Divine Landlord

After Jeremiah had seized the attention of the people with his street preaching, he gave the Lord’s message. The Lord invited His people to, “Thoroughly amend your ways and your doings.  Thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour.  Do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt”. If the people of God followed the Lord’s commandments, there was a reward for them. “Then, I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever,” (Jeremiah 7: 5-7). The Lord was informing His people that their lives were in need of a radical overhaul. Many times, when the Lord confronts us with our bad ways, we think that all we need to do is tinker around the edges and then everything will be just fine. We tend to do this as we compare ourselves to the “real” sinners out there. The Lord did not stop at saying that there was a need for a root and branch reformation, He went into the specific details of what the change entailed. Kingdom citizens should take note of the fact that the primary focus of the personal reformation was on the behaviour of the people of God towards each other. God cares about how we treat other people, and repentant kingdom citizens will exhibit kingdom behaviour. God cares about how we treat people who are weaker, or more vulnerable than we are. He is the One who welcomes strangers. He is the Father to the fatherless, and He cares for the women who are alone whether through abandonment or bereavement. God cares about our spiritual priorities; He wants us to remember that He alone is God and not have divided loyalties. The people of God were returning home from years in exile, and so they cared deeply about where they lived. The Lord promised His people a forever home, if they lived in obedience to His commandments. Kingdom citizens have the privilege of knowing that Jesus is preparing a place for them, which is mortgage, lease and rent-free. Your residency comes with the guarantee that the Lord will be your Landlord and the lease that you have will be eternal.