Jeremiah 26:3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings
Is there hope? Maybe that is a question you have about yourself, your family, your work, your church, or your country. I have met a lot of people and have a number of friends who have a checkered past. All of us have things in our past that we could be ashamed of, but here is a guy who has recently gotten out of prison, has a record, but comes to Christ. He finds new life and goes to church with an open heart and open ears. He is eager to hear what God has to say. Is there hope for such a person?
In the same church there is a young person with a good home and family. He is in church all the time and has never committed any crimes or been in prison, but he is heading in the wrong direction. He has the wrong attitude and does not listen or pay attention. Is there hope for him?
Which of these two people, the former felon or the young person with his life ahead of him, has more hope? Well, hope is always future oriented and therefore hope is a choice. In this case, the man who has been in prison but accepted Christ has hope, not because of his past, but because of his future, where he is headed. The young person, regardless of how good his past is, is in for a world of trouble. Hope is a choice, and so is hopelessness.
Regardless of your past, hope is a choice. You choose it. I don’t mean you are Pollyanna and just hope for the best. I mean you are heading in a direction where there is hope. If you are hopeless, that is a choice. There are two pitfalls we can fall into. The first is thinking, “I know there is a God, but God is absent,” and therefore we do not listen and we look past God at what we want and where we want to go. We live like orphans when God wishes to be our father. On the other hand, we sometimes dismiss our obligations, saying, “God is a sovereign God, and if He chooses, He will to do thus and so.” God is in charge and sovereign, but you have a choice.
In II Chronicles 7:14 God says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” God would respond. Someone says, “Those are Jewish people.” That is true and I am not under the same covenant that these people were under, but to say, “God is sovereign so maybe He will revive us and maybe He won’t” is not wise. Revival is something God alone can do, but it is not as if I am more spiritual than God is, as though I want to turn to God but I’m not sure whether He will turn to me.
Does this sovereign God always judge sin? Well, God is sovereign so maybe He will and maybe He won’t. No, God judges sin. He is a perfect God. Therefore, if I turn from what is wrong and turn to God, God will respond in like manner. The Bible says if we draw nigh to God, He will draw nigh to us. So, hope is a choice and it is always future oriented.
Now, in Jeremiah 26 we have another message of Jeremiah. Verse 2 says, “Thus saith the LORD, Stand in the court of the LORD’s house.” He was to give them a message, and whether there was hope or not was not dependent on if God could; it was dependent on whether they would choose the right thing.
Consider their hearing. These people heard the message of Jeremiah, but they did not listen. They heard Jeremiah’s words, and three times they threatened to kill him. The last part of verse 11 says, “This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.” Did they really hear what he said? The fact is in verse 5 the claim is “Ye have not hearkened.” This idea that God spoke but the people didn’t listen is prevalent in Jeremiah. God sent prophets and messages early and often, but they would not listen. They heard with their ears, but they were not hearing with their heart. They were not open to the message.
Consider their history. In verse 6 God said that if they will not hear, “then will I make this house like Shiloh.” Shiloh is where they had worshipped for a time, but God had judged that place because of their sin. He says the same things in Jeremiah 7:12. He is looking back at their history. People have not changed. You read about more recent historical figures and see the same ambitions, foibles, strengths, weaknesses, and misunderstandings. So, we would do well to consider their history.
Ultimately, consider their hope. In verses 3-6 there is an if/then proposition. God says, “If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings. And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, to hearken…then will I make this house like Shiloh.” God would judge. But when God sent Jeremiah to speak the words God has given, He was sending them this precise message that He could spare them the calamity that was to come. In verse 13 you find the same idea, “Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.” This is not talking about moral evil but calamity. Verse 19 also has the same idea.
We ought to consider what we are hearing, our history, and the measure of the hope that we actually have. God is sovereign; there is no doubt. But how am I responding to this sovereign God? In Jeremiah 2:25 and 18:12 God’s people basically say, “There is no hope, but we will do what we have been doing. We are not doing to change.” They are expressing their intent and will. It was a chosen hopelessness because hope is a choice and so is hopelessness.
I don’t know your past, but the most important thing is what you choose for your future. Hope is a choice. Hopelessness is a choice. We see this in their hearing, their history, and the nature of their hope. May God give us the grace to live in that hope through obedience every day.