Fri.’s Devo - God’s Examples of Holiness

Read: Jeremiah 35:1-36:32; 1 Timothy 5:1-25; Psalm 89:14-37; Provers 25:25-27 God sent Jeremiah to the home of the Rechabites and invite them into a secret room in the Temple. No one could see them there and they poured them a glass of wine and told them to drink with them. They turned down the wine saying that their ancestor Jonadab and commanded them never to drink wine. This commandment was to be carried down for generations forever. They were also not to build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards or own land but that they were to live in tents as strangers. They had obeyed all these commands since then. They had come to Jerusalem when Nebuchadrezzar came into the land in hopes of finding safety. *** God set them up as an example of a people who obeyed their prophets, yet Israel had ignored their many prophets who had come to them and told them to repent from their wicked ways and start doing things right. Because they refused to listen, God would bring on them all the disasters he threatened them with. *** Jeremiah told the Rechabites that because they had obeyed their ancestor’s instructions to the tee, they would always have descendants who served Him. *** During Jehoiakim’s fourth year of reigning, God told Jeremiah to have Baruch, his scribe, write down all the words he had been given on a scroll. Jeremiah had Baruch take the scroll and read it to the people at the Temple on the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement would be when all the Israelites would come to the Temple to pray for the peace and atonement of their sins for the next year. They would repent of past sins and pray for God’s blessing on them as a nation. *** All of the Temple officials were meeting in the room close to where Baruch stood and read the scroll. They asked Baruch to come and read it to them. They were alarmed at what he read and wanted to take it to the king. They told Baruch for him and Jeremiah to hide. *** The king had Jehudi read it to him. When Jehudi had read a few columns, Jehoiakim would take a knife and cut it away and throw it into the fire. His men begged him to stop but he wouldn’t listen. Then he commanded his top men to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah but the Lord had hidden them. *** God told Jeremiah to write another scroll with the same messages on it but he added much more. *** Paul told Timothy to treat older men as his father, younger men as his brother, older women like his mother and younger women as sisters. Widows should be taken care of if they have no family. Families were responsible for one another. He gives the definition of a true widow as one who has no family and has placed her hope in God. To get support from the church she had to be at least 60 years old, had been faithful to her husband and brought up her children well. She had to have a reputation of being kind to strangers, serving believers humbly, helping those in trouble and always being ready to do good. Younger widows should not be on this list of support from the church or they would learn to be lazy and entitled. They should marry again and have children and take care of their own homes. *** Those who work for the church should be respected and paid well for their service. If someone has a matter against a church leader there must be at least two or three witnesses. If they have sinned then they should be reprimanded in front of the whole church. This would be a warning to the whole church. These commands should be obeyed with out favoritism or prejudice. He reminded them that even secret sins will be made public one day. *** Lord, may we conduct our lives in a way that gives you glory like the Rechabites did. May we obey you in everything we know is right to do.