SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF A STRESSED GOD

  The northern kingdom, Israel, had been destroyed by Assyria for breaking the Abrahamic Covenant, and then the southern kingdom of Judah followed suit. Although Josiah was the last king with authority of Judah who did right in the sight of the Lord, he did one thing on his own without God’s ordination; he warred with Egypt when he should have turned to them to defeat Babylon. God had desired them to maintain neutrality and essentially trust Him for safety. Lack of trust in the Lord for safety is always the sin that dismays God the most.
  Josiah was killed in battle, his son the new king was carried off to die in Egypt, and his brother appointed king in his stead, not by God, but by Pharaoh Necho. Judah was virtually destroyed, and of course, Babylon would finish them off. Egypt and Babylon did not destroy Judah; the people destroyed themselves, and God used Egypt and Babylon as tools for punishment.
  It is to be noted, that a good God did not cause Judah to perish, but they perished because of poor choices. The nature of mankind since the first sin is the pursuit of self-destruction. Most nations have disappeared from existence because their people insisted on evil ways whether it was material, lasciviousness, pride, power, esteem, or coveting what others have. As such, wise men will look at the perfect example and not do what they did. Below is an account of Judah’s fall – when God’s chosen people perished:

COVENANT: Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. (Jer 7:23)

  The Lord essentially repeated Hos covenant with Abraham. This was not a new covenant but a reminder of it. The Abrahamic Covenant was for perpetuity; it was for Judah as well as the nations of the Lord to this day. Christian nations still must obey God, be His, and walk in the Way that Jesus walked. Those are the conditions of the Abrahamic Covenant and the Covenant of Grace. It is God’s quid pro quo – “something given for something received.” God’s people are to give Him due respect in return for eternal “wellness” which is eternal life! 
  The Covenant is legally binding. Obedience to the Covenant is to the Law. However, if truly God’s person, the Law is understood to be God’s Will for us: “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer 29:11; ESV). God has rules because he is looking out for our future, not to put us in bondage. The Law is the same, but righteous people will have a different view of them; they are for their safety, not to punish them. We are to serve the Lord to preserve ourselves. I believe that is what God intended when he assigned Adam to “dress and keep the Garden (of immortal souls).
  Covenants are agreements between parties of two parts: The Party of the First Part is the Lord God. His condition for the deed to a heavenly room in His mansion is “be my people” and describes how that is to be done – “walk ye in all (my) ways.” It must be revealed how to walk His Way. The Ten Commandments describe how people who love God and others can “walk” to please the Lord.

They are not truly commandments! People are to walk the Way of the Lord’s son “that it may be well” with them. That makes the “commandments” the “Ten Prescriptions” for eternal health (salvation).
  Since the Lord is to be our God, then the Covenant is breached when its conditions are not followed. God thoughtfully itemized ways to breach the contract with Him:

BREACH: They hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. (Jer 7:24), Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers (Jer 7:26), and  The children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the Lord: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it. (Jer 7:30)

  Judah broke the contract several ways, and it is supposed that God’s people still do it the same ways:

1.       By not listening to God’s Word, thinking not knowing His will, relieves them of the obligations in the contract.

2.       Rather than listen to God, they did what was right for them. In modern times, that is called “being true to oneself.” By doing what one Is, robs God of His identity, because He alone Is!

3.       They went backward not forward. God expected positive change, not regression as before when they were in deeper sin. Jesus called going forward “born again” and said, “Marvel not; ye must be born again” (John 3:7). Judah had been in sin, and they moved back to their old ways. Essentially, they died again in sin.

4.       They were stubborn. They insisted that they be allowed the reward without the sacrifice. Christians to this day EXPECT to be saved without regard to their walk with Jesus. They will have the same punishment as Judah.

5.       Sin begets more sin. Their forefathers sinned, and the people increased their sin. Rather than sanctifying themselves to the Lord, they isolated themselves from Him. Rather than righteous things consecrated to God, they did evil things in remembrance of Egypt’s false gods. Thinking they were doing their own imaginations, they walked under the Serpent’s Tree.

6.       They even brought abominations into God’s House and polluted it. False doctrines and great sins still pollute the Churches. They are the sins of Balaam in Solomon’s Temple, and the Doctrine of the Nicolaitans which God hates in our churches (Rev 2:6).

PROMISE: If ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;  If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. (Jer 7:5-7)

  God desired that the Covenant be forever. By grace, he forgives as long as some listen. Throughout the Old Testament, if only a few would be righteous, God’s Covenant would still exist. A remnant of the Jews was saved from dispersion to Assyria, and then Babylon, and in the end 144,000 Jews of all twelve tribes will be saved. The remnant is always those who take the straight gate and narrow way (Mat 7:12-14). There are conditions for reprieve as well:

1.       Change how you are and what you do.  Those are conditions of attitude and behavior. Those with “right” behavior have the attitude of willingness. They don’t walk because God commands it, but because they want to please God!

2.       Be fair and just. Do as you would have others do unto you. That means to not lie, steal, covet what they have, and so forth. To honor the Doctor’s Ten Prescriptions.

3.       “Shed not innocent blood.” That is specifically the “prescription” not to murder. Throughout history the innocents’ blood is always shed. Today it is more fluid than ever with the abortion of the most innocent!

4.       Not to have other gods. Who thinks they don’t have other gods? Even atheists won’t admit that they too have other gods! “Walking in their own counsels” is when they themselves are the other gods. Christians often endeavor to serve God and themselves. That is called syncretism, and Christians must submit their self-god to the True God. Doing your own will is hurtful to yourself. “Born again” means that you finally see that you are not really a god, and have no power to save yourself, but God does!

5.       Then, with the second opportunity, God repeats that the same reward is available: “Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.” He gives endless chances if results are forthcoming. Those who stiffen their necks and harden their hearts will never obey the terms of the Covenant, thinking that they are special cases. The terms of the agreement are for everyone, in that God wants that “whosover” not perish (John 3:16).

WITNESSED: Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord. (Jer 7:11)

  God sees the infractions to the Covenant. He must to judge fairly who breaches it and who honors it. He sees how is House is profaned. Jeremiah had a vision of Jesus whose anger was justified in overturning the tables in the Temple. “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer?’ but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him” (Mark 11:17-18). Judah would rather destroy the memory of God than abide by the fair terms of the Covenant. When God’s House and His Ways are profaned, God sees it, and knows that you rob Him of His due.
  To this day, church is more about US than God. That robs God of His authority and majesty, and attempts to make us as gods. And God sees it all; even what is in our hearts to do!

ISOLATION: And I will cast you out of my sight (Jer 7:15a) Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee. (Jer 7:16) Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place (Jer 7:20a)

  For the majority who will not change, they isolate themselves from God. “Sanctification” is us isolating ourselves from the world, but “iniquity” is isolation from God. God only hears the prayer of those who are His. The Lord’s House is to be a place of prayer, and is for His people. Partying and entertainment, I believe, in the churches, angers God. It makes the building a den of thieves; stealing the glory of God and placing it on the entertainers and the entertained. We must be careful to give to God what is His, and that is honor and glory!

PENALTY: Death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the Lord of hosts. Moreover, thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return? Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. (Jer 8:3-5)

  If the Covenant is broken, and remains unsealed, there is a penalty. First off, God will never break the seal, but the party of the second part can. That is freedom, and Christians are at liberty to break the seal at any given time. Not being able to would be bondage to the Covenant and to the Law. The penalty for breaking the deal is “death.” Adam and Eve never understood what death entailed until after they breached the Edenic Covenant. Again, it is essentially had the same conditions and reward.
  Death, according to God, is eternally perishing - always in the process of dying but never quite consummating intercourse with the Angel of Death. The faithful are not bound to the agreement, but can choose death. After living in safety under the God’s protection, they can still discard that safety.

We think of “backsliding” as a short interval of disobedience or a decline in faith. Jeremiah mentioned a “perpetual backsliding.” Theologians call that “apostasy” and that is a final turning away from trusting the Lord. God’s people can fall away and not return. What is so difficult for Calvinists to understand about that? I’m not being mean-spirited, but in truth, the fear of falling away keeps people from iniquity. If there was t be no punishment, then those who claim to be God’s people could sin with impunity!
  The Covenant of Grace was agreed upon by God to Abraham and it is still THE Covenant, and will always be. There was never different Covenants, but only different wording of the original Covenant with God: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen 3:15). The Word was revealing the final reward to His two people. What did He mean? That Jesus would take care of the Serpent on our behalf, and would suffer rather than us sinners. Although Jesus was to die for all Adams and all mothers of mankind, our God was not to be us, but Him.