Old Sandals

Thus says the Lord: “Behold, what I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up, that is, this whole land. And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh.”  Jeremiah 45:4-5

Dear God, it is so natural to seek great things,  so natural to look out for number one.  There it is, the root of the problem.  I am not number one.  Holy God, you know me better than I know myself, and love me anyway.  By your Spirit, grant me a clearer vision of just who you are.  Alpha and Omega.  First and the Last.  Number One.

So the king sent Jehudi to bring the scroll, and he took it from Elishama the scribes chamber. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king. Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning on the hearth before him. And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns,  that the king cut it with the scribes knife and cast it into the fire that was  on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.   Jeremiah 36:21-23

God is a consuming fire.  His purposes shall stand.  His Word is indestructible.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, will you not receive instruction to obey My words?” says the Lord. “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; for to this day they drink none, and obey their fathers commandment. But although I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, you did not obey Me. I have also sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending  them, saying, turn now everyone from his evil way, amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them; then you will dwell in the land which I have given you and your fathers. But you have not inclined your ear, nor obeyed Me.”  Jeremiah 35:13-15

These are words the prophet Jeremiah spoke in the name of the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem many centuries ago.  It was a far different time.  A far different culture.  One might ask how these ancient words could be relevant in our modern day.

Many things change with time.  But not everything. Not even the most important things.  It is these (unchanging) things that are addressed by the ancient words of the prophet and, for that matter, by all of holy scripture.

Now Pashhur the son of Immer, the priest who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.  Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord.  And it happened on the next day that Pashhur brought Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord has not called your name Pashhur, but Magor-Missabib.For thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall see it. I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon and slay them with the sword. Moreover I will deliver all the wealth of this city, all its produce, and all its precious things; all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give into the hand of their enemies, who will plunder them, seize them, and carry them to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. You shall go to Babylon, and there you shall die, and be buried there, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied lies.”   Jeremiah 20:1-6

Courage is faith in action.  To be courageous (in a spiritual sense) is not about being fearless.  It is all about being faithful.

Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, and say to them, thus says the Lord of hosts: Even so I will break this people and this city, as  one  breaks a potters vessel, which cannot be made whole again; and they shall bury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury. Thus I will do to this place, says the Lord, and to its inhabitants, and make this city like Tophet. And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled like the place of Tophet, because of all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and poured out drink offerings to other gods.   Jeremiah 19:10-13

The LORD is longsuffering, but his longsuffering cannot be taken for granted.  Here, he announces through his prophet he will break the people and the city—in such a way that cannot be mended.  If God is a God of love, it is a fierce love indeed.

So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.   Jeremiah 18:12

Our hearts are evil. Our desires are selfish. Our plans are our own.  But don’t let that stop you.  Turn to the Lord.  He will change your heart.  He will give you new desires.  He has His own plans for you. 

Really.  This is not just a bunch of stuff.

The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron.  With the point of a diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of your altars…and I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land which you do not know; for you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.   Jeremiah 17:1-4

The LORD’s anger was kindled against His own people, who had rebelled against Him time and again.  The fire of the LORD’s judgement is said to burn forever.  Forever may refer to endless duration.  As my great-grandfather used to say, “you know, forever is a long time”.  Or it may refer to the quality of the fire itself; it is an unquenchable fire, a fire that will burn as long as it takes.  Either way, the fire of the LORD’s anger is not something we want any part of.  That is why we pray now, “Lord, have mercy”.

You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.  For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land: they shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.   Jeremiah 16:2-4

It is indeed a fearful thing (for the unrepentant sinner) to fall into the hands of the living God.  He is kind.  He is rich in mercy.  But he is also terrible in His wrath.

Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.   Jeremiah 15:16

The Bible, the Word of God, is a treasure.  It is God speaking to us, gently, firmly.  It is a well of joy to those who drink deeply from it.

And the Lord said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them.  They prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.  Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’—By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed!”   Jeremiah 14:14-15

Consider, Christian, how incumbent it is upon you to live out the gospel this day, in this 21st century.  There is certainly enough spiritual confusion out there already.  Don’t add to it.  Pray for courage and humility, for both are needed to speak the truth and live the truth.  Pray most of all that you may, like the saints through the centuries before you, love the truth.