Dire Choices

Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. (Jeremiah 21.8)

I don't know if you are a Lord of the Rings fan or not. I must admit that I have never read the books; I've only seen the three films directed by Peter Jackson. At first glance I was in no way interested in slimy creatures being birthed from the ground and the slippery Gollumn character. However, the more I watched the more intrigued I became. I still don't pretend to understand the complete story line but the special effects were otherworldly.

Do you remember the second movie, "Two Towers"? In the epic and seemingly eternal scene a battle is set to begin at Helm's Deep or Hornburg if you are a Tolkien purist. There is a mere 1000 good guys against 10,000 plus Orcs and Uruk-hai which are beastly creatures that resemble a cross between apes and demons on steroids.

It is a hopeless scenario. There is nothing to do but defend the ominous fortress which at the beginning of the scene seems impervious to attack. As the two armies face each other the bone chilling cold is emphasized by a sudden cloudburst. Bows on the parapets are drawn, Orcs spears are beaten in primordial rhythms that signal doom to all opposition.

As the rain continues an arrow slips from the chilled grip of one of the walls defenders piercing an Orcs' chest and inciting king Théoden to utter immortal words, "...and so it begins." The scene emits desperation. It seems a futile struggle is seconds from reality. Is this the end of men?

As I read in Jeremiah 21 this morning I wondered how it must have felt to receive God's immortal words spoken through the prophet in verses eight and nine:

    8  And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. 9  He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and [you will escape with your lives].

Hummm, let's see? Which way shall I go? If I want to live I must surrender to the Orcs. If I want to die I stay and defend the fortress. Does that sound right to you? To me it seems an ironic and frightful option. What must the men on the wall have thought about it? Most fought and died.

Why was Jerusalem forced into this treacherous choice? What has brought them to this tragic moment? Why this divine ultimatum?

It wasn't a struggle between the good guys and the bad guys. There were no good guys. God had proved that when he had said through Jeremiah's contemporary Ezekiel, "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none (Ezekiel 22.30).

This was no staged epic film. This was real life in Jerusalem. There would be carnage unless a difficult choice was made. At first glance life seems like the option to take. However, when God added that this life will only be available as surrender to the ruthless Babylonians is realized the wayward arrow slipped from frozen fingers.

Years of rejecting God had lead to God's ultimatum. Prophet after prophet had screamed His warning. The people had grown cold and it wasn't because the fridge rain was falling. God's grace had reached its limit. Punishment was overdue.

Is God screaming at you? Are you facing an epic struggle of life and death? Does surrender to an evil enemy seem a cruel option? Listen to Jesus' words they are also our gracious God's words, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Mat 11:28). Doesn't that sound nice? He gives you an option. Surrender to Him and live. Fall into His loving and eternal arms and find rest. "... and so it begins."