Devotional Thought for Today
“Why God Does What He Does”
Jeremiah 32:26-30
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it. And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and set fire to this city and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger; because the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have provoked Me only to anger with the work of their hands,’ says the Lord.
In basic literature, it is understood that in every story there is a protagonist and an antagonist. The protagonist, who is the main character and is generally the “good guy,” is provoked by the antagonist, the “bad guy.” The protagonist is the hero usually abhorring evil and preserving good.
In Jeremiah, God can be understood as the protagonist, despising wrongdoings and idol offerings. When a heart is rich in love, its natural tendency is to despise unrighteousness, because love does not delight in evil but always rejoices with the truth (1 Cor. 13:8). Also, an upright heart is attracted to all that is good and beneficial to another. Love celebrates the promotion of others and gives up of oneself (John 15:13). To elaborate, sincere love abhors the ways of the flesh and is drawn to whatever is right, honorable, pure, and holy (Philippians 4:8). This truth magnified to perfection is the reason that sin separated people from God, causing Jesus to be the only qualified sacrifice to pay the penalty of iniquity.
Therefore, it is healthy as a believer to do an inventory of our thoughts, words, and behaviors to gauge how we are progressing spiritually. Spiritual maturity is to love God with our whole being and then to love others as we love ourselves (Matt. 22:39). Is your heart increasing in love or is it stuck in self-preservation? Increase in love reveals that the heart is submitting to the ways of the Lord, while self-preservation is a sign that you have not allowed the Lordship of Christ to reign over yourself (thoughts, attitudes, & will).
In Jeremiah, we see a Father who is not passive but active in bringing about correction and alignment in His children, in order that we may live in the richness of our true identities as His royal children. This is love.
Take time today to consider this: Do you despise the ways of the flesh and wrongdoings? Are you drawn to all that is upright and beneficial to others? The answers to these will give you a good gauge as to how you are doing spiritually. Bring all unhealthiness to the Lord and allow Him the issues of your heart—this is the way of love!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for modeling the ways of love for me! Thank You that as I submit to Your ways and am not be ruled by my feelings, I am allowing Your love to be perfected in me. Thank You that losing is actually gaining in Your Kingdom. I choose to submit myself to You, in order to live as one who is in Christ and can serve as a blessing to others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Job 4-5
Correction: In our blog on August 20 (Monday), Jude was assigned as the Bible reading for that day. Thinking that it was a mistake, I changed it to Job 1. Actually, I just discovered that Jude was the correct reading for that day. My double apology!
The average lifespan of a person is said to be about 79 years. In comparison to the infinitude of time, a human life is very brief. Perhaps this is why we tend to think in the scope of finiteness. We tend to get caught up in our current situations and gauge our lives in the context of what is happening in the now. It is unnatural for us to think in the scope of eternity. We may even wonder if this is possible to do.
In these two verses, the Lord speaks of a new covenant that would be made between God and His people. The old covenant, which was written on stone tablets and the people were unable to keep, would be void as God makes a new covenant that would be written on the heart (flesh) of His people. The route to making this covenant possible would happen through the initiative of God and would also require a tremendous cost on His part. This route was forgiveness. Because of God’s love for His people and desire for a relationship with them, He says, “…I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (v.34).
We see here an image of Rachel, wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin, weeping for her children who are no more (v.15). In the picture portrayed, Rachel, who represents the mother of Israel, grieves over the captivity of her descendants who have been taken into Babylonian exile. In the midst of such denoted grief and remorse, the voice of the Lord breaks through yet again with hope: “Thus says the Lord: ‘refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded,’ says the Lord; ‘and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope in your future,’ says the Lord, ‘that your children shall come back to their own border’” (v.16). The Lord promises renewal and restoration.
There are various traditions around the world by which countries celebrate the ringing in of a new year. In China, people launch fireworks to drive away evil and celebrate the coming of a new time. In Australia, people have picnics and camp out on the beach on New Year’s Eve, and blow whistles, shake rattles, and press car horns to welcome a new year. Then, of course, in the US, we have our traditional ball dropping in NYC with a ball being slowly dropped down a pole a minute prior to midnight and people count-down to ring in a new year. These and many more other ways are traditions by which people around the world are recognizing and celebrating the faithful arriving of an expected promise—that is, a new start.
More details to follow in the coming week (will be available in September)
The AMI QT Devotionals from August 20-26 are provided by Hee Jung Lee Hee Jung, a graduate of Biblical Theological Seminary, serves at Catalyst Agape Church (New Jersey) along with her husband Pastor Sam Lee. They have four beautiful daughters.
Perhaps every young girl dreams of a chivalrous man who would one day woo her and sweep her off of her feet with a story of happily ever after. This is often the fairy tale we see in films, and it appeals to the heart because deep inside everyone (men and women) is longing to be loved in such a way. This longing of love is to be desired, chased after, and unconditionally committed to. The truth is that we need not long for it, because we are already receptors of such a fascinating love.
When we read the Bible, it is fairly easy to discern between the true and false prophets. In this passage, the true prophet is the one that has a book in the Bible named after him. But for the people of Judah, whether exiled in Babylon or scatter elsewhere, it must have been more difficult. Which prophet to believe?
Ahab (the son of Kolajah) and Zedekiah (the son of Maaseiah) were members of the Jewish exilic community in Babylon who were thought to be prophets. While we don’t know exactly what they were prophesying, from the context, it seems as though they were prophesying that God’s judgment was over and that things were now going to be okay. Perhaps they were encouraging the exiles to rebel against the Babylonian authorities and to trust that God would bring them back to Jerusalem safely. Whatever the case, God not only rebukes them, He also sets them apart as an example of His judgment. Jeremiah prophesies that they will be burned in the fire by Nebuchadnezzar—a common punishment in those days (cf. Daniel 3:19-20)—and their names will be used as a curse: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire”!
Let’s review the circumstances of the Jewish exiles in Babylon: