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Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Think back for a moment, to your childhood days, maybe your teen years. Do you remember times when your parents said. . . ‘don’t do it! If you do… there will be terrible consequences!’ Were there times in your life when you were advised to learn from the mistakes others made and the consequences they suffered? May I ask… did you? Did you learn, or did you stumble into the same mud pit that you’d been warned about?
I had my annual physical the other day and my physician recounted to me what all the blood work numbers mean. It’s quite amazing really, that he can deduce all that information from a few vials of my blood. As I listened, I admit my mind drifted away from me and the health of my body, to consider the health of our world, of the nations, the cities, the neighborhood, the millions of families.
What would an accurate assessment be, if we could sit and listen to someone who can give the same in depth analysis of our world as my doctor gave me? But what PHD, what king or queen or president, what CEO or wise person, could tell us the truth about all of us? The true condition of our world?
There’s only one capable evaluator.. Almighty God Himself, the Creator of our world and Sustainer of the moment by moment life of every person who inhabits our planet! As you and I look around our world today do we hear the warnings of wise, older people, the generations who have gone before us? Are they calling us to reflect on the important lessons others have learned, who have suffered in the moral and ethical downward spirals of the past?
As 2020 winds down, what do we hear God saying as He gives us His evaluation of the moral, ethical, spiritual, integrity health of our world? What wisdom can we adults give to our children and grandchildren, as they prepare for Christmas, and soon thereafter the year 2021? How do we advise them to wisely evaluate their values, their priorities, their ethics, their integrity, their character… and how the world in which they live is affecting them?
God calls us to learn from our ancestors, from those who have gone before us, both those who followed Him wisely, and those who turned their backs on God. There are important lessons to learn from both, aren’t there? We’ve been spending time with Mr. Jeremiah and the warnings from God which he is trying to give to the people of Jerusalem around 615bc or so. The leader in Jerusalem at that time was a good, wise, honest, God fearing young king named Josiah. But many of the people are stuck in the mud of the two previous kings who were wicked men, who developed a wicked society!
Look at Jeremiah chapter 3 beginning in verse 6. Jeremiah had received a message from God saying “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done…?” God then compares Israel and Judah, the two kingdoms of the people of God, like two sisters, both of whom are moral despots, committing spiritual adultery by turning away from God, who has been faithful to them as a good husband. Do you see in vs. 6-10 how God describes His amazement that younger sister Judah has not learned anything from the horrible mistakes of older sister Israel, and the terrible price the Israelites paid for their unfaithfulness to God, as they were conquered and ravaged by the vicious armies of Assyria almost 100 years before. Do you see God’s plea of “Return faithless people’, declares the LORD…then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.” (Jeremiah 3:14,15)
If you and I listen carefully, do we hear God saying the same words to your society and mine, your communities and mine, maybe even the churches of your city and mine? Do you sense God deeply desires to see wise, God honoring men and women in all types of leadership roles in our societies, who have tender, pure hearts and minds, determined to honor God as they lead their businesses, their schools, and all other aspects of society? Are those the types of people you see rising to the leadership roles in your city? Are you among them?
Now may I point out something interesting about Biblical prophecy? Very often God is speaking to multiple generations at the same time, spread out across the centuries. Yes, God was very specifically warning the people of Jerusalem that their day of judgment was fast approaching, and the first wave of disaster came as Egyptian armies killed king Josiah only a few years later! But look at vs. 15-18 and you’ll see Jeremiah speaks of a future day, after the harsh judgment of God, when Jerusalem is restored, and not only the descendants of the Jewish people in Jeremiah’s day, but people of many nations would gather in Jerusalem. Can you see this in some ways is what is happening in the Jerusalem of our time?
But Jeremiah said “At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the LORD’ and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.” While there is a great work of God in modern day Jerusalem, and millions of Jews have returned to their homeland to live, and many Jews flock to the Western Wall daily to pray, there is also a great Messianic movement in Jerusalem in our day, with many Jews declaring Jesus Christ to be their Messiah! Also, as you know, thousands of pilgrims flock from many nations to Jerusalem throughout the year to experience the ‘land of the Bible’ and many of them are devout Christians who come to worship in Jerusalem! But can we yet say Jeremiah 3:17,18 is being fulfilled in our day?
Notice also please vs. 16 which says “The Ark of the Covenant of the LORD will not enter their minds or be remembered. It will not be missed, nor will another one be made.” Can you imagine how that statement might have sounded to Jews in Jerusalem in Jeremiah and Josiah’s day? They could not fathom a time when the Ark would not be in the Most Holy Place of their Temple. And if for some unthinkable reason it was captured, as it had been in the days of Samuel, (1 Samuel 4) the people could not possibly imagine that every effort would not be made to rescue it and return it to Jerusalem, and put it back in the Temple.
But alas, my friends… God saw the future clearly. The Ark was taken, and has been lost to humanity for 2600 years now! This incredible verse has become reality to generations of Jews… including modern day Jerusalem! The thousands of Christian pilgrims who come to Jerusalem do not come seeking to see the Ark, but rather to honor Jesus Christ and their covenant Salvation relationship with HIM!
Finally, look at God’s powerful statement through Jeremiah in 3:22 “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of your backsliding.” WOW! I’d like that verse to simmer on the stove top of our hearts all day today. WHAT causes you, me and everyone in our world to ‘backslide’. That’s a term from the past isn’t it? It’s the picture of losing your grip on ice or slippery mud and sliding backward, downhill, away from commitments and relationships, especially with God. If anyone intends to maintain the vitality of a relationship or commitment, it’s essential they understand what might cause them to ‘backslide’. So this busy December, as turbulent, tumultuous, tragic 2020 rushes frantically toward the finish line… are you backsliding?
Look closely as we close, at the verses which follow… they may be the key to our future as individuals, marriages, families, churches, and societies! “Yes, we will come to You, for You are the LORD our God.” It begins with a decision to return and restore a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ!
Then it’s a clear declaration of how so much all around us is deceiving us into pursuing things other than God for our fulfillment, our hope in troubled times. That’s what was happening in Jeremiah’s day on hilltops everywhere, as people gathered for all types of crazy events including worship of the sun, moon, stars, idols etc. as they looked for hope. Do you see that in vs. 23&24?
But then comes true repentance, do you see it in vs. 25? And finally God’s promise of either blessing in repentance or judgment in rebellious, stubborn hearted unrepentance in Jeremiah 4:1-4.
So it’s time to deeply reflect. What do you suppose God sees as He looks at your city and mine over this past year, or decade, or century? What would be justice for us from God? And what does God see looking into 2021 and beyond for your city, your nation? What should we anticipate God is planning, right now, in response to what He sees in our world?
And one last question: what if spontaneously, worship and praise to God broke out in every normal place around our world this December, like it did this day in a shopping mall a few years ago…
Click to read today’s chapter: Jeremiah 3:6-4:4. (At the top you can choose a different translation.)
NEW FEATURE: Click here to listen to a dramatized reading of Jeremiah 3.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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