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11 At that time, this people, yes, this very Jerusalem, will be told in plain words: "The northern hordes are sweeping in from the desert steppes - 12 a gale-force wind. I ordered this wind. I'm pronouncing my hurricane judgment on my people." Your Evil Life Is Piercing Your Heart. 22 "What fools my people are! They have no idea who I am. A company of half-wits, dopes and donkeys all! Experts at evil but klutzes at good." 23 I looked at the earth - it was back to pre-Genesis chaos and emptiness. I looked at the skies, and not a star to be seen. 24 I looked at the mountains - they were trembling like aspen leaves, And all the hills rocking back and forth in the wind. 25 I looked - what's this! Not a man or woman in sight, and not a bird to be seen in the skies. 26 I looked - this can't be! Every garden and orchard shriveled up. All the towns were ghost towns. And all this because of God, because of the blazing anger of God. 27 Yes, this is God's Word on the matter: "The whole country will be laid waste - still it won't be the end of the world. 28 The earth will mourn and the skies lament Because I've given my word and won't take it back. I've decided and won't change my mind." You're Not Going to Seduce Anyone. (Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 The Message Bible)
Happy and blessed Wednesday, Friend! May the blessings of the Lord Jesus be with you in amazing ways. Make people say you've made their Wednesday wonderful! You've made my days in healing wonderful by your prayers! Yesterday we moved the brace to 20º up from ten last week and zero since the day of my surgery. Next Tuesday we move to 30º, Lord willing. I ask prayers for The Rev. Virgilio Vasquez Garza who's in Spain visitng family and has contracted Covid. May the Lord bring healing to our brother and to all who are suffering this uptick of Covid cases. How may I pray for you today?
We've talked about the Apostle Paul claiming he was chief among sinners. This passage reminds us that among the nations, Israel at many points in her history was the chief among nations when it came to sinning. The story of Israel is easily my story and yours as well. We have our high points, when we're polishing apples to give to the teacher; later we're waiting in the principal's office to await punishment for our misdeeds. I've shared how I would start each school year with my Dad's "If you get punished at school, you'll get punished at home." Gulp! Isn't that against the Constitution? I remember being in first grade and our beloved teacher had to leave the room and she left a kid rumored to have been kept behind for two years, in charge meaning he would write our names on the board. I wondered if the extra two years in first grade helped him learn to write and spell correctly our names. Well, he spelled my name right on the board when he thought I was talking. Only problem was that I was not talking. I began to fear the coming punishment; surely a severe spanking by my first grade reacher, whom I loved and respected so much! How would I feel about her after she punished me, me, an innocent child, for those brief fleeting moments? She came back and ignored the list on the board. I was able to celebrate another perfect day of no swats or whatever punishments were the order of the day.
Jeremiah's words hit like a desert wind—hot, relentless, and impossible to ignore. God speaks through His prophet with brutal honesty about the spiritual condition of His people. They've become experts at doing wrong but completely clueless about doing right. They've mastered the art of selfishness but forgotten the basics of relationship with their Creator.
This isn't just ancient history—it's a mirror held up to our own times. We live in an age of incredible technological sophistication yet profound spiritual confusion. We can split atoms and map genomes, but we struggle with basic questions of meaning, purpose, and right living. We're clever enough to create complex problems but seem baffled by simple solutions of love, justice, and faithfulness.
What makes this passage so haunting is its vision of creation itself responding to human spiritual failure. "I looked at the earth—it was back to pre-Genesis chaos, an empty wasteland. I looked at the heavens, and hey, no light! I looked at the mountains—they were quaking like aspen leaves, And all the hills rocking back and forth!"
Jeremiah sees something we often miss: our spiritual choices don't happen in isolation. When we turn away from God, the very fabric of creation feels the impact. The earth itself mourns when God's people abandon their calling to be stewards and image-bearers.
This ancient vision feels remarkably contemporary. We live in an age when our moral failures are written across the landscape in climate change, environmental destruction, and ecological crisis. The prophet's words remind us that spiritual health and environmental health are deeply connected.
God's assessment through Jeremiah is harsh but not hopeless. "My people are fools—they don't know me from Adam." The word "fools" here isn't about intelligence—it's about spiritual understanding. A fool in biblical terms isn't someone who lacks brains but someone who lacks wisdom, who doesn't understand what life is really about.
This creates an invitation for honest self-examination. Where have we become experts at the wrong things? Where have we developed sophisticated skills for self-serving while remaining kindergarten-level in loving others? Where have we mastered the art of accumulation but failed basic courses in contentment and gratitude?
The good news hidden in this harsh diagnosis is that recognizing our condition is the first step toward healing. God doesn't speak this way because He's given up on us—He speaks this way because He wants to wake us up. Even in this dark passage, we hear the voice of a God who is still engaged, still caring, still speaking. His judgment isn't the silent treatment of an indifferent deity—it's the passionate response of a loving Father whose children are destroying themselves and their inheritance.
Buried in this passage is a profound challenge to our values and priorities. If we've become skilled at doing wrong but clueless about doing right, what would it look like to reverse that equation? What would it mean to become experts in love, justice, compassion, and faithfulness?
This isn't about becoming religious rule-followers. It's about rediscovering what it means to be truly human—people who reflect God's character in the world, who serve as bridges between heaven and earth, who help creation flourish rather than contributing to its groaning.
The path forward isn't through more sophisticated wrongdoing but through returning to the basic, beautiful calling of knowing God and making Him known through lives of integrity, mercy, and truth.
Jeremiah's vision of creation in chaos echoes the opening of Genesis, when the earth was "formless and void." But we know that story didn't end in darkness. God spoke, and there was light. God worked, and there was life. The same God who brought order from chaos the first time is still in the business of bringing beauty from brokenness.
Our world may be groaning, but it's groaning with birth pangs—anticipating something new, something better, something redeemed. And we get to be part of that story of renewal.
PRAYER: Lord, Your words through Jeremiah are hard to hear but necessary to face. Help us to see ourselves and our world honestly—where we've become experts at the wrong things and beginners at what matters most.
Forgive us for the ways our spiritual failures have contributed to creation's groaning. Help us understand that our relationship with You affects everything around us—our families, our communities, our world.
Give us the courage to change what can be changed and the wisdom to know how to live differently. Transform us from people who are skilled in selfishness to people who are experts in love. Teach us to do right with the same creativity and persistence we've shown in doing wrong. In Jesus' strong name we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: This week, honestly assess one area where you've become "skilled in doing wrong"—perhaps with your words, your priorities, or your relationships—and deliberately practice doing right in that same area. Consider how your spiritual choices might be impacting the people and environment around you, and make one concrete change that reflects better stewardship of God's creation.
I love you and I thank God for you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
