"So, the Lord
was no longer able to endure it, "Because of the evil of your deeds,
because of the abominations which you have committed: thus your land has become
a ruin, and object of horror and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this
day" (Jer. 44:42).
Hey Gang: I am going
through the Bible, once again, revisiting and getting the power verses firmly
engrained in my mind and heart. My
secondary agenda is to list all of those attributes of heaven and hell that God
makes very clear to those who are interested in where they will spend
eternity. As I study the Word, I note
the Lord makes it very clear we are going to spend that time, referred to as
eternity- someplace - and, it seems to me, it is a place where I am going to go on,
and on, and on, and on, and on…..
While I was working in the Detention Home in California, one
of the young lads, who had just come from Catholic Mass, asked me this question: "Mr. H.
How long is eternity?” It seemed
that the priest had introduced this subject but failed to present his answer in
a way that made sense to Sandy.
I found, in my work
with the youngsters, that Jesus’ methods of teaching and explaining His
principles was the key to getting into the hearts of the kids. I said, "Sandy, you have been to
Sacramento several times. You know it takes
about two hours to drive the three lanes up and three more to drive the three
lanes back. Now, take that tooth brush,
you have in your back pocket, and look at it.
If you were to take that brush and scrub every inch of that highway up
and back ten times, it would be a drop in the bucket compared to the time we
will spend in eternity.
For the past several weeks I have been reading the words of
Jeremiah. Is it not fabulous that, if we
read the Bible a hundred times, God would surface new truths that deepen our
walk with Him with each reading. In
Chapter 44 there is a story that one might say,' could never happen in our
country in this day and age of enlightenment'.
Jeremiah had
prophesied that the Northern Kingdom would fall and the people would be
scattered, and it had happened! He had
also prophesied that, without repentance, Judah would also fall, and it had happened! One would think that the people would have had
their eyes opened, fall on their knees, and seek repentance before the Lord.
But, such was not the case.
The remnant, that was left, were preparing to cut and run for Egypt when
Jeremiah laid out a scenario that, based on what had just happened before their
very eyes, would have been accepted as a blessing from God. God’s plan, remain in Israel and I will care
for you and provide for your needs (42:10-16).
Did they shout, Praise you Lord! And grab this blessing? In verse 44:16 we read the response of the
remnant, "We are not going to
listen to you". As you read this verse, keep in mind that
Jeremiah gave us the definition of a God-anointed prophet in Jeremiah 29:9, "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.”
Soooo, that was then, and this is now. We would never do that, or say that, if a
prophet of God laid out a scenario that removed the gross sin from our nation
and gave us His blessings.....would we?
Would we say, "No, Jeremiah, we are going to do it our own way”? How we need to think of this question in the
light of eternity!
Blessings,
Gramps
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