They Turned Their Backs To Me And Not Their Faces

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“And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign Lord, say to me, ‘Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.’” Jeremiah 32:25 NIV

God had clearly spoken to Jeremiah of the coming captivity of God’s people and the destruction of Jerusalem so it must have seemed out of place that God told him to buy a field in the very area these events were about to occur. He may have wondered why God would want him to buy a field considering all that was about to take place.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Therefore this is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it. Jeremiah 32:26-28 NIV

I believe the Lord understood Jeremiah’s confusion, as He so often understands ours. and He offers him reassurance and clarity.

The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down, along with the houses where the people aroused my anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods. Jeremiah 32:29 NIV

There are times when God knows we need purging! We need Him to come in and “burn down” the places in our lives where we arouse His anger! It’s a painful but very necessary process.

“The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger with what their hands have made, declares the Lord. From the day it was built until now, this city has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove it from my sight. The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done—they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. They set up their vile images in the house that bears my Name and defiled it. They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek, though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind—that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin. Jeremiah 32:30-35 NIV

What happens when we turn our backs to God and not our faces? Think about how that action plays out in your life. Is your face toward God? Are you looking straight at Him or are you heading in a different direction? God was exasperated with His children. He knew that they would only have the strength to defeat Satan and break free from sin if they kept their eyes on Him, kept looking toward Him and moving in His direction. Why? Because He would give them the strength and the victory over their enemy! Yet instead, despite His continual efforts to teach them His ways, they just kept turning their backs toward Him and heading in the opposite direction. They would not listen or respond to His discipline. As a result of their sinful actions, in the end, they sacrificed their own children. That’s the way it is with sin. We are never the only ones who pay the price for our decision to look away from God. Usually our children pay the biggest portion of the cost!

“You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. Jeremiah 32:36-41 NIV

God is so merciful, so kind! Do you see His heart in these verses? Despite all they had done wrong, regardless of how many times they had aroused His anger, He never cut them off completely. His desire, after they came out of captivity, was to bring them back to safety, to love them and to be their God, to help them gain victory over the enemy. He took upon Himself the responsibility to keep them from turning away from Him again because He knew that they were too weak to do it themselves. God does that for you and I too! He wants all to go well for us and for our children too!

God is committed to you! He will do whatever you need Him to do to help you build a strong and healthy relationship with Him, one where you will be His child and He will be your God. He is for you, not against you! He loves you with all His heart and soul! Keep facing in His direction. Do not turn your back toward Him, not even for a minute, and you will win the battle against sin!

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