Jeremiah 21:11-14

“Concerning the house of the king of Judah, hear Yahweh’s word: House of David, Yahweh says,
‘Execute justice in the morning,
and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor,
lest my wrath go out like fire,
and burn so that no one can quench it,
because of the evil of your doings.
Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley,
and of the rock of the plain,’ says Yahweh.
‘You that say, “Who would come down against us?”
or “Who would enter into our homes?”
I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, says Yahweh;
and I will kindle a fire in her forest,
and it will devour all that is around her.’ ”

It’s not unusual for sinners to become so comfortable with God’s patience that they start to believe that they are immune from any trouble. David’s family was blessed by God, but they were never immune from God’s wrath. God said that if his family were to ever stray from His law, they would be severely punished and that’s exactly what was about to happen to them.

If you were to hear a word from the Lord, you wouldn’t ever want it to be like this one. God’s word to His people was one of great judgment. I have heard people act as if we shouldn’t preach to people about God’s judgment as a means to get them to consider salvation. I definitely don’t agree with that suggestion. It is true that it is God’s goodness that leads us to salvation, but how would we ever understand God’s goodness unless we are told about our impending judgment? God’s goodness comes from the fact that the judgment that we should have received was taken away.

Another thing to pay attention to is what God tells them that they should be doing. The House of David was the house of kings. God was making a political statement here. Once again we see that politics are a large part of God’s message in the Bible and what we read here reminds us of the legitimate function of a good government. God clearly tells us that the work of a government is to “execute justice in the morning, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor…” God’s comment to His government comes with a severe warning. As to the consequences of not doing what they are supposed to do, God says: “lest my wrath go out like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.” So when you hear government officials talking about doing something that goes against what God says in the Bible, you know what God thinks about it and what will eventually be done to them. If God didn’t spare David’s family, He definitely won’t spare our leaders.