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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.
Then the word of the Lord came to
me:
“You must not marry and have sons
or daughters in this place. For this is what the Lord says about the sons and
daughters born in this land and about the women who are their mothers and the
men who are their fathers: ‘They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be
mourned or buried but will be like dung lying on the ground. They will perish
by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and
the wild animals.’”
For this is what the Lord says:
“Do not enter a house where there
is a funeral meal; do not go to mourn or show sympathy, because I have withdrawn
My blessing, My love and My pity from this people,” declares the Lord. “Both
high and low will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, and no
one will cut themselves or shave their head for the dead. No one will offer
food to comfort those who mourn for the dead—not even for a father or a
mother—nor will anyone give them a drink to console them.”
“And do not enter a house where
there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink. For this is what the Lord
Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Before your eyes and in your days I will
bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and
bridegroom in this place.’”
Jeremiah 16:1-9
This ends today’s reading from God's holy
word. Thanks be to God.
Let’s suppose someone who had control of your life offered
you one of two options:
Option 1: a life filled with joy and gladness
or
Option 2: death, despair, and destruction.
Which would you pick?
Anyone who was in their right mind would pick option #1,
right?
Now what if I were to tell you that these are indeed the
two options we have in life, options set before us by our Master and Maker, the
Lord God Almighty.
We can opt to be obedient to Him and follow His word, will,
and way or we can choose to reject Him and chase after the desires the world
offers, desires that most often coincide with our own.
The first leads us to a life of righteousness and days
filled with peace and happiness. The second leads to a life of sinfulness and a
day where there will cease to be joy and gladness, the day that the Lord brings
His judgment on us.
What would a day like that look like?
We get a glimpse as we look at the opening nine verses of
Jeremiah 16. Look at these words again:
Then the word of the Lord came to me:
“You must not marry and have sons or daughters in this place. For this
is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters born in this land and about
the women who are their mothers and the men who are their fathers: ‘They will
die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like
dung lying on the ground. They will perish by sword and famine, and their dead
bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.’”
For this is what the Lord says:
“Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal; do not go to mourn
or show sympathy, because I have withdrawn My blessing, My love and My pity
from this people,” declares the Lord. “Both high and low will die in this land.
They will not be buried or mourned, and no one will cut themselves or shave
their head for the dead. No one will offer food to comfort those who mourn for
the dead—not even for a father or a mother—nor will anyone give them a drink to
console them.”
“And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat
and drink. For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Before
your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and
gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in this place.’” Jeremiah
16:1-9
The first thing we need to note is that the Lord did not
want His prophet to become engaged in any way with his sinful countrymen.
Jeremiah was forbidden by God to marry and bear children in Judah or Jerusalem.
That’s how very wicked the land had become, so wicked that God’s wrath was
about to fall upon them in a big way. God had told His people to have no other
gods before Him and yet His people abandoned Him to worship the pagan gods such
as Baal, even bringing idols into God’s temple to worship them in His house.
There could be no greater sign of disrespect and disregard for God than that so
He was about to show His people that there are consequences for blatant
disobedience and insolence.
That judgment would be destructive in nature. The
Israelites would die from deadly diseases, by the sword, and famine, and would not
even be mourned in their deaths. There would be no consolation given to those
who grieved the loss of dear ones. God had removed His blessing from His people
which included His love and compassion. The days of joy and gladness were
coming to an end because there is no room for celebrating sinfulness.
God was not going to have it.
Friends, we are making the very same mistakes of the Old
Testament Israelites in the way we are living today. We disregard and disobey
God seemingly at will, turning to Him or following Him when it’s convenient for
us while pursuing our will and desires the rest of the time.
None of us should be lured into a false sense of security
thinking that God’s judgment will not return. In order to live in the midst of
His blessing, love, grace, mercy, and compassion, we need to live in a way that
always seeks to honor Him, a way that shows Him that we are as faithful to Him
as He is to us.
When we do that, we need never worry about a day coming
where our joy and gladness will depart. Instead, we will bask in the warmth of
God’s favor, fully receiving all the goodness He can offer while living in the
bliss and delight only found in Him, a bliss and delight that will endure
forever.
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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