Tag: Jeremiah

Racing With Horses

Featured ~ Sowmya Gali

Jeremiah 12: 5

If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?

In the first four verses of Jeremiah 12, we see Jeremiah complaining to Almighty God about the wicked people, how they are prospering, how the faithless are bearing fruit. Even though they have God on their lips, He is far from their hearts. Jeremiah is calling on God to bring down judgment on these wicked people who have surrounded him and were plotting against him (Jeremiah 11: 18-23).

In Verse 5 God answers Jeremiah with the above verse. In this world, we are being persecuted for our faith. We deal with daily sneers for professing our faith in Jesus in the public square. We are dealing with wickedness and faithlessness on a daily basis. However, God is saying that just because a few people are mocking us for our faith, are we right in asking God to bring down judgment on the unrighteous?

Jesus Himself declared that in this world we will have many struggles but be of good cheer because He has overcome the world. He has laid an example for us to follow suit. Jesus could have wiped out the whole mankind with just one word or called on His angels to destroy us. But He didn’t. He didn’t compete with men. Even when the people crucified Jesus on the cross, He didn’t contend with them. He wasn’t racing against men on foot but He was competing with the devil himself for our souls.

The trials and temptations we face in this life are hard. Indeed, we constantly contend with them on a daily basis. If these struggles can shake our faith, then how can we withstand the onslaught of the evil that is coming? A horse represents speed, agility, and an unstoppable force. If the small struggles we face for our faith bring us down and make us question our faith, then how will we stand against the full onslaught of the evil headed our way. The evil one is always conspiring against us. He aspires to see that sooner than later we will be rattled to give up our faith.

We see, just like Jeremiah, the wicked prospering and are frustrated. We consider in our hearts that the unfaithful people are having fun and always enjoying life, while we Christians are always poor, and constantly struggle. Such situations cause many to abandon their faith and follow the world. That is exactly the time when the devil smirks at Jesus.

God points out to Jeremiah that if what we see in the physical realm and get disheartened, then how are we going to face the battles in the spiritual realm? If in a safe country we are stumbling, then how can we stand firm and manage our way out when we are surrounded by hate and persecution? Consider our fellow Christian brother and sister in a region where they don’t have freedom to read the Bible or where Christianity is forbidden.

Do you see and read, dear Saint, the times we are living in? We are constantly facing troubles of all sizes and we get disheartened. If under such small trials, we are troubled, then how are we equipping ourselves to face the bigger ones that are coming our way? Jesus Christ faced the ultimate stronghold when He took up all our sins on the cross, and He came out victorious. Apostle Paul urged Christians in the early church to stay the course and keep the faith despite the persecution. He assured them that God will rescue them. Saints down through the ages have faced several trials. Many were martyred but they gladly bore them all knowing that the One who walked before them has already won the victory. When we face trials, let us learn to look up as our redemption draws near.

In exhortation, Ephesians 6: 10-12: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

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Utmost Obedience of Rechabites

Featured ~ Sowmya Gali

Jeremiah 35: 5 – 10

5 Then I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine.” 6 But they said, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons, forever. 7 You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, nor have any of these; but all your days you shall dwell in tents, that you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.’ 8 Thus we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9 nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; nor do we have vineyard, field, or seed. 10 But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

Rechabites are an interesting group of people that pop up a few times in the Bible. Historically, their family line can be traced back to Midianite Jethro, father-in-law of Moses. In this portion of Jeremiah 35, the Bible records an exclusive group of people who have laid down strict laws and have adhered to the vows that their forefather Jonadab (Jehonadab) has vowed before the Lord. Here is a nomadic tribe which has set itself apart and has never assimilated into the society that they were living nearby. Instead, they have kept their forefather’s vow for generations.

The Prophet Jeremiah in order to compare and contrast the faithfulness and obedience of a nation/tribe (in this case, a small group of loyal people) to the faithless and disobedient nation of Israel, brings the whole house of Rechabites along with other men into the house of the Lord. He places wine in front of them and asks them to drink. However, the Rechabites fiercely defended their forefather’s oath and refused to take the wine.

On one hand, the Israelites, despite God’s repeated warnings through His prophets, tend to easily forget their loyalty to the Lord. At every opportunity they get, they stray away to different idols and find themselves in trouble. A loving God comes to their rescue every time. Jeremiah, utilizing the exemplary lifestyle of Rechabites, reminds the people of Judah that Rechabites have been so faithful through all generations because of the oath of their ancestor, a mere man. How much more the Israelites must obey the true and living God!

Jonadab (Jehonadab) was the man, who jumped into the chariot of Zealous Jehu to wipe out Baal from the land of Israel. (2 Kings 10: 15) Jehu knew in his heart that Jonadab was the man who can help him eliminate Baal and Ashtoreth worshippers from the land of Israel. Both men were responsible in bringing to a halt the atrocities and abominations committed by Ahab and Jezebel. Centuries and several generations later, the descendants of this valiant hero, still remained faithful to the promise of their forefathers. They upheld every aspect of the vow that Jonadab vowed before the Lord. Such was their faithfulness to their forefather!

Jeremiah reminded the people of Judah that when people like Rechabites were willing to obey their father’s vow dutifully, why couldn’t the children of Israel despite several warnings from the Lord still chose to disobey Him. God honored the Rechabites by promising them that they will never lack a man to stand before the Lord.

Jeremiah 35: 18 – 19

18 And Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts and done according to all that he commanded you, 19 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me forever.” ’ ”

Dearly beloved, where do our loyalties lie? Are we willing to obey the Lord God Almighty implicitly and take Him at His Word? Do our lives reflect our faithfulness and obedience to God or do they reflect worldly desires? Just imagine hearing the blessing from a prophet of God for their faithfulness in keeping their forefather’s vow. They may not have expected any kind of blessing or promise. They were only obeying the vow of their forefather. God honored their faithfulness and blessed them with such a blessing. Let us also remain faithful and obedient to the One and only True God because in obedience there is blessing.

1 Samuel 15: 22

22 So Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.

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