“Although our iniquities testify against us,
O Lord, act for Your name’s sake!
Truly our apostasies have been many,
We have sinned against You,” (14:7).

The people had forsaken God; rather than living in such a way that would invite His Presence, their apostasies, which were many, have ushered in His judgment. But before His judgment, He sent His warnings, delivered through Moses and preserved in writing, that His people would be prodded toward obedience.

“But it shall come about, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you… ²⁰ The Lord will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke, in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me… ²⁴ The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed,” (Deuteronomy 28:20, 24).

And their punishment would fit their crime. In response to their choosing a life apart from Him, God sent a drought depriving them of the water needed to sustain all of life.

“For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That can hold no water,” (Jeremiah 2:11-13).

And in the midst of the mourning, the languishing, the devastating drought, Jeremiah turns to the Source for all of life, the Fountain of Living Waters. And he does not ask God to act for the sake of the people but, twice, Jeremiah asks God to Act for His Name’s Sake.

Although our iniquities testify against us,
O Lord, act for Your name’s sake!… (14:7).

Do not despise us, for Your own name’s sake;
Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory;
Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us, (14:21).

Consider Him Who Acts for His Name’s Sake

In the Hebrew, Jeremiah simply asks God to act for His Name.

Name: “8034. שֵׁם šēm: A masculine noun meaning a name, fame. It is what specifically identifies a person or anything…” Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.

In other words, because Jeremiah knows his God, it is as though he asks God to Act in keeping with Who He Is; to Act because of Who He Is; to Act according to Who He Is. And Jeremiah fully expects God to be true to Himself.

And aren’t you glad He Acts for His Name’s Sake? Aren’t you thankful He Acts in keeping with Who He Is; because of Who He Is; according to Who He Is?

Think of it this way. What if He acted in keeping with who we are; because of who we are; according to who we are? That thought makes me shudder as I think on my own unfaithfulness and fickleness; my own propensities towards selfishness and thoughtlessness; my own inclination towards unforgiveness and bitterness.

And like I said, aren’t You thankful He Acts for His Name’s Sake?

But while we love to dwell on His Kindness, His Grace, His Mercy and His Forgiveness, we must never compartmentalize Who God Is. For He Is also Holy, Righteous and Just. And Holy Righteous Justice must Judge sin.

The truth is, we live in a sad and dangerous time, when many have determined they know better than His Word as they reject parts of His Truth in an attempt to make it more palatable to their hearers. Many today would argue that hell is not a reality, that a God of Love would never send anyone to hell. And claiming to speak for God, they change the message of His Word.

And this is exactly what was happening amongst Jeremiah’s people. The people were listening to a message of falsehood proclaimed in the Name of the God of Truth; a message that contradicted His Word, promising His peace and foregoing His punishment.

But, “Ah, Lord God!” I said, “Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’” ¹⁴ Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds,” (14:13).

But God will always be True and Faithful to His Word, and whether we agree with Him or not, and whether we believe it is True or not, God will always Act for His Name’s Sake.

“Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them—yet they keep saying, ‘There will be no sword or famine in this land’—by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end! ¹⁶ The people also to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and there will be no one to bury them—neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters—for I will pour out their own wickedness on them,” (14:15-16).

But here is the most amazing thing, the just-too-good-to-be-true thing, He Acts for His Name’s Sake so that we would know Him!

“Then you will know that I am the Lord when I have dealt with you for My name’s sake, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord God,” (Ezekiel 20:44).

How do we respond to Him Who Acts for His Name’s Sake?

How can we not be knocked off our feet? His Grace, His Mercy, His Kindness, His Love. But again, we must never forget, His Word will always be in keeping with Who He Is. All of His Word with all of Who He Is. We don’t get to cherry pick the parts that are palatable to our human understanding.

And because He has given us His Word that we would know Him, how can we not seek Him daily in His Word?

Oh, today, let us commit to seek Him above all else, that we would know His Name, that we would know and understand Him Who Acts for His Name’s Sake, that we would build our lives on Him as we believe Him by faith and obey Him in humility.

• Let us seek Him in His Word, confessing our sins that we would be refreshed, forgiven and cleansed from unrighteousness as we depend on Him to Act for His Name’s Sake.
  •  “Although our iniquities testify against us,
    O Lord, act for Your name’s sake!
    Truly our apostasies have been many,
    We have sinned against You…
    ²⁰ We know our wickedness, O Lord,
    The iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against You. (14:7, 20).
    • Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; (Acts 3:19).
    • If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, (1 John 1:9).

• Let us seek Him in His Word, acknowledging Him as Our only Hope and Savior, that we would look forward to our eternal inheritance with Him as we expect Him to Act for His Name’s Sake.
  • “O Hope of Israel,
    Its Savior in time of distress…” (14:8).
    • Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, (1 Peter 1:3).

• Let us seek Him in His Word, standing in faith on His Covenant promises, that we would trust His glorious reign to establish us in His every promise, fully persuaded that He always Acts for His Name’s Sake.
  • Do not despise us, for Your own name’s sake;
    Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory;
    Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us, (14:21).
    • For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. ²¹ Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, ²² who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge, (1 Corinthians 1:20-22).

• Let us seek to grow in our knowledge of Who He Is as revealed in His Word, that we would grow in our confidence in the Truth and Grace of Him Who Acts for His Name’s Sake.
  • Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain?
    Or can the heavens grant showers?
    Is it not You, O Lord our God?
    Therefore we hope in You,
    For You are the one who has done all these things, (14:22).
    • For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus, (Philippians 1:6).

Let us pray that we would so grow in His Truth and Grace, that all we do would be for the Sake of His Name, even when it means going against the tide of popular opinion and cherry-picking obedience.

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ, (Galatians 1:10).

And as we grow in our knowledge and understanding, as we grow in His Truth and Grace, let us ask Him to grow us in our faith, humility and obedience, that we would always act to bring glory and honor to Him Who Acts for His Name’s Sake.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; ¹⁵ nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven,” (Matthew 5:15-16).

Let’s Grow Together!