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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.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
But hear the word of the Lord, all you
Jews living in Egypt: ‘I swear by My great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that no one
from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke My name or swear,
“As surely as the Sovereign Lord lives.” For I am watching over them for harm,
not for good; the Jews in Egypt will perish by sword and famine until they are
all destroyed. Those who escape the sword and return to the land of Judah from
Egypt will be very few. Then the whole remnant of Judah who came to live in
Egypt will know whose word will stand—mine or theirs.
“‘This will be the sign to you that I
will punish you in this place,’ declares the Lord, ‘so that you will know that
My threats of harm against you will surely stand.’ This is what the Lord says:
‘I am going to deliver Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, into the hands of his
enemies who want to kill him, just as I gave Zedekiah, king of Judah, into the
hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the enemy who wanted to kill him.’”
Jeremiah 44:20-25
This ends today’s reading
from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
The
closing verses of Jeremiah 44 paint an ominous future for the Jewish remnant of
Mizpah and anyone else who might choose to openly defy, disrespect, and
dishonor Him.
You’ll
recall that the remnant had first violated God’s will for them by not going
where He wanted them to go and do what He wanted them to do, all this after
asking the prophet Jeremiah to ask God for guidance and swearing to be obedient
to whatever He said.
Of
course, we know that they really had no intention of going where God wanted
them to go or doing what He wanted them to do. They had their mind made up that
they were going to Egypt and nothing was going to deter them, not even God’s
direction, not even God’s promise of judgment if they chose to disobey Him.
And
so the people went on to Egypt and, in doing so, they initiated the punishment that
God had promised, a punishment that we find rehashed as Chapter 44 ends. But as
we discovered in the earlier verses of this chapter, the sins of the Jewish
remnant from Mizpah went well beyond stubbornly going where they wanted to go.
For
the scriptures tells us that this remnant of God’s people didn’t behave as if
they were His people. Rather, their actions showed that their devotion was
directed elsewhere toward other gods, repeating the same wickedness that had
led to God sending His judgment on the kingdom of Judah and its beloved holy
city of Jerusalem.
How
far into sin was the Jewish remnant?
So
far that they defiantly spoke out against God, professing their belief that the
false gods they worshipped did more for them than God and thus openly rejecting
God and anything related to Him.
Essentially,
it was a clash of wills and words: the people of Mizpah against the Lord God
Almighty.
Do
I have to tell you who was going to win that conflict?
I
don’t really have to because we find God doing it Himself as we read the
following passage which closes out Chapter 44:
But
hear the word of the Lord, all you Jews living in Egypt: ‘I swear by My great
name,’ says the Lord, ‘that no one from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will
ever again invoke My name or swear, “As surely as the Sovereign Lord lives.” For
I am watching over them for harm, not for good; the Jews in Egypt will perish
by sword and famine until they are all destroyed. Those who escape the sword
and return to the land of Judah from Egypt will be very few. Then the whole
remnant of Judah who came to live in Egypt will know whose word will stand—mine
or theirs.
“‘This
will be the sign to you that I will punish you in this place,’ declares the Lord,
‘so that you will know that My threats of harm against you will surely stand.’ This
is what the Lord says: ‘I am going to deliver Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt,
into the hands of his enemies who want to kill him, just as I gave Zedekiah, king
of Judah, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the enemy who
wanted to kill him.’” Jeremiah 44:20-25
The
people of God were going to hear His word whether they liked it or not. If they
liked the false gods so much then they could have them. For “no one from Judah
living anywhere in Egypt” would “ever again invoke” the Lord’s name. Instead of
the Lord watching over them and providing His providence and provision, the
Jewish remnant would have God watching over them and looking for opportunity to
harm them. His people would “perish by sword and famine” until they were all
destroyed.
In
the end, the people of God would wish they had never crossed Him. They would
come to know that the word of the Lord would always stand against anyone who
might speak in opposition to Him.
Friends,
are we hearing the word of the Lord today?
I
pray so because we are living in a time when it seems the word of God is non-consequential
and/or irrelevant to so many people, particularly people in positions of
leadership. We seem to find the Lord being pushed aside in more and more places
as if He is unwelcome and unimportant, as if He is no longer needed.
I
don’t know about you but I am actually encouraged by this devotion today as I
hear the word of the Lord speaking to us. I say that because I know that no
matter how much people might try and push God aside, choosing their words and
ways over His, they will never be able to triumph in doing so.
For
God’s way and words will always reign supreme and stand any challenge, no
matter the era. It was true in the days of Jeremiah and it will be true today
as well.
Believers,
stay confident, no matter how much it seems this world might war against God.
He has always been victorious and will always be so.
And
in Him, those who place their faith, hope, and trust in Him and His Son Jesus
will be victorious as well.
Tomorrow,
I will start a seven day devotional series as we move into Passion week and
march towards Good Friday and Easter.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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