Jeremiah is such a heart-breaking book. The prophet Jeremiah chronicles the story of a son and his Father.
A headstrong foolish rebellious son, intent on finding his own way and who ultimately finds himself in prison. A Father who sees what lies at the end of the road His son is travelling and tries every tactic and strategy to get His son off the path of destruction. Nothing works, for the ears of the son are shut. He does not trust His Father’s love, does not want to submit to the Father’s wisdom. He trusts everyone other than his Father, depends on untrustworthy friends, turns his back on his Father, and even begins to call lifeless things his Father.
Jeremiah brings an amazing revelation of the Father’s heart. A Father who loves with the depth of His being even though He knows that His son doesn’t love Him or trust Him. A Father who would love to defend and fight for His son but respects His son’s choice to go it alone. Tough love. A love that sees the inevitable consequences of His son’s folly and lays plans for His son’s rescue.
Jeremiah hears and records the Father’s pleas. He sees and records the stubborn foolishness of the son. He sees the son suffer the consequences of his foolhardiness. And Jeremiah gets an amazing window into the Father’s heart who sends a message of comfort and hope to his rebellious son who’s now cooling his heels in prison.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,
says the LORD,
thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jer 29:11 KJV
Even though you are in captivity because of your foolishness and stubbornness
in making alliances with those who most certainly were going to fail you
in trusting in the city walls and the arm of man
in calling pieces of clay and wood your ‘father’
and believing that they were the ones who took care of you…
Even though you refused to listen to Me,
Even though you depised My messengers
and deleted and ignored My messages,
I AM and always be who I AM
I cannot stop being who I AM
Holy and True
Unchanging in my love
For I know the heart with which I think of you:
My thoughts, intentions,
the plans and preparations I make for you –
each one of them is
filled with a desire for your
peace
completeness
soundness
welfare
safety
health
prosperity
quiet
tranquillity
contentment
friendship
rest from hostilities.
My thoughts are not evil
full of hate and anger
planning pain, unhappiness, misery,
but
friendly thoughts
motivated by a desire to give you
a lifeline of hope
something to hold onto
something to look forward to
to anticipate with pleasure
a certainty that what you wait for
will arrive and be fulfilled.
Then you shall call on Me,
and you shall go and pray to Me,
and I will listen to you.
And you shall seek Me and find Me,
when you search for Me with all your heart.
And I will be found by you, says Jehovah;
and I will turn away your captivity, …
Jer 29:12-14 MKJV
The Israelites begged Moses to cover his face because they could not bear to gaze upon the glory of God, however pallidly it was reflected on Moses’ face. They feared a God they could not control, a God who could not be bought and bribed, a God who was real – who spoke, who commanded, who did things.
Imagine, each time they looked at Moses face, they were reminded of the holy reality of God. Fear, fear of punishment, fear of falling short, fear of God’s requirements cast a veil over their hearts. It filtered the words into their hearts. Fear filtered out the love of God. Separated from the character of God, divorced from the reality of His love, the law became drudgery, a heavy burden, an insurmountable obstacle to peace and rest.
How can one submit to that which one fears? How can one believe in the goodness of that which one fears? How can one listen when fear forms a wall? In Jeremiah’s time, fear had so hardened their hearts and blinded them, that the Israelites could not hear the love and concern that God was voicing through His true prophets. Fear made every message seem ugly and threatening. Fear made them deaf to the promises that were woven into every warning.
Tragic.
But in Christ the veil is removed. He came with the express purpose of exploding the myths and half-truths about God. He came to tear down the barriers of fear and lies that would keep us from running to God. He came to show us the Father heart of God, His tender affection towards us.
He did not come to set some impossible standards, but He came to show us the purity of the righteousness of God, the amazing ‘other’/holy quality of His love. Love full of wisdom, truth, patience, strength and full of justice.
He came to reveal the true glory of God – the character of God. Glory, not as we think of it in our petty human minds, where we associate glory with plaudits and shining lights. Jesus came to reveal the full dimensions of God’s love, righteousness, truth, justice, grace, mercy, power.
And He came to be the Way into the Father’s heart. No more hanging outside with bleating lambs, hoping the sacrifice is acceptable. He became the Lamb that was fully acceptable. No more downcast eyes and prostrate figures – John was lifted up and set on his feet, in the presence of the Holy God. True, the elders voluntarily fell down before the Throne, but they did that because they could find no words exalted enough or complete enough to express all that was in their hearts after they had experienced the beauty and glory of God.
The Door – stands open. Each day we can enter into His glorious Holy presence. Nay, more than that he has opened His heart to us to be our HOMES, to dwell in Him…
No more waiting for Moses, Samuel or Jeremiah to go between, to find out the will of the Lord. No! WE can enter and dwell in the Name of Jesus, to hear the voice of the Lord for ourselves. We can gaze upon His beauty, His holiness and be transformed by His love.
There is no fear in love,
but perfect love casts out fear,
because fear has torment.
He who fears has not been perfected in love.
We love Him because He first loved us.
1Jn 4:18-19 MKJV
“… O Sovereign Lord, holy and true,…“ Rev 6:10
Lord what do I say.
The words seem stuck somewhere in the depths of my heart.
I can feel thoughts bubbling and boiling in pictures that cannot be put into words. May there should be something like a Polaroid camera, taking snapshots of my thoughts, magically linking them to words, shaping them into sentences
Holy and true.
How can anyone begin to define,
squeeze
into a few pithy words the
awesomeness of all that You are.
Integrity:
no gap between your words, your actions, your motives.
Showing the same picture to all,
no different faces for different people.
All who come to you and seek you find you to be consistent, faithful, true.
Completely unlike any other we’ve ever known.
Not squeezable into any mould
Can’t be labelled and pigeon-holed
Constantly surprising and yet constantly consistent
Unceasingly working and yet completely at rest
Intangible, Invisible and yet Alpha Reality
Love unfeigned and unforced
Pure Light, no shadows
Wisdom clear and true
Immovable friend
Unwavering Defender of my cause
Supreme Emperor of the Universe
because truly the universe
and all that’s in it is Yours
King who should be obeyed without a question
yet, respecting us… giving us freedom to choose
You are complete in Yourself
And yet You seek us, Your people
To be the fullness of You who fills all in all!
Well, I never felt more like crying all night
‘Cause everything’s wrong
And nothing is right, ….
You got me singing the blues…
That’s some of the lines from Randy Travis’ song ‘I never felt more like singing the blues’.
Blues. The problem with ‘blues’ is that they colour everything and envelop everything in the deep dusk of despair. Shadows deepen and shapes distort, till everything seems monstrous and threatening. One feels alone, cut off and helpless.
Perfect setting for the Dark Whisperer to get busy, sowing doubts, fears, lies about self, God and others. Self-pity lovingly waters the poisonous seeds that have been sown. The Dark Whisperer smugly waits for the harvest of Bitterness and Despair to come forth.
I was reading Psalm 43 today morning. David has the blues and he has it bad. He feels surrounded and friendless, and as always he runs to God, His steadfast friend, for help.
Send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!
Psa 43:3 ESV
Light splashes colour, ruining the blue monotones.
Truth cuts through the cobwebby fears.
Brooding monsters are mere trees
And haunted ruins, commonplace homes.
I’m not in vampirish Transylvania!
No! Just in mundane Suburbania!
The Dark Whisperer’s harvest is uprooted.
Worship and praise burst forth in triumph.
I enter the Holy of Holies,
And there at the foot of the Cross-
The ultimate altar of God,
I stand redeemed and made holy,
To sing for joy
To God who is my joy
And Whose joy is my strength.
“when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad:
for he was desirous to see him of a long season,
because he had heard many things of him;
and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.” Luke 23:8
Ah, Jesus, so I get to meet you finally.
Great troublemakers you lot are.
Pity that, about your cousin John the Baptist –
Very holy and all that, but very foolish.
He wouldn’t listen to reason.
Now, they tell me that you are a bit different from him.
That you actually do miracles.
Is that true that you turned water into wine?
And all that about people getting healed –
Is that for real, or just psychological ravings of people on an emotional high?
Well, well, well, this is very interesting.
So what do you have planned for us today?
Moses turned his staff into a snake
And the water in the jar into blood.
Are you going to do something like that?
I am hoping for something more mind boggling.
Oh yes, don’t do the water into blood thing –
It makes a mess.
Come on, don’t stand there doing nothing!
It’s boring, and I abominate bores.
Why do I feel his eyes look into my heart?
Why do I want to get up and give him my throne?
Okay, maybe you’re out of tricks today.
Tell me, then, what do you have to say?
Do you think you are the announced Messiah?
What are your plans? Come answer, sirrah!
Insolence! I won’t stand for it.
What do you mean what’s the verdict, Caiaphas?
Guilty! Should I say that?
Hmmm, I don’t know what the people would say.
I don’t know whether my popularity ratings would stand it.
Besides, what if he is who he says he is…
Why do I feel his eyes look into my heart?
Why do I feel like I want to fall at his feet and ask forgiveness?
Forgiveness? I am the King! Above the law!
Guards! A purple robe please!
Let’s teach this upstart a lesson.
Execute him? Ah Caiaphas, let Pilate deal with that.
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The three wise men saw the star in the east proclaiming the birth of someone who they knew was going to be a significant king. They packed their bags, packed precious, prophetic gifts and travelled miles across difficult terrain, to personally worship the king who was born. What did they get out of that encounter? They met a young child. They didn’t receive pearls of wisdom or any earthly favours. And yet it is recorded for us, that, “they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when … they saw the young child … and fell down, and worshipped him: …” Mat 2:10-11
Zacchaeus climbed a tree to get a glimpse of Jesus. When Jesus took notice of him, Zacchaeus received Jesus joyfully, made a 180 turnaround in his life, and did all he could to set things right.
Herod, had a mental image of Jesus, and what that Jesus would do. Herod only wanted to be entertained, and was disappointed that Jesus would not play ball.
Jesus warned His disciples to beware the leaven of Herod.
- The superficial seeker.
- The professed theist but functional atheist.
- Looking for experiences.
- Collecting anecdotes.
- Full of one’s own worth.
- Trusting one’s rank and status.
- Wanting to be in control.
- Resisting the voice of the Holy Spirit.
- Seeking endorsement and approval for hedonistic lifestyles.
How we would love to have a tame god who jumps through hoops for us. And how we reject the True Living God, because He keeps exploding the tame gods we create. How we love to put the lid on the voice of the Holy Spirit and push for our will to be done. We want a safe God who will endorse our lifestyles instead of bringing our lives into alignment with His.
Lord, help us to love You and worship You for who You are, not what we imagine you to be. Amen
speak peace always 