"Judgment and Recovery"

 

"Oh my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry."

           

            Jeremiah speaks as a prophet: sometimes with words of warning when there is yet time to change, and sometimes with judgment when it is too late. He writes now when the consequences of sin are sure. Judah will be defeated. Jeremiah hears the battle trumpet sound, the cry of the warriors on their way. In anguish he announces the coming destruction. He had already pleaded for repentance, deep and complete, a returning to God with heart and soul and mind. But Israel did not change. Skilled in doing evil, they took no steps towards obedience and faith. So the army would come and the devastation would be complete. There would be a swift invasion from the north.

            Jeremiah cries out in anguish. This is not just a vision of some distant time or a distant people. Jeremiah will live through the invasion, the years of Nebuchadnezzar's attack on Jerusalem. He will suffer along with the people. Even as he pronounces the verdict, he has a deep love for his own people. But he cannot remain silent. He hears in his soul the sound of the battle trumpet, and he sends out the awful news. He describes the invasion in poetic language. It is a hot and driving wind from the north, it is storm clouds gathered on the horizon, and it comes with the speed of eagles racing to their prey. He knows the reality of the destruction caused by war. He knows the suffering that war brings. More than that, he discerns that this invasion is not just a foreign army, but is in fact the anger of the Lord falling upon the people, and it will not be turned away.

            Then, in verses 23 to 28, he shares a vision of the earth formless and empty. This is more than a description of military defeat. This is the reversal of the creation account in Genesis. J.A.Thompson says it is as if the earth is being "uncreated," reverting to chaos, order becoming confusion. In Genesis 1:2 God sees that the earth is "without form and void." I don't know Hebrew, but Steve Hall has taught us the Hebrew phrase for "without form and void": "tohu wabohu." It sounds like chaos, like everything collapsing, losing control. The light goes out of the heavens, the mountains and hills shake and sway, no longer do they give assurance of stability; "Adam" flees, and the birds fly away.

            Jeremiah uses the most severe language possible to speak of the judgment of God. The creation is reversed and the world becomes all tohu wabohu, formless and void again and all that has been built is lost. Andrew Dearman writes, "Moral and spiritual failure in Judah prompted prophetic eyes to see the land and people as turned back to chaos and disorder. The disintegration of communal life is the inevitable outworking of moral and spiritual failure."

            This week I received a letter from someone who is forming a community group to help the young people of North Chicago and Waukegan. She writes, "I am launching a campaign for personal responsibility and action to combat the hopelessness and apathy people are experiencing in the Waukegan and North Chicago areas. Over the past few years, these cities have experienced increased dropout rates, truancy, violence and youth on youth crime. There is an overall sense of disconnectedness, hopelessness and apathy in the community." Tohu wabohu.

            There is only one phrase of hope in this passage. The Lord says, "I will not destroy it completely." So Jerusalem was conquered, the temple destroyed, the people sent into exile. But the story does continue. Slowly, painstakingly, over time Israel learns to forsake idols, Israel returns and rebuilds. God sends his son, the Messiah. Dearman concludes, "Israel must make a radical commitment to God, but also learn that they will be unable to fulfill that commitment unless God acts decisively to renew and transform them."

            So this severe passage of judgment points us to recovery, reconnecting to God through careful obedience and trust. Not everything is restored just the way it was. The consequences of sin are not avoided. The road back is long and step by step. But God is faithful. No matter how lost we become, even if the earth seems to shake and everything turns to confusion in our lives, God works to save us and care for us.

            Part of understanding the meaning of salvation is found in experiencing recovery from the consequences of our sin. God sent his son Jesus Christ to save sinners. By the power of the cross he brings us forgiveness of sin and new life as his children. But he does not eliminate all consequences of our sinful behavior. There are things we have to face and live with. We lose some valuable parts of life when we turn against God. It does not all get put back just as it was.

            Just as people in A.A., who have lost so much to alcohol abuse, are not able to have all they lost restored, yet they find in recovery the ability to preserve the resources they still have in order to live in a new way. They learn to trust the grace of God each day. So, when our sin causes us to lose much that is valuable, we find in Christ a way of recovery, a slow, step by step process of growing closer to the Lord, of practicing forgiveness, of being thankful, of being honest.

            This summer I heard the run of sockeye salmon in the Pacific Northwest was the largest in many years. People wondered if the efforts in salmon stream restoration had paid off. I remember over the last 20 years seeing on every little stream and creek signs explaining salmon habitat restoration. It is enormously tedious work, painstakingly cleaning waterways, planting trees to buffer streams so that the water is shaded, and restoring gravel to the beds. When waterways get damaged and neglected for years the results are devastating to fish. But when careful, often expensive care is given, God's creation has a remarkable way of recovering.

            The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies did research on 240 disturbed habitats in the world where there was effort being given to restore them. They found that forest ecosystems recovered in 42 years, and ocean bottoms recovered in less than 10 years. Professor Oswald Schmitz said, "The damages to these ecosystems are pretty serious. But the message is that if societies chose to become sustainable, ecosystems will recover. It isn't hopeless."

            It is the same with our lives. It takes time and effort and day by day living the Lord's way. It is not easy to forgive when someone has offended you, or when a text message has been written that hurts you. But as we practice forgiveness daily, the Lord heals broken friendships. It is not easy to give thanks when life is difficult, when things do not go our way, when people let us down. But when we give thanks daily, the Lord blesses us. It is not easy to confess our own sin, to admit our own errors when those around us seem to sin so much more boldly. But keeping a clean heart with the Lord slowly brings changes in our attitude, and we become less prideful, less defensive, less offended by the comments of others.

            So Jesus told a few stories about recovery. A shepherd left his flock and searched the hills to find just one sheep. And finding that one, he carried it back to the flock. And then what did the shepherd do to make sure that sheep would not simply wander off again? Maybe it took some time for that sheep to truly recover from its wandering ways. There is learning. There is behavior change. It takes time to recover from being lost.

            Then think about the lost son who spent his family's fortune in wild living in the far country. When he returned home he had a difficult re-entry. Things were not just the same. But the love of the father continues after the welcome home party. The recovery of the son from his wild days no doubt took some time. Day by day he found a way to return, to reconnect. He grew as his attitude changed, his self- centered ways slowly were worn away as he grew in love for his father, and maybe even for his brother. Recovery is not fast, it is not easy, it does not always feel good. But God calls us to a path that leads to life. God calls us to love and follow the Savior.

            "I was lost, but Jesus found me,

            Found the sheep that went astray,

            Threw his loving arms around me

            Drew me back into the way."

            Amen.