Got Fruit ?

After finishing the book of Jeremiah, an initial thought that still lingers is the intensity of the language used by God as He spoke through Jeremiah to Judah and Jerusalem of it’s infidelity.  God, pulls no punches!

Jeremiah 2:20,23-25
20 “… you lay down as a prostitute.”

23 “…
       You are a swift she-camel
       running here and there,

24 a wild donkey accustomed to the desert,
       sniffing the wind in her craving—
       in her heat who can restrain her?
       Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
       at mating time they will find her.

25 Do not run until your feet are bare
       and your throat is dry.
       But you said, ‘It’s no use!
       I love foreign gods,
       and I must go after them.’

As I read these passages, a refreshed view was reaffirmed in my mind concerning God’s disdain of worshipping false gods and idols by His creation.  In our relationship with God, I believe that we could/would avoid much of our self-inflicted stumbling if we simply obey God on the premise that “Father knows best”.  Easier said than done it seems, as walking righteous calls for denial of what we are naturally inclined to do or pursue (Jeremiah 2:25, See: Galatians 5:19-21). I think this is where trust and submitting to His authority plays in, a thought for another time however.

Since it is sin that wedges a gap in our relationship with God, I decided to go back and have another look at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-20), after taking in the recounting of man’s rebellion and the subsequent judgement rendered by God (Jeremiah).  Interestingly, I found that of the 10 Commandments; idol worship  (Exodus 20:4-6) and keeping the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-9) are the two lengthiest (just a little trivia because you never know; it might be a Jeopardy question one day).  In verse 4 of Exodus 20, God spoke:

Exodus 20:4-6
4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Fast forward from Exodus to the Book of Jeremiah, and we see God preparing to render judgement against the Israelites.  This is not a case of God waking up on the wrong  and having a case of the “Mondays”.  No, He appeared to pretty much have just had enough of the idol worship, and other sins committed by His people.  In Jeremiah 3:1, God speaking with rhetorical questions says:

Jeremiah 3:1
1 “If a man divorces his wife
       and she leaves him and marries another man,
       should he return to her again?
       Would not the land be completely defiled?
       But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers—
       would you now return to me?”
       declares the LORD.

Sounds similar to what a jilted and heart broken lover or what a victim of adultery might say or think in their heart (Mark Carlton’s post on God’s “feelings”).  The Lord is apparently jealous, which brings up the other thought weighing on my mind…

In April, I posted on the New Earth movement spear headed by Oprah Winfrey (hmmm?  maybe her initials are indicative of all of us, simply hurting.) and Eckhart Tolle.  The post amounted mostly to links to videos on another site along with a bit of my own opinion.  Since then I hadn’t given much thought to Oprah… until a few days ago. Reading Jeremiah and the 10 Commandments rebooted my memory to the, “God is jealous of me?” statement she made:

Oprah told a personal story from her Baptist upbringing during which she was in church (around the age of 27 or 28 years of age) and was caught up in the rapture of the moment until she heard her Pastor say, “The Lord thy God is a jealous God.”

Oprah’s immediate inward response was, “God is jealous of me?”
It was then Oprah began searching for something more remembering that God is love, omnipresent, and omniscient. “I asked God to use me, that has been my prayer for many years,” Oprah conveyed.
Source

Like Judah and Jerusalem, Oprah seems to have made the mistake in putting herself before God (”God is jealous of me?”) instead of behind Him.  It seems that she let an issue she had with a few words distract her just enough to not grasp the context nor the source of provocation for God’s jealousy. That in and of itself, is not the issue at hand.  By way of her disenchantment with God’s emotions, Oprah essentially accuses Jesus of being a liar, then goes on to “create” her own version of God, and His plan for salvation.  In the Bible, Jesus claimed to be the “way and the truth” and that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). Oprah and Tolle “preach” that there are many paths to the Father (assuming that we’re talking about the same Father), based on how one interprets who or what God is.  Hmmm!?… I guess it all depends on what your definition of ‘is’, is.  As I close, it occurs to me that Oprah’s statement comes off as kind of an arrogant statement toward God.

Exodus 20:2-3
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Grace and peace be with you.