(Jeremiah 17:1-27)
1 The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus;
With a diamond point it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts
And on the horns of their altars,
2 As they remember their children,
So they remember their altars and their Asherim
By green trees on the high hills.
3 Mountain of Mine in the countryside,
I will turn over your wealth and all your treasures as plunder,
Your high places for sin throughout your borders.
4 And you will, even of yourself, let go of your inheritance
That I gave you;
And I will make you serve your enemies
In the land which you do not know;
For you have kindled a fire in My anger
Which will burn forever.
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 For he will be like a bush in the desert,
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt that is not inhabited.
7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose trust is the Lord.
8 For he will be like a tree planted by the water
That extends its roots by a stream,
And does not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought,
Nor cease to yield fruit.
9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?
10 I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
To give to each person according to his ways,
According to the results of his deeds.
11 As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,
So is a person who makes a fortune, but unjustly;
In the middle of his days it will abandon him,
And in the end he will be a fool.”
12 A glorious throne on high from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, the hope of Israel,
All who abandon You will be put to shame.
Those who turn away on earth will be written down,
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, that is the Lord.
14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;
Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my praise.
15 Look, they keep saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come now!”
16 But as for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd following after You,
Nor have I longed for the disastrous day;
You Yourself know that the utterance of my lips
Was in Your presence.
17 Do not be a terror to me;
You are my refuge in a day of disaster.
18 Let those who persecute me be put to shame, but as for me, let me not be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed.
Bring on them a day of disaster,
And crush them with double destruction!
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as at all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 and say to them, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates. 21 This is what the Lord says: “Take care for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the Sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I commanded your forefathers. 23 Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks so as not to listen or accept discipline.
24 “But it will come about, if you give your attention to Me,” declares the Lord, “to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but to keep the Sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, 25 then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and officials sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever. 26 They will come in from the cities of Judah and from the areas surrounding Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowland, from the hill country, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not listen to Me, to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will set fire to its gates, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not go out.”’”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
With a diamond point it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts
And on the horns of their altars,
2 As they remember their children,
So they remember their altars and their Asherim
By green trees on the high hills.
3 Mountain of Mine in the countryside,
I will turn over your wealth and all your treasures as plunder,
Your high places for sin throughout your borders.
4 And you will, even of yourself, let go of your inheritance
That I gave you;
And I will make you serve your enemies
In the land which you do not know;
For you have kindled a fire in My anger
Which will burn forever.
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 For he will be like a bush in the desert,
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt that is not inhabited.
7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose trust is the Lord.
8 For he will be like a tree planted by the water
That extends its roots by a stream,
And does not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought,
Nor cease to yield fruit.
9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?
10 I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
To give to each person according to his ways,
According to the results of his deeds.
11 As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,
So is a person who makes a fortune, but unjustly;
In the middle of his days it will abandon him,
And in the end he will be a fool.”
12 A glorious throne on high from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, the hope of Israel,
All who abandon You will be put to shame.
Those who turn away on earth will be written down,
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, that is the Lord.
14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;
Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my praise.
15 Look, they keep saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come now!”
16 But as for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd following after You,
Nor have I longed for the disastrous day;
You Yourself know that the utterance of my lips
Was in Your presence.
17 Do not be a terror to me;
You are my refuge in a day of disaster.
18 Let those who persecute me be put to shame, but as for me, let me not be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed.
Bring on them a day of disaster,
And crush them with double destruction!
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as at all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 and say to them, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates. 21 This is what the Lord says: “Take care for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the Sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I commanded your forefathers. 23 Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks so as not to listen or accept discipline.
24 “But it will come about, if you give your attention to Me,” declares the Lord, “to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but to keep the Sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, 25 then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and officials sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever. 26 They will come in from the cities of Judah and from the areas surrounding Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowland, from the hill country, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not listen to Me, to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will set fire to its gates, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not go out.”’”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
It is all about the condition of our hearts! Therefore, it's all about "who we know" and who (or what) we put our trust in! As we are all born with a sinful nature, our hearts are deceptive. We might not be going around trying to deceive others, but we most certainly deceive ourselves. The biggest deception is telling ourselves that we do not need God in our lives! But, only the Lord is able to look into our hearts and judge our hearts. Only the Lord is able to forgive and heal our hearts, and change us from the inside out. And it is only the Lord who can "complete us", fill us, satisfy us, in a close, personal relationship that is eternally faithful!
To help us in our walk with Him, God has given us His word (the Bible), to clearly show us His way. There are actually not that many "rules" to follow, and all of His instructions will lead us into the best and most fulfilling life possible. But following the rules in our strength is not enough. That is why the Lord also gives us His indwelling Holy Spirit of promise, to seal our hearts for eternity, and to help us and guide us, and convict our hearts in the way that that is best for us. Because it is a relationship, He doesn't ever force us to obey. But just like with a best friend or a loving spouse, we should desire to do the things that please the Lord.
Very simply put, to place God first in our lives will protect us from being deceived into going down the wrong paths. God's way is right, while all others are wrong. We are to keep the Sabbath holy... which is to set aside one day a week where we focus on the Lord without distractions, and just enjoy, refocus, and be re-energized! As for tithing!!! Well, God wants to bless us when we trust Him with everything, and that includes our finances.
Verse 11 talks about the person who protects whatever riches they acquire here on earth as if they are his own... only to lose it all, eventually. But before we deceive ourselves into thinking that this isn't fair, we need to consider what is the truth. For one thing, the Lord has created all things! Therefore, all things are His! Interesting, yes? Now let's look at the truth another way...
The Lord has given us everything, and only asks for ten percent back (at the very least). Our choice. But it is when we actually trust Him, and give Him our tithes, and offerings (which are over and above the tithing), that He does bless us. One of my friends told me that before they started tithing, they were always short on money, but afterwards, they had more than enough, even though their income never changed. How does THAT work??? Well, God is amazing, as well as faithful!!!
Consider how a man proposes to a woman. He asks her to marry him, to trust him that he will be devoted to her his entire life, and gives her a ring... He gives her a ring before she has even married him, because he is trusting that she will return that same love and devotion. Just so, in giving to the Lord our love, devotion, time, energy and finances... we are demonstrating our trust in Him that He will continue to return His love and devotion. Of course, THE LORD will!!! Even when we falter.
Now consider how the Lord came to earth in flesh, to suffer and die for all sins, in order to provide a way for us to have a relationship with Him!!! And He holds out His hand to all people, inviting them to enjoy this most precious relationship. He did this and does this - whether people accept Him or reject Him. And for those who accept Him into their lives, He is faithful, and causes us to flourish, because, after all, He is the fountain of living water, and He wants to bless and reward us for things done in His strength and to His glory. It is only in a personal relationship with Him that we will truly thrive!!!
So, while God loves all people, those who reject Him will still die, but those who go to Him for salvation and a true relationship will live and thrive.
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