Human nature never changes, does it? I have been reading the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, whom Christians consider "Old Testament" prophets. These are amazing books and I highly recommend you open them up and give them a read.
More than 2,500 years ago, Jeremiah wrote that a group of Jews came to him and asked him to petition God and find out what the Lord wanted them to do.
"Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God."
So Jeremiah seeks God and after 10 days the Lord speaks to him, telling Jeremiah to tell the Jews to stay in Jerusalem, which had been pillaged by the Babylonians, and not to go to Egypt, where they think it will be more peaceful. Jeremiah tells them exactly what the Lord had told him to say, clearly warning them that if they disobey and go to Egypt most of them will die by the sword, disease, or famine.
Here's what the Jews say in response to Jeremiah's prophecy:
"You are lying! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, 'You must not go to Egypt to settle there.' But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon."
It is sad, and yet so revealing of human nature. We tell God that we want to know the truth, and we promise that we'll obey Him no matter what. Then, when we hear something that is different than what we actually want to hear, we quickly come up with excuses, blame others (poor Baruch), and stubbornly and dangerously forge ahead with our own plans.
Of course, disaster befell the Jews who settled in Egypt. They should have listened to Jeremiah and the Lord. But the prophet's words did not line up with their own desires and so they ignored God's warning.
We should do our best to seek God first, and submit our own plans and desires to His will. He knows better than we do what is best for us. If we try to force things to go our way, we are going to miss what God has in store for us. And in some cases, we could be sealing our own terrible fate.
Read Jeremiah chapters 42 and 43 and you'll find a story that may be two millennia old but is more relevant and insightful than today's news.
Toledo, Ohio
Sept. 13, 2007