Scripture Nugget 5.26.2017
Scripture Read Jeremiah 42-46
Nugget Jeremiah 42: 3, 5-17
“‘Let the LORD your God show us where we should go and what we should do.’ … They in turn said to Jeremiah, ‘May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do no act according to everything that the LORD your God sends us through you. Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, in order that it may go well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.’ At the end of ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah. The he summoned Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest, and said to them, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea before him: ‘If you will only remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I am sorry for the disaster that I have brought upon you. Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, as you have been; do not be afraid of him, says the LORD, for I am with you, to save you and to rescue you from his hand. I will grant you mercy, and he will have mercy on you and restore you to your native soil. But it you continue to say, “We will not stay in this land”, thus disobeying the voice of the LORD your God and saying, “No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war, or hear the sound of trumpet, or be hungry for bread, and there we will stay,” then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: If you are determined to enter Egypt and go to settle there, then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there, in the land of Egypt; and the famine you dread shall follow close after you into Egypt; and there you shall die. All the people who have determined to go to Egypt to settle there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; they shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I am bringing upon them.’”
Devotional Thought: “Pay attention” as Dr Bob Tuttle often says. When I/you/we ask God for direction and guidance (whether directly or through a prophet) and promise to follow – be prepared to receive and do what God says. God will give His best advice, He will show us what He wants us to do. Will we in faith receive and follow, or argue and disobey? At one point, a little later in chapter 44, when the people continue to argue that their sinful ways are good; God says “By all means, keep your vows and make your libations!” By all means, keep on worshiping a false god(s), that’s what got you in this predicament. Jeremiah prayed for 10 days to get an answer from God, most of that was spent listening for God’s response. How long are we willing to listen? Or are we spending that time making plans to do it our way? “Whatever, whatever, I do what I want!”, is a line from a movie the kids use to repeat. God promises He will build up and plant, yet we continue to defy and march on toward promised destruction. Those who went to Egypt were trampled by the King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, the king they feared, as God had warned. And we are dismayed when the Spirit of God diminishes the more we are disobedient! Hear, receive and heed these words from chapter 46:27-28: “But as for you, have no fear, my servant Jacob, and do not be dismayed, O Israel; for I am going to save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and no one shall make him afraid. As for you, have no fear, my servant Jacob, says the LORD, for I am with you. I will make an end of all nations among which I have banished you, but I will not make and end of you! I will chastise you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”