October 20th

The Old Testament books of prophecy are filled with very sobering passages. Some are predictive, others are narratives of historical events, but they are all instructive. Our reading today from Jeremiah chapter thirty-six is a case in point.

Three simple yet very important realities stand out to me as I reflect on this chapter’s contents:

1. God is patient with His judgments. 

Even though King Jehoiakim had already imprisoned Jeremiah the prophet, the Lord tried yet again to send Him a message calculated to touch his heart and bring about true repentance. God’s purpose in doing this was so He could spare the king from the punishment he deserved. It is very important for every one of us to remind ourselves again and again that God always wants to forgive and redeem instead of judge.


2. God’s judgments are incredibly severe. 

It seems to me that most Christians today are far more aware of the reality of God’s grace than they are of the reality of His chastisements. Reading the Old Testaments prophets is a great antidote to this incomplete view of God’s character. Again and again, one encounters vivid depictions of the terrible consequences of God’s wrath. When the boy prophet Samuel receives his first revelation from the Lord, for example, God tells him that He is about to do something in judgment that will “…make the ears of everyone who hears it tingle.” The more we understand of God’s judgments, the more we can appreciate the wonders of His grace…and the more thankful we become for having experienced His mercy…!

3. God’s judgments in our lives are the consequences of our own choices. 

As astonishing as it may seem, instead of responding with contrition and repentance when Jeremiah’s prophecies were read to him, King Jehoiakim actually burned them in his fireplace. The flagrancy of this act, evidencing not only a callous disregard for God’s sovereign warning but also an utter disrespect for Jeremiah’s prophetic office and anointing, provoked the terrible promise that the king’s lineage would be completely destroyed and that even his corpse would be dishonored. All of this could have easily been avoided had the king chosen to respond differently to the word of the Lord. His decision determined his destiny.

Let's learn from his example and remain sensitive and open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit…especially when He convicts of sin…!

Pastor Mark