God's Word Fulfilled. Jeremiah 40-41; Matthew 17

May the mumbling commence!

Promises of the Lord come true… always.  Jeremiah had told the people of Judah that if they surrendered to the Babylonians that they would be allowed to stay in the Promised Land.  They did not believe him, but just look at what happened to Jeremiah in chapter forty:

The Lord gave a message to Jeremiah after Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, had released him at Ramah. He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being sent to exile in Babylon. 

The captain of the guard called for Jeremiah and said, "The Lord your God has brought this disaster on this land, just as he said he would. For these people have sinned against the Lord and disobeyed him. That is why it happened. 

Now I am going to take off your chains and let you go. If you want to come with me to Babylon, you are welcome. I will see that you are well cared for. But if you don't want to come, you may stay here. The whole land is before you – go wherever you like.  If you decide to stay, then return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan. He has been appointed governor of Judah by the king of Babylon. Stay there with the people he rules. But it's up to you; go wherever you like."

Then Nebuzaradan gave Jeremiah some food and money and let him go.  So Jeremiah returned to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and lived in Judah with the few who were still left in the land. (Verses 1-6)

Following the Way of the Lord has its benefits… that’s for sure.  May we do the same as Jeremiah even in the midst of trying times.  May we remember that the Lord’s promises always come true.  Just read from Matthew chapter seventeen (I accidently skipped it yesterday! L):

As they descended the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen until I, the Son of Man, have been raised from the dead." 

His disciples asked, "Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?" 

Jesus replied, "Elijah is indeed coming first to set everything in order.  But I tell you, he has already come, but he wasn't recognized, and he was badly mistreated. And soon the Son of Man will also suffer at their hands."  Then the disciples realized he had been speaking of John the Baptist. (Verses 9-13)

God’s Word will be fulfilled – no ifs ands or buts.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

That None Shall Perish. Jeremiah 38-39; Matthew 18

May the mumbling commence!

Before we begin to think too highly of ourselves, let’s have that reminder again.  God often finds faith outside the sheepfold of His children.  Sometimes, it’s embarrassing how more faithful those on the outside are than we are.  Read from Jeremiah chapter thirty-eight:

So these officials went to the king and said, "Sir, this man must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left, as well as that of all the people, too. This man is a traitor!" 

So King Zedekiah agreed. "All right," he said. "Do as you like. I will do nothing to stop you." 

So the officials took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard. It belonged to Malkijah, a member of the royal family. There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick layer of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it. 

But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an important palace official, heard that Jeremiah was in the cistern. At that time the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate, so Ebed-melech rushed from the palace to speak with him.  "My lord the king," he said, "these men have done a very evil thing in putting Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern. He will soon die of hunger, for almost all the bread in the city is gone." 

So the king told Ebed-melech, "Take along thirty of my men, and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies." 

So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to a room in the palace beneath the treasury, where he found some old rags and discarded clothing. He carried these to the cistern and lowered them to Jeremiah on a rope.  Ebed-melech called down to Jeremiah, "Put these rags under your armpits to protect you from the ropes." Then when Jeremiah was ready, they pulled him out. So Jeremiah was returned to the courtyard of the guard – the palace prison – where he remained. (Verses 4-13)

Talk about a wishy-washy king!  He went along with those who wanted Jeremiah dead.  Then he went along with the wishes of Ebed-melech (the last part of this name means king in Hebrew).

And the wishes of Ebed-melech were more in line with the will of the Lord.  And Ebed-melech was an Ethiopian!  He was outside the flock of the Great Shepherd at that time.  But he listened to the Word of the Lord much better than the people of Judah.

Ebed-melech stood up against the popular opinion of the people of Judah to spare the life of God’s prophet.  Though the people of Judah may have looked at him like a worthless rag, this worthless rag saved Jeremiah from certain starvation – like the rags that were put under the armpits of Jeremiah as he was pulled from the cistern.

If Ebed-melech was a lost sheep, he was one well worthy of searching for.  Yes, God is always looking for His sheep, who often wander away and get themselves in mortal danger.  Read from Matthew chapter eighteen:

"If a shepherd has one hundred sheep, and one wanders away and is lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others and go out into the hills to search for the lost one?  And if he finds it, he will surely rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn't wander away!  In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish.” (Verses 12-14)

That none shall perish!  Let that be our goal.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

God is Our Hiding Place. Jeremiah 36-37; Matthew 16

May the mumbling commence!

When we faithfully do the work of the Lord, the Lord is our hiding place.  Though life is fragile and threatened, God is our hiding place.  It was true for Jeremiah.  It will be true for us.  Read from Jeremiah chapter thirty-six:

By the time Baruch had finished reading, they were badly frightened. "We must tell the king what we have heard," they said.  "But first, tell us how you got these messages. Did they come directly from Jeremiah?" 

So Baruch explained, "Jeremiah dictated them to me word by word, and I wrote down his words with ink on this scroll." 

"You and Jeremiah should both hide," the officials told Baruch. "Don't tell anyone where you are!"  Then the officials left the scroll for safekeeping in the room of Elishama the secretary and went to tell the king. 

The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought it from Elishama's room and read it to the king as all his officials stood by.  It was late autumn, and the king was in a winterized part of the palace, sitting in front of a fire to keep warm. 

Whenever Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king took his knife and cut off that section of the scroll. He then threw it into the fire, section by section, until the whole scroll was burned up.  Neither the king nor his officials showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard.  Even when Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he wouldn't listen. 

Then the king commanded his son Jerahmeel, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah. But the Lord had hidden them. (Verses 16-26)

The Lord hid Jeremiah and Baruch.  The Lord hid them from the wrath and fury of a king who would not listen.  The Lord hid them to protect them because they were doing God’s work.  Jeremiah and Baruch did the Lord’s work despite mortal danger. 

They held onto their lives loosely as they followed the Word of the Lord.  That is exactly what Jesus call all his disciples to do.  Read from Matthew chapter sixteen:

Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me.  If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.  And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?  For I, the Son of Man, will come in the glory of my Father with his angels and will judge all people according to their deeds.  And I assure you that some of you standing here right now will not die before you see me, the Son of Man, coming in my Kingdom." (Verses 24-28)

Follow Jesus.  Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life.  Though you may be threatened by mortal danger, you will find true life in Jesus.  Only then will we be able to fully live.

So, let’s follow Jesus, the Word of God.  Let’s hide our souls in the Lord.  And we will live life to its fullest.  God is our hiding place.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Faith Outside the Flock. Jeremiah 34-35; Matthew 15

May the mumbling commence!

Sometimes, God uses people who are not currently in the family of God as examples of faithfulness to the people who are supposed to be God’s children.  This is the case with the Recabites from Jeremiah chapter thirty-five:

I set cups and jugs of wine before them and invited them to have a drink, but they refused. "No," they said. "We don't drink wine, because Jehonadab son of Recab, our ancestor, gave us this command: 'You and your descendants must never drink wine.  And do not build houses or plant crops or vineyards, but always live in tents. If you follow these commands, you will live long, good lives in the land.' 

So we have obeyed him in all these things. We have never had a drink of wine since then, nor have our wives, our sons, or our daughters.  We haven't built houses or owned vineyards or farms or planted crops.  We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed all the commands of Jehonadab, our ancestor. 

But when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon arrived in this country, we were afraid of the Babylonian and Aramean armies. So we decided to move to Jerusalem. That is why we are here." 

Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: "The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and say to the people in Judah and Jerusalem, 'Come and learn a lesson about how to obey me. 

The Recabites do not drink wine because their ancestor Jehonadab told them not to. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you refuse to listen or obey.  I have sent you prophet after prophet to tell you to turn from your wicked ways and to stop worshiping other gods, so that you might live in peace here in the land I gave to you and your ancestors. But you would not listen to me or obey. 

The families of Recab have obeyed their ancestor completely, but you have refused to listen to me.' (Verses 5-16)

Listen and obey – they are key ingredients to faithfulness.  The Recabites did listen and obey the commands of their ancestor.  Judah did not listen or obey the commands of the Lord.  It’s pretty simple and straight forward.

I bet it hurt to see people outside the fold being used as positive examples for those who should know better.  It makes me think of the exchange between Jesus and the Gentile woman from Matthew chapter fifteen:

Jesus then left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter has a demon in her, and it is severely tormenting her." 

But Jesus gave her no reply – not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. "Tell her to leave," they said. "She is bothering us with all her begging." 

Then he said to the woman, "I was sent only to help the people of Israel – God's lost sheep – not the Gentiles." 

But she came and worshiped him and pleaded again, "Lord, help me!" 

"It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs," he said. 

"Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even dogs are permitted to eat crumbs that fall beneath their master's table." 

"Woman," Jesus said to her, "your faith is great. Your request is granted." And her daughter was instantly healed. (Verses 21-28)

What faith in someone who was not a child of Israel!  She recognized Jesus as the Son of David.  She recognized his power to heal.  She recognized that he was worthy of worship.  And she was ready to live off the crumbs of Jesus’ power to heal her daughter.

Jesus noted her great faith and healed her daughter.  May our faith be as persistent and great!

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out

Written on Our Hearts. Jeremiah 29-33

May the mumbling commence!

Do you feel at home in the nation you live in?  Or do you feel like an exile?  Are you yearning for the peace and prosperity of the Kingdom of the Lord? 

If so, don’t despair.  Pray and work for the prosperity of the nation you live in.  Settle in.  Watch and wait for the oncoming of the Kingdom.  It’s surer than the sunrise.  Read from Jeremiah chapter twenty-nine:

The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, sends this message to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: "Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food you produce.  Marry, and have children. Then find spouses for them, and have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away!  And work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. Pray to the Lord for that city where you are held captive, for if Babylon has peace, so will you." 

The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says, "Do not let the prophets and mediums who are there in Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams because they prophesy lies in my name. I have not sent them," says the Lord.  "The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.  For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Verses 4-11)

Our peace is wrapped up in the peace of the world in which we live.  What more proof do you need that peace and justice are forever bound together?  So work for peace wherever God has planted you.  Work for justice wherever God has planted you. 

And pray.  Pray for peace.  Pray for divine wisdom to define and execute justice.  We can trust the Lord in this.  God’s plans for us are for our eternal good… plans that give us a future and a hope. 

What does that hope look like?  Jeremiah gives us a peek at that hope in chapter thirty-one:

"The day will come," says the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.  This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife," says the Lord. 

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day," says the Lord. "I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.  And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their family, saying, 'You should know the Lord.' For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will already know me," says the Lord. "And I will forgive their wickedness and will never again remember their sins." (Verses 31-34)

We got God’s Word on our minds.  It’s written on our hearts.  Through this Word, we will know God.  And forgiveness of our many sins is forgiven.

What is this new covenant?  Who brought it into being?  The answer is Jesus.  Jesus is our new covenant with God.  Let us give thanks!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Burden of Proof. Jeremiah 27-28; Matthew 14

May the mumbling commence!

Where does the burden of proof lie?  When two prophets who claim to speak for the Lord have opposing messages to the people, where does the burden of proof lie?  And how does our faith in the Lord develop?

Our faith develops over time spent with the Lord.  Think about the Lord Jesus and his disciples.  They witnessed many miracles that Jesus performed – miracles that were in direct line from the Scriptures and their Spirit.

In Matthew, after the feeding of the multitude, Jesus walked on water to his disciples.  Note their response to this new miracle.  Read from Matthew chapter fourteen:

Immediately after this, Jesus made his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake while he sent the people home.  Afterward he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.  Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 

About three o'clock in the morning Jesus came to them, walking on the water.  When the disciples saw him, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost.  But Jesus spoke to them at once. "It's all right," he said. "I am here! Don't be afraid." 

Then Peter called to him, "Lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you by walking on water." 

"All right, come," Jesus said.

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.  But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted. 

Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him. "You don't have much faith," Jesus said. "Why did you doubt me?"  And when they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 

Then the disciples worshiped him. "You really are the Son of God!" they exclaimed. (Verses 22-33)

While the disciples were moving on, Jesus dismissed the crowds and took time to pray.  It had been a difficult few days – learning of the death of John the Baptist, serving the people in a remote place.  Jesus needed to pray, recharge, and refocus.  Then, Jesus rejoined his disciples.

Even after witnessing so many miracles, the disciples responded in fear.  They were terrified when they saw Jesus walking on the water.  So Jesus spoke to them.  They must’ve recognized his voice.  He did not tell them his name.  Jesus only said, “I am here”. 

God is here for us.  May we feel the presence of our Lord in our lives.  May we realize the impossible can become possible when we follow the Lord.  May we stop and take time to pray, to worship, and to exclaim.

So, where does the burden of proof lie?  It lies where the word of the prophet is in direct conflict with the Lord as we have known Him through our growing relationship with the Lord.  Read from Jeremiah chapter twenty-eight:

One day in late summer of that same year – the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah – Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, addressed me publicly in the Temple while all the priests and people listened. He said, "The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will remove the yoke of the king of Babylon from your necks.  Within two years, I will bring back all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon.  And I will bring back Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the other captives that were taken to Babylon. I will surely break the yoke that the king of Babylon has put on your necks. I, the Lord, have spoken!" 

Jeremiah responded to Hananiah as they stood in front of all the priests and people at the Temple.  He said, "Amen! May your prophecies come true! I hope the Lord does everything you say. I hope he does bring back from Babylon the treasures of this Temple and all our loved ones.  But listen now to the solemn words I speak to you in the presence of all these people.  The ancient prophets who preceded you and me spoke against many nations, always warning of war, famine, and disease.  So a prophet who predicts peace must carry the burden of proof. Only when his predictions come true can it be known that he is really from the Lord." (Verses 1-9)

When we speak a word contrary to the essence of Scriptures and the way that God walks with His people, the burden of proof lies on us.  May blessings come!  May they come from the Lord!  But the proof must be in the pudding.  They must happen… or we must listen and accept the discipline of the Lord for us.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Listening Carefully to Every Word of God. Jeremiah 25-26; Matthew 13

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