“Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst. 14 Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it. 15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you. 16 And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”
“You and I are going to have a talk.” When you know that you have done something terribly wrong, these are not comforting words about an upcoming chat. This is judgment. Look at these verses and count the number of times “you” is mentioned and the same for “I”. It will be seven times for each. This is not good if the “you” is you. In this case, it is Judah. They have been called out by God for disobeying the law and breaking the covenant agreement with God. Now the reckoning is at hand.
Fortunately, there is another passage in Scripture with the pronoun “I” ten times. Jeremiah 31:31-34 describes the New Covenant and the word “you” is nowhere to be found. This is because God will take care of everything. He kept that promise in sending Jesus to the cross. He can now proclaim to those who follow Jesus that “I will remember their sins no more.”
Because of the cross, we will not be in fear of the punishment we deserve for our sins because, as Jesus said…
I will be with you.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church