(Jeremiah 28:1-17)
Now in the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah the prophet the son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me at the house of the Lord in the sight of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I am going to bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from this place and brought to Babylon. 4 I am also going to bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”
5 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the sight of the priests and in the sight of all the people who were standing at the house of the Lord, 6 and Jeremiah the prophet said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place. 7 Yet hear now this word which I am going to speak so that you and all the people can hear it! 8 The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times also prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms regarding war, disaster, and plague. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.”10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. 11 Hananiah spoke in the sight of all the people, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Even so within two full years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” Then Jeremiah the prophet went his way.
12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 13 “Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but in their place you have made yokes of iron.” 14 For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. And I have also given him the animals of the field.”’” 15 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah: the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to die, because you spoke falsely against the Lord.’”
17 So Hananiah the prophet died in the same year, in the seventh month.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
I have a friend who proclaims that it's okay for everyone to believe and do just as they want and that there isn't any punishment. According to her, everyone is going to heaven. And even though she doesn't call herself a Christian, she sure has very strong opinions as to what Christianity should and shouldn't be. While she herself embraces the need to show "compassion" and "love", she also adheres to the notion that dwelling on sin is a bad thing which keeps one from seeing the "divine". She is right in a sense, but her solution is to ignore sin, and deem certain sins as NOT being sin. Anyone who boldly "speaks for God" and twists what He says, doesn't have any understanding of God's power or who He is.
From birth, our sin nature comes with a physical and spiritual death, which separates us from God. The only way to have a relationship with the Lord is to humbly seek the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. Once a Christian, we have eternal security, and freedom from sin and shame! No matter what we do or don't do, we cannot lose our salvation, but our unconfessed sin will impede our relationship and prayers to the Lord.
We are to keep confessing sin - which is like an apology to God - because our sin is an offense against Him. If we say we love our parents, but we keep stepping on their toes or slapping their face without apology or desire to change, we will still always be their child, but they won't be very pleased with us. If we truly love and have compassion, we would feel shame regarding our sinful behaviors. But don't stay in that sin, giving excuses or trying to justify it that it is somehow okay... confess it! If we truly love God, our desire will be to get to know Him better and listen to what He actually says.
Unconfessed sin also hurts ourselves and others. This is why God has given us directions to follow; so that we can live a better life, and find a much better way, because He loves and cares about us! So, the better we know the Bible and God's truths, and the more obedient we are while asking for God's strength and guidance, the closer our relationship will be with the Lord!
To search our hearts and recognize any sinful behaviors, is not to focus on sin or continue on in shame! If we are guilty of something, we were created to feel shame, so in that, we can then seek God's forgiveness and freedom. So, in confessing our sins, we are giving to the Lord our struggles, so that He can change us from the inside out. Therefore, this is not to dwell on sin, but to rid ourselves of sin so that we can focus on the Lord, His love, joy, peace and righteousness.
The closer we are to the Lord, the more He will help us grow and mature, so that we will become more and more like Him. And in this, we will know enough to speak His truth accurately, to better equip ourselves and others, so that we can enjoy living in the spiritual freedom of the Lord!
No comments:
Post a Comment