“O my people, listen to the words of the Lord! Have I been like a desert to Israel? Have I been to them a land of darkness? Why then do my people say, ‘At last we are free from God! We don’t need him anymore!’ Does a young woman forget her jewelry, or a bride her wedding dress? Yet for years on end my people have forgotten me.” Jeremiah 2:31-32
The Holy Spirit is saying that Judah has made her choice. She has chosen idols, darkness and misery. Even though she did not believe it then, she would believe later because it would become a reality. By their reaction they were telling God that they did not want His Ways, they did not want His Spirit, and in fact, they did not want anything pertaining to the Lord. The truth is they wanted idols; however once the choice was made, it was certain what the result would be.
Despite their insults hurled toward God, still, He continued to deal with them and to plead with them to try to get Judah to see her erring ways. The Lord knew what was coming. He knew the destruction was going to be awful, in fact, that it defied description. Over and over again, God spelled it out to them. They would not listen. Jesus attempted to tell them what was going to happen and they would not listen. “Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.” (Matthew 24:4-8)
If we just open our eyes, we have the same thing happening in our nation, but we are not listening. Just like Judah we want to be like God and control our lives. Many years ago I looked around and realized that I could not control anything so I gave it all to God, because He is much smarter than I am. With giving God control, I have the peace that passes all understanding.