OUR FATHER WHOSE WORD CANNOT BE BROKEN

Jeremiah chapter 32 verse 9 says this;

so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver.

At the time, Jerusalem was surrounded and besieged by the Babylonian army and against this backdrop, Jeremiah the prophet was warning king Zedekiah that fighting against the Babylonians would not succeed.

 Because he was declaring that Babylon was going to defeat the kingdom of Judah and take the king back to Babylon as a captive, Jeremiah had been detained by the king of Judah in the palace guard courtyard and the king, in verse 3, asked him, “Why do you prophesy as you do?

Jeremiah explained to the king that the word of the Lord came to him and the subsequent events  confirmed that it was indeed the Lord speaking.

First, the Lord told Jeremiah that his cousin name Hanamel was going to offer him some land to  buy and that he should by it. Just as the Lord said, Hanamel dropped in to see Jeremiah and offered some land for him to buy and Jeremiah bought the land in the presence of all the elders.

Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem would  return from being a worthless defeated land to being a desirable place to be and land and houses would become valuable again and thus the Lord had instructed Jeremiah to buy the land and to do so in a public way.

Jeremiah, continuing his explanation to the king, told him how he prayed to the Lord and recounted how much favor the Lord had granted the children of Israel including giving them the land of Judah. However, the Lord had made clear that they needed to obey his law and since they had not done so, the city was now surrounded by an invading army even as the Lord had said would happen.

The Lord told Jeremiah into buy land in a beseiged  Jerusalem when the land was almost  worthless and so Jeremiah was going to hang onto it because the Lord, in His goodness, was going to cause the children of Israel to return to the land that the Lord had given them.

Jeremiah chapter 32 verses 36 - 37 says it this way;

“You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.

Thus Jeremiah explained to the king why he was prophesying as he was and in fact, all he said from the Lord came to pass.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO IS OUR SHIELD AND OUR REWARD

Genesis chapter 15 verse 1 reads this way;

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

Now Abraham, in the preceding chapter, had returned from a great rescue mission to retrieve his kinsman, Lot and his family, who had been kidnapped by a raiding army when it attacked and ransacked the cities of Sodom, where Lot lived,  and Gomorah.

After the successful counter-attack, Abraham and his army returned with all the goods and people who had been taken in the raid and the king of Sodom offered to give him all the wealth that he had regained from the raiders.

Abraham turned down the offer and Abraham declared that he had made a binding  covenant with his God not to take a single piece of the plunder from the raid lest the king of Sodom be able to claim that he had made Abraham rich.

Whereas the booty gained from the costly pursuit would have replenished Abraham's supplies and holdings, Abraham was steadfast in keeping his agreement with the Lord even though it left him in an economic and militarily vulnerable position.

When the dust settled, Abraham had a vision during which the Lord told Abraham not to be afraid because the Lord Himself would be his shield and his very great reward.

The Lord assured Abraham that even though he was in a weakened position, the Lord himself would be Abraham's  strength and defender as well as being his very great reward.

Bless the Lord who will shield and supply us  when we follow His lead and live by faith.

Amen. 

OUR FATHER WHO COUNSELS US TO INVEST IN ETERNAL THINGS

1 Timothy chapter 2 verses 9 - 10 says this;

I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

This passage is part of a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy to instruct him on how to be a watchful and faithful leader in the church.

Regarding how church members conducted themselves, Paul wanted Timothy the exhort the women to dress modestly and to avoid adorning themselves with elaborate hairstyles, jewelry and clothing but rather with good deeds.

To my eye, this exhortation is good advice for both men and women to follow but whereas this passage is often read as a doctrine of the virtue of plainness and modesty, it should instead be seen as a call to heed the words of the Lord Jesus found in Mathew chapter 6 verses 19 - 21 which read this way;

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The physical adornment mentioned in Paul's letter specifically references the high cost of hair styling, gold, pearls and expensive clothes. 

These costly items and treatments consume our treasure on earth and expends them on things that are temporal and which will ultimately be forgotten.

Jesus's counsel is to take money that would have been used on fasion expenditures and invest it in things like giving to the poor of which Proverbs chapter 19 verse 17 says, "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done." 

Such investments with the Lord can be laid up in heaven and it is good counsel to invest in that which is eternal rather than in that which is passing away.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WARNS US AGAINST FALLING PREY TO CORRUPTION ENTERING THE CHURCH

Jude chapter 1 verses 4 - 6 says this;

For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

This passage in the book of Jude speaks of some people who covertly enter the churches and bring with them ungodliness, immorality and the denial of the deity and Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Whatever corruption such people bring to the church, Jude warns believers that following such people is a threat to the salvation that they gained through faith in Christ.

The first example offered by Jude was the story of the children of Israel who were delivered from Egypt and yet were destroyed in the wilderness because they did not believe. If believers are persuaded not to believe, they are in danger of suffering the loss of the inheritance that falls to them.

The second example is that of the angels who went beyond their authority and proper habitation and were thus imprisoned in eternal chains for their defiance. Here, Jude warns of the danger of traversing outside the boundaries and authorities granted to believers. If such behaviour invoked the condemnation of angels, certainly people will invite such condemnation on themselves if they are misled into straying outside their allowable jurisdictions.

The lesson that Jude is expositing is that we must guard our hearts against corruption that can be brought into the church by malevolent people to drag us into immorality, tresspassing and ultimately the loss of our faith in Christ.

As Mathew chapter 26 verse 41 says: Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO IS FAITHFUL TO US AND TO WHOM WE MUST BE FAITHFUL

The book of Hosea chapter 1 verses 5 - 6 says this;

In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.”

Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them.

This passage continues with the narrative in the first chapter of Hosea where God is displeased with the northern kingdom of Israel for their unfaithfulness when they pursued other gods.

The Lord instructed the prophet Hosea to marry a promiscuous woman who would symbolize Israel's unfaithfulness to God. 

Hosea married a woman named Gomer and she bore him a son whom the Lord told Hosea to name Jezreel because the punishment against Israel would be the same punishment of being conquered that was brought against Jezreel.

Gomer then gave birth to a daughter who was to be named Lo-Ruhamah which means 'not loved' to symbolize the absence of the Lord's love for Israel such that they would not be forgiven for their unfaithfulness.

Hosea's wife gave birth to another son and he was to be named Lo-Ammi which means , 'Not My people'.

The naming of the sequence of children born to Gomer showed the  progression of detachment from the Lord that Israel underwent because of  unfaithfulness. 

(First: Jezreel the conquered city) They were going to be punished in the same way that Jezreel was.

(Second: Lo-Ruhamah meaning 'not loved') The Lord was going to withdraw his love from them and deny them the possibility of forgiveness.

(Third: Lo-Ammi meaning 'not my people) The Lord was going to disown Israel altogether.

As a result of going down this progression of steps unchecked, Israel ultimately disappeared from history leaving the southern kingdom of Judah to be the locus of the Lord's presence.

If God's people are unfaithful by pursuing other god's  and if they do not heed correction, they too can become dislocated from God.

Let us pray for grace.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO HEALS

Luke chapter 14 verses 3 - 5 reads this way;

Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law,“ Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.

Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?”

Jesus had been invited for a meal at a Pharisee's house and He saw a man in front of Him with dropsy which is an abnormal swelling on the body.

The religious authorities of the day had established that the act of doing a miracle was work and as such, was unlawful to do on the Sabbath and thus, they were scrutinizing Jesus's actions to see if He would  contravene the law as they had interpreted it.

Jesus asked the pharisees and lawyers point blank if it were indeed lawful  or unlawful to miraculously heal a person on the Sabbath.

All of the scholars there were silent and so Jesus supernaturally healed the sick man and released him.

Jesus then turned back to those who were judging Him and asked them if they had not reserved a legality for themselves that allowed them to immediately perform the work of pulling and lifting if a child or an ox had fallen into a well on a Sabbath day.

Implied in the story is the absurdity of having, on one hand,  a law that allowed the immediate saving of  a child or an ox but on the other hand, a law that prevented the immediate healing of a person suffering from a debilitating ailment.

Bless the Lord who heals us no matter what standards the authorities enforce.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO DRAWS US TO HIMSELF

Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 14 reads this way;

I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty,” declares the Lord.

The prophet Jeremiah prophesied of a time when the Lord would gather His people into His kingdom and great joy and celebration would commence. As Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 10 says;

“Hear the word of the Lord, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his lflock like a shepherd.’

The ones the Lord has gathered together will be different because they will know the Lord individually and personally and not through proxies of God. Verse 34 in the same chapter reads;

No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord.

Bless the Lord who draws us to Himself and calls us all to know Him.

Amen.