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Scripture:
Jeremiah 27:12-22Background:
Jeremiah was one of the prophets of the ancient kingdoms of divided Israel (Israel and Judah) who has been proclaiming to the people to repent of their ways and turn to God. Here, we can note that the people have been undergoing periods of wealth and boom, famines, wars, and rebellion, but their hearts were never true to God.In this episode of our series, Defining Love, we will see the other dimension of God’s love for us all and what it means for us to really love God.
In these verses, we can observe the following facts:
1. God’s instruction for the people to patiently submit to the Babylonians.Have you ever been asked by someone to do things that’s against your will?
Hearing Jeremiah’s warning and advice to the people is really itchy to the ears. They don’t want to submit themselves to Gentiles. Add to that, they really consider the chance of winning the fight for freedom against the Babylonians, when they allied themselves with the Egyptians.
2. Prevalence of false comforts and encouragements by false prophets.
As they come to believe what their Judean King, Zedekiah, is telling them that they can defeat their enemies, they become more sensitive to the words that prophets begin to say to them leaning more on the message of encouragement rather than what God wants them to really hear from Him. God has been seeking their hearts to come back to Him in repentance and submission but to no avail- their hearts were really hardened to sin more.
3. God has fixed his decision to punish Judah from its wickedness
“Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.” (Ezekiel 23:35)
Many kings have passed, many prophets have been sent, many miracles had been done, but still the people did not turn to God and repent of their ways. They had been unfaithful to God whom they should serve.
Why does God disciplines us?
Just like the Israelites, the thought of being disciplined by someone will make your mind wonder what type of discipline you might experience, how long will it last, when will it happen, so on and so forth.Whether we like it or not, God’s discipline is what we always deserve from Him. And here are some of the reasons that God does this to us:
1. Disobedience
We have sinned against Him. The one thing that makes us of the same level with the Israelites is that we are all “disobedient to Him”. God has never failed to remind us of our wrongdoings. Unfortunately, our tendency is to really follow the flesh. Numbers 14:18 has a very heavy warning to us all about the gravity of rampant disobedience to God:“The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.” (Numbers 14:18)
2. Restoration
God deserves our worship. Whenever the rightful worship is taken from Him and given to other gods, we forget to live righteously. Our righteousness is only found in God. So, if there’s always a block that obscures our contact with Him, we fail to take hold of God’s message in our lives. Hebrews 12:11 vividly states that: “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”People associate to religion in order to restore them to God.
They do things in the church’s customs and traditions.
Friends, only God has the right answer to that- seek with Him with all your heart, all your mind, all your thoughts, all your strength (Matt. 22:37)
3. You Are His Child
Praise God if your experiencing God’s lovely discipline! Let’s go back to Hebrews and see for ourselves what God is trying to illustrate to us: “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.” (Hebrews 12:7-8)It hurts to be disciplined. But being disciplined because you are God’s legitimate child is a different perspective to take into consideration! Whenever you feel that tugging in your heart that you’re experiencing God’s corrections, it only means that God cares for your welfare and He knows what’s best for you. Because if not, Paul has this to say to us:
“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” (Romans 1:28-32)
It's a scary thing if it happens to us brothers and sisters in Christ. Our arrogance to Him means that you intend to really disobey and follow what your flesh wants.
4. He Loves You
Because you’re His child, His love for you is unmatched!“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” (Hebrews 12:6)
A parent only wants what’s best for his/her child, the same through with God. He wants you to walk uprightly. Just like babies who still don’t know how to walk, their parents will guide them. There will be trips and falls, but God will lift you up in order for you to walk again with Him.
God’s love is beyond compare. Though we can’t fully grasp why He’s doing things we don’t expect to experience, one thing is for sure- He knows that you need it. He loves you so much that He brought that up to you for you to draw closer to Him more.
So, What Are We Going to Do Now?
Repent
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)He wants us to repent of our old ways. He is offering us the right kind of peace. Jesus wants us to experience freedom from bondage. His forgiveness brings peace, joy, and satisfaction.
Humble Yourself
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7)There’s no better way of getting a good grasp of God’s discipline than staying humble and fully acknowledging God’s work in us. Our sins are so great that we actually deserve Hell. It was only God’s love, grace and mercy that has given us the opportunity to be with Him- that alone will remind us of our nothingness that will bring us always to remain humble and keeping still.
Grow in Maturity
“Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.” (Philippians 3:15-16)As we become what God wants us to be, maturing to be specific, we become more aware of what God wants us to improve in our lives, our weaknesses, our shortcomings, etc.
His discipline makes us more aware of ourselves. That we have something that’s not okay. That our relationship with Him is being sidetracked. That the way we commune with Him is becoming self-centered. That we forget to really love Him.
Photo by: Zee Gabales
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