“Will he reserve [his anger] for ever? will he keep [it] to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.” (Jer 3:5 AV)
Jeremiah is one of the saddest of all biblical books. Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet, was sent to an unrepentant Judah. Babylon was soon to invade and carry them all away into captivity. The temple would be destroyed. Jerusalem’s city walls would be leveled. There would be nothing left worth staying for. All the wealth, all the resources, and all that the king of Babylon desired would be taken. The land would lay desolate for 70 years. Much death and hardship would follow. Judah and Benjamin were rebellious and petulant children. They saw their brothers to the north, carried away by Assyria decades earlier. Yet, they aped the same sins. The LORD said Judah and Benjamin were more accountable because they saw the consequences of idolatry fall on their brothers to the north; yet they ignored it and went after the world and paganism. The question above is a fair one. What do they expect? Do they expect the LORD to withhold His judgment forever? Do they expect the God of all mercy would never mete out correction? Did they expect a God of love would never be angry with their sins?
I think we are like that small child who is shocked when he gets a spanking for acting out. Mom and Dad have tremendous patience. They put up with a lot. There is a tipping point, though. If there wasn’t, their wayward child would continue to push the envelope. We have all been there. I am thinking long car rides. Remember those? I have three sons. My parents had eleven children. We never went on a car ride longer than a couple of hours. At least not regularly. Most were under two hours. There was the occasional event when my father had to pull over and deal with a child. That was not pleasant. Then there are those public events like church, a wedding, a graduation etc. where a young one acts out so much that mom or dad takes the little one to the restroom for some re-education. I think it a bit amusing when you give your little tyke a swat on the backside while he is having a come apart, and he didn’t expect it. Another example is acting out in a store. They beg. They throw temper tantrums. They try to embarrass you into conceding. When you show no indication of frustration or anger, you bend over a bit, look him straight in the eye, and swat his bottom. He is in shock! Mom or Dad actually reacted. But not in a way they expected.
Unlike the LORD, when we react to our child’s relentless misbehaving, He does not do so from frustration or impatience. When the LORD deals with us, it is deliberate and planned. Why should we be shocked? That is the point of the above passage. Why should we be shocked when the LORD corrects us? Especially after repeated offenses! Jeremiah is posing the question to Judah, not from the direction of having already received correction. Rather, from pending correction. Even when they are warned, it is implied they will still be shocked at the hand of God. Even after hundreds of years and an example in Israel, Judah and Benjamin react incredulously that God would actually slap their wrist. After all, they have the temple and the capital city. Doesn’t that count for some exemption? Why are we shocked? We are His children. Why did we expect? Did we expect a free pass for our entire lives just because He says that He loves us? Maybe it is that love that demands the correction. What did we expect would happen?