Original: January 29, 2008
McMinnville, OR
22 When the LORD could no longer endure your wicked actions and the detestable things you did, your land became an object of cursing and a desolate waste without inhabitants, as it is today. 23 Because you have burned incense and have sinned against the LORD and have not obeyed him or followed his law or his decrees or his stipulations, this disaster has come upon you, as you now see." Jeremiah 44:22-23
Much of my childhood was spent watching Saturday morning cartoons. I bet I watched every Looney Toons Cartoon starring Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Roadrunner, Wile E. Coyote and Marvin the Martian at least five times through. I also enjoyed watching Scooby Doo, but those Popeye cartoons seemed to resonate something deep inside of me. Maybe it was because Popeye resembled my fiery Portuguese Grandpa Ramos.
Whatever it was, I used to watch in excited suspense as that small sailor with the huge forearms tolerated Bluto’s (formerly Brutus) harassment of Olive Oil, and hamburger loving Whimpy, until he had enough. At some point in every cartoon as a million boys and girls watched in suspense Popeye would say those famous words that every child across America was waiting for, “That’s all I can stand, I can’t stand no more!”
Yes, finally!
Game over Bluto!
Seconds later Bluto would be pounded to the cheers of every boy in America-good once again prevailing over the savageries of the schoolyard bully.
I see several Popeye moments with God in Scripture- Noah and the great flood, Moses and the hardness of Pharaohs heart, the constant disobedience of the Jews in the book of Exodus, and God ultimately sending Jesus. Then I started thinking about grace. I started thinking about the games I play with God and the veneers I place over my sins hoping I might fool Him. But I am only fooling myself. God is never fooled. God knows my sins. God knows my heart. I have been cleansed and forgiven by the blood of Jesus, but that blood should lead me closer to a holy life and not give me a license to sin (Romans 6:1-5).
How long before God has a Popeye moment with me like he did in Jeremiah 44:22-23?
How long before God acts? God does not ignore our sins. 2 Peter 3:8-9 states, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
There will be a point of reckoning, I assure you, and the sooner a man deals with his dark secrets the better off he will be. In verse 22, God talks about the Jewish “land”, which is synonymous to the modern household. If we live out the disobediences of verse 23, we see two consequences of that sin in verse 22.
First, the land that God wants to offer us as a blessing becomes a cursing. I believe God wants to bless the Christian household, but allowing credit card debt, foul language, pornography, disrespect, materialism and work-aholism into our homes only leads to a cursing. How many of our families are stressed out by debt, put out by disobedient children, run out by a disrespectful spouse, or kicked out by lascivious living and voyeurism?
Repent and bring the blessing back.
Second, our land will be “laid waste without inhabitants”, which speaks to our spiritual legacy and physical blessings. Without getting into the horrible specifics that I have witnessed as a pastor for nearly a quarter of a century I have seen God remove His blessing from Christian households only to bring judgment and curses. Trust me men, you do not want to be that person!
What does your land look like?
