Today’s reading in Jeremiah is chapters 35-37. Jer 37 sets the stage for Jeremiah’s ministry in the days of Jerusalem’s fall and will be considered tomorrow. Chapter 35 tells the story of the sons of Rechab who were offered wine by Jeremiah. They refused the wine because their father had commanded them to never drink wine (35:6). I see an issue much larger than wine in this story. I was impressed by the fact that the sons of Rechab stood by their personal convictions. It is very easy to allow peer pressure to cause us to violate our personal values and convictions. When we do that we soil our conscience and lose a bit of our character. It is sin to do anything we cannot do with a clear conscience (Rom. 14:23). God used the event to contrast the obedience of the Rechabites to the father with the disobedience of Judah to their God (35:12-18. Jeremiah 36 records the story of Jeremiah dictating a message to Baruch to be delivered to the people. Jeremiah was under house arrest and not able to deliver the message himself. Some of the leaders heard the message and were filled with fear (36:11-16). They took the copy of Jeremiah’s message and read it before the king. He cut the scroll with a knife and threw it into the fire (36:23). The message to Jeremiah was to write another scroll with all the words of the first scroll along with many other words (36:27-32). He was also to pronounce judgment on the house of Jehoiakim (36:30-31). The lesson is that even the king cannot destroy the word of God. He might destroy a copy of God’s word, but never the word God has given for “the word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Pet. 1:25).
Posted on: Wed, 04 Sep 2013 08:17:56 +0000
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