What does "be appalled at this" suggest about God's expectations for His people? Scripture Focus “Be appalled at this, O heavens; be horrified and utterly desolate,” declares the LORD. “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Jeremiah 2:12-13 Setting the Scene • Jeremiah speaks to Judah during a season of spiritual drift. • God summons the heavens—silent witnesses since creation—to gasp in disbelief at His people’s betrayal. • The language is courtroom-like: a cosmic jury reacting to shocking evidence. What “Be Appalled” Conveys • A call for utter shock, not mild surprise. • Indicates something radically out of order, even in the moral economy of the universe. • Implies that rebellion against the LORD is so unnatural that creation itself recoils. Why Such Strong Language? • Forsaking “the fountain of living water” is spiritual insanity; it exchanges life for death. • Building “broken cisterns” pictures self-made religion—futile, leaking, empty. • God’s covenant faithfulness makes their unfaithfulness exponentially weightier (Exodus 19:5-6; Hosea 11:1-4). God’s Expectations Highlighted • Exclusive loyalty: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). • Continual dependence: He alone supplies living water (John 4:10-14). • Covenant gratitude: Receiving grace should foster obedience, not indifference (Deuteronomy 32:6). • Holiness that amazes the watching world, not shocks it with compromise (1 Peter 2:9-12). Timeless Implications for Us • Indifference toward sin should alarm us as much as it alarms heaven. • Substituting anything—even good things—for God’s living water leaves life cracked and dry. • We are stewards of a testimony; our faithfulness is meant to draw wonder, not horror, from onlookers (Matthew 5:16). • Regular self-examination guards against slowly carving “broken cisterns” of self-reliance (2 Corinthians 13:5). Supporting Scriptural Witness • Isaiah 1:2 – “Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth…” • Psalm 81:10-11 – “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. But My people would not listen…” • Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” • Revelation 2:4 – “But I have this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” When God says, “Be appalled at this,” He reminds us that anything less than wholehearted devotion to Him is not merely disappointing—it is unthinkable in light of who He is and all He has done for His people. |
    |