May the mumbling commence!
Are we ready to do God’s will? Or are we only ready to do what we want God’s
will to be for us? There’s an important
difference in those levels of readiness.
Read from the end of Jeremiah chapter forty-two and the beginning of
chapter forty-three:
"Listen, you remnant of Judah. The Lord has told you: 'Do not
go to Egypt!' Don't forget this warning I have given you today. For you
were deceitful when you sent me to pray to the Lord
your God for you, saying, 'Just tell us what the Lord our God says, and we will do it!' And today I have told you exactly what he said, but
you will not obey the Lord your God any better now than
you have in the past. So you can be sure
that you will die from war, famine, and
disease in Egypt, where you insist on going."
When Jeremiah had finished giving this message from the Lord their God to all the people,
Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other proud men said to Jeremiah, "You lie! The Lord our God hasn't
forbidden us to go to Egypt! Baruch
son of Neriah has convinced you to say this, so we will stay here and be killed by the Babylonians or be carried off into exile."
(42:19-43:3)
The remnant of the people of Judah wanted to hear God’s
will for them… as long as it matched their desires. That wasn’t the case. They feared death and exile, but by going to
Egypt they were choosing their own exile.
They were choosing death. They
were not willing to listen to the voice of their Great Shepherd or to follow
the Lord.
Sometimes, the lessons of the Lord are difficult
ones. Read from Matthew chapter
nineteen:
Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this
question: "Should
a man be allowed to divorce his wife for any
reason?"
"Haven't you read the Scriptures?" Jesus replied. "They record that from the beginning 'God made them
male and female.' And he said, 'This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and
is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.' Since they are no
longer two but one, let no one separate
them, for God has joined them together."
"Then why did Moses say a man could merely write an official letter of
divorce and send her away?"
they asked.
Jesus replied, "Moses permitted divorce as a concession to your hard-hearted wickedness, but it was not what
God had originally intended. And I
tell you this, a man who divorces his
wife and marries another commits adultery – unless his wife has been
unfaithful. "
Jesus' disciples then said to him, "Then
it is better not to marry!"
"Not everyone can accept this
statement," Jesus said. "Only those whom God helps. Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made
that way by others, and some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of
Heaven. Let anyone who can, accept this statement." (Verses 3-12)
Help us, O Lord, to accept Your will for our lives!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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