❤️ First Love Weekly #24: Come Home

After the Babylonian exile, there was still a remnant of God’s people left behind in the land of Judah. The king of Babylon then appointed Gedaliah— from a line of family who served the righteous King Josiah of old— to govern the land, and he promised peace and prosperity to his people.

However, Gedaliah eventually gets murdered by a fellow Israelite, causing another wave of chaos over the nation. Rising to the occasion were Johanan and Jezaniah, who took on the leadership role to lead the remnants.

To figure what to do next, they decided to approach Jeremiah for guidance— even going the distance to promise that they will obey whatever God calls them to do:

In the following verses from 7 to 19, the Lord unequivocally tells the remnants He’ll “build them up” if they stay in Judah as He will “show them compassion… and restore them to their land”. However, if they were to escape to Egypt, He warns them that the “sword they fear will overtake them there[…], and there they will die.”

God even acknowledges why the remnants may want to flee to Egypt— to avoid the fear of destitution and death— but He promises their safety in the land they’re called to stay. In appreciation of how His people sought Him (Jer. 29:10-14), I see God going out of His way to not only provide clarity but also demonstrate empathy for their concerns.

Well, it turns out Johanan and the people already had an idea of what they wanted, so they call Jeremiah a liar (Jer. 43:2) and head on over to Egypt. And even when God sends Jeremiah after the people to warn them (Jer. 44:1-14), they flat out tell him, “We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord!” (Jer. 44:16) and vow to burn incense to an idol.

Every day, we make decisions. If we were to measure every one of them, it might seem miniscule and inconsequential, but if we were to sum them up over time, we’d be able to see whether we have been walking towards Him or not.

Jesus made this point very clearly in saying:

My dear brothers and sisters, are you seeing what I am perceiving also?

God’s call to obedience is from His heart— out of His love for us. And the beauty in all this is that He wants us to live. He wants us to thrive and walk in His glory— like Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden.

When we follow Jesus, our future may look different from what we conjure up, but I can assure you nothing of our imagination nor of this world will measure up to the fullness of being a part of the story He’s writing.

This is God’s calling for you to seek His face and come back home.

If you haven’t accepted Jesus as your Savior and the Lord over your life, I pray the Spirit will open your heart to receive him as both.

If there are friends and family around you who need God, I encourage you to pray for them. Life is too short, and the time is nigh.

With love,
Jae

P.S. Here’s a little song for you to remember this message by throughout the week.

“You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” (Revelation 2:3-5)