Ezekiel 2 and 3

In these chapters, God describes the Israelites as rebellious, impudent, hardhearted, and stiffhearted.  What a blazing rebuke by God!  The Hebrew words used here refer to hardness, cruelty, bitterness, and a refusal to turn.  How could they have such hard and bitter stubbornness against the God who delivered them and preserved them and could reward them with so much love and peace and provision?  It seems unreasonable, but our human hearts can turn hard and bitter when we begin to live by sight and not by faith.  When we insist on understanding the "why" of everything that happens.  When we allow pride to demand temporary satisfaction.  When we think our ways are more wise than God's.  When we begin to think like those who are not God's children.  It doesn't seem possible that a heart that is soft and pliable and in love with God can ever become so stiff and hard.  But history proves, and perhaps your own experience relates, that all of us, myself included, have that capacity.  It seems ridiculous to turn away from the amazing promises God gives to obedient children.  But if any of us, myself included, allows pride to overtake our mind and behavior, we will believe the lies of Satan and turn from our Creator and Provider just as Israel did.  

Lord, help me to always have open ears to hear and not to forbear.  The Hebrew word for forbear in
Ez. 1:7 is chadal, which refers to just sitting and doing nothing.  When I begin, in any area of my life, to allow pride to rule, send your word and open my ears that I may hear and act on what I hear.  Let my love and gratitude for You guard my heart against bitterness and rebellion.

...And on a side note...notice that even God, the perfect and omnipotent ruler of the universe had disobedient and rebellious children.  While we are far from perfect, and sometimes our own poor choices affect our children, even what we consider model parenting sometimes yields rebellious offspring.  Though we may fail in certain aspects of our parenting, each person makes his own choices and is responsible to God for those choices.  God's great grace is powerful enough to cover our failures and to soften the hard hearts of rebellious and bitter children.  Don't give up on them!

Mark 8. I will refer to and print some specific verses, but I encourage you to open your Bible, whether paper or digital, and follow along in this  incredible chapter.  God's words are more worthy of your time than mine.  My words will be more rich with meaning as you realize from where the thoughts are drawn.

Mark 8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

We want to make this "cross" some mysterious "thing," some burden that we stoop under as we trudge along after Jesus.  We have a picture in our minds of Arthur Blessitt with his cross on his shoulder trekking around the world.  (You can read about Blesitt's amazing journeys at www.blessitt.com!)  Blessitt and others have done well to draw the attention of thousands of onlookers to the Gospel.  But these words of Jesus go much deeper.  They flow from the depths of Jesus' spirit (v. 12) as He disparages over the prideful disbelief of the Pharisees in verse 11.  This cross is the central message of the Gospel here in Mark 8 and throughout the Bible.  It is a total disowning of oneself.  The cross is where our attachment to this world and the rights we think we deserve must be crucified.  As we "take it up," our attachment to this world and our desire to satisfy self is released.  We weigh anchor, as the Greek word "airo" in verse 34 implies when it says, "take up."  The taking up of our cross doesn't weigh us down; it frees us to sail away with Jesus at the helm.  It allows us to exchange our temporary selfish ambitions for eternal goals and security in the One who leads us into his glory (v. 38).

Lamentations 2:14  Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.

Lamentations 2:19  Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.

In these mournful cries of Jeremiah, I hear a voice that echoes through time, from 588 BC to AD 2015.  The same cry of Jeremiah can be heard today as Satan attempts to defeat God's children.  Too many self-proclaimed prophets, preachers, and teachers have, as in verse 14, "proclaimed vain and foolish things."  Rather than calling people to repentance, they have created easy explanations and pacifying prescriptions.  They have lulled God's people to sleep with their smooth and soothing sermons. 

Jeremiah said that when sin was acknowledged, captivity could be broken.  The foolish vanity of recent decades has caused our children to be held captive by Satan and his lies.  They don't even recognize sin as sin.  The absolute truth of God's Word has been swept into a corner to make room for more palatable explanations for our problems.

Listen to Jeremiah's cry in verse 19!  Arise!  Cry out in the night!  Early in the morning pour out your heart like water before the Lord! Lift up your hands to Him for the life of your young children!  They are fainting with hunger in every street!

And they truly are today!  So many are starving, and they don't even realize it.  Broken homes and selfish relationships leave them longing for real and lasting love, but they have no idea where to look or how to find it.  Secular teaching sends them seeking for self-fulfillment in financial success.  People in nearly every town we visit tell us of their community's growing drug addiction problems. 

The situation is grave, but we can't throw up our hands and give up; we must lift up our hands toward God for the life of our young children!  We must make reaching our children with the truth of the Gospel a priority.  Christian leaders must call for repentance as in verse 14. 

Proclaim the truth!
Pray fervently!
Practice His principles so our children can see proof that they work and have a pattern to follow!

If we don't heed the call from history, the spiral will continue and we will repeat history as God's judgment falls.  We want more than a little remnant left that truly know God.  We want to leave behind a mighty army of devoted soldiers that will continue to love God and stand firm against Satan and his strategies of deception!

Jeremiah 33:3  Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

I remember joyfully singing this verse many times as I was growing up, and trusting its simple message.  But in the context of Jeremiah's experiences, it takes on an added dimension.

Remember, Jeremiah is a prisoner of King Zedekiah. 

He has been preaching God's judgment due to the blatant and continued disobedience of the people. 

Recently, God has added a message of future forgiveness and restoration. 

This latest revelation must have been difficult for Jeremiah to fully comprehend.  So God takes extra measures in helping Jeremiah to grasp the ideas he is preaching to the people.  God instructs him to buy the land from his cousin as described in my last post and in chapter 32.  Jeremiah obeys God, but cries out for further assurance, which God gives him.

Evidently, Jeremiah needs still further assurance.  Here in chapter 33, verse 1, the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison. 

God then says in verse 3,  Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

It was not difficult for Jeremiah to understand God's judgment.  He could hear, touch and see the sin of the people around him.  He was experiencing along with them the foreign domination and oppression.  He could see the current destruction and knew of the coming death and desolation.  Have you ever stood amidst the rubble left by a tornado or hurricane or perhaps picked through the smoldering embers of a forest fire or smoking remains of a burned up house?  Remember the sense of empty amazement?  How could anything ever be the same again?  Jeremiah must have had similar sensations.  He could not perceive how this land and these people could ever be restored to a place of plenty and praise.  

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not! The word mighty here refers to things that are cut off or out of reach, like a well-fortified city that is difficult if not impossible to see.  And the word know carries the idea of being able to ascertain by seeing or observing.  God tells Jeremiah that if he and the people of Israel will call upon Him, He will reveal to them amazing things that they cannot currently imagine! 

As we read on in verses 4-5, we see God confirming the fast and furious judgment and destruction.  But then comes contrasting verse 6!  Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. Here are the great and mighty things that they cannot perceive!  As they return to Him in repentance and humility, God will indeed bring an abundance of peace, safety, and security.  He will heal the land and return it to its intended splendor.  He goes on in the rest of the chapter to detail the coming blessings.

This true account from the book of Jeremiah reassures me that there is no area of my life or yours that is too desolate or barren for God to restore.  The restoration doesn't always come in the way I think it will.  We serve a creative and omnipotent God.  He knows what is best for me.  But as I follow Him, and come to Him in repentance and humility, I can call out to Him, and in His time, He will show me the things I cannot now perceive.  Those areas that seem destroyed beyond repair can be brought to life.  As I obey His voice, He can bring abundant peace and stability to my confusion and chaos. 

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not!

Keep calling!  Keep listening!  Keep obeying! The answer may be sudden, or it may be little by little.  But He has an abundance of peace and truth for His children.

Jeremiah 32:1-27 Read it!  In this chapter, we see a very human Jeremiah to whom I can easily relate. 

The land of Judah is under the control of Babylon.  Neduchadrezzar has been letting them dwell in and govern their own land.  Until now.  They are currently under siege by the Chaldean army.
 
Jeremiah is in the midst of a prison sentence by King Zedekiah.  His crime is speaking the word of God's judgment against the people and the land of Judah.  Although, Jeremiah is allowed to walk about and carry out business, his boundaries are the perimeters of the prison yard. 

 He has recently added a new dimension of restoration and blessing to his message of certain and severe judgment to God's rebellious children. Few people have hearkened to his message before, so why should they now? 

This is where it gets interesting. 

God calls on Jeremiah to be a living object lesson of faith in the message he is proclaiming. Keep in mind that Jeremiah has been preaching that the city will be destroyed, and the people will be carried away to Babylon.  While the city is currently under siege, God tells Jeremiah that his cousin is going to come to him and ask him to buy some family property.  According to verse 8, Jeremiah must think, "What?! When the land is under the control of Babylon and about to be ransacked by soldiers, my cousin is going to think that I might want to buy property?!"  He is not even sure that this word has come from God!  But sure enough, into the prison yard comes cousin Hanameel with a field for sale!  Even though this made absolutely no sense to Jeremiah, he discerned that this was God's doing, and dished out over $2,000 for the land.  Ownership of property was a big deal in those days, and a very public business transaction was made so that all would know the rightful owner of the land.  The proper papers were drawn up and signed, and the deal was done.

Now Jeremiah responds like I probably would have.  He has just spent hard earned money for land that he doesn't need in a place that is under foreign control and about to be possessed  and destroyed by the Chaldeans.  So he goes to God in prayer in verses 17-25.  Read it!  Look at what he says.  He starts by literally crying out to God, proclaiming His power and majesty, confirming that nothing is hidden from Him.  He reminds God, as if God needed reminded, of all that had happened to the Israelites from the time of their bondage in Egypt up to their present bondage to their own sin.  In verse 24, Jeremiah reminds God that the judgment he had been preaching was now actually coming to pass.  I can just see the puzzled look on his face as shakes his head and ends his prayer in verse 25 with a query of  bewilderment as to why God would tell him to make this crazy deal even though "the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans."

God's answer?  You're right! I am God. And I know what I'm doing!  Read it for yourself in verse 27!  God goes on to show Jeremiah that this seemingly senseless action is proof to the people of Judah that Jeremiah believes what he is preaching, that even though they are currently suffering God's judgment, there will be an end to the punishment and restoration will come.  Land will be bought and sold once again as God returns His people to their inheritance.

Has God told you to do something crazy that makes no sense to anyone, including you?  If you're sure it's God's voice, just do it!  Now that's a big if.  In order to discern God's will, you must be walking with Him on a daily basis, spending time in His Word, in prayer, and in worship.  You must be doing what He has already told you to do.  His leading will never lead you contrary to clear commands and principles in His Word.  Godly counsel is to be sought and carefully considered.  If all of the above are in place, and it still seems crazy, God may be telling you to go ahead and jump! 

Like He told Jeremiah in verse 27, Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?  

 

Jeremiah 31:2 Thus saith the Lord, The people which are left of the sword found grace in the wilderness... 
Have you found yourself, as the Israelites in this chapter, lost in a wilderness planted by your own sin and disobedience?  Are you growing weary of the chastening sword of God?  Whom the Lord loves, he chastens.  (Proverbs 3:11-12 and Hebrews 12:6)  But take heart!  You can find grace in the wilderness. There is an end to God's wrath.  Though the people of Israel were being severely scourged for their grievous sin and rebellion, God promised that there would be deliverance, that He would not forget His promise to them of a day of restoration.  Though they were living in a strange land, they were encouraged to live for God.  Even in a foreign land, His voice could be heard.  (Jeremiah 29:4-7)
Whether you are in the wilderness because of you own prideful and selfish choices, or whether you have been carried into the confusion by the choices of those around you, you can still choose to hear and obey God's voice.  He has not forsaken you.  Look for grace in the wilderness.  Moses. David. Peter. Joseph's brothers. The Prodigal Son.  Even Adam and Eve.  The Bible abounds with real people who found grace in their wilderness.  Trust and obey!  Lift up the hands which hang down... Hebrews 12:12.  God won't leave you in the wilderness forever.  Take comfort in His grace now, and know that He loves you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).

Jeremiah 26  So many lessons in this chapter!  It's hard to choose just one. 
Here's something I thought was interesting...and convicting.

In this chapter, Jeremiah obeys God who tells him to stand in the court of the Lord's house where he could speak to people from across Judah who came there to worship  (which at this point was mostly hypocritical rituals, not true worship).  Jeremiah told them of the coming severe judgment of God on the city if they did not listen to God, walk according to His laws, and turn from their evil ways.

Guess who gets viciously angry at Jeremiah for doing this?  It's the priests and prophets! They are the ones who call for Jeremiah's death for speaking these strong words against the city.  They were making him out to be some kind of spy or traitor!

The priests and prophets!  These were the ones who were supposed to be God's representatives to lead the people to worship and obey God!  They were supposed to have the knowledge of the laws of God and the spiritual discernment to advise the leaders and judge the people.  But it is the princes in verse 16 and following who have the insight to defend Jeremiah.  The princes had more spiritual discernment than the priests and prophets! 

Most likely, the religious leaders had purely selfish reasons for wanting to permanently shut Jeremiah up.  If Jeremiah were to convince the people that they were living in sin, they would realize that the priests had not been doing their jobs, and that the prophets were actually false prophets and worthy of death themselves!  These religious leaders were more concerned about their own welfare than about following God's laws.  They had evidently placed themselves as gods over the people.  They thought that the people of Judah should listen to them over God's own laws and words of warning.  But the response of the princes indicates that these proud priests and prophets didn't quite have the respect and authority that they thought they had.

What lessons to those in leadership in 2015!  Too often, God-called ministry leaders begin to think that they are the ones in charge rather than God.  They think that they should be respected and obeyed purely because of their titles, when they have actually allowed their pride to blind them for seeing that they have drifted away from God and lost their spiritual discernment. 

God help us as ministry leaders to remain humble and teachable as servant leaders, continuing to learn and grow in our own love for God and in our walk with Him.

Jeremiah 23:26 ...yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart...
Jeremiah 23:16 ...they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Proverbs 28:26  He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool...
Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Just a few days ago, I heard of two ministry leaders currently involved in unethical practices and immoral lifestyles.  How can people who profess to know God and who even teach  and preach God's principles of living continue in such lifestyles?

I believe the answer is in the above verses.  They are trusting in their own hearts.  They have lied to themselves over and over again until they believe their own lies, and now the lie is their truth.  When a person begins to see Satan's lies as truth, any action can be justified as God's Word is distorted into a custom-made set of "if's, and's and but's." 

Lord, help me as I approach your Word to come with a humble heart, allowing Your truth to uncover and uproot any seed of deception that I have allowed to germinate.  Yours in the only heart I can trust implicitly.