Removing idols from our hearts through discipline of love?

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God declared to all the people of Judah

who disobeyed His command and went to Egypt

that He would use His servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,

as an instrument to attack Egypt.

He would kill those destined for death, capture those destined for captivity,

and strike with the sword those destined for the sword.

Not only that, but He would set fire to Egypt’s many temples,

burn them, take their idols, and break the obelisks of Heliopolis

(Ref.: Jeremiah 43:7-13).

As I meditated on this passage,

it occurred to me that God can use even unbelievers

who are much stronger than us in many ways

to discipline us in love when we are disobedient.

And through this loving discipline,

God not only seeks to bring us to repentance for our disobedient sins,

but also to remove from our hearts everything we rely on more than Him.