May the mumbling commence!
Don’t skip a word of God’s Word. Though it’s tempting to skip the words that
make us uncomfortable or the words that might make us unpopular among our
friends and contemporaries, we are not to skip even one word. It comes at a cost, but it’s the Lord’s call
to us. Read from Jeremiah chapter
twenty-six:
This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord early in the reign of Jehoiakim son
of Josiah, king of Judah. The Lord said, "Stand out in front of the Temple of the Lord, and make an announcement to the
people who have come there to worship from all over Judah. Give them my entire message; include every word. Perhaps they will listen and turn from their
evil ways. Then I will be able to withhold the disaster I am ready to pour out
on them because of their sins.
Say to them, 'This is what the Lord says: If you will not listen to me and obey the law I
have given you, and if you will not listen
to my servants, the prophets – for I sent them again and again to warn you,
but you
would not listen to them – then I
will destroy this Temple as I destroyed Shiloh, the place where the
Tabernacle was located. And I will make Jerusalem an object of cursing in every
nation on earth.'"
The priests, the prophets, and all the people listened to
Jeremiah as he spoke in front of the Lord's
Temple. But when Jeremiah had finished
his message, saying everything the Lord
had told him to say, the priests and prophets and all the people at the Temple
mobbed him. "Kill him!"
they shouted. "What right do you have to prophesy in the Lord's name that this Temple will
be destroyed like Shiloh? What do you mean, saying that Jerusalem
will be destroyed?" And all the people threatened him as he stood in front of the Temple. (Verses 1-9)
Give them the entire message of impending destruction
and judgment. Those are hard words to
hear for the best of people. Many people
will react like the priests and prophets.
Kill him for prophesying against the establishment of Jerusalem. That’s unpatriotic. That’s treason.
But that’s the Word of the Lord – like it or not. Listen and obey, or suffer the consequences.
Many times in the storytelling of Jesus, Jesus told the
crowd to listen carefully and understand and obey. Read a verse from Matthew chapter thirteen:
“Anyone who is willing to hear should
listen and understand!"
(Verse 9)
It’s a recurring thought in Jesus’ parables. So let’s listen carefully – even when the
Word of the Lord is against us and it’s hard to hear.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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