Do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress. What is my beloved doing in My temple as she works out her evil schemes with many? Can consecrated meat avert your punishment when you engage in your wickedness then you rejoice? (Jeremiah 11:14-15)
Wow, “don’t pray for this people.” That’s a pretty strong, and strange, command from God to Jeremiah. But the people of Israel had so corrupted their ways and God’s judgment was so sure that Jeremiah was instructed not to pray for them. He would be wasting his breath. Judgment was coming no matter what.
That’s a scarey place to be. To be so stubborn, hard-hearted and rebellious that the only way God can deal with you is to send judgment your way. I am reminded of Jeremiah 9:7 when God says, “See, I will refine and test them [with the fires of affliction], for what else can I do because of the sin of My people?” Israel essentially left God no choice but judgment. They would not listen to Him. They would not obey Him. They would not change their ways. So God had to send punishment. It was the only thing left that might get Israel’s attention. Even in judgment God still calls them “my beloved” (11:15) which tells me that the ultimate purpose of God’s impending judgment on the nation was redemptive. He wanted to win them back. Sometimes “tough love” has no choice but to punish/discipline.
I can’t help but wonder what was so enticing about Baal worship (11:13) that drew Israelites to it like flies on honey. I looked up Baal in a Bible encyclopedia and here is what it said:
Baal. The name of the most prominent Canaanite deity. As god of fertility in the Canaanite pantheon (roster of gods), Baal’s sphere of influence included agriculture, animal husbandry, and human sexuality. …In order to bring Baal up from the realm of Mot and thus insure initiation of the fertile rainy season, the Canaanites engaged in orgiastic worship that included human sacrifice as well as sexual rites (Jer. 7:31; 19:4-6). Sacred prostitutes evidently participated in the autumnal religious ritual.
It sounds like Israel loved Baal worship because it allowed them to pursue whatever sexual lusts they had while still considering themselves “spiritual.” Israel wanted a god that offered spirituality and success without requiring holiness and purity. That is why God cried out, “What are you doing in my temple making ritual sacrifices when you spend the rest of the week engaging in sin and enjoying it?”
It reminded me that, because of sin, we all tend to want a god that makes us feel good, allows us to do what we want, and requires nothing of us. This, however, is not the God of Israel. He demands all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and He is satisfied with nothing less. Why? Because He passionately loves us and will not share the throne of our heart with anyone/anything else.