Title: Many Faces (Click on the image for a larger version.)
Biblical Scripture:
“This is what the Lord Almighty says: Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.” —Jeremiah 25:30-38
Writer: J. Coles
Artist: Unknown
The Faith Story: This God of Judgement & Retribution
This is a difficult passage to read. This vision of God’s wrath is unnerving and so unsettling. Earlier, God sent Jeremiah to warn the people of their disobedience. Israel refuses to listen and turn to God. So, God brings the curses of His promises upon Israel.
Now, Jeremiah’s image of the world is one of destruction and violence all around with furious sounds of war. He tells the people that there will be a great slaughter and it will happen all over the world. There is no way out of the terribleness to come; nations and people don’t have a chance.
God’s divine roar, terrible battle cry and great tempest bring an apocalyptic confrontation to which the slain fill the earth. This is a final prophecy from Jeremiah against life and the living itself.
What justification can there be God to cause such an horrific experience?
This God of judgement and retribution is hard to reconcile with the God of love and hope. Jeremiah has witnessed both faces of God. And, yet God pleads “with all of flesh.”
Does God want a way out for us?
Who will intercede on the people’s behalf?