Monthly Archives: May 2010

Jeremiah 15:1-4 (ESV)

Then the Lord said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! [2] And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord:

” ‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence,

and those who are for the sword, to the sword;

those who are for famine, to famine,

and those who are for captivity, to captivity.’

[3] I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the Lord: the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. [4] And I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.

Are you a leader? Do you have responsibility to lead people, to direct people? Are you over people at work? Are you a parent? Are you a husband? Almost all people are leaders in some segment of their lives. The one who is at the bottom of the pile at work, who has everyone over him and he is over nobody, comes home to two children whom God has given to him to lead and direct and teach. The youngest child in a household of six children may be given responsibilities at school or in the church that necessitate her being over someone else, even if it is only a matter of ensuring that the garbage gets taken out properly. Most of us lead in some capacity whether the responsibilities are great or not.

Everyone wants to be the boss. The boss is considered to be the one in control. He is the one who gets to give the orders. She is the one who gets to decide who does what without the irritation of being told by others what to do. Nice thing to be in charge. It means more respect, perhaps more money, more power.

We also know that it means more responsibility. Being a leader involves more planning, more work. It means burning the midnight oil, getting by on less sleep quite often and having to forgo breaks and holiday time for the sake of accomplishing the tasks set before us. It is not people at the bottom of ladders who suffer from burnout and overwork. The higher you go in an organization the more stress you find assaulting you.

But there is another aspect of leadership that needs to be taken into consideration. We know about the privileges and we are cognizant of the responsibilities. But how often do we talk about its accountability? Quite often we think being the boss means not having to be accountable to others. Well, that just isn’t possible.

In the text of Scripture before us today we are introduced to the King of Judah during the time of Jeremiah’s work, Manasseh. A more wicked King the country would never have. You can read of him in II Kings 21 and II Chronicles 33. II Kings 21:9 tells us that the people did not listen to the Lord and Manasseh led them astray. The people were bent on disobeying God and Manasseh’s responsibility as King in a theocracy was to bring the people back to the worship that God had ordained for them. But what he did instead was lead them into idolatry.

Now look at verse 4 above. God will make the people of Israel a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh did. The nation is under the judgement of God because of what Manasseh did. Manasseh is the one who must give account for the state of the nation.

Everyone wants to be the boss. Everyone wants to be at the top of the pile. In the Church the only one at the top is Jesus Christ. But He has appointed leaders in the church and we had better take our responsibility seriously. We are going to give an account of how we led and what we taught. If you are a teacher or pastor or church leader of some sort, give serious thought to the following texts. Be glad that God has chosen you to be in the leadership position that you hold, but never forget that you are going to be held to account for how you handled this stewardship from God.

Matthew 18:7 – “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!

Hebrews 13:17 – Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

James 3:1 – Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

Are you a leader? Lead with the full knowledge that you will be held accountable to the Judge of all the earth for how you led, what you taught, and where you took those who were following you. He who called you will equip you, but you will have to answer for how you handled the equipment.

Psalm 126:1-6 (ESV)

A Song of Ascents.

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,

we were like those who dream.

[2] Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then they said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

[3] The Lord has done great things for us;

we are glad.

[4] Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

like streams in the Negeb!

[5] Those who sow in tears

shall reap with shouts of joy!

[6] He who goes out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

bringing his sheaves with him.

Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy. He who goes out weeping … shall come home with shouts of joy … You have to like the King James version’s rendering of Psalm 126:6 when it says that those who go out weeping shell doubtless return with songs of joy … . It emphasizes the solidness of the promises of God.

What God says will happen, will happen – without doubt. It is a great truth but lest we lose sight of it, the promise that we shall reap with shouts of joy is connected to the promise that we shall sow in tears. You can put a “doubtless” in there as well. There is no doubt that we are going to cry. And we are going to cry because people oppose us and hate us and abuse us and deny the message and accuse us and plot against us and – oh the list is just too long.

There are tears. They come from hurt. Sometimes the hurt is other believers who seem absent of the love that Jesus said would characterize His disciples. We picture the farmer getting up before sunrise. His back aches from the day before. Yesterday rain washed seed away and today it needs to be done all over again. Birds eat the seed. Bugs eat the shoots. Animals eat the fruit. Too much sun and the crops will shrivel up and die. Too much rain and the seed will rot in the ground. The farmer’s skin is like leather. His heart is heavy. It is always the same. Every year after year after year.

And the Christian gets up and his heart aches. Yesterday his faith was maligned. An old friend betrayed him. Someone at work took credit for his work and got the bonus that goes with it. His son thinks the Gospel is for the birds (the same ones who steal the seed). He has no friends at the church and the last time he confided in anyone it was through the whole church in a week. Yet he keeps on because he believes that they who sow in tears will doubtless reap with joy.

Are you a Christian leader ,a pastor, elder, deacon, board member? Are you sowing in tears? Are the tears caused by the lack of commitment of some, the over work of others, the hardness of heart of so many? Does the lack of fruit from the work cause the tears? Have other church leaders opposed your plans, impugned your motives and ignored the teaching? Have you gone to other pastors only to find that they can cause as many tears as anyone?

Tears. Church work, evangelistic work, discipling work, youth work, whatever the work, there are tears. Paul knew it. He lived through his tears. His heart broke over the sins of those he led to Christ. He got anxious regarding their possible succumbing to the myriad of false teachings and teachers who were on the prowl. Such is the work. It has been captured in the phrase “vale of tears”, meaning valley of tears, which reminds us of the valley of the shadow of death.

Without the Gospel nothing could be more depressing. Because the message of the Scriptures is that while weeping may tarry for the night, joy comes with the morning. If this is not so we are of all people, most miserable. But it is true. It was true for the Old Testament prophets. It was true for Jesus. It was true for the early church. And it has been true for the faithful ever since. You are in good company if your tears are caused by faithfulness to the Gospel. Jesus said we should rejoice in the face of opposition since others before us have suffered in the same way. So, we can find joy in the fact that there is nothing unusual in our tears. Others had them long before we did.

And then there is the morning. Morning is coming. We can have joy because we know the morning is coming. We can have joy now knowing that there is complete joy, absent of all tears coming. And one day we will have that tearless complete joy. The Apostle Paul put it this way in 2 Cor. 4:17-18:

For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, [18] as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Tears. Don’t be fooled by them. They are not a message that you are doing everything wrong. They are not saying that the world is not worth it. They are not saying that you should quit and go do something a little less painful. They are saying, this is the way the faithful have always been treated. This is how Jesus and a host of others were treated. This is your calling. And some day, you will have joy that is eternal and none of the tears. Go sow some seed.

Jeremiah 14:11-21 (ESV)

The Lord said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. [12] Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”

[13] Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’ ” [14] And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. [15] Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. [16] And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, with none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.

[17] “You shall say to them this word:

‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,

and let them not cease,

for the virgin daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,

with a very grievous blow.

[18] If I go out into the field,

behold, those pierced by the sword!

And if I enter the city,

behold, the diseases of famine!

For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land

and have no knowledge.’ “

[19] Have you utterly rejected Judah?

Does your soul loathe Zion?

Why have you struck us down

so that there is no healing for us?

We looked for peace, but no good came;

for a time of healing, but behold, terror.

[20] We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,

and the iniquity of our fathers,

for we have sinned against you.

[21] Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake;

do not dishonor your glorious throne;

remember and do not break your covenant with us.

The die is cast. God has determined that the day of repentance and forgiveness for Judah, is over. He would not hear and answer these rebellious people even if they did call out. So, Jeremiah tells them that there is certain judgement coming. This is considered treasonous by the nation. Despite Jeremiah’s warnings people reason that God will not abandon them now that the wolves are at the door and that the horrible calamity that Jeremiah is predicting will not come to pass. So the preachers and prophets and priests soothe the people with messages of safety and peace.

And God says “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. ”

They make up a message and claim that it is from God.

God sends a famine (14:1) and the people therefore start to call upon God. And God, in keeping with His Word, does not hear them. Their prayer, as we understand prayer, is quite a good one. They acknowledge their wickedness (verse 20), they say that they want to be spared for God’s name sake (verse 21), and they remind God that He is a covenant keeping God and therefore He should remember His covenant with them.

The prayer is both late and insincere. They honour God with their lips and their hearts are far from Him. They believe but God looks deeper than the profession of an orthodox sounding prayer.

People have not changed. People pray in a pickle and wonder why God does not come through. There seems to be no understanding that God is not required to come through for them at all. They remind God of His covenant but they do not realize that the covenant came, as all covenants do, with conditions. They remember well God’s side of the covenant but conveniently forget their own. God is very plain. If Moses Himself pleaded for them He would not hear and answer (15:1).

It is a dangerous thing to presume upon the mercy of God. False confidence, ignorance, planned repentance, are all evidence of a very hollow belief system. It will burst in the day of calamity and will resort to blaming God for its troubles. We are so accustomed to hear that God always hears and always answers that people think that it is God’s responsibility to come through for them when things get tough and they call out for help. When it does not come, then the angry “Where was God?” is spit through the teeth.

But there is more here that addresses us. God is not to be tinkered with. He is not some magic potion that we sprinkle on our problems to make them go away when things get too tough for us to handle. God’s patience with people is not eternal. He gives up on people. This is the plain teaching here and in other texts of Scripture, notably Romans 1:18-32 (especially verses 24, 26, 28).

What do you think of God’s response to the people of Judah in Jeremiah 14 and 15? Was He cruel, unloving, unfair? Was He true to His Word, faithful to His own glory and righteous? How you answer the question is an indication of where your heart may be. In His providence God has allowed you to read this little article. Are you tinkering with sin as if it is not a serious thing? Do you rest in mercy that you are taking for granted? Be very careful.

Are you planning to get things straightened out with God later? How do you know if the thought of not being heard by God will even bother you tomorrow? How do you know that you will not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin? God is not to be trifled with. Come (back) to Him while you still can and while He still allows you into His presence to even say you want Him.

And come to Him by the only way you can – Jesus Christ. He is the only way. There is no other mediator between God an man. There is no other name given among men. He lived the sinless life. He died the sinners’ death. He is the Priest who can mediate for you.