“Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry, ‘Gather together,’ and say, ‘Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.’ Set up the standard toward Zion. Take refuge! Do not delay! For I will bring disaster from the north, and great destruction.” (Jer 4:5-6)

This text is similar to the warning issued by the prophet Joel, “Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand.” (Joel 2:1) Joel issues a warning, calling everyone to prayer and fasting, even the newlyweds, who were generally excluded from religious duties.

Unfortunately, they neither heard Jeremiah or Joel and did not heed the warning. Why should they? The temple was open, service numbers were up, the economy was doing well.  The problem was that under the carpet were all the sins of Israel and Judah, swept there, so that they couldn’t be seen, but God sees everything, and hold them to account.

Is America any different? Racism has once again raised its ugly head on the streets of America.  Because we have never adequately dealt with racism, it continues to raise its ugly head like a boil festering under the surface.