JEREMIAH 44
16 As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee.
17 But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
YOU THOUGHT THEY WOULD HAVE LEARNED THEIR LESSON
When the children of Israel were taken captive to Babylon, a remnant went down to Egypt, along with Jeremiah. Did this stop their idolatry? God is speaking to them through his prophet Jeremiah, from verse 2 through to verse 15, God says why and what will happen to these people, but look at their crazy arrogance, they said, do you think what you say scares us?
God was gracious to this people, he let them go into the land of Egypt, but still they refused to acknowledge him and went their own way, sound familiar. Nothing has changed, God is continually seeking to be gracious to his world, but what does man do, he refuses point blank to respond in the correct way, he says, we have got into this situation by doing it our way, we don’t want to hear any other answer, we will do what is right in our own eyes.
Judges 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
The book of Judges is probably the most depressing book of the Bible, it is a book of wasted opportunities, the children of Israel, seeking to do it their way, look where that got them. Nowadays, we have people who still, as Romans 1 puts it, worship the creature rather than the creator, so God gives them over to a depraved mind.
Romans 1:21-25
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Jeremiah 44:22-23
22 So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.
23 Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.
This chapter is so sad, but so relevant to us today. People want to do it their way, but this way leads to only one place and that is death. One day all men will be silenced, Jesus will judge all men. The time is now to turn to the Living God. Stop drinking dirty water and drink the pure water of life.
God bless you, Keith
JOB 1
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.
21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
JOB 2
9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”
10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
So you think you are having it tough? Job was a blameless man, who acted in a blameless way, but in doing so, he lost it all, he lost family (well not his wife, who to be honest, you wouldn’t want to keep!), he lost all his possessions, he lost his source of income, he had nothing left. If I was in that position and it sure was bad, I doubt if I would react in the way Job did. He did not react in anger and frustration, he acted in worship.
His posture
He must have been sitting down, for he arose. But he didn’t stay upright for long though. The two things he did, rending his clothes and shaving his head, were acts of deep grief, but in that he fell down and worshipped.
I heard of a pastor’s wife who lost her husband and she said years later, it was in this time of great grief, that she had her closest times with the Lord. When we go through times of great loss and grief, it is through those times that the Lord is closest.
His position
He realized who he was, he realized that he was nothing. He realized that he came with nothing and would indeed leave the earth with nothing. We need to realize that possessions are absolutely nothing.
His praise
He was openly praising God, what do you think the devil was thinking?
Psalms 34:1
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
What is happening, surely Job would curse God? You see when we praise God, this turns the devil’s plans upside down, praise is the ultimate counter punch to the devil, it knocks him senseless and is such a powerful weapon for the Christian to use.
His purity
In Chapter 1, he did not blame God and in chapter 2, he rebuked even his wife. Through all this, he kept his integrity.
Mark 4:38
But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
His power
Job 42:7-10
7 After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.”
10 And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
Job 13:15
Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face.
Job 19:25-26
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God,
God’s purpose
What was God’s purpose for Job? So often we look at what God did and it seems harsh, but it wasn’t. We often go through suffering, grief, and hardship, but God’s purpose is not to punish us, it is to prune us.
God’s promise
Through all Job’s suffering, God didn’t desert him, he was still there all the time, even though Job didn’t realize it. God is with us during these times, it is in these times that God is so real to us.
Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Hebrews 13:5
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
This is God’s purpose and God’s promise for all who are going through suffering and grief.
God bless you
KK