August 16: Jeremiah 44
August 16, 2010
"It is because you made offerings and because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey the voice of the LORD or walk in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies that this disaster has happened to you."--Jeremiah 44:23
Scripture is the only rule for faith and practice, because it gives us the truth of all things--reality as it really is. On the flip side, to neglect or reject Scripture is to live according to a myth; it is to live a lie. And behind every lie, no matter how big or small, is idolatry--some imaginative projection of god.
Jeremiah 44 is cautionary tale along these very lines. Despite God's faithfulness to send His servants the prophets to speak the truth (reality) to the people of Judah, they opted for the fictions of fallen humanity, and followed the teachings of the spiritual gurus of the pagan nation around them. In short, their ears itched for the false promises of other gods.
Jer. 7:25-26, "They did not listen to me, or inclined their ear."
Jer. 25:4, "You have neither listened nor inclined your ear to hear."
Jer. 26:5, "...you have not listened."
Jer. 29:19, "They did not pay attention to my words...you would not listen."
Jer. 35:15-16, "You did not incline your ear or listen to me."
The truth is this: whenever we take God's Word lightly, we take God lightly. As soon as we begin to reject God's Word, we reject God. And our rejection almost always begins when we allow ourselves to be weaned first on the fictions of false prophets. Under their tutelage, the blazing reality of God's Word becomes too much for us to handle. We no longer have ears to hear, or hearts that believe.
Are you listening to the Word of God?
Scripture is the only rule for faith and practice, because it gives us the truth of all things--reality as it really is. On the flip side, to neglect or reject Scripture is to live according to a myth; it is to live a lie. And behind every lie, no matter how big or small, is idolatry--some imaginative projection of god.
Jeremiah 44 is cautionary tale along these very lines. Despite God's faithfulness to send His servants the prophets to speak the truth (reality) to the people of Judah, they opted for the fictions of fallen humanity, and followed the teachings of the spiritual gurus of the pagan nation around them. In short, their ears itched for the false promises of other gods.
Jer. 7:25-26, "They did not listen to me, or inclined their ear."
Jer. 25:4, "You have neither listened nor inclined your ear to hear."
Jer. 26:5, "...you have not listened."
Jer. 29:19, "They did not pay attention to my words...you would not listen."
Jer. 35:15-16, "You did not incline your ear or listen to me."
The truth is this: whenever we take God's Word lightly, we take God lightly. As soon as we begin to reject God's Word, we reject God. And our rejection almost always begins when we allow ourselves to be weaned first on the fictions of false prophets. Under their tutelage, the blazing reality of God's Word becomes too much for us to handle. We no longer have ears to hear, or hearts that believe.
Are you listening to the Word of God?
