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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
This is what the Lord says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask
for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will
find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ I appointed
watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said,
‘We will not listen.’”
“Therefore hear, you nations; you
who are witnesses, observe what will happen to them. Hear, you earth: I am
bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have
not listened to My words and have rejected My law. What do I care about incense
from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not
acceptable; your sacrifices do not please Me.”
Therefore this is what the Lord
says:
“I will put obstacles before this
people. Parents and children alike will stumble over them; neighbors and
friends will perish.”
This is what the Lord says:
“Look, an army is coming from the
land of the north; a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the
earth. They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They
sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in
battle formation to attack you, Daughter Zion.”
“We have heard reports about them, and
our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in
labor. Do not go out to the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a
sword, and there is terror on every side. Put on sackcloth, my people, and roll
in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing as for an only son, for suddenly the
destroyer will come upon us.
Jeremiah
6:16-26
This ends today’s reading from God's holy
word. Thanks be to God.
It could have been so different. I can’t help but believe
it every time I consider the story of the Old Testament Israelites.
Think about it. All they needed to do is allow God, their
Maker and Master, to lead and guide them through life, worshipping Him alone
while giving Him full honor, glory, and praise. In return, God would ensure
their needs were met and provide them protection as they faithfully sought and
then carried out His will and way.
Life could have been great as the people of God basked in
the blessing of living in His favor but that’s not what happened. For the people
chose sin over righteousness and gave God no other choice than to do something
to get their attention. Look again at today’s passage from Jeremiah 6:
This is what the Lord says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where
the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you
said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen
to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’”
“Therefore hear, you nations; you who are witnesses, observe what will
happen to them. Hear, you earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the
fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to My words and have
rejected My law. What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from
a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not
please Me.”
Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“I will put obstacles before this people. Parents and children alike
will stumble over them; neighbors and friends will perish.”
This is what the Lord says:
“Look, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is
being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bow and spear;
they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride
on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, Daughter
Zion.”
“We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has
gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor. Do not go out to the fields or
walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every
side. Put on sackcloth, my people, and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing
as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us. Jeremiah 6:16-26
Note here that God was trying to communicate with His
people but they refused to listen to Him. They simply were not interested in
the good ways that God was willing to lead them to. Instead, they decided to
pursue their own desires and adopt the ways of the world to include pagan worship
practices where false gods and idols were not only sought after but trusted
more than God Himself.
So what did God do to make His people take notice of Him?
He brought disaster, citing three key sins that the
Israelites had committed:
1. They did not
listen to God.
God will not be ignored or shunned in any way. No attempt
to block Him out of life is going to work and any attempts to do so will be met
with His correction and consequences.
2. They rejected God’s
law.
The world’s ways were so enticing to the people of Israel
and I’m sure it didn’t take much tempting for them to abandon God’s commands to
chase after their own desires. When God’s word is out of the picture, the
outcome is usually “anything goes” and again, God is not going to tolerate a
disobedient people.
3. Their worship
was worthless, so much so that their offered sacrifices could not cover their
sins.
You can’t openly sin without repentance and then expect
that God is going to accept your worship afterwards. After their unfaithfulness
in trusting and believing in false gods and idols, the people of Israel could
offer no sacrifice of atonement that would be acceptable to God because the
Israelites’ worship was as false as the gods and idols they had turned they
reverence toward.
Failure to listen. Rejecting God’s law. Worshipping
worthlessly.
These three transgressions are what got the Israelites in
hot water with God as He sent armies first from Assyria and then Babylon to
attack His people, ransack their nation, and haul them away into seventy years
of captivity. Terror and destruction were coming on the Israelites and sadly
they can’t say they didn’t ask for it. God had to do something to get their
attention and His punishment did just that.
Now the question that begs an answer is this:
Are we still failing to listen to God, rejecting His
direction, and participating in worthless worship practices?
If the answer is “yes”, then there’s only one more question
to ask:
What will God do to get our attention here in the 21st
century?
Amen.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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