Jeremiah 17
We would rather not have our sins remembered. If they have to be written down anywhere we don’t want them to be visible to others, and we would like to eventually have them removed from our record. A permanent record of our wrong-doing is an unpleasant idea. Yet God says here that
Not only was their offense against God a matter of record, so was their coming sanction. They would lose their wealth and their treasures. They would have to let go of their heritage in the land and people of the descendants of Jacob, and they would have to serve their enemies in a foreign land. Worse than all that, God announces that there will be something about the Lord’s anger against them which will be forever.
Much of the Bible tells us very frankly that there is a big difference between the righteous and the wicked. Here the contrast is made between a shrub in the desert and a tree planted by water. God has always looked for good fruit from his people as a proof of their professions of devotion to Him. The fact is that the hearts of man are deceitful above all things. We claim to have a sincere devotion to Him, but true sincerity of love for God is displayed in the fruit of obedience. God searches the hearts and minds of His people and He cannot be fooled by our words.
Man loves riches, and may be willing to pursue gaining them through dishonesty. Is God fooled by this? The King of saints is aware of His people and their secret thoughts and ways. We need to turn back to Him. When we do this we come to the fountain of living water and the source of all that is good and all that we need. But few are willing to do this. Jeremiah has been willing to speak the true Word of the Lord, and to suffer that the people may know what they should do. Yet so often it would seem that His enemies have the upper hand, and it feels to him like God is absent. Jeremiah is beaten down by opposition, and would like to see His enemies destroyed with the fullness of God’s judgment.
The Lord has commanded that we remember one day in seven as a special day of Sabbath rest. In Jeremiah’s era that day was Saturday, the final day of the week. This Sabbath commandment was a gift of God to His people, but they did not see it that way. The prophet was not afraid to press this matter with those who were violating the Lord’s commandment, but they simply would not listen to His warnings. The choice on this matter is very plainly presented by the Lord’s messenger. If they will listen to God and faithfully receive the gift of Sabbath, He will be pleased to bless them. They will have kings on the throne, and the wealth of nations will be brought through the gates of the city. If they do not listen then God will destroy
All of these specific violations against the Law of God are a matter of God’s record against them. But now there is another written record that speaks a better word than anything we could ever accomplish on our own. There is a written record of the obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf, and this record has become ours through faith in his name. He is the tree of life planted by the waterside. He is the One in whom there is no hypocrisy. He is the Messiah who heals broken people on the Sabbath and testifies to the coming of the most perfect rest for God’s people in Him. This is all a matter of the official record of God, and it is recorded with many other specific acts of righteousness in the gospel accounts that we have in the New Testament. This is a great record of goodness, and it has become ours since we have become His.
But there is another book that completes the story of our acceptance by God, and this book will also one day be a matter of public record. It is the Lamb’s Book of Life, and in this book are the names of those who belong to Him. It is for these people that the obedience of Christ has been accomplished. It is for them that the precious Lamb of God has shed His atoning blood, taking away our guilt and shame forever.
The story of
posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM
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