Make No Assumptions

“Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be for a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.”  Jeremiah 30:16

During the days of the last kings of Judah, the southern kingdom, the sin of God’s people had become so grievous to the LORD that the cure would have to be commensurate with the crime.  They had abandoned God for wooden and stone idols.  Their desire to live as they pleased overrode their commitment to God.  If they were looking for something to worship which would not judge them, how could they be so naive to think that they still would not be held accountable by God, their Creator and Benefactor?  God called their sin an “incurable bruise” which would discolor their lives for all eternity unless they sought the cure through repentance and a return to the LORD.  Up until the time that the nation of Israel is redeemed by Christ, she will suffer hostility, attacks by the nations who hate her and hate God, and an abandonment by her supporters.  But she will not be alone for God will be present with her and make her victorious at some time in the future.

The nations who were Israel’s and Judah’s adversaries throughout her history and those who hate her today will have the tables turned on them.  When God called Abraham to begin his journey out of the land of the Gentiles and travel to what would become the promised land, God told him, “…I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee” (Genesis 12:3a).  This promise extended to God’s people, and the warning extended to all those who were and who would become Israel’s enemies.  Whatever Israel’s enemies had done to her, they would receive the same treatment orchestrated by God.  Their day would come, and they would have no place to which to turn.  The same goes for the future.  It is God’s prerogative to display His vengeance to whomever and whenever He desires.  Folks seem to forget that God is in control of all that He created, and He can do with it whatever He pleases, but He will never violate His code of justice.

Jesus told a parable in Matthew 20:1-16 about workers who were hired to work in a vineyard at different times throughout the day.  When quitting time came, and the pay was handed out, they all received the same pay.  Those who had worked all day, and who had agreed to work for the pay that was offered when they were hired, complained because those who worked less hours received the same amount.  However, the owner of the vineyard responded by reminding them that they received what they had agreed to receive, and that the vineyard belonged to him, and he could do whatever he desired in hiring and paying the wages.  He then asked the complainers why they were so angry at his kindness.  The vineyard owner was not unjust because he paid each one the amount for which the worker agreed to work.

The workers’ mistake was in making an assumption that they would receive more than the agreed upon amount because they had worked longer.  Folks assume things all the time.  They take for granted that someone will act in a certain way in a situation, but most of the time, they have assumed in error.  People take God for granted much of the time.  Like the people of Judah in Jeremiah’s day, folks assume that God will overlook their sin and give them “heavenly credit” for their “good” deeds.  We should never assume, presume, presuppose, or postulate what God will do to handle any situation because His response will most likely not be what we expect.  All four of these verbs mean to take something for granted.  To assume is based on what is believed to be fact; to presume is based on possible evidence; to presuppose is based on something which has no guarantee; and to postulate is to base on something that cannot be proved.  We can’t assume what people will do so how can we assume what God will do in any given situation?

What we do know is that He will never violate His own word.  If one desires to assume God’s responses, then assume or rather know for sure that He will always do what is best and what suits His purposes and fulfills His plans.  His desire is that we trust Him.  That is as sure as 2 plus 2 equals four, the sky is blue, water is wet, and fire is hot, no matter what the “woke” crowd believes!