We live in a culture that enjoys placing blame. If there is unpleasant news or a tragedy, we feel the need to place the blame somewhere. People blame leaders, and even (incorrectly) God Himself. In the political sphere, when something goes wrong, there is always someone who must “take a fall” – even if that person had no control over the situation. There is a strong desire to place blame somewhere, even when no blame is due.
With the continual rain that came with spring this year, some might have started to wonder if summer was ever going to come at all. Now that the sun has arrived and the promise of warm (and hot) weather is over the horizon, such fears are assuaged. The irony of this is that, of all the things in this life we cannot control, the weather is near the top of the list. It is also something we become bothered about the easiest.
The Jewish nation was greatly depressed by being taken into Babylonian captivity. This is no surprise – any people forced to leave their land and endure hardship under a captor would be depressed. However, this depression was affecting the relationship between the Jewish nation and her God, especially in the new generation born into captivity. They had become embittered, jaded, and unwilling to heed the encouragement of the prophet to reform.
The best possible source for learning how to live one’s life in the best possible way is the Word of God. It provides guidance for everyone, both young and old, and always shows us ways we can live better for ourselves, our families, and our neighbors. What makes the Word so powerful is how it includes not only commands and instruction in regard to moral matters, life choices, etc., but it also gives us examples to follow in the lives of heroes of the past.
There are few things which have caused greater damage to the religious truth of God’s people than the misguided preconceptions of man in regard to religious matters. Approaching the Bible with a personal bias commonly causes man to attempt to shape the Biblical text to fit such bias as opposed to allowing the text itself to shape the understanding of man.