Jeremiah 44:24-30 - Our will or God’s will?

In Jeremiah 44:24-30, we see how stubborn those people who sought refuge in Egypt were. They insisted on continuing in their indulgence. So bound were they to their sin till they were totally blinded to the outcome of their decisions. Their minds were made up to see through their vow to worship and sacrifice to the Queen of Heaven. So Jeremiah dared them to continue with what they insisted to do but warned them of the consequence. Since they rejected God, He in return also rejected them. And they would never again be granted the privilege to call on His name.   

God’s promise to the people in Jeremiah 29:11, was that they would have a  good plan with a bright future. He promised them there that He would answer their prayers and allow them to experience His presence. But now by spurning His love, they would have to bear with the opposite. Instead of the r bright future, they would only experience destruction. God Himself would be watching over them to ensure their disastrous end. Then they would know whose words would stand - theirs or God’s!

To affirm what He had declared, God would give them a sign. He would be giving Pharaoh Hophra into the hand of His enemies who sought his life in the same way he had given King Zedekiah of Judah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, his enemy who was seeking his life. God wanted them to know that both trusting in the Queen of Heaven and the King of Egypt would prove futile.  

Like them, before us are also two options. We can either make up our minds and say to God, “Your will be done” or let God say to us, “your will be done”?  God's will ensures an abundant life but our will guarantees a life of self-destruction. The choice should be obvious but to some, it may not be so. So choose this day whom you will serve. Like Joshua of old, will you say, “As for me and my house, we will only serve the LORD”?