Jeremiah 7:23-28 / Luke 11:14-23
The devil, or any evil spirit for that matter, is one who has rebelled against God and hence in doing so has cut himself from God eternally.
Even though that is the case, still the devil and those evil spirits are not their own masters. Because in any case, when God orders them, they will have to obey.
As in the case in the gospel account where Jesus was casting out the devil, it does not stand a chance against Jesus.
The devil, and his accomplices, may be strong but they had to bow down to God's command, and if Jesus orders them to get out, they will have to get out.
Yet, we heard in the gospel that some people said that it was through the devil that Jesus cast out devils!
That may sound ridiculous but it is as ridiculous as some people saying that there is no God and that everything happened with a big bang.
But if devils had to obey the orders and the commands of God, then we would think that human beings should have no problems with submitting to the will of God.
But that is not what we heard in 1st reading. We heard God saying - These are my orders: Listen to my voice, then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Follow right to the end the way that I mark out for you and you will prosper.
But they did not listen, they did not pay attention, they followed the dictates of their own heart, they turned their backs on God.
The devils won't listen to God but they will ultimately have to obey God. Let us listen to God and follow His ways, so that we will be for Jesus and not against Him, and so that we will gather with Him and not scatter.