today's meditation (Jer.43) Testing the Lord

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Jeremiah 43:1-13) But as soon as Jeremiah, whom the Lord their God had sent to them, had finished telling all the people all the words of the Lord their God—that is, all these words— 2 Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You are not to enter Egypt to reside there’; 3 but Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us in order to hand us over to the Chaldeans, so they will put us to death or exile us to Babylon!” 4 So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of the Lord to stay in the land of Judah. 5 Instead, Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been scattered, in order to reside in the land of Judah— 6 the men, the women, the children, the king’s daughters, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, together with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah— 7 and they entered the land of Egypt (for they did not obey the voice of the Lord) and went in as far as Tahpanhes.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, 9 “Take some large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brick terrace which is at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of some of the Jews; 10 and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to send men and get My servant Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and I am going to set his throne over these stones that I have hidden; and he will spread his canopy over them. 11 He will also come and strike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and those for the sword to the sword. 12 And I shall set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them captive. So he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment, and he will depart from there safely. 13 He will also smash to pieces the obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt; and the temples of the gods of Egypt he will burn with fire.”’”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

One would have to be arrogant to claim that God's words are a lie.  It is not wise to test the Lord by going against anything He has commanded.  The humble and wise person will test God by doing as He says.  This kind of test will only bring "success" as God will work things out for good.  And as we witness this, we will grow in our faith and trust.  

In raising our children, we taught them that true success in life is to strive to live in God's will, all in His strength and guidance.  We will stumble, but God is patient, gracious and good.  All we have to do is continue drawing closer to Him, and we will see and experience His goodness.

today's meditation (Is.37) Humbling Oneself

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Isaiah 37:1-38) 

1 Now when King Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the household, with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and humiliation; for children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them. 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to taunt the living God, and will avenge the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the remnant that is left.’”

5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, “This is what you shall say to your master: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Behold, I am going to put a spirit in him so that he will hear news and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

8 Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish. 9 Now he heard them say regarding Tirhakah king of Cush, “He has come out to fight against you,” and when he heard it he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “This is what you shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 11 Behold, you yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be saved? 12 Did the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed save them: Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”

14 Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying, 16 “Lord of armies, God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made heaven and earth. 17 Incline Your ear, Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, Lord, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to taunt the living God. 18 Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries and their lands, 19 and have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but only the work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. 20 But now Lord, our God, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God.”

21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:

     “She has shown contempt for you and derided you,
     The virgin daughter of Zion;
     The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head behind you!
23 Whom have you taunted and blasphemed?
     And against whom have you raised your voice 
     And haughtily raised your eyes?
     Against the Holy One of Israel!
24 Through your servants you have taunted the Lord,
     And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains,
     To the remotest parts of Lebanon;
     And I cut down its tall cedars and its choice junipers.
     And I will come to its highest peak, its thickest forest.
25 I dug wells and drank waters,
     And with the sole of my feet I dried up
     All the canals of Egypt.’
26 Have you not heard?
     Long ago I did it,
     From ancient times I planned it.
     Now I have brought it about 
     That you would turn fortified cities into ruined heaps.
27 Therefore their inhabitants were powerless,
     They were shattered and put to shame;
     They were like the vegetation of the field and the green grass,
     Like grass on the housetops that is scorched before it has grown.
28 But I know your sitting down,
     Your going out, your coming in,
     And your raging against Me.
29 Because of your raging against Me 
     And because your complacency has come up to My ears,
     I will put My hook in your nose 
     And My bridle in your lips,
     And I will turn you back by the way that you came.

30 “Then this shall be the sign for you: you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what grows from the same, and in the third year sow, harvest, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 31 The survivors that are left of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem a remnant will go, and out of Mount Zion survivors. The zeal of the Lord of armies will perform this.”’

33 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not come to this city nor shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield, nor heap up an assault ramp against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he will not come to this city,’ declares the Lord. 35 ‘For I will protect this city to save it for My own sake, and for My servant David’s sake.’”

36 Then the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the rest got up early in the morning, behold, all of the 185,000 were dead. 37 So Sennacherib the king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived in Nineveh. 38 Then it came about, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esarhaddon became king in his place.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

The king of Assyria made the mistake of assuming that he was high and mighty and that the Lord God was like all manmade gods.  He also made the mistake of assuming that God was on his side, and that he could attack God's chosen people since it was obvious they had abandoned Him.  King Hezekiah made the mistake of assuming that just because God had chosen Israel, that he didn't have to personally follow the Lord.  The part that Hezekiah was missing was humility, repentance and giving God his whole heart.  

Hm, "I can ignore, deny and taunt the Lord all I want, but don't you dare taunt my God???"  How easily we can take the Lord for granted and just expect Him to do our bidding.  God will allow us to suffer the consequences of our own actions or the consequences of other people's actions.  And sometimes He protects us, even when we don't deserve it, for the sake of others... or for whatever reason God has!

This doesn't mean that we can protect ourselves from consequences by staying close to those who believe in Him.  Being part of a group or family of believers does not make one a believer.  It is a personal decision.  And being a believer and part of a group or family of committed, obedient believers, does not make one committed or obedient.  It is a personal decision, followed by actions.  And it isn't ever too late to humble oneself to turn or return to God!