Context for Jeremiah 24-25
The judgment of God was at hand. The threat He had leveled against the idolatry and faithlessness of Judah and Jerusalem was about to come to pass. God had warned His people through His word from Moses through generations of prophets, yet they would not listen. Now, they would come to understand through action.
Jeremiah’s declaration against Judah and Jerusalem was a long time in coming. Centuries separated the first preaching of the consequences of rejecting God from Moses until the words Jeremiah preached, yet those words had always been consistent: follow God’s way or you will remove yourself from God’s grace.
Now, because they had followed the latter path, rejecting their God and everything He wanted, God’s grace had been removed. His judgment was upon them, and there was no way to avoid it. Judah and Jerusalem were going to be destroyed, and there was nothing that could be done.
This same warning echoes from Scripture not just against Judah of Jeremiah’s time but also against all people in all times. There is only one way to God’s righteousness, and that way is through faith in God achieved only through His grace and Word. If we reject that grace and Word, God’s judgment is assured. If we receive it with gladness, we receive the assurance of God’s promises as well.
God’s will has always been for all men to be saved. That is why He provides us His Word, whether it be through Moses and the prophets or through Jesus Christ and the Apostles. His salvation, however, is not a matter of our will, but His. He shows us the way, the question is whether we follow that way.
The consequences of failing to follow that way are the same consequences Jeremiah preached against Judah. Those consequences will come upon those who choose to reject the Word. Heed that warning.
