"They do not know me", says the Lord

Jeremiah 4:20-27    An Environment Text

20 Disaster overtakes disaster, the whole land is laid waste.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed, my curtains in a moment.
21 How long must I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “For my people are foolish, they do not know me;
they are stupid children, they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good.”

23 I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void;
    and to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I looked on the mountains, and lo, they were quaking,
    and all the hills moved to and fro.
25 I looked, and lo, there was no one at all, and all the birds of the air had fled.
26 I looked, and lo, the fruitful land was a desert,
    and all its cities were laid in ruins before the Lord, before his fierce anger.

27 For thus says the Lord: The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.

Disaster hits in verse 20 – and the land is laid waste, which is understood in very human terms as the dwell places (tents) of human beings are destroyed. But vs. 23 and following the destruction is of the land, of creation as a whole. The moon and stars are blocked from view, the mountains quake (is that an earthquake or is it human destruction?), the birds are gone, the land that produced an abundant crop is now desert – all of that is the destruction of the created order.

So I am left with a question. How to understand vs. 22? What is it that people (the “stupid children”) do not know or understand that has led to this destruction of creation? The general answer is simple, they do evil and not good. But I want to suggest something more focussed. Given that the destruction of the creation is so clearly in view, might the specific concerns of this passage be the ways in which human beings have failed to understand the profound concern God has for creation.

In foolishness human beings not understanding the heart of God – who made the world – it is the work of his hands – have treated creation as an object to be used harshly rather than as a piece of art to be celebrated. To understand the heart of God then includes knowing that God cares for the creation as a whole.

Here then is the smallest glimmer of hope – vs. 27 – God will not allow the complete ending of creation. He will eventually act to restore the work of his hands.

 PRAYER:  

Lord God, we confess that we have lived all odds with your creation. We have failed to understand your love for the creation, we have failed to learn year heart’s desire for the good of the creation. Challenge us anew to live by your heart’s desire that the creation flourish, for it is the work of your hands. In Jesus’ name. Amen.