Reading for today:  Jeremiah 35-37
Original post:  August 24, 2014

Chapter 35 tells a brief story about the family that didn't drink any wine or live in houses or plant the fields....because they were instructed by their ancestor not to.   They faithfully kept the command for generations.  Wow.   God calls them in front of Jeremiah and says "how come all my people aren't like this?"  He wasn't saying that everyone needed to be a wanderer, never drinking wine or having a garden.   He was looking for people that would obey Him.  
His question is compelling still today:  " How hard is it to simply do what I asked you to do?"   God has not given us a task that is too hard to accomplish, or too technical to be understood.   He has given us commands that will cause us to stand out in society.    Just like the Recabites who were told not to drink wine in a culture that drinks wine every day.   They couldn't plant fields in a society that was agricultural.  God made them stand out.   The family that obeys the Lord will stand out in our society as well, and that family will be rewarded with the promise that their family tree will always flourish, and they will always have men who are in service of the Lord.   What a great reward!

In Chapter 36 the famous account of the destruction and rewriting of Jeremiah's scroll is recorded.  No doubt pastors have spoken of this passage in many sermons, so you are likely familiar with it, even if you haven't read any of Jeremiah before.
The first and most direct lesson we learn here is that God's Word and His decisions cannot be overruled by man.   You cannot get rid of the Bible and say "since I have destroyed the words, there will be no judgment".    It sounds elementary, but that's what Zedekiah was trying to do.  His destruction of the scroll was open defiance toward God.

Secondly, it tells us here (and in the next several chapters) that difficult challenges will be encountered by God's people.   We should not expect an easy path, with no resistance.  Our message is counter-cultural, and will certainly be resisted.   Instead, we should behave like Jeremiah, who re-wrote the scroll with quiet determination  "and added many more words".   Zedekiah's attempt to squash the prophecy had a reverse effect.  Jeremiah made it longer and more detailed.   When Jeremiah as put in prison, thrown into a well, etc. he didn't despair, he only pleaded for his life, and never changed his message.   Even when threatened with death, he remained true to his message.

You and I should take a lesson from Jeremiah.  God has given us a message in His Word and has commanded us to deliver it to His people.   Regardless of the pressure to assimilate and tone down the message, we should be bold and deliver it with confidence.   That doesn't mean it will be well received, or that we will even escape with our lives...it means that God will be pleased with us, if we deliver it in the manner and spirit in which He intended it to be delivered.

Blessings,


PR