Growing with God: A daily devotional with Tonia Slimm.
Jeremiah 32:23 (NIV)
“They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law; they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster on them.”
Jeremiah 32:23 (MSG)
“But when they entered the land and took it over, they didn’t listen to you. They didn’t do what you commanded. They wouldn’t listen to a thing you told them. And so you brought this disaster on them.”
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“They entered and took possession of it, but they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your law; they have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do. Therefore You have caused all this disaster and suffering to come upon them.” -AMPLFIED
“In the former passage he (Jeremiah) acknowledged God’s goodness, here he owns his truth and faithfulness, in so conducting this people by his providence, that they came into the Promised Land and possessed it. Having acknowledged God’s power, omniscience, goodness, truth, and faithfulness, he comes to own his justice, confessing that this people for whom God had done so much had very ill requited him, not obeying his voice, which he expounds by not walking in his law; for the law was God’s voice to them. This he aggravateth by saying they had done nothing of what he had commanded, not breaking some particular law, but the whole law of God. Therefore God was righteous in bringing this sword, pestilence, and famine upon them.” ~Matthew Poole’s Commentary
Jeremiah has been in prayer, and in his prayer, he has reminded the Lord of what He, Jehovah, has done for Israel in the past, boasting and testifying before those who were listening.
“You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror. You gave them this land you swore to give to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.” -Jeremiah 32:21-22 (CSB)
Jeremiah boasted about what the Lord had done for Israel, but he could not boast about Israel. God had done so much for His people, bringing them out of Egypt, protecting them, providing for them, guiding them to their home, a land filled with blessings, flowing with milk and honey. And yet…once Israel entered the land, their heritage from the Lord, they did not obey Him. Jeremiah confessed the sin of the nation to the Lord.
“They entered this land and conquered it as You led them. But even as they settled in, they refused to listen to Your voice and live as You instructed. They rebelled against Your entire law. So You caused these disastrous consequences to fall on them.” -(VOICE)
Jeremiah’s heart was grieved over the failure of Israel to be obedient to the Lord. He had just stated how the Lord had done so much for them: “Great, powerful God, whose name is Adonai-Tzva’ot, great in counsel, mighty in deed! Your eyes are open to all the ways of human beings in order to repay each one according to his ways, according to the consequences of what he does. You gave signs and performed miracles in the land of Egypt which continue to this day, also in Isra’el and among other people; thus you made yourself the reputation you have today. You brought your people of Isra’el out of the land of Egypt with signs and miracles, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror. Then you gave them this land, which you had sworn to their ancestors that you would give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.” -Jeremiah 32:18b-22 (Complete Jewish Bible)
And now Jeremiah moves on to humbly confess that the children of Israel did not appreciate any of it. Instead of being grateful and obedient to the Lord, they refused to listen to Him and obey His commands.
“In the former two verses he acknowledges God’s goodness to Israel, here he owns his truth and faithfulness in bringing them into the land which he had promised them. But they obeyed not thy voice — Having borne testimony to God’s power, wisdom, and faithfulness, he comes now to own his justice, confessing that this people for whom he had done so much, had very ill requited him. They have done nothing at all that thou commandedst them, &c. — They have not only broken some particular laws, but thy whole law. Therefore thou hast caused all this evil, &c. — Therefore thou art righteous in bringing these judgments upon them.” ~Benson Commentary
Israel had brought their present situation upon themselves, Jeremiah knew this, and so he confessed the sin of Israel to the Lord.
“Our fathers came and conquered it and lived in it, but they refused to obey you or to follow your laws; they have hardly done one thing you told them to. That is why you have sent all this terrible evil upon them.” -(TLB)
“In contrast to the great love and goodness of God – especially as expressed toward Israel – Jeremiah noted the rebellion and disobedience of the same people who were the special object of His favor. This rebellion and disobedience was the reason for the great calamity to come upon them.” -David Guzik
Confessing the sins of a nation is indeed Biblical. In fact, the Lord gave to Solomon this general principle for when Israel came to the place when they walked away from the Lord. The Lord said to Solomon:
“If I close up the heavens and their rain and send any of the disasters you described—drought, locusts, pestilence—to ravish the land and people; and My people (who are known by My name) humbly pray, follow My commandments, and abandon any actions or thoughts that might lead to further sinning, then I shall hear their prayers from My house in heaven, I shall forgive their sins, and I shall save their land from the disasters.” -2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (VOICE)
There are many examples of people confessing the sins of their nation in the Bible:
Solomon: Solomon prayed for Israel in 1 Kings 8, the entire chapter, but here is just a sampling:
“When they sin against You (for there is not one person who will not sin), and in Your anger You hand them over to their enemies who take them away to enemy territory, whether it is near or far away, if they repent from their wrongdoings during their captivity, confess to You that they have been sinful and acted wickedly, give their hearts back to You, offer You their entire beings while being held captive by their enemies, and send their prayers to You in the direction of the land You gave to their ancestors (the city you appointed to be sacred) in the direction of the temple I have raised in honor of Your name; then hear their prayers and requests in heaven where You live and do justice on their behalf, 5forgive Your people who have wronged You, erase all their sins, and transform them into examples of compassion in the sight of their captors so that their enemies might be compassionate toward them.” -1 Kings 8:46-50 (VOICE)
Daniel: We find Daniel confessing the sins of Israel in Daniel, chapter 9 (the entire chapter).
“I prayed to the Eternal One my God, praising His greatness and confessing our sins: Lord God, You are great and awesome! You are always faithful to the covenant You made with us. Your unfailing love extends to all who love You and keep Your commandments. But we have sinned and wronged You. We have acted wickedly in our rebellion, going so far as to disregard Your commandments and regulations.” -Daniel 9:4-5 (VOICE)
Nehemiah: We find Nehemiah pleading with the Lord, confessing the sins of Israel.
“Notice me—Eternal One, God of heaven, great and awesome God. You are the keeper of the covenant and loyally love those who love You and follow Your commands. Now, pay attention with open ears and eyes to me and see how I, Your servant, plead day and night for Your consideration. I confess our wickedness, not just for Your servants the children of Israel, but for my family and the household of my father, Hacaliah. We have acted extremely wickedly toward You. We have rejected Your commands, disregarding the regulations and judgments You gave to Your servant Moses to show us how to live.” -Nehemiah 1:5-7 (VOICE)
Ezra: Ezra was found praying and confessing on the Temple steps for the nation of Israel.
“As Ezra was praying his confession and weeping and bowing on the steps of the True God’s temple, a huge group of Israelite men, women, and children joined him in weeping.” -Ezra 10:1 (VOICE)
Shecaniah: Ezra’s prayer impacted and influenced Shecaniah to change.
“You are right. We have forgotten our True God and have married foreign women from pagan nations. But there is hope for Israel yet. We shall make a new covenant with our True God, promising to banish our foreign wives and their children. You and the others who follow the laws of our True God must guide us in this, so that we obey the law. So stand up! Helping us follow the law is now your responsibility. Do not be afraid; we will support your actions.” -Ezra 10:2b-4 (VOICE)
“Humility, prayer, seeking God, and repentance are the keys to healing a land, a nation that is broken. May God’s people go there.” ~Clay Bowlin
My friend, have you been praying for your nation and the nations? Remember that key principle that the Lord gave to Solomon: “I may shut the sky so that there is no rain, or command grasshoppers to devour the countryside, or send an epidemic among my people. However, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, search for me, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear ⌞their prayer⌟ from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their country. My eyes will be open, and my ears will pay attention to those prayers at this place.” -2 Chronicles 7:13-15 (GW) Step up and pray for your nation. Confess the sin of that nation. Humbly ask the Lord to forgive the people, and to turn their hearts towards Him. You have been called to stand in the gap for those who do not even realize they have lost their way.
“I believe we are going through a time in our nation that I would describe a spiritual drought. If this is so and if the problems in our nation are coming because God is missing, then issuing an executive order will not fix that, and politics will not fix that, and immigration reform, and health reform, and some of these other things will not fix that. The only thing that will fix that is if God’s people, who are called by God’s name, will humble themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways.” ~Anne Graham Lotz
My Prayer:
Adonai Elohim, my Great Lord, I lift up my nation to you. The people have lost their way. They have rebelled against you and sinned. They have chosen to remove you from their lives, and in so doing they have basically harmed themselves. Lord, I ask that you forgive us. We have sinned. We have intentionally, in our foolish pride, thought that we could do life without you. We were so wrong. Please help us. Turn the hearts of the wanderers back to you. We humbly seek your forgiveness and ask that you would bring a renewed sense of urgency to seek your will in our lives. Restore us, Lord. Revive us. Regenerate us, and reawaken a hunger for more of you. Thank you, Lord.
Growing with God 