“And to this people you shall say: ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.” (Jeremiah 21:8, ESV)
I used to know a businessman who would say, “There is a right way and a wrong way to do everything.” There were just two ways to do something. However, he became known for another statement, “There is a right way, a wrong way, and my way.” The problem was that his way was not always the right way, but if one did not do it his way, there would be a price to pay. So, most employees did it his way even though his way did not normally work out. You see, his way was either the right way or the wrong way. There is no middle road.
Unlike those human managers that often ascribe to a middle of the road philosophy, our God provides people with no middle of the road choices. God’s way is always the right way and any other option is the wrong way.
Here, the Lord gives the people of Jerusalem two choices that have two outcomes. There is the right way that will lead to saving their lives and there is the wrong way that will lead to death. They had to choose between two and only two options. In this case, the right option that would save them was to surrender to Babylon. The wrong option was to resist Babylon and experience death and destruction. Look at the Lord’s words about the judgment that would come.
“He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war.” (Jeremiah 21:9, ESV)
Why would the Lord not protect them? Why did He set His face against the city and give it into the hand of Babylon? It is because prior to this He had given them another set of two options and they chose poorly. Previously, the Lord gave them two choices. The right choice was to repent from their apostasy and idolatry, returning to the ways of God. They needed to turn from their evil ways to the ways of righteousness. The wrong choice was to continue on in their evil ways of unrighteousness and the worship of idols.
The Lord had repeatedly sent the offer of repentance to them through the prophets, but they refused to change their course of action. Their minds were bent on staying the course of their corrupt ways. They constantly made the wrong choice and this led them to their current dilemma. Babylon was knocking at the door with a military threat that would overtake them with massive destruction and death unless they surrendered. Sadly, they refused to surrender.
Today, there are many choices that people have to make. There are right choices and wrong choices. Wrong choices lead to disaster. We have seen many examples of this throughout history.
On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all its crewmembers. The problem was a failure of an O-ring seal in one of the rocket boosters. The Morton Thiokol engineers told the NASA leadership that the O-rings were not rated for freezing temperatures, that it was unsafe to launch. Yet the leadership made the wrong decision and launched anyway, which resulted in the catastrophe.
There is a catastrophe awaiting everyone who does not heed the word of God regarding salvation. The Lord has presented only two options. The right option is faith in Jesus, which will lead to eternal life. The wrong option is to ignore the call to faith in Jesus, which will lead to eternal death and judgment. In this people have a lifetime of repeated warnings, yet a time comes when warnings and the ability to choose will cease. “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27, ESV)
For those who die without ever making the right choice to trust in Jesus, they will experience the most horrific judgment imaginable. They will realize that they are at the final judgment without excuse. For they, through failing to choose the way of saving faith, are there because of choices they made in life.
So, let us pray for the lost of this world. Let us demonstrate the abundant Christian life as a living witness of God’s grace. Let us sow the seeds of life from God’s word.
Moreover, let us who believe continue to make the right choices that align with God’s ways in life. In this way, we will experience the blessings of His grace in the fullest.
Renewing the Heart 