as the teacher really did seem to be genuinely curious about the cross-cultural experiences that your grandpaa had during the four years that he already had spent in Bolivia, to seriously interact with the teacher regarding the teacher’s Marist’s belief paradigm of ‘if a guy has nothing to die for, a guy has nothing to live for’.
So – are you willing to die for what gets you out of bed each morning, are you willing to die for what drives you to do what you do each day and are you willing to die for what makes your day? Jeremiah was willing to die. Jeremiah knew that God had designated him to be His prophet spokesman at this time to the Israelite people group guys and gals who were living in Israel’s southern kingdom – which was the land area of Judah and which included the city of Jerusalem. Jeremiah knew that because of the disobedient, detestable and deviant behaviors of God’s specially chosen guys and gals who has been living in Israel’s northern kingdom’s land area – which had been the land area of Israel, that God – about 130 years earlier, had not stopped the Assyrian army from overrunning Israel’s northern kingdom and taking His specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the northern kingdom away to be captive slaves. Jeremiah knew that God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in Israel’s southern kingdom knew what had happened to their sister northern kingdom about 130 years earlier – and they knew why it had happened but . . . it had become obvious to Jeremiah that the guys and gals who were living in Israel’s southern kingdom really did not think that the same thing would happen to them that had happened to their compatriots who had been living in Israel’s northern kingdom even though they were living worse lives than the guys and gals who had been living in Israel’s northern kingdom. Jeremiah’s God embedded discontent with the two-timing lifestyles that the guys and gals who were living in land of Judah and in the city of Jerusalem can be sensed in Jeremiah 3.
As Jeremiah walked around the land of Judah and through the city of Jerusalem streets, what do you think was the reaction of the guys and gals who Jeremiah was able to get to listen to him after Jeremiah first said what verse 19 says – which has Jeremiah repeating the words that God – as God the Father, – through God – as God the Spirit, was wanting him to say to His specially chosen guys and gals, ““I myself said, ““‘How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.”’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me.”” Your grandpaa would like to know why God did not stop His specially chosen guys and gals from turning away from worshipping Him to worship foreign gods – as your grandpa knows that God is omnipotent but . . . what do you think can be learned from what happened to God’s specially chosen guys and gals when they ignored Jeremiah’s God prompted dire warnings to repent from their adulterous, evil ways?
Jeremiah 3 (1181)