Day 416: When luxury exploits others - Jeremiah 22 vs 8 – 17

8-9 “Many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why did the Lord do such a thing to this great city?’ They will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of the  Lord their God and bowed in worship to other gods and served them.’”

10-12 Do not weep for the dead; do not mourn for him. Weep bitterly for the one who has gone away, for he will never return again and see his native land. For this is what the  Lord says concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in place of his father Josiah, and who has left this place: “He will never return here again, but he will die in the place where they deported him, never seeing this land again.”

13-14 Woe for the one who builds his palace through unrighteousness, his upstairs rooms through injustice, who makes his neighbour serve without pay and will not give him his wages, who says, “I will build myself a massive palace, with spacious upstairs rooms.” He will cut windows in it, and it will be panelled with cedar and painted bright red. 15-16 Are you a king because you excel in cedar? Didn’t your father eat and drink and administer justice and righteousness? Then it went well with him. He took up the case of the poor and needy; then it went well. Is this not what it means to know me? This is the Lord’s declaration. 17 But you have eyes and a heart for nothing except your own dishonest profit, shedding innocent blood and committing extortion and oppression Jeremiah 22:8-17 Christian Standard Bible.

The first seven verses of this chapter told us that Jeremiah preached this message at the palace of the King in Jerusalem. The heart of today's verses is surely the question Jeremiah put to the King in vs 15-16. What really makes a King?

The end of Jerusalem was drawing nearer. The background to vs 10-12 is that King Josiah was killed in battle against the Egyptians and his son Shallum, who was called Jehoahaz, after a reign of only a few months was taken to Egypt where he would also die. The Egyptian King appointed Jehoiakim as King in Jerusalem, and it's probably him who Jeremiah was rebuking. Why was God angry with kings like Shallum and Jehoiakim? (vs 13-14 & vs 17)

It seems they focused on their own luxury and thought that grand palaces made them great kings. But they neglected the needy of their Kingdom and wickedly exploited them. Verse 17 is a devastating assessment of their hearts. Jeremiah reminds them how when Josiah was King, he had administered justice and righteousness, and cared about the poor and needy.

Is this a message that those in power still need to hear today? Is God impressed by big limousines and motorcades, and the luxurious residences they build for themselves? Does all the pomp and ceremony that accompanies their appearances make them good leaders? The answer is obviously no. The prophet Micah put what makes a person pleasing to God in a nutshell when he said: “This is what God requires of you - to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

But it's not only Kings and Presidents who need to think about what Jeremiah said, it's a message for all who make personal luxury their goal. Many years after Jeremiah had passed away the people who'd come back to Jerusalem from exile were saying ‘the time hasn't yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord’. “Then the Lord sent this message through the prophet Haggai: 'Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins?'” (Haggai 1:3-4)

It's not that nice houses are wrong, or that it's a sin to be comfortable. But if our luxuries ever involve exploiting others and ignoring the needs of the helpless, or if status symbols are what we think make us better people, then we've missed what God is really looking for. May God help us to love righteousness and mercy, and to walk in true humility before Him. And may the cause of Christ's Kingdom always take priority in how we use our wealth.