Can God’s patience be exhausted? Actually, yes. You cannot try the patience of a righteous and just God forever. His patience is extraordinary, but He actually does come to a point where he has to say, “Enough!”
The Israelite’s were getting their last warning. God was saying to them, “Enough.”
So much so that he says that by this time even if Samuel and Moses, two beloved prophets stood before Him and asked Him to relent, he would not.
Sounds harsh. But only to those who haven’t seen the full impact of the horror of sin. And God saw it all.
“Send them from My presence and let them go” (v. 2).
Then upon them he ordains judgment. Terrible judgment. He says he will make them a horror to all the kingdoms around the because of what Manasseh did.
What happened during the time of Manasseh? Wasn’t he the king that repented?
If you remember King Hezekiah, the original Braveheart, he had come to the end of his life. He begged of God for 15 more years and because he had been such a faithful follower of God, his desire was granted. During those extra 15 years he had two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.
Manasseh would become king and he would be famous for the evil he would commit. His name became as much as synonymous with evil as we use the name Hitler.
What did Manasseh do? It says that he led the people into evil and that he filled Jerusalem with blood “from end to end” (2 Kings 21; 2 Chr 33). We don’t have the specifics but he was the epitome of evil.
Some time later in his life he actually repented. Truly repented in dramatic fashion in heart, words and deed (2 Chr 33). The Lord’s mercy was great upon him and he was restored. The only problem was that he had led the people away and they still sacrificed at the high places. They didn’t repent.
On occasion some people will say would there be anything in your life that you would change. Many I have heard say “no” because even my foolishness and sins shaped who I am. But for me that seems to think of only ourselves. What about those we have hurt? What about those we have led astray?
Manasseh had led many astray, and while he repented, they did not. They tried to play the double life. And God had enough. He says he was exhausted from relenting (Jer 15:6).
From here on in the text becomes a dialogue between Jeremiah and the LORD. Jeremiah laments that his mother gave birth to him.
God speaking to both Israel and Jeremiah says that he will not abandon them forever and that he would eventually cause their enemies to intercede for them. But make no mistake, there would be judgment.
Jeremiah prays to God and asks that he himself would not be taken away. But rather he has suffered greatly because he proclaimed the truth. He is honest with God, saying that it seems like God is like an unreliable stream. Where one has hope only to discover distress.
The LORD responds. He says to return and restore his hope in God, to speak noble words and not worthless word. And if he repents from believing things like this, that God would keep him as his spokesmen to the people.
At this point he then renews his promise to Jeremiah that he made in Jeremiah 1. That if he trusts the LORD, God would make him a fortified wall of bronze.
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That last part touched me. Because there have been times in recent days where I’ve questioned God’s character in the middle of a difficult moment. I have repented but still.
So when I see God saying to Jeremiah, ‘hey, don’t say and believe stupid stuff like that about me and I will restore you to be my spokesman,’ I am encouraged. God sometimes puts up with our foolishness but he also tells us to stop.
