Bible In One Year-Day 139 (Sunday, May 19, 2013)
Commentary: Jer4-6. Jeremiah was born in the time of Manasseh, the king who revived witchcraft in Jerusalem; he never received his calling until the time of Josiah, the son of Manasseh. In the initial moment of his calling, he faced some grievous opposition because he proclaimed God’s warnings to Judah for defecting to idolatry. The opposition was so bad that he withdrew for a while from answering God’s calling until God came to encourage him that He would put his words in his mouth and promised protection and guidance. The best way Jeremiah could describe the problem between God and His love was to liken it to a marriage that is breaking up into divorce (Jer2-3) and extra-marital affairs or harlotry; broken heart. Despite the breaking of God’s heart, He still made provisions and conditions for restoration; Jeremiah 4:1-2 “If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove. And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.”
They rejected God’s offer and leaned on their own understanding and counsel. They trusted in their own ability and strength which eventually drove away God’s blessings; their land did not yield food and there was no rain to water their dryness. It is one thing for us to work hard, but it is another thing for God to bless it. The sins of these people drove away God’s blessings;
Jeremiah 5:23-25 “But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.”
The manner in which the rain falls in the physical is the same manner in which blessing falls in the spiritual (showers of blessings). Blessing does not fall on a life living in iniquity. The mere fact that you have something to take home now does not mean one is still right with God’s heart. A tree could be dead at the root and still have its leaves green for a while. Termites could have invaded a home but still have the paintings covering the wood on the outside. Judah and Israel were disconnected from God and there was internal decay without their knowing. God made this known to them through prophets but they never yielded to the words of God. This was what made Jeremiah to weep after seeing how horrible it would be for Jerusalem. Chapter6 was the last warning God gave to Jerusalem. He sent prophets and priests to them but they remained adamant; Jeremiah 6:16-17 “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.”
God is still warning somebody out there today who has gone out of His covenant and joined with another. Everything we do to sin breaks the heart of God. Many run away from reading Deut29-30 because it contains a lot of “curse are ye …” To run from reading them isn’t the protection from these curse but knowing what brings any of these curses to be is what matters. Taking one’s eyes away from looking towards a cemetery while passing by does not mean one will not die and be buried there one day. We need to flee every known sin. We should not compromise. When you compromise, you are agreeing to the terms binding the agreement which is contrary to God’s warning; Exodus 20:5 “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;” Let us ask for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. May His grace be sufficient for us in the name of Jesus. Our next reading for today is Jer7-9. Keep the fire burning and alive.
Pastor Supo Abayode
+1-302-230-6792
Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Delaware, USA
Tag Archive | christianity
Consider Your Ways
Bible In One Year-Day 137 (Friday, May 17, 2013)
Commentary: 2Kings24-25. There are things that shouldn’t take over a child of God if at all it ever happened to him or her. However, in all situations, we need to consider our ways. If a child of God is neglected and it seems no one is there for him or her, it is not a failure, neither is it a curse. The most reliable and trusted person could be a disappointment in time of dear need; it is not a curse or a failure. These had to happen a times in order to prepare us for another level. However, if the anger of the Lord is to the extreme as it was against Judah, one is therefore doomed;
2 Kings 24:3-4 “Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.”
God Himself supervised the attack on Judah, the victor became the victim and the master became the servant. God could use anything to effect His judgment. Severally, He used the Assyrians to spank the Israelites in the chapters we had read so far; Isaiah 10:5 “O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.” Nebuchadnezzar was an instrument here in chapters24 and 25. The kings and important people of Judah were ridiculed, molested and carried captive. The poor ones were left uncared for. All the works of the temple which Solomon took credit for were burnt down. When a man is rejected, the work of his hands will be rejected also. Witchcraft stole the heart of Solomon and he lost a prestigious place with the Lord. The beauty of the temple he spent years to build was razed down within 24 hours. The books of Samuel and Kings were political history of the kingdoms (within and without); quite messy tussle for power, independence and dominion. In this messy political confrontations and battles, Jehoiachim, King of Judah, was held captive for 37 years. All important people and his mother were carried with him. His uncle, Mattaniah, was installed in his stead. The king of Babylon even went ahead to give him a name which was easier for him to pronounce, Zedekiah. Unfortunately, along the line he was dealt with by the same king who installed him; 2 Kings 25:6-7 “So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.”
Evidently, you can’t be stronger than the powers that installed you when it comes to spiritual matters; only in Jesus could you overcome. One of the ways to deal with rebellious leaders in those days was to pluck out their eyes. The last thing Zedekiah saw before his eyes were removed was the death of his children. Two prophets actually lived during all these political rubbish; Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Jeremiah was born in the time of Manasseh. He could not stand the idolatrous lives of the two kingdoms and this was why he was called the weeping prophet. He warned Zedekiah severally about the impending danger of idolatry, but Zedekiah listened to the counsels of his lieutenants rather than the voice of God. There is no protection for whoever rejects the word of God. The smell of God is in His words; you can’t find Him where His word is not. It was during his own time that Jerusalem fell. All along, Jehoiachim was in captivity. His restoration at the end of chapter25 was a sign of hope for a repentant nation, Jer29:10-14.
We need to read the book of Jeremiah next to have more in-depth knowledge of God’s dealing with His people. The reading for today is Jeremiah1-3. Keep the fire burning and alive.
Jeremiah 29:11-12 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.”
Matthew 5:18 For verily I say to you, Till heaven and earth shall pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Pastor Supo Abayode
+1-302-230-6792
MFM, Delaware, USA
Mountain of Fire And Miracles Ministries Delaware 