Home thoughts from abroad.wordpress.com

Jeremiah 22:20-23: Resistance movement(please click here for todays Bible passage)

Are you aware of the ‘resistance’ within your body, fighting off the advances of God’s Word and the moving of His Spirit? Be warned that such ‘digging in your heels’ may lead to unwanted outcomes.

‘’I spoke to you when everything was going your way. You said, ‘I’m not interested.’ You’ve been that way as long as I’ve known you, never listened to a thing I said. All your leaders will be blown away, all your friends end up in exile, And you’ll find yourself in the gutter, disgraced by your evil life.’’ The Message.

In these verses the Lord speaks to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and that great city is personified as a woman. All her ‘’lovers’’ (i.e. the allies she trusted in) have been crushed by the Babylonians. The reference to ‘’Lebanon’’ (23) is actually about the royal palace in Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 7:1, 2). The Lord warns all who live there that if they do not repent they will soon be groaning in pain like a woman in labour. (The other reference to ‘’Lebanon’’ in verse 20, in conjunction with ‘’Bashan’’ and ‘’Abarim’’ refers to the entirety of the land. God’s Word is to be proclaimed everywhere).

We need to be wary of persistent disobedience. Yes, God is patient; He is long-suffering, and He may speak to you many times about a matter. But there will come a point when it is too late to change.

‘’I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, ‘I will not listen.’ This has been your way from your youth, that you have not obeyed my voice.’ English Standard Version.

What is the Lord saying to you today in ‘’your prosperity’’ and what will your response be? Is the resistance movement within digging in for a fight?

Jeremiah 22:10-12: A tale of 2 kings (please click here for todays Bible passage)

‘’Don’t weep over dead King Josiah. Don’t waste your tears. Weep for his exiled son: He’s gone for good. He’ll never see home again. For this is GOD’s Word on Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah: ‘’He’s gone from here, gone for good. He’ll die in the place they’ve taken him to. He’ll never see home again.’’ The Message.

These verses talk about two different kings: ‘’Josiah’’, and his son ‘’Shallum’’, whose throne name was ‘Jehoahaz’ (2 Kings 23:31-35). Jeremiah tells the people not to weep for Josiah. He had died some years earlier while fighting the Egyptians (2 Kings 23:29). His body was carried back to Jerusalem where it was laid to rest in peace and honour (2 Kings 23:30). But unlike his godly father, Shallum was an evil man, and reigned only three months. He was then taken into exile in Egypt, where he died (2 Kings 23:34). This tale of two kings was also a tale of two destinies, for one was a believer and the other an ungodly person.

We can understand the logic of verse 10: the call not to weep for Josiah. We can’t do any more for those who have died, but a whole generation would be separated from their true home forever. They would die as exiles in a foreign land. For most that far off country would be Babylon; but for Shallum it was Egypt (see also verses 24-30). This was a matter for tears; and it introduces us to the essence of hell, which is to be exiled (for ever) far removed from our true home – God Himself. It is ultimately a final destination we choose for ourselves by persistent and willful rejection of Jesus, and by refusal to turn back to the Lord, from sin, and be saved from sin. Shallum did not have to be an exile, and neither do you.

From a Christian perspective, we know we do not have to weep for those who die in the Lord. We may cry for ourselves, but it is not necessary to shed tears for them. They are safe, and free and happy; and all our weeping will not bring them back. But let us indeed feel the strongest emotions for those who are ‘lost’. Our prayer meetings should not be dry-eyed as we consider the state as those who now live as exiles from God, and who will remain permanently in that state if they do not repent.

Apparently there was a pro-Jehoahaz party in Judah, pinning their hopes on their king’s return. Perhaps some of the false prophets encouraged this expectation. But it was not going to happen. Neither do we have any Biblical reason to expect that those who die as exiles from God can ever get back home. Though some may preach it, I do not see that the Bible teaches it. The time to repent is now; the time to pray is now; the time to preach is now. Let’s do so, because lost people matter to God.

Prayer: Teach us to care about people, Lord, as you do.

 Jeremiah 22:6-9: Let Britain take note!(please click here for todays Bible passage)

‘’Travellers from all over will come through here and say to one another, ‘Why would GOD do such a thing to this wonderful city?’ They’ll be told, ‘Because they walked out on the covenant of their GOD, took up with other gods and worshipped them.’’ (8, 9) The Message.

I read the above verses and think, ‘Let Great Britain take note; let every European nation take note; indeed, every country on the face of the earth. Let me take note.’ Here is a significant object lesson. Let us look and learn. There are consequences to rejecting God (see Deuteronomy 29:24-26; Jeremiah 16:10-11). ‘’God never forsakes His people unless they have first forsaken Him.’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary, p.1106. God regularly works in such a way as to raise questions in people’s minds, and if they heed the answer given they can be saved (Acts 2:5ff.)

In (6, 7) you get a sense of what it costs God to judge His people. He doesn’t do it lightly.

‘’I number you among my favourite places – like the lovely hills of Gilead, like the soaring peaks of Lebanon. Yet I swear I’ll turn you into a wasteland, as empty as a ghost town. I’ll hire a demolition crew, well-equipped with sledgehammers and wrecking bars, Pound the country to a pulp and burn it all up.’’ The Message

It hurt Him to hurt them. His love wanted to spare them; but His justice demanded their judgment, because they would not repent. Just as it hurts a loving parent to discipline a wayward child, so this chastisement pierced God’s own heart. We don’t always think about the price paid by God in judgment – a price which is seen most clearly in the death of Jesus, for us all, at Calvary. He judged His Son, for our sin, in order to set us free, if we are willing to be free.

Prayer: Lord have mercy on our land, and bring us back to you.

Jeremiah 22:1-5: Clear alternatives.(please click on Bible passage for reading)
In this chapter Jeremiah delivers a series of messages from God concerning the various kings of Judah under whose reigns Jeremiah ministered. It is thought likely that the unnamed king here is Zedekiah, Judah’s last king. He was called to conform to the example of king David in order to benefit from the promises made to him.
In (4), Jeremiah repeats what he said earlier in (17:25). ‘’This promise is a reaffirmation of the covenant God made with David himself (see 2 Samuel 7:12-17…). However, as we know, David’s throne – the kings of the house of David – did come to an end, because of Judah’s persistent disobedience to God’s covenant (Exodus 19:5-6). After the fall of Jerusalem there was no king on David’s throne for six hundred years. But God had another plan for keeping His side of the covenant. Though there were no kings, David’s family line continued during those six hundred years and culminated in the birth of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-17), to whom God gave the throne of his father David and a kingdom that will never end (Luke 1:30-33). Tom Hale: ‘The applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1106.
‘’Subjects must own that where the word of the king is there is power over them, but kings must own that where the word of the Lord is there is power over them.’’ Matthew Henry
These five verses contain clear alternatives, and I was thinking that the gospel message which has been entrusted to us is beautifully balanced between hope and wrath, life and death. We have to say, ‘Go with God and this will happen’; ‘reject Him and that will happen.’ The recipients of Jeremiah’s message could not have failed to understand what was being required of them. May we be as clear in our presentation, so that people can see the ‘narrow’ road and the ‘broad’ one, and choose their route wisely.
‘’…then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…’’ (Joshua 24:15).
God does not issue idle warnings. He means what He says. What God said happened just a few years later (5; see2 Kings 25:9). Because He has no-one greater to swear by, He swears by Himself (Hebrews 6:13). God’s judgment is real; Hell is real. ‘’Sin will be the ruin of the houses of princes as well as of mean men.’’ Matthew Henry. All who cling to Jesus by faith have eternal hope, but those who do not face a terrible alternative.
Prayer: Lord keep us true to the clear truth you have revealed.

1 Timothy 3:1-7: Noble ambition.(please click for today’s passage)
In Oswald Sanders’ remarkable book ‘Spiritual Leadership’, he places 1 Timothy 3:1 and Jeremiah 45:5 together at the beginning of one chapter. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with wanting to be a (servant) leader in the church. It’s a noble ambition. Paul is so sure about this point that he underlines it by calling it a ‘’trustworthy’’ saying. The problem is, however, that our desires, at best, are tainted with selfishness. The ambition to be ‘up front’, doing highly visible stuff in church, can come from a bad place. So we need Jeremiah’s counter-balance: ‘’Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not.’’ Why do you want to be a leader? Who is it for really? I believe that anyone who wants to lead should place their aspirations, and what they believe about their own giftedness, before other mature Christians whose judgment they respect. I recognise that we can be self-deluded. I have known good and sincere people who desperately wanted to be in a pulpit, but when they got an opportunity it was obvious to at least a core of wise and discerning fellow-believers that they weren’t fitted for it. Yet some souls will not be easily disabused of the belief that they can preach and lead and that they are very good at it! So there is a need to be humble and open to feedback. Let other people you trust speak into your life. Listen to them. If you don’t have the gifts you hope you have, you certainly will have others that you may not even recognise.
But it’s not necessarily wrong to want to be an elder. Here, however, are some key things to look for before we appoint anyone:
• What about their character? (2, 3): The qualifications for church leadership in the New Testament are not primarily about charisma but character. It’s not a question of whether or not this person can be a commanding presence on stage. No, is this man godly? That’s the issue. Is he growing in godliness? Is he committed to living a holy life? Will he be in example in all areas?
• How is their home life? (4, 5): The home is the proving ground for leadership in the church. If you can’t lead in your own family how can you hope to lead God’s family?
• How young are they in the faith? (6): Paul does not specify how ‘’recent’’ is ‘recent’, but we have to wrestle with this one and try to ensure that we don’t appoint anyone prematurely. Of course, people mature at different rates, so some may be ready sooner than others.
• What impression do you have of their reputation in the world? (7) I have never been in a church where we did this, but I think it would probably be fitting to get references from the ‘market place ‘where appropriate. What is their boss’s view of them? And what impression do colleagues have of this person? An elder should have a good reputation outside the church and not just within it.
Church leadership is like marriage in a way. Quoting from the wedding service it ‘’should not be entered into lightly, but reverently, soberly and in the fear of God.’’
Prayer: We pray today for all who have undertaken the responsibility of servant leadership in the church. Thank you for their willingness to serve. Please bless them with strength and wisdom and peace, and all good things needed to carry out their ministry. By your grace help them to keep growing in Christlikeness.

Psalm 119:57-64 (please click here for todays Bible passage)
‘’I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes.’’ (59).
This indicates how we should read God’s Word; not just for information, but for transformation (or ‘’thoughtful self-reformation’’ as Alec Motyer puts it.)
Is your heart cry, ‘Lord change me’? Do you regularly place your life in front of the ’’mirror’’ of the Bible and look for what needs to be altered? (James 1:23, 24). First thing in the morning, I look in the mirror and I can see what has to change. It becomes obvious what needs to be washed, to be shaved, to be tidied and brushed and combed. If I simply looked at my reflection and did nothing about what I saw I would be stupid; and I would not be fit to go out! ‘’We must do the Word of God, not just read it or study it, the blessing is in the doing.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe. Today’s passage points to a way of reading the Bible that leads to life change. This is how we should always approach it, asking, ‘Lord what do you want me to do about this? How do I live it? How will I put it in to practice?
The writer of Psalm 119 was serious about God’s Word. He so intended to live God’s way that he was prepared to suffer for it (61). When that is your heart commitment, friendship with others of a like mind helps (63). Stay close to other people who also honour the Bible and revere God. You will be able to help one another.
There are indications in this section of Scripture of a devoted and intense spirituality. See:
• The commitment to obey (57b);
• The whole heartedness of his seeking God (58);
• His quickness to obey (60);
• His prayerfulness even in the night (62).
Could it truly be said of us that we mean business; that we are not ‘part-timers’? One man said, ‘’I am a serious reader of the Bible.’’ Are you?
But as much as this man loved his Bible, he loved God more (57a). His love for God was what caused him to treat God’s Book with the utmost seriousness. He was not a ‘Bibliolater’. He worshipped God, not a leather-bound Book. But that comment is not intended to diminish the Bible’s importance. Some years ago I wrote a quote down about today’s passage. It reads: ‘’We cannot have God without His word. Such is the lesson of this section – It is impossible to abide in Him unless His words abide in us (Jn.15:7)’’
We have seen before, in looking at this psalm, that there is a context of persecution lurking in the shadows; but ‘’in every situation and place – whether hostile, secret or corporate – his (unfailing) love is everywhere…How do we react to one who is all sufficient (57-60) and how do we live in relation to one whose love is to be found everywhere (61-64)? J.A. Motyer: ‘The New Bible Commentary’, p.568. The psalmist points the way here. Take a look in the mirror!
Prayer: Keep me Lord Jesus from a purely theoretical spirituality. Help me to always do something about what I see in your ‘Mirror’.