Read: Jeremiah 16:16-18:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3; Psalm 81:1-16; Proverbs 25:6-7a
God had just finished giving them hope for tomorrow but then wanted them to make sure they realized that the time of hope was not then. Now, God was hunting them down to punish them because they had defiled his land and filled it with idols.
God curses the man who depends upon his own strength but blesses the man who trusts in the Lord. This man will be watered and fed by God and has nothing to fear in the natural because he will be taken care of by God.
God searches the heart and examines the mind and rewards a person according to his actions because our actions confirm what is in our hearts and minds. For those that forsook the Lord, their names will be written in the dust. (This is what Jesus might have been writing in the dirt when the woman was caught in adultery in John 8:6.)
God told Jeremiah to go and proclaim at every gate that the people were not to bring loads through these gates on the Sabbath or God would destroy the city by fire. God made a big deal about bringing loads in the city through the gates on the Sabbath so it must mean something pretty important to us.
Since everything in the Old Testament is a picture of something spiritual I looked up the meaning in the Hebrew of the word “loads” and it means “tribute, an utterance of doom, mental desire or prophecy.” The Sabbath is suppose to be a day of rest and a picture of the last millennial where peace will be on the earth. As Christians we are to live in this rest so God is serious about us bringing stress and worry into our hearts when he is reigning in us and his reign is one of peace and prosperity of soul. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit and there is nothing to fear or worry about, we are citizens of heaven even though we live on earth. In a good way, we need to picture our lives as clay in God’s hands. He never stops molding and making us into his vessel that he can use. He is in charge of the fire and the whole process of our refinement. We can rest in his hands.
Paul warns against being immoral but to love each other as brothers and sisters in the Lord. Our lives should so glorify the Lord that we win the respect of the world.
Then Paul gives us in a nutshell what will happen in the end. The church will be taken up…the rapture, and then he says that about the dates and times, he doesn’t need to write this to them. One reason for this is that we won’t need to know when Jesus returns because we will return with him. The ones that were left after the rapture will be taken by surprise. God will come like a thief to them…God is never the thief to his people. They will not escape just like the people we are reading about in Jeremiah.
Lord, thank you for being such a kind father that holds us in his hands. Help us to remember this when we are tempted to fear that Your perfect love casts out all fear. Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment