Of Quacking Ducks
Or Things Are Not Always As They Seem

An unmarked police car overtook me on the streets of Smyrna. As he approached from the rear I was struck with the “police-like” appearance of the white car. As he passed, the lack of markings was evident. However, I still was suspicious. Black steel wheels and tires. (No white walls.) An antenna and the “pusher” grill completed the look.

Nah, that could not be a police car. It had no decals. It was just coincidence. I just hope the guy doesn’t get pulled over for impersonating a cop. (Or impersonating a duck.)

I wrote that last night, and wondered if and how that might be useful. Then this morning I read Jeremiah 44 . The background is that the remnant of the Jews left by Nebuchadnezzar have now left Jerusalem and fled to Egypt. This was in direct defiance of Nebuchadnezzar to God’s commands. After Jeremiah reminded them of their disobedience, they gathered around him and remonstrated with him.

16 “As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you!” 
Their explanation seemed logical to them.
17 “But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune. 18 But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have met our end by the sword and by famine.” 

Can you blame them? They worshiped the Queen of Heaven and all went well. When they stopped, things fell apart. Therefore, it is logical to get back to honoring the Sugar Daddy (Mommy).

Or, are things different than they look? The rest of the chapter is Jeremiah’s answer. The people had enjoyed the seeming largess of this idol, but were totally mistaken as to the source. The Lord had been patient with them as they were blatantly violating His commands. His grace and mercy had given them a time of respite, a time to repent. They misunderstood His forbearance as impotence and His blessings as from the idol instead of enticements to remind them of how He had cared for them in the past.

Our application is that just because things are going well, we dare not conclude that we are doing the right thing. It is like the eye of a hurricane. After a “tough” time, the sun comes out and all looks like we are out of the storm. Often, the fury of the back half of the hurricane is more pronounced than the first stroke. Things are not as they appear.

Watch out for the tell-tales that warn of trouble to come. And, practically, if we are not violating the traffic laws, we need not fear a police car, marked or not. Jeremiah’s audience learned the hard way. Be smart.