Chapter 17 of The Story brings with it familiar themes. God enters into a covenant with his people. His people are unfaithful to the covenant. Bad things happen. His people repent. Same song. Second verse.

Actually, third or fourth or sixteenth verse. God’s people are unfaithful to God over, and over, and over, and over. God’s people continue to choose something else other than God. I don’t know if you have ever tried to read through the entire Old Testament, it’s pretty long. But really, you don’t need to because this is essentially the whole Old Testament in a nutshell. You’re welcome.

God’s people continue to choose other idols, other gods, other ways of life without God. And really, all these different things that they choose can be summed up in one word; death. God’s people continually chose death over life. They continually, consciously, and intentionally give themselves over to things that lead to death. And so do we.

God has breathed life into our bodies and we return the favor by giving ourselves over to death. And this happens all the time. Our choices lead to the death of friendships, marriages, jobs, whole families, cities, states, nations. All of these have the choice, every day, between life and death. It’s not just at the end of our lives that we are faced with death. It’s all around us, and its calling our name.

The prophets in chapter 17, and really all throughout The Story are constantly reminding, charging, pleading with God’s people to turn around, to come back, to choose life, to tell death that he does not have the final word. Jeremiah weeps because he doesn’t want his people to die. Ezekiel’s vision shows us the power of the one who gives life and He promises us “that I will make breath enter you and you will come to life.”

May we choose life.