Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of Israel. Thus says the LORD:
“What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?
Jeremiah 2:4-5 ESV
To put our Scripture passage in proper context, the prophet Jeremiah is sharing God’s word with Judah. Israel has been divided into the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. The northern kingdom has been taken captive by Assyria and the southern kingdom is living on borrowed time. It has only been the fact that they have had several kings who have walked with the Lord and led reform that has saved them thus far.
These kings who loved the Lord with all their heart and did their best to lead their people to do the same could only get their people to go so far. These people were stubborn and rebellious. In case, you didn’t know this never works out well.
God has sent prophets to plead with this nation, His chosen people, to return to Him. They just won’t listen. Instead, they turn to worthless man-made idols. They worship false gods.
I was reading this and thought, “What fault or wrong do we find in God that we turn to false gods and idols?” Anytime we don’t put God first in our lives, it means that we are putting other things before Him, right? That may be family, work, friends, or whatever other thing gets in our way of doing God’s will and putting Him first.
We have been a nation of wealth and privilege for so long that we have turned our focus from God to many other things. We have been told that we must be tolerant of sin. We must celebrate it and have parades that glorify sinful behavior. So, I ask the question, “What’s wrong with us?”
Have we found God to be so bad we just can’t follow Him? Have we found Him to be so harmful we have turned our back on Him as Israel did in the Old Testament days? God had not only sent Jeremiah, but He had sent other prophets to try to turn the people back to Him.
I want you to understand that there is nothing wrong with God. As a matter of fact, all that is right is God. And just like Israel, it may be too late for our nation. Our nation is not mentioned in Revelation, and it may be that we will see a day when the United States of America is taken over by a foreign country.
We could be taken over by a nation that won’t allow church attendance or Bible study or prayer in public. Enjoy those privileges while you can.
Sadly, when we ask what is wrong often times, we can find the answer in the mirror. We can’t change the world, but we can change how we react to it. We can walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). We can put God first (Matthew 6:33). We can trust in Him and acknowledge Him in all we do (Proverbs 3:5-6).
God asked the Israelites what fault they found in Him that they pursued worthlessness. I ask you today what fault you find in God that may cause you to do the same. I have spent time in my life pursuing worthlessness, and I never want to go back to that.
Turn to God. Trust in Him and pursue Him. You will soon find that there is nothing wrong with God. You will open up to the error in your own ways, but thankfully you will be able to repent and be forgiven. Jesus’ blood will wash you clean of your sin.
If you are finding fault in God, then you don’t know Him. Get to know Him through prayer and Bible study and you will see that the fault lies elsewhere. You will come to understand that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). He was perfect and sinless but took on our sin and died on that cross so we may have eternal life. There was not any wrong found in Him.
Have a great day!