Commitment Brings Its Rewards

Jeremiah 35:18-19: "Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Recabites, 'This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.' Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Jonadab son of Recab will never fail to have a man to serve me.' "

The Recabites are a rather obscure group that are mentioned in Jeremiah 35 as a people that did not drink wine and lived nomadic lives in tents. These people had made a vow at their father's (Jonadab ben Recab's) request, not to build houses or plant vineyards; and they committed themselves not to consume any wine. They therefore wandered through the countryside as nomads, relying by faith upon the Lord to provide for their necessities.


Equally noteworthy was their discipline of abstinence. In a culture that used wine as a form of celebration for the blessings of the Lord, it is noteworthy that these people took a vow to refrain from what others in the community would have considered a valued drink used for festive occasions. Possibly like the Nazirite vow, it was a statement of separateness and purity; or possibly it was a reminder to these people not to enjoy the present pleasures of life, knowing that God's ultimate blessing was yet to come through the Messiah. Still, it may be as Ricky L. Johnson suggests in the Holman Bible Dictionary that these Recabites were protesting the pagan influences of the Canaanite religions upon the descendants of Abraham.


The one thing that we do know is that these people were faithful and disciplined to their calling, though that calling obviously brought certain disadvantages. Not being able to plant crops, build houses, and enjoy the fruit of the vine was likely viewed as a sacrifice by these descendants of Rechab. Still, they were committed to the covenant that they had made to their father, Jonadab (and ultimately the LORD).


However, with the arrival of the warring Babylonians to the region of Judah, these nomadic people's life experience changed, and they were forced into the city of Jerusalem for protection. One has to wonder if any of these Recabites were disheartened at the Lord for His supposed lack of protection. Were they embittered that they had been forced from their tents into the city? Actually, the answer is no, because we know that when the Lord called Jeremiah to test these people to see what was in their hearts, they came through with flying colors. Specifically, the Lord summoned the prophet to invite these Recabites to a side room of the temple to drink some wine. If they had been like so many of us that permit our circumstances to dictate our level of commitedness to the LORD, one might find them saying in modern vernacular, "sure, let's do some serious partying . . . after all, what has God done for us lately? We've been faithful to our covenant and yet here we're having to run to Jerusalem to seek protection. Let's live it up and enjoy ourselves for it doesn't seem like God cares [if He's even there]."

Knowing that these events occurred during the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah tells us that gross licentiousness was a popular trend in Jerusalem at that time. The overwhelming majority of people in the city would have been indulging their own wanton desires with no feeling of contrition for their behavior. It would have been easy during that day for the Recabites to join in the revelry of the day. They would have fit in just fine.


Instead, when the LORD summoned the prophet Jeremiah to test the hearts of the people by inviting them to the temple to drink wine, the Recabites declined the request. What is noteworthy is that the Recabites did not know when Jeremiah called them to the temple the purpose for their summons. Just for these nomadic peoples to have been invited to the temple and to recline in a room adjacent to the room reserved for the officials would have been a distinct honor for them. In the euphoria of being given such an opportunity, it would have been easy to indulge in the choicest wine unexpectedly set before them. This would have been a very attractive invitation had they not been resolved to remain faithful to their covenant.


Immediately upon the offering, the men of the family proclaimed, "we do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: 'Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine . . . we have obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab son of Recab commanded us."


God responded to the Recabite's fidelity to their covenant by telling Jeremiah to go to the people of Judah and tell them to learn from this account of faithfulness. God was pleased that these sons of Jonadab were committed to the promise that they had made to their father. He used this account to indict the people of Judah since they were flagrantly uncommitted to the covenant stipulations that their forefathers had made with the LORD. For these Judean's egregious violation of the covenant, God would respond with demonstrative judgment.


God, however, would reward the Recabites with a promise that they would always have someone from their family to serve Him. This would have been a tremendous privilege for a people who were nomadic and therefore had little prestige within the community. God called these people out from the people of Judah, for He saw in them faithfulness and fidelity even in the midst of trial and tribulation.

This is a tremendous word for each of us. Who we present ourselves to be in the midst of crisis is who we really are. Were we to experience misfortune in our lives, how would we respond and who would we become? Would we be faithful to our covenant with the Lord while we struggle with life's disappointments, or would we give in to a fatalistic, embittered spirit and in effect indulge ourselves with any temptatious experience that comes our way?

We must remember that God rewards those who diligent follow Him. The Lord loves to see a disciplined person who is committed to the ways of righteousness, and He blesses those who are faithful to Him no matter the circumstance. Let us ever be resolved to remain loyal to our Lord, irrespective of our trials; and let us by faith trust that our Sovereign King will reward us for our faithfulness to Him.

A Father's Joy

Proverbs 15:20a: "A wise son brings joy to his father."


This past week has been quite a joy for me, for my eldest son, Jonathan, surrendered his life to Christ as Lord. Jonathan had been asking his mother and me questions about what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; but after attending our church's annual Vacation Bible School, Jonathan was ready to made a commitment to the Lord.


While we sat in our den at our home, I asked Jonathan if he would like to kneel before the Lord, who is seated in majesty on His glorious throne, and surrender to Jesus as His King. Jonathan agreed and so he, Tricia, Alex (a friend of Jonathan), and I went to our knees so that we all might praise the Lord and hear the wonderful words of contrition, confession, and surrender from our son. It was a most wonderful and emotional time. To hear the words of this young boy . . . words expressing thanks to the Lord for His love made manifest through His death and resurrection, reminded me of the preciousness of the grace of God that He has lavished upon us (Ephesians 1:8). Also, to hear this young man give His life over to His Lord and Savior, in order that He might reign over him and direct his path, not only swelled my heart with pride for my son but quickened my determination not to forget that I too am yielded to the Lord. He is the sole Authority to whom I submit and faithfully obey in all things.


Immediately after our prayers, that were filled with tears and hugs, Jonathan wanted to open the Scriptures and read from God's Word. He opened the Bible to Psalm 14:1-3 and began reading. I don't believe that Jonathan knew to which passage he was going; he just opened the Bible and started reading. Ironically (or might I say, "Providentially") the passage read is part of a discourse by the Lord on Salvation. The LORD exclaims in Psalm 11:4-7 that He is holy, seated upon His throne, and he observes the ways of man. The LORD tells us that He loves upright men (who will see His face) but the wicked He will judge. God further explains that only the blameless, righteous ones will be given the privilege of dwelling in His eternal sanctuary (Psalm 15:1-5). But then in Psalm 14:3, we find that all men "have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one." This puts all of us in jeopardy, for none of us can present ourselves as blameless before the throne of God; therefore, we must seek the mercy of God to avoid our eternal demise. This is why the Holy One (Jesus Christ) came to the earth to make the solely sufficient payment for our sins, and God "would not let him see decay" (Psalm 16:4) by raising Him from the dead, thus proving His power over sin and death. The Psalmist in response celebrated, for the Lord has "made known the path of life (and will) fill us with His presence and eternal pleasures at His right hand" (Psalm 16:11). Our response to His offering of grace should be to "trust in His unfailing love (and by faith) rejoice in His salvation. It is a time of singing to the LORD, for He has been good to us" (Psalm 13:5-6).

It was as if in the reading of the Word, Jonathan was reiterating to our family that God's grace truly is undeserved and a gift to us. It's amazing how these little reminders through life reinforce to us how blessed we are to have a loving LORD who believed that eternal fellowship with us was worth His grueling sacrificial death on a cross. Oh, how God's grace is so AMAZING!

The next morning, Jonathan rose before the rest of the family to read his Bible. How my heart melted when he told me that morning that he had opened the Bible and started reading through Haggai. For an 8-yr-old boy to be motivated to read His Bible early in the morning was profound in and of itself; and for him to read an Old Testament book that is seldom referenced made it even more incredible. As Jonathan and I went to a local bagel shop to have breakfast, we talked about the reason for the book of Haggai, namely that the people of Judah had returned from captivity in Babylon and needed reminding not to forsake their exclusive worship of the LORD. Upon their return to the Promised Land, these Israelites quickly started rebuilding the temple of the LORD; but they soon became discouraged by the lack of impressiveness of the temple compared to the grandeur of Solomon's temple from years past, and they were further frustrated by their enemies who did not want to see the temple restored as a place of worship. After 16 years had passed with little progress on the temple, the people lost their focus upon the LORD and had become more consumed with building their own homes. For this reason, the LORD sent the prophet Haggai to address the people's priority problem. They had reconstituted "self" over the will of God as first in their lives. God in turn withheld His blessings for the returned exiles, because they were indifferent to Him as the central focus of their lives. God was ready to shower blessing for His people if only they would give Him first priority.

As my family continues to celebrate this "re-birth" of our son, we also are reminded of the importance of placing God first in our lives. We should do this because God is worthy of such positioning and because He has given us the blessing of His grace (something that none of us deserve). So too we are mindful that the LORD's blessings will pour forth upon us when we are not distracted by the feigned substitutes that would distract us from our sole allegiance to God as Master and Savior. Let us forsake any idols that would attempt to take first place in our lives; rather, let us recommit ourselves to the King of Kings and worship Him fervently and exclusively.

The 10:31 Principle

I Corinthians 10:31; Hebrews 10:31: "Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God . . . . It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of a living God."


I believe that we as mortal human beings quickly are able to see that we are not the center of the universe. We did not create the magnificent display of creation around us, nor do we have the innate ability to sustain its existence. The Holy Scriptures tell us that the Lord Jesus Christ created all things and continues to sustain all things by His powerful Word (Hebrews 1:2-3). And as the Sovereign Lord over all things, Jesus Christ is worthy and able to expect that all of His creation give Him praise for His Lordship. Interestingly most of His creation, albeit suffering the curse of God due to the cosmic treason of sin by mankind (Romans 8:20), continues to praise the Lord throughout the heavens (Psalm 19:1). It is mankind that is the anamoly in perpetuating a sinful, rebellious spirit against God by pursuing self and its appetites above the Lord.


When we begin to reflect upon the notion that we were created by the Sovereign Lord of Hosts, we should respond with humility, worship, and obedience. Rather than exalting our own selves as preeminent in the universe (a most absurd conclusion!), we are called to surrender ourselves to the One True Lord and serve Him exclusively and faithfully. Scripture regularly uses the imagery of slavery to denote our position before the Lord. He is our Master, and we are His servants, summoned to obey and glorify Him.

Amazingly, what we find wonderfully displayed in the portrait of the believers' lives is the beauty of fulfillment that only God can bring to us. Our Lord has created us with a void of which only He can satisfy. This is why for us to submit to His yoke of submission is not burdensome but wonderful, fulfilling, easy, and light (Matthew 11:30).


The I Corinthians passage cited above tells us that in all areas of our lives, we are to do all things for God's glory. He is our Rightful Regent, Sovereign over all things. Nothing can thwart His purposes (see Isaiah 43:13). While the Lord desires that we would respond to His prompting to follow Him as our King, still, He gives us the choice to surrender or reject His offering of intimate fellowship with Him. For those who would reject Jesus as Lord, the Scriptures remind us that the dread of a Living God and His wrath awaits them. The Chief Cornerstone will either be the Foundation for Life and Blessing to those who yield themselves to Christ or the Weapon of Destruction to crush those who would defy Him as Master and Lord (see I Peter 2:4-8).

Let us never forget the awesome reality that God's grace offered through Jesus Christ ultimately redeems us from God's judgment. Yes! God's death and resurrection is offered to each of us sinners to protect us from God's Holiness! May we never forsake this offering, for the Scriptures are so telling . . . "it is a DREADFUL thing to fall into the hands of (THE) LIVING GOD."

Ineffectual Repentance

Jeremiah 34:15-16: "Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to his countrymen. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again."


Slavery was a reality during the days of Jeremiah. Not only did certain Israelites have slaves from foreign nations, but they also had fellow Hebrews as slaves. The predominant reasoning for Jewish enslavement would have been as payment to satisfy certain financial responsibilities that a person may have been unable to pay with money or other assets. Therefore, this servitude would have been voluntary on the part of the Hebrew slave, and the Law of God demanded that this slave be treated respectfully and with dignity, like a hired worker might expect to be treated. And at the end of every seventh year, all slaves were to be released from their servitude should they desire their freedom (Jeremiah 34:14). In effect, a Jew would become a slave with the understanding that he or she was attempting to satisfy a financial need through his offering to work for a fellow Hebrew (see Leviticus 25:39f).


With the Babylonians invading the region of Judah, God sent a directive to the prophet Jeremiah to tell the Jewish people to release their slaves. To be sure, this was a horrific time for the Jewish people; slaves needed to be released from their obligations in order to address the indigenous needs of their immediate families. There was no time to waste; all people of Judah needed the freedom to prepare for the onslaught of the invading armies that had arrived.


At first, the Jewish slave owners agreed to the directive by the Lord, and they released their slaves; in fact, they consecrated their commitment by participating in a covenant ceremony at the Temple of the Lord. This receptiveness to the command of the Lord likely was the result of the intense pressure being placed upon the Jewish people by the Babylonian armies; in fact, at the time of this communication of emancipation from the Lord, Judah maintained only two fortified cities (Lachish and Azekah). All of the other cities had seen their defenses compromised by the powerful invading Babylonians.


Interestingly, God blessed the Jewish people for their response of obedience by having the king of Babylon withdraw his forces from the cities of Judah. One would think that the Jewish people would see that their positive response to the dictates of the Lord was bringing blessings to them, and they would continue to follow their path of submission; however, with this reprieve from the pangs of war came a return to slavery. This time the slave owners forced their former slaves into enslavement; these owners enjoyed forcing these servants into bondage in order that they might take advantage of them.


God saw such renewed rebellion as a "profaning of his Name." In turn, the Lord proclaimed that these Israelites would be given a "freedom to fall by the sword, plague, and famine." The Lord would bring the Babylonians back to the region to destroy the cities of Judah to punish the people of Judah for their persistent wickedness. No more would the patience and forbearance of the Lord be seen by the people of Judah.


There is a good word for us. As we read the account above, we must ask ourselves, "Are we apt to repent when we are experiencing difficulties in life, only to return to our rebellious ways when God brings relief from our misery and begins to bless us for our faithfulness to Him?" If the answer is "yes" then we know that our repentance is ineffective, for it desires liberation from the trials of life, rather than genuine determination to change behavior. When we only want to change our lives of sin in order to get out of a jamb and are quick to return to our sinful ways once we are not burdened by the consequences of our sin, we reveal the true (and sinister) intent of our hearts. If we have such a disposition toward our sin, we in effect are proclaiming our desire to continue in it, provided we can avoid any consequences for our sin. This is no repentance at all; rather, it is a hope to not have to suffer for our sinful ways. God hates such hypocrisy.


Let us not want to repent only to avoid the suffering that comes with such obstinacy; instead, let us truly surrender to the One True Lord of Hosts. For then our motivation is not fueled by the desire to see how much we can get away with; to the contrary, we will find ourselves with an earnestness to please our Lord and Savior. Let's be a people who truly want to follow the Lord.

The Greatest Impact

Jeremiah 32:17-18, 37b-39: "(Jeremiah prayed) 'Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers' sins into the laps of their children after them' . . . . (God replied) 'I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them.'"


There is nothing more positively impacting to a society than for its fathers to display "singleness of heart" in uncompromising, unwavering allegiance to the One True LORD. The LORD communicates in the above passage that men of integrity and obedience to Him will bring blessing to their children (and ultimately a society). Of course, the antithesis equally is true . . . that men of dishonor and reckless, selfish rebellion against the LORD will bring devastation to the "laps of their children after them."


Lest I be too philosophical, let me interject an example to validate these truths:


There is a father who is egocentric by nature. He is not yielded to the Lord, has no longing for the Lord, and he does not delight in daily reflection of and dialogue with the LORD through His Word (the Scriptures). To be sure, this man in his selfish consumption, thinks only of himself; his determination of "expediency" is filtered through the guise of personal benefit that he himself craves with inordinate zeal. If a person, object, action, or goal ultimately satisfies this father's insatiable desires, he will determine it important and will pursue it passionately; otherwise, anyone or anything not satisfying his hedonistic tendencies will be perceived as wasting his time.


This father also is not inclined to embrace his calling as "minister" to his family . . . a man called to be an agent of blessing and grace to the sensitive needs of his wife and children. Because his family's needs are secondary to his own wanton desires, they are trivialized as insignificant. His family in turn struggles with the racking sobs of disappointment that their husband/father cares not for them. They feel rejected and abandoned by the one to whom they look more than anyone else for love and affirmation.


This father neither is inclined to assimilate his family into a community of genuine faith (i.e. the Church) so that they might be nurtured by other Godly believers of Jesus Christ, nor is he surrendered to his role as facilitator of familial worship of the Lord in his home. On the contrary, this father would rather sit in front of the television and "vegetate" on episodic garbage, or he would rather network with his friends in certain activities that may bring temporary enjoyment but in fact have no lasting substantive impact (e.g. golf, fishing, etc.). Whereas these activities per se are not inherently bad, their degradation is evidenced in the father's consumption of pleasure to the detriment of fulfilling his greater purpose of being a spiritual leader and "love"r in the home. Such abandonment of the family is a most heinous sin in the eyes of God Almighty. If this father would rather pass through life feasting upon his personal delights above the indigenous needs of his wife and children, who are eager for concentrated love, affection, and most importantly spiritual leadership, then he is no true father at all. This man is only a biological progenitor who is held in utter contempt by the LORD, and the LORD will not hold him guiltless for such vile disregard of his responsibilities as father and husband.


Tragically, the majority of fathers in our culture by their word and actions of indifference/self-centeredness reinforce to their children that self-satisfaction is the end to which they should strive. These children grow up understanding that "self" is the god to be worshipped.


Or perhaps equally tragic is the misconception by these children that "self" has no value at all, since their fathers seem to find them unworthy of love, affection, and instruction. As fathers shuffle their children off to the periphery of their busy, adult lives, they bring a "curse" to their children by causing them to conclude themselves to be a burdensome distraction. One only needs to canvass his immediate community setting and he soon will find in the eyes of its children the loss and longing of the genuine heartfelt love and affection of their fathers.


As a result of this abandonment by their fathers, these children fall prey to fear and low self-esteem that results in underachievement later in life (for fear of failure), poor relational decisions (due to the rationalization that no one will love them), and eventual chronic apathy, de-motivation, and bitterness in their adult lives (for the formulated opinions early in life that their dreams were undeserving of them). Such consequent decisions, driven by fear and insecurity, bring to these children a hellish adult life experience that will lack all the zest and fulfillment that God would have for them.


Sadly, this curse of the fathers (if they are even physically around for their children) is placed in the laps of their children who in turn repeat the cycle . . . and become the very detestable parents that lack spiritual integrity, love, and commitment to their children. As with the prior generation, so goes the next generation . . . and so on and so on . . . unless one is so fortunate to break free from the dysfunction through a miraculous work of God in his life.


May it ever be reiterated: God demands that fathers possess an unwavering commitment to Him as LORD; and the LORD expects that those fathers love their children and train them in the ways of righteousness. These mandates are paramount, for the LORD desires new generations of Godly offspring who would experience the blessedness of intimate association with Him as LORD (Malachi 2:15). Godly "fathering" will make the greatest impact in helping highly impressionable young ones to live lives of faithfulness to the LORD.

God's Redemptive Plan in the Midst of Trial

Jeremiah 29:7b: “Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

This was a rather incredible directive by the LORD to the people of Judah, namely that they were to pray for the prosperity of their captors (the Babylonians) who were destroying the land of Judah and taking many of its inhabitants away into captivity.

Part of this mandate for these Israelites to pray for the prosperity of the Babylonians involved the LORD’s fair and just discipline of His chosen people for their abject rebellion against His sovereignty (see 30:11b). God in His ineffable glory and holiness would not permit the chronic disobedience of these Israelites to go unpunished. As with all sin, there was a consequential payment for such disobedience against the Lord. There was no way that these wayward people could avoid the judgment that was before them.

Still, in the midst of this Divine sentence, the people were called to act in faith that the LORD ultimately would redeem His people from their misery in captivity and restore them to the place that been promised to them since the days of their forefather Abraham (see Genesis 12). Part of this faith necessitated these Israelites surrendering to the yoke of bondage and praying for their captives’ success. Yes, I did say “their captives’ success.” God promised that those who responded with surrender to capture and enslavement would fulfill God’s ultimate purpose of redemption and restoration. In the immediate future, the conditions were likely to be abysmal; but, God promised that He would save them out of the land of exile and restore peace and security to them (30:10).

For the ones who were unwilling to submit to such harsh stipulations and would rather fight for their supposed freedom, the Lord declared that He would send “sword, famine, and plague and would make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth” (29:18). It was not that the LORD was averse to His people enjoying the blessedness of freedom (for in reality, the LORD never wanted bondage to be in the equation); rather, the LORD had to bring the wickedness of His people to account, and He determined that the best execution of justice would come at the hands of the invading Babylonians.

Still, God in His infinite mercy decreed that His temporal judgments would eventually draw the descendants of these exiles to the LORD, thus breaking the repetitive cycle of wickedness that had been passed from one generation to the next. Even in the midst of enacting judgment, God was working out His redemptive purposes for future generations to come.

This is a tremendous word for us today. As we reflect upon our sinful ways and the consequences that we have experienced (or are experiencing) for our wickedness, we must be willing to submit ourselves to the will of God and permit Him to orchestrate His restorative plan in our lives, even if that plan of redemption involves temporal pain and frustration. We must see that our immediate struggles may be designed by our loving Lord to mature us and strengthen our resolve to follow Him faithfully.

God does not always promise that He will remove the fallout that comes from our sinful practices; still, what He does promise is ultimate deliverance from the deserved eternal condemnation for our sinful ways, if we simply would submit ourselves to the yoke of His will and permit Him to work out His redemptive plan in us. What we have to be willing to do is wait for Him to work out His sovereign purposes . . . in His timing. To continue to fight against God’s plan of redemption is to invite hardship, disappointment, and ultimately destruction. We must not perpetuate our disloyalty by thinking that we are capable of rescuing ourselves from our despicable plot. Let’s surrender ourselves to the One True Lord and permit Him to refine us so that once we are “tried and purified, we can come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).

Don't Distort God's Word

Jeremiah 23:28b, 38b-40: "'Let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?' declares the LORD . . . . You used the words, 'This is the oracle of the LORD,' even though I told you that you must not claim, 'This is the oracle of the LORD.' Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your father. I will bring upon you everlasting disgrace-everlasting shame that will not be forgotten."

In reading through chapter 23 of Jeremiah, one finds the hope of redemption of the remnant of God's people who would be rescued by the LORD and be given the blessing of eternal life. This reference, of course, is to the hope that is found exclusively in Jesus Christ, who alone is the Door through which God's grace is afforded (John 10:9).

Still, in the remainder of the chapter, the Lord warns the lying prophets and priests, who would distort the Scriptures to justify their wicked behavior. These were the religious leaders who participated in the most heinous acts in the temple in worship of Baal, the fertility god of the neighboring pagans. Though they presented themselves as surrendered to the Lord, in reality, they were people as debased as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah (23:14). To encourage the people who had joined in the chicanery of their religious demonstrations, the prophets proclaimed that God would only bring peace to the land; in no way would these leaders proclaim the truth of the Scriptures, that the Lord was angered by the gross wickedness of these people who previously had been blessed by the Lord above all nations. These leaders claimed to have dreams from the LORD that all was well; yet nothing could be further from the truth.

Of course, God would not be mocked by such perjury of His Word. Whereas these religious leaders claimed to have a word of the Lord, God would now bring eternal judgment upon them for their wickedness and their false witness against Him. God specifically exclaimed, "I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence . . . I will bring upon you everlasting disgrace." No remission of sins would be found for these leaders of rebellion against the Lord.

There is a good word for us in this passage, namely that we must be soundly committed to the veracity of God's Word. We must revere its truths and herald it truthfully and faithfully. We know that the Word of God is a guiding lamp (Psalm 119:105) that not only inspires us to obedience but convicts us of our sin leading us to repentance (2 Timothy 3: 16-17). Therefore, we must uphold the precious Word of God and not attempt to distort its presentation to satisfy any wicked behavior in our lives. The Scriptures are quite direct toward those who would manipulate God's Word . . . they will be held in contempt and be subjected to eternal damnation.

Therefore, let us surrender ourselves to the LORD and uphold His Word with faithful fidelity. We will find the blessing of God if we do so.

Following the Lord Will Cost You Everything

Jeremiah 26:20: "Now Uriah son of Shamaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied the same things against this city and this land as Jeremiah did. When King Jehoiakim and all his officers and officials heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But Uriah heard of it and fled in fear to Egypt. King Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan son of Acbor to Egypt, along with some other men. They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him struck down with a sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people."



When a people are disloyal to the Lord and follow instead their selfish desires, they will hate to hear words of truth from the Lord through His messengers. This certainly was the case with King Jehoiakim and the people of Judah during the days of Jeremiah. Jeremiah and other prophets had been sent by the Lord to these wicked people to call them to repent, with warning that the fullness of the Lord's wrath would fall upon them if they did not turn from their wickedness. God specifically instructed Jeremiah upon his calling as prophet that the people would fight against him . . . it would not be a popular ministry for those called to rebuke the wayward people of Judah. And many prophets of God suffered for fulfilling their responsibilities that the Lord had given them.



In the passage just before the cited verses above, Jeremiah had been summoned by the Lord to the courtyard of the Temple, to preach repentance. The priests, prophets, and the people at the Temple heard Jeremiah and seized him, threatening to kill him for such words of rebuke toward the people. Then, certain royal officials went to the King to tell him of the recent events and hoped to sway the king to kill the prophet of God. Jeremiah responded with a warning that if they killed him, who had come in the name of the Lord to speak the truth, they would be guilty of the death of an innocent man of God. The officials would back down this time; in a strange twist of events, these leaders feared that such punitive measures against Jeremiah would bring terrible disaster upon themselves (see 26:19).



Still, it was remembered that other prophets of God were not spared execution for prophesying against the wickedness of Judah. A prophet by the name of Uriah proclaimed the same warnings to Jehoiakim, and like Jeremiah was threatened for such words. Uriah attempted to flee for his life to the land of Egypt, but the King was so enraged by the audacity of this prophet, that he sent his henchmen to Egypt to find Uriah and bring him back presumably in chains to Judah for execution. I wonder sometimes what was racing through Uriah's mind when these bounty hunters captured him and shackled him to start the long trek back to Palestine. Day after day as he was forced a little further through the desert back to Judah, was he pondering his fate? Would the king who had been so determined to capture this man of God, relent of his anger and free the prophet of the order of execution? Would the prophet be subjected to heinous torture then be executed? Did he feel remorse that he had fled for his life in the first place? Was he determined to stand for God even if it meant his death? I'm sure that many thoughts raced through his mind as he was forced back to the court of Jehoiakim.


Whereas Uriah sought to save his life when the threats of execution first came his way, now the prophet found himself again before his accusers. Though we don't know the events that occurred just prior to the order of execution, I wonder if the king gave the prophet the opportunity of recanting of all of his proclamations in order to save his life. If this is the case, then we know from the outcome that Uriah stood for the LORD. In any event, the king ordered that his executioner draw his sword and put Uriah to death. Then in a demonstrative statement of disrespect for the emissary of the Lord, the king had the body of the prophet thrown into a common burial plot. I'm sure that Jehoiakim thought this execution would put fear in other prophets like Jeremiah who felt called to preach against the king and his subjects. Of course we know that God would not be mocked from such disdainful acts against His truth and His called ambassadors; true to His Word, the LORD would bring the mighty Babylonians to destroy these wayward people for their treasonous acts against the TRUE KING . . .THE LORD OF HOSTS.


There is a tremendous word for us in this passage. When God calls us to ministry, He doesn't promise that the road will be easy. There are likely to be hurdles and heartaches along the way. Though we may not find the same demise that Uriah faced, we still can be called to suffer for the cause of our Lord. This may take the form of alienation, betrayal, lost opportunity, or in some instances and settings, it may cost us our families, our homes, and even our lives. We don't know what the temporal future holds for us who are surrendered to our Lord as the One True King and Savior; still, we know that in eternity, our Lord will rectify all things and bless those who have been unjustly persecuted for Him.



Let us press on to be the people that God has called us to be, no matter what personal sacrifice we must give in exchange for such commitment. Whereas our surrender to the Lord may cost us everything, we know that the Lord will bless those who diligent seek Him and obey Him.