“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city.” – Jeremiah 5:1 NIV
Warrior;
Does it Matter? Many of us feel like we are JUST…. Just a housewife, just a construction worker, just a technician, just a retired person. Today’s verse reminds us that our choices matter, that God uses the WILLING and the AVAILABLE. Today is a reminder that when we live life LIKE IT MATTERS, God can use that to save another, to save a family, to save a city, to save a nation! This passage in Jeremiah reminded me of a story in the 18th chapter of Genesis. Abraham was bargaining with God for the safety and security of Sodom. Abraham started at 50 and he stopped all the way down to 10. Hear the Word of the Lord, “Then he said, ‘May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?’ He answered, ‘For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.’” (Genesis 18:32) Notice the two powerful moments in Scripture where the righteousness—or lack thereof—of a few determines the fate of many. In Genesis, Abraham intercedes for Sodom, pleading with God to spare it if only ten righteous people can be found. In Jeremiah, we find God issuing a similar challenge: search the streets of Jerusalem and find just one honest person. And yet, none are found.
Leader, we know what happened to Sodom, it was destroyed and the one who gazed back on the fallen city was turned to a pillar of salt. It is written, “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire, from the Lord out of heaven . . . But his (Lot’s) wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:24, 26) And what happened in Jerusalem in context to Jeremiah 5? Remember all Jeremiah needed to do was find 1. But what was the culture of the city of Jerusalem? What was the mindset and behavior of the Blessed Jewish people? Hear what the Message Bible paraphrase says later in the same chapter, verses 7-9; “Why should I even bother with you any longer? Your children wander off, leaving me, Taking up with gods that aren’t even gods. I satisfied their deepest needs, and then they went off with the ‘sacred’ whores, left me for orgies in sex shrines! A bunch of well-groomed, lusty stallions, each one pawing and snorting for his neighbor’s wife. Do you think I’m going to stand around and do nothing?” God’s Decree. “Don’t you think I’ll take serious measures against a people like this? If you were God, and your creation did this to you? Don’t you think you would take serious measures against a people like this? These are two powerful moments in Scripture where the righteousness—or lack thereof—of a few determines the fate of many. In Genesis, Abraham intercedes for Sodom, pleading with God to spare it if only ten righteous people can be found. Sodom was destroyed, there were not even 10. In Jeremiah, we find God issuing a similar challenge: search the streets of Jerusalem and find just one honest person. And yet, none are found.
Conduit, Righteousness matters to God and it should matter to us! Righteousness in society is still important, and God is looking for it. When it is missing, bad things; Judgment happens! Both narratives suggest that a community’s survival hinges on the presence of the righteous. One could also surmise the lesson that when righteousness is absent, judgment inevitably follows. We see this pattern throughout history. Sin multiplies, morality erodes, and eventually, entire societies face the consequences of turning away from God. When the righteous are few, or none—the moral compass is lost, and destruction is inevitable. BUT GOD is always searching for those who will STAND FIRM. 2 Corinthians 5:21 reminds us that we are the righteousness of God in Christ. God made Christ, who had no sin, to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God. This means that through faith in Jesus Christ, believers are justified and made right with God. It is written: We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. (Romans 3:22) Righteousness, by human standards, is defined as “the quality of being morally true or justifiable.” The justification is made according to the conformity of behavior with the regulation (or constitution, in the context of a nation). However, in its deeper spiritual meaning, righteousness is the quality of being right in the eyes of God. It is our RIGHT STANDING before God. Today’s main point, God wants us to know WE MATTER, our CHOICES MATTER. It is also a call to action. It is a call for someone to rise up and BE THE ONE, or one of the 10—the righteous, the truthful, the God-seekers who turns the course of history through faith and obedience. Will you be that person today? Dear Heavenly Father, may we be the light in dark streets, the righteous ones standing in the gap. May we be the very reason mercy triumphs over judgment. Deo Volente. We ask this in the mighty and matchless name of our Lord and Savior Jesus of Nazareth. Amen!
