Relevant For Life -08/03/2013—“Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so. So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.” Jeremiah 38:12-13 NKJV. We live in a very fast paced society today. Because of this, we may have a tendency to read quickly through the Bible or anything we read for that matter. When we do so, we miss the little details and so much of God’s love and compassion in His word. God shows us His forethought and love towards us here by providing rags to protect the skin under Jeremiah’s arms from any further damage—damage and sores that may have already come from living in wet mire. But before this rescue happened, when they actually put Jeremiah in the dungeon, he had been lowered into a pit of mire—notice that the Lord actually made sure that He recorded for us the fact that Jeremiah sank into the mire-Jeremiah 38:6. I think I understand what mire is and what it means, but I looked it up to be sure. mire - a tract or area of wet, swampy ground; bog; marsh; ground of this kind, as wet, slimy soil of some depth or deep mud. I don’t know anyone that has ever sank into mire, quicksand or even seen any of it, but just the thought of being lowered into it is revolting, and this is a minor discomfort compared to most of the things that happened to the servants of the Lord. We are not sure here how long Jeremiah was in this muck and slime, which more than likely had some bodily waste in it, but here we find the Lord leading these men to pull Jeremiah out of this pit of mire. God was lovingly caring for Jeremiah in this by having them lower clothes down to protect his skin from the ropes. Some would say here why did God let him be put into this pit to begin with—but who is going to notice a perfect life? It is hardship that gets noticed. It seems move likely that God allowed this to happen to Jeremiah just to show us and those who were helping him get out of the pit, God’s loving care for Jeremiah. Plus, God allows things to happen to those who are His to let others see how we react to troubles in our life. People knew without a doubt that Jeremiah represented God, and when they put him into the pit he did not fight—he went along willingly—just like Jesus did to the cross. In fact, I would bet that Jesus laid down on it and put out is hands for them to hammer nails into. This has more impact on those around him than God making sure He was not mistreated. If Jeremiah’s life had been perfect, no one would ever have seen the hand of God stepping in. They would have missed His love for him and care in getting him out of the pit. God has a great care for us, even in the little things—“Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31 NKJV. And as we read in His word, God cares for birds so much so that He knows when a bird dies. Even when Jesus went in and overturned the money changers tables in the temple, driving out the sheep and the oxen, at the tables where the doves were in cages—John 2:13-16—He simply told them to remove them rather than disturb the cages of the doves. God cares for the birds indeed, but He did not die for the birds—He loves us more than the birds. He loves us so much so that every time we lose a hair from our head, He knows it as He is always aware of the exact amount of hairs on our head. If that is not interest in us—His creation—I sure do not know what is. I have found that God is not the monster I was always taught that He was –He gave us the ultimate gift of dying for our sin, but He is most definitely involved in the little things in our life too. What really strikes me in this part of God’s word is the forethought and compassion the Lord shows, the loving act of making sure these men gather some padding of old clothes and rags for protection for Jeremiah’s arms from the ropes that were going to pull him out of this pit. I don’t know about you, but this just blows me away when I see any little act of kindness. But when God, the Creator does it, I think it amazes me more as most of the time we just think of Him as too busy to care about the little things in our life. This little bit of compassion from God makes me stop and think—if I say that I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, where is my compassion for others? God tells us He died for the whole world and He loves the whole world –that means everyone. Am I loving the whole world like God loves them? Even people that bother me or that I don’t agree with? But of course there will be those whom you cannot even go around as they do nothing but abuse you or start arguments with you—God doesn’t want that for any of us. He does understand that we can love some best by not having contact with them. But am I loving them too? I can still pray for them. God loves them and He will help me love them too. We may be doing the same thing in our life—moving so fast in this fast paced world we live in to notice the little things in life. We call this stopping to smell the roses. Yet, God stops to do little things for us and we don’t even know it—we could be missing out on the little things He is doing every day of our life. When we read God’s word too fast, we can also miss the little tidbits of wisdom and love He left for us. Look for the little things in your life today—the little things the Lord is doing for you. He is there – we just need to pay closer attention. Notice the little things He left for us in His word too—what He is really like is there and they are very cool—if we just look. We need to show compassion in little things for others just like He does. “And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the LORD hid them.” Jeremiah 26:36 NKJV.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Aug 2013 13:02:00 +0000
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