God’s Refining Fire

The prophet Jeremiah begged the Israelite people to return to God. If they didn’t, he warned that the Lord would allow great armies to burn Israel’s cities and destroy the land.

“The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they make his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitants.” Jeremiah 2:15 (KJV)

What does this prophecy mean?

The Living Bible translates “young lions” as “great armies.” In this verse, Jeremiah the prophet is foretelling what God will do to His people who have forsaken Him.

Because He loves His children, God often uses adversity to rein in His wandering ones. He desires to draw them closer to Him. Hopefully, they will call upon the Lord when they are in trouble.

How did Israel respond?

Although Jeremiah warned the Israelite people, they did not heed the message. They continued in their ungodly ways. As a result, God allowed great armies to burn their cities.

Can there be a parallel to modern times?

Today we hear a lot about fires. Recent news stories mention terrible destruction from man-made fires.

All across the country, an army of activists have burned businesses and destroyed cities.They left behind a path of carnage and billions of dollars in damages.

In addition to these man-made fires that occurred during the protests, uncontrolled forest fires also rage in our Western states.

Homes have burned to the ground. Vehicles left behind are nothing more than charred, empty hulls. In fact, whole towns in California are now deserted.

What caused these wild fires?

Experts blame the fires on climate change, arson, or poor forestry fire-prevention methods. These may all be contributing factors. Yet could there be another reason for the trouble?

Is history repeating itself?

Perhaps we are in the same situation as the Israelite people who had forsaken God. This is a frightening thought. In the past, God has at times used war, famine, sickness, and all the forces of nature to accomplish His purposes.

He still desires to draw us to Him today. Have we pushed the Almighty out of our daily lives and made Him irrelevant?

If we have forgotten God, maybe He’s going to employ the same methods He used to get the Jewish people’s attention long ago.

He loves us and will use the most effective ways to bring us back to Him. But are we paying attention?