“Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the
voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he
hath pronounced against you.” (Jer 26:13 AV)
This
is an encouraging verse in light of what the LORD said in chapter fifteen and
verse six. The verse reads, “Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone
backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee;
I am weary with repenting.” (Jer 15:6 AV) Whether it was the fained
repenting of the nation or His own repenting of judgment, it seemed as though
the LORD had had enough. It seemed as
though the last nail had been nailed in the coffin of Judah. Yet, our text indicates the LORD was giving
one more chance. Amazing!
As
a parent, there were times I really didn’t want to have to correct my
child. Mostly because I was weary. Time and again, I would have to correct him
and inflict minor corporal punishment.
After repeated attempts to change behavior, maybe I just gave up for a
time and let it go. Perhaps I got to the
point that I realized that no matter how sorry he felt, he would simply turn
around and do it again. So, I succumbed
to the temporary temptation to simply let it go. This is not the case above. It is one more, and perhaps final, attempt at
mercy and grace. Like counting to three
before chastisement is inflicted, the LORD is giving one more warning. Even when He is weary of repenting, He gives
one more chance. Like our children, we
seldom take advantage of that grace and amend our ways.
God
is very good to us. Too good! He is merciful and slow to anger. He knows how frail we are and realizes our
enemies are too much for us. The world,
the devil, and especially the flesh are all overwhelming. The LORD looks on the heart. He sees the desire we have to live
right. He knows our frame is weak. He knows our old man is strong. He takes compassion and mercy on us. One more time. If we amend our ways, He will refrain from
final judgment. Just one more time.
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