Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our throats!” Jeremiah 4:10

It is a sinful mindset to think: If there is a god, it must be a liar. How can it say it is good when there are wars, crimes, and injustice in our world? This would be the mindset of God’s people in Judah in the time of Jeremiah. They would expect the peace they had enjoyed to continue. When the army of Babylon would stand outside of the gates of Jerusalem, they would believe that God had deceived them. But God had not deceived them.

From the beginning of the nation of Israel that God brought out of Egypt, God’s covenant with His people had remained the same. If you will love Me by obeying My commands, then I will bless you with prosperity and peace. If you deny Me and disregard My commands, I will turn from you and you will be destroyed. God’s people had entered into a two-side agreement with Him and now were completely failing to uphold their end of the agreement.

God was not deceiving Judah. He was calling them to repentance. Not long before this time, during the reign of King Hezekiah, the Assyrian army had been standing outside the gates of Jerusalem. The reaction by Hezekiah and the people was to turn to the Lord in prayer and repentance. God honored His side of the covenant by sending His angel in the night to destroy the Assyrian army.

But in the time of Jeremiah, God’s people refused to repent. They followed their rebellious sister, Israel, by putting their trust in little nothing idols and in alliances. They did not repent. They did not seek the mind of the Lord. They simply assumed God would bless them. So God, true to the covenant He had made with them, withdrew His protecting hand. As He had promised, He left the nation of Judah. God does not lie or deceive. He fulfilled His end of the agreement. Sisters and brothers, how blessed we are to live under the one-sided agreement.

 Under the covenant of grace, God did everything necessary to secure our salvation by sending His Son to reconcile us to Him. Living under His mercy, why should we not be even more grateful for what He has done for us. In thankfulness, we repent of our sin, use His commandments as guidelines for honoring Him, and seek Him to be our anchor in troubled times. He has promised us eternal life. And He will never lie to us or deceive us. We are blessed.

Frank Van Brocklin

Principal/Staff Minister

Week Ahead at Immanuel Lutheran School:

❖ January 27 School Board - 6:00 PM

❖ January 28 Basketball - Home vs. Zion - B 5:30 PM & A 6:30 PM

❖ February 1 Basketball - Away vs. St. Peter - 5:00 PM

❖ February 2 100th Day of School - Afternoon Activities