Reverence

Reverence

Make this announcement to Israel and to Judah: Listen, you foolish and senseless people—who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear. Do you have no respect for me? Why do you not tremble in my presence? I, the Lord, am the one who defines the ocean’s sandy shoreline, an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the bounds I set.

Jeremiah 5:20-22

If you visited my friend Ruthie’s home, she’d be happy to show you her sand collection. I’m not talking about samples from just two or three beaches. To date, Ruthie has 235 small glass jars of sand from places like Madras, India; Gulf Cay, Belize; Elat, Red Sea; Aran Islands, Ireland; and Mooréa, Tahiti. Because she also has pictures of the shorelines where most of her sand samples were collected, it’s fun to see what some of God’s beaches around the world look like.

An image of the sandy ocean shoreline was just what the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah needed to give the children of Israel a sobering wake-up call. The Israelites had a big problem: they had forgotten to show reverence and respect for their heavenly Father. All the way through the Bible, God promises blessing for those who obey and destruction for those who disobey, but the Israelites seemed to be hard of hearing.

Those of you who are mothers of teenagers might have encountered that behavior too. When we tire of saying the same things over and over, it’s helpful to try a new approach. Using a word picture sometimes gets our point across, and that’s exactly what Jeremiah did for the Israelites in these verses. He reminded the people that their powerful God had defined—and kept—the ocean’s shorelines as an everlasting boundary between land and sea. But instead of reverencing God’s awesome power, the Israelites were ignoring him.

Just like the Israelites, we sometimes ignore God and fail to treat him as he deserves. May glimpses of his wonders here on earth prompt us to show him more reverence and respect.

Father,

As our eyes and ears see and hear your wonders, may we give you the reverence and worship you deserve. Amen.