Sour Grapes

"In those days people will no longer say, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." Instead, everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes--his own teeth will be set on edge "A time is coming", declares the Lord, "When I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the House of Judah." Jeremiah 31:29-31

As I read in the prophet Jeremiah this morning, I cannot get these words out of my head. They mean something, something deeper than just the obvious promise of a covenant change between God and His people. We now know that change to be the Covenant of Grace, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We too, us non-Jews are part of that covenant promise of individual responsibility for sin. Each and every person now, answers for their sin.

That is why we need a Savior. That is why we must be saved from the consequences of our own depravity on a case by case basis. Every man, woman, child, human being of whatever origin, must reckon with the sin that separates them individually from God. The time that Jeremiah speaks of has come. It came as Jesus was on the cross, and died for our sins, and then arose conquering death. Death now no longer has a hold on us, because when we accept Christ as the propitiation (payment price) for our sins, we are forgiven and we live forever from that moment on.

There is another really interesting part of this verse that actually is the perplexing part for me. I do understand about how a New Covenant has come, and that we are no longer under the Law, and that Grace has been provided by Christ. What does that part about the sour grapes mean? Why do the children have their teeth on edge? Here is my analysis of this illustration. In the past, the children suffered so much from the sins of their fathers. They suffered from their parent's rebellion, disobedience, and bitterness. The children were frightened, trapped, and swept along by the spiritual immaturity of their parents.

Sour grapes had become the norm. Everybody complained (read Exodus), everybody whined about their circumstances, nobody was satisfied, joyful or content with what God had provided in the Old Covenant of the Law. Few and far between were the followers of God who were grateful and obedient. It was a generational problem. That bitterness was passed down. The troubles of the parents became the trouble of the children as they became adults.

In the New Covenant, we have the opportunity for freedom from blaming our problems on our parents or forefathers. We take individual responsibility for our choices. We face our own consequences, and make our own beds, and lie in them. God doesn't treat us all like children anymore, in the same way. Sure, He is our Father, we are His children, but, He doesn't lead us by the hand in the same way. If you read a little further, God actually explains this in verses 32-34 which say,

"It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant though I was a husband to them. "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time", declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor or a man his brother saying 'Know the Lord', because they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest", declares the Lord. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. Jeremiah 31:32-34

What this means is that we are now not just 'His people', we are 'His persons'. See the difference? It is not a corporate covenant. We now have a personal Savior, a personal Covenant, and the personal responsibility for ourselves that goes with it. Wow, does this concept ever run counter to what is going on with our 'entitlement driven' society. Personal responsibility is feared and avoided at all costs, especially personal costs.

The government, or the church, or the forefathers, or somebody, ought to be providing me with what I need. Since when did inalienable rights (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) become the expectation of “a high paying job with low expectations”, “a college education for free”, and “a phone”, “a car”, “a computer”, and “food vouchers”. Seems to me that the trend in our country is backwards. God is saying that personal responsibility is the New Deal. Not co-dependency, on anybody.

God created me, blessed me with life, and I am accountable for me. Responsible for me. I am accountable to Him for what I do with me. No excuses, no expectation for a bailout. Grace was paid for, with a price that purchased us something we can't buy for ourselves. Something more valuable than gold, or stocks, or a retirement plan.

These verses have got me to thinking seriously about just how spoiled, and rotten we have become. No wonder all the talk about 'sour grapes' and everybody's teeth are set on edge. Much of the rhetoric these days about what is right, and wrong, and what alleged solutions are...... are not very Biblical. Maybe that is part of the problem too. As for my problems……. they are my responsibility. With God's help, and grace, and the New Covenant, I should be as fine as I choose to be. Excuse me today for digressing just a little, but I do feel better now about everybody else's problems, too.

In His Service,
Pastor Fred

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