remember

Remember and Rejoice

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

1 Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
    make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
    make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
4 Seek the LORD and his strength;
    seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
    children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

7 He is the LORD our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
    the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
    his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
    as your portion for an inheritance.”

12 When they were few in number,
    of little account, and sojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them;
    he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
    do my prophets no harm!”

16 When he summoned a famine on the land
    and broke all supply of bread,
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
    Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 His feet were hurt with fetters;
    his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until what he had said came to pass,
    the word of the LORD tested him.
20 The king sent and released him;
    the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21 he made him lord of his house
    and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to bind his princes at his pleasure
    and to teach his elders wisdom.

23 Then Israel came to Egypt;
    Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And the LORD made his people very fruitful
    and made them stronger than their foes.
25 He turned their hearts to hate his people,
    to deal craftily with his servants.

26 He sent Moses, his servant,
    and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them
    and miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
    they did not rebel against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood
    and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
    even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
    and gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain,
    and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,
    and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
    young locusts without number,
35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land
    and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
    the firstfruits of all their strength.

37 Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,
    and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
    for dread of them had fallen upon it.

39 He spread a cloud for a covering,
    and fire to give light by night.
40 They asked, and he brought quail,
    and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
    it flowed through the desert like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy promise,
    and Abraham, his servant.

43 So he brought his people out with joy,
    his chosen ones with singing.
44 And he gave them the lands of the nations,
    and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil,
45 that they might keep his statutes
    and observe his laws.
Praise the LORD! – Psalm 105:1-45 ESV

According to this unnamed psalmist, Yahweh was worthy of praise because of His faithful commitment to the people of Israel. This entire psalm is a call for the Israelites to acknowledge the trustworthiness and greatness of their covenant-keeping God. In the opening lines of his song, the psalmist repeatedly charges his fellow Israelites to recall and recount God’s wondrous works on their behalf.

Let the whole world know what he has done. – Psalm 105: 1 NLT

 Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. – Psalm 105:2 NLT

Remember the wonders he has performed,
    his miracles, and the rulings he has given… – Psalm 105:5 NLT

If the Israelites needed a reason to celebrate Yahweh’s goodness and greatness, their rich and storied history was filled with examples. But for the psalmist, the most remarkable illustration of Yahweh’s faithfulness was the covenant He made with Abraham, the patriarch and progenitor of the Hebrew people.  Centuries earlier, God had called this pagan idol worshiper to abandon his clan, homeland, and false gods for a new lifelong relationship with Him.

“Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” – Genesis 12:1-3 NLT

What made this promise even more remarkable was that Abraham was already an old man, married to an equally old and barren wife. But despite the poor odds for success, Abraham obeyed and followed Yahweh to the land of Canaan. The psalmist adds a line to his song that celebrates God’s faithfulness to fulfill His covenant commitment to Abraham.

He always stands by his covenant—
    the commitment he made to a thousand generations.
This is the covenant he made with Abraham
    and the oath he swore to Isaac.
He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
    and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:
“I will give you the land of Canaan
    as your special possession.” – Psalm 105:8-11 NLT

While no timeline is given to establish the dating of this psalm, it was obviously written long after the Israelites had entered and taken possession of the land of Canaan. Centuries had passed, and the Israelites had enjoyed a long tenure as occupants of the “land of promise.” It had taken hundreds of years for God to fulfill His covenant commitment to Abraham, but every facet of His original promise had occurred just as He said it would. With each passing generation, God reaffirmed His intention to keep His word. After the death of Abraham, God reiterated His covenant promise to Abraham’s son, Isaac.

“Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” – Genesis 26:3-5 NLT

When Isaac eventually died, God passed on His covenant promises to Isaac’s son, Jacob, whom God later renamed Israel.

“I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” – Genesis 35:11-12 NLT

But despite God’s promises, Jacob’s small family was anything but a great nation, and they lived as relative nomads in the land that was supposed to be their inheritance.

…they were few in number,
    a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.
They wandered from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another.
Yet he did not let anyone oppress them.
    He warned kings on their behalf:
“Do not touch my chosen people,
    and do not hurt my prophets.” – Psalm 105:12-15 NLT

But God was not done, and the psalmist recalls the next phase of God’s promise-keeping plan for His chosen people. Verses 16-22 recount the astonishing story of Joseph, the son of Jacob, who was sold into slavery by his own brothers. Jealous of Joseph’s favored-son status, his brothers plotted to get rid of him by selling him to slave traders and then telling their father that he had been killed by a wild animal. They lived with this lie for years while their brother experienced a roller-coaster existence in the land of Egypt.

They bruised his feet with fetters
    and placed his neck in an iron collar.
Until the time came to fulfill his dreams,
    the Lord tested Joseph’s character.
Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free;
    the ruler of the nation opened his prison door.
Joseph was put in charge of all the king’s household;
    he became ruler over all the king’s possessions. – Psalm 105:18-21 NLT

This was all part of God’s plan for the descendants of Abraham. He had sent Joseph ahead to prepare for the next phase of His covenant-fulfilling strategy, which was in keeping with another promise He made to Abraham.

“You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) After four generations your descendants will return here to this land… – Genesis 15:13-16 NLT

The psalmist knew the story well and recounted how Jacob and his family migrated to Egypt to escape a famine in the land of Canaan.

Then Israel arrived in Egypt;
    Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.
And the LORD multiplied the people of Israel
    until they became too mighty for their enemies.
Then he turned the Egyptians against the Israelites,
    and they plotted against the LORD’s servants. – Psalm 105:23-25 NLT

The Book of Genesis affirms that Jacob’s family was anything but a great nation when they arrived in Egypt.

…there were seventy members of Jacob’s family in the land of Egypt. – Genesis 46:27 NLT

But as the psalmist recounts, the Israelites grew in number, just as God had said they would. In fact, their numbers increased so significantly that they became a threat to the Egyptians. In four centuries, the Israelites had multiplied and prospered under God’s sovereign hand, causing the Pharaoh to enact a series of edicts that enslaved and oppressed God’s people. But verses 26-36 recount how Yahweh raised up a deliverer to rescue His people from slavery and lead them back to the land of Canaan.

Through a series of devastating plagues, Yahweh punished Pharaoh and the people of Egypt for their refusal to set His people free. But eventually, God persuaded the pride-filled Pharaoh to release the Israelites and allow them to return to the land of promise.

Moses served as their official God-appointed tour guide and leader, but it was really Yahweh who directed their path and provided for all their needs along the way.

The LORD spread a cloud above them as a covering
    and gave them a great fire to light the darkness.
They asked for meat, and he sent them quail;
    he satisfied their hunger with manna—bread from heaven.
He split open a rock, and water gushed out
    to form a river through the dry wasteland. – Psalm 105:39-41 NLT

The psalmist leaves little doubt that Yahweh was behind every part of their ancestors’ wilderness experience. Yahweh had led them and fed them. He provided for all their needs and traveled alongside them in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21). Their 40-year journey from Egypt to Canaan had been filled with God’s presence and marked by His power. Despite their grumbling, complaining, disobedience, and disloyalty, the Israelites learned that their God was faithful and trustworthy. He never abandoned them along the way. Instead, He showered them with mercy and grace, repeatedly rescuing and redeeming them from one self-inflicted disaster after another.

According to the psalmist, Yahweh, “remembered his sacred promise to his servant Abraham. So he brought his people out of Egypt with joy, his chosen ones with rejoicing” (Psalm 105:42-43 NLT). But Yahweh didn’t stop there; He led them to and into the land of promise, providing them with victories over their enemies and ownership of their inheritance. 

He gave his people the lands of pagan nations,
    and they harvested crops that others had planted.
All this happened so they would follow his decrees
    and obey his instructions. – Psalm 105:44-45 NLT

With all that as background, the psalmist calls on the descendants of Abraham to “Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 105:45 NLT). This was a call to celebrate God’s goodness and greatness and remember His faithfulness and covenant-keeping nature. The danger each generation of believers faces is forgetting God’s faithfulness. Even Moses knew that the generation that entered the land of Canaan would be tempted to forget all that Yahweh had done, so he provided them with a sobering warning.

“Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.” – Deuteronomy 8:11-18 NLT

Remember and rejoice. Praise the LORD for who He is and all that He has done. But never forget that “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning (Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT).

Father, You are a good and trustworthy God who has proven Yourself faithful and true for generations. We have no cause to doubt You, but we do. We have no reason to question Your goodness and greatness, but we do so anyway. Yet, You respond with mercy and grace. You shower us with undeserved blessings and continue to fulfill all Your covenant promises. You never go back on Your word, and never give up on Your people. We have every reason to praise You but we are quick to forget and prone to complain. Our forgetfulness leads to ungratefulness. Our dissatisfaction results in disobedience. Help us see you more clearly, remember You regularly, and praise You more frequently. For You are worthy of our praise. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Stop, Stand, and See

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

1 I cry aloud to God,
    aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
    in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
    my soul refuses to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I moan;
    when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

4 You hold my eyelids open;
    I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old,
    the years long ago.
6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
    let me meditate in my heart.”
    Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever,
    and never again be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
    Are his promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
    to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
    and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
    What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
    you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 You with your arm redeemed your people,
    the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

16 When the waters saw you, O God,
    when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
    indeed, the deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
    the skies gave forth thunder;
    your arrows flashed on every side.
18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
    your lightnings lighted up the world;
    the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was through the sea,
    your path through the great waters;
    yet your footprints were unseen.
20 You led your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron. – Psalm 77:1-20 ESV

Asaph once again found himself facing a difficult situation that left him lying awake in his bed at night. In his suffering state, he attempted to cry out to the LORD, but received no answer. Sleep eluded him, and he had begun to lose hope. His prayers went unanswered, and his need for relief went unmet.

All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven,
    but my soul was not comforted. – Psalm 77:3 NLT

Wide awake and with the entire evening to consider his circumstance, Asaph began to question the very presence and compassion of God.

Has the Lord rejected me forever?
    Will he never again be kind to me?
Is his unfailing love gone forever?
    Have his promises permanently failed?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he slammed the door on his compassion? – Psalm 77:7-9 NLT

Nothing made sense. His pain was real, and his cries for help were heartfelt, but God felt distant and disinterested in his plight. There seemed to be a barrier between him and God, preventing his prayers from reaching their destination and leaving him in a state of desperation and deep despair. In assessing his situation, he reached a far-from-positive conclusion.

“This is my fate;
    the Most High has turned his hand against me.” – Psalm 77:10 NLT

The NET Bible translates verse 10: “I am sickened by the thought that the Most High might become inactive.” His greatest fear was not his ongoing pain and suffering but the thought that God might not intervene. He couldn’t imagine life without God’s gracious intervention. He could recall past occasions where God answered his prayers for help quickly and compassionately. But this time, he felt as if he had been abandoned to suffer in silence and solitude, all alone and with no hope of relief.

Yet, Asaph refused to give up on God. He would not allow his current circumstances to determine his view of God’s faithfulness. His sleepless nights, unanswered prayers, and ongoing suffering were difficult but not determinative of God’s character. Sometime during his “dark night of the soul,” Asaph made a conscious decision to remember God’s past acts of deliverance rather than to dwell on His seeming absence.

I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work,
    and meditate on your mighty deeds. – Psalm 77:11-12 NLT

If Asaph couldn’t see God in the present moment, he would look for Him in the stories of the past. Raised on the epic tales of God’s deliverance of the people of Israel, Asaph had a storehouse of soul-stirring, faith-building reports of God’s power and provision. He had grown up hearing the well-documented and faithfully preserved stories of Yahweh’s faithfulness. In his next psalm, Asaph promises to tell the next generation of the wonderous works of God.

I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
    stories we have heard and known,
    stories our ancestors handed down to us.
We will not hide these truths from our children;
    we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
    about his power and his mighty wonders. – Psalm 78:2-4 NLT

Asaph knew that God’s past acts of deliverance were meant to remind His people of His presence in the present. Yahweh would always be with them and would never abandon them, no matter how dark and desperate things might appear.

When Moses was leading the people of Israel to the promised land, he gave them a sobering reminder to pass on the stories of God’s faithfulness to the next generation.

“For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?

“But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.” – Deuteronomy 4:7-9 NLT

As Asaph lay awake in the darkness of his despair, he reached back into the distant past to shed light on his circumstances. Recalling the familiar stories of God’s faithfulness led Asaph to conjure a more accurate image of God’s character.

O God, your ways are holy.
    Is there any god as mighty as you?
You are the God of great wonders!
    You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.
By your strong arm, you redeemed your people,
    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. – Psalm 77:13-16 NLT

When Asaph needed a reminder of God’s power, he recalled one of the most amazing moments in Israel’s storied past. As the waves of despair and doubt threatened to overwhelm him, Asaph imagined the scene that took place on the shores of the Red Sea centuries earlier. The recently released Israelites found themselves facing the advancing Egyptian army and trapped against the impassable waters of the Red Sea. Caught between a rock and a hard place and facing certain death, the panicked Israelites lashed out at Moses in anger and fear.

As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord, and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’” – Exodus 14:10-12 NLT

But Moses responded with confidence and certainty, imploring them to trust in Yahweh, their deliverer.

“Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD [Yahweh] rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The LORD [Yahweh] himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” – Exodus 14:13-14 NLT

And Yahweh did rescue them.

…the LORD [Yahweh] opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into dry land. So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side! – Exodus 14:21-22 NLT

It was this epic event that Asaph focused on in his darkest moment. When faced with his own Red Sea moment, Asaph recalled the people’s cries, Moses’ words, and the Almighty’s actions. Though he could see no way of escape or hear the voice of God, he could live vicariously through the lives of his ancestors and be reminded to stand firm, fear not, and see the salvation of the LORD. By looking back in time and recalling God’s past faithfulness to His covenant people, Asaph was encouraged.

When the Red Sea saw you, O God,
    its waters looked and trembled!
    The sea quaked to its very depths.
The clouds poured down rain;
    the thunder rumbled in the sky.
    Your arrows of lightning flashed.
Your thunder roared from the whirlwind;
    the lightning lit up the world!
    The earth trembled and shook.
Your road led through the sea,
    your pathway through the mighty waters—
    a pathway no one knew was there!
You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep,
    with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds. – Psalm 77:16-20 NLT

Notice Asaph’s emphasis on God’s provision of a “pathway no one knew was there” (Psalm 77:19 NLT). When the Israelites reached the shores of the Red Sea, they had no way of knowing that their salvation would be through the sea, not around it. Their path of deliverance would be through the waters of despair and doubt. What they thought would be the source of their demise would be the pathway to their salvation.

Asaph could not understand the nature of his suffering. He found it difficult to see any light in the darkness that engulfed him, but his recollection of Israel’s Red Sea experience was just the encouragement he needed to not give up.

There were so many stories Asaph could have recalled that would have bolstered his faith. The chronicles of God’s power and provision were many, and they each provided a much-needed reminder to trust and obey. Asaph could have focused his attention on the story of Abraham and Sarah when God announced their son’s pending birth.

“I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!” – Genesis 18:10 NLT

They had waited six decades for this news, but when Sarah heard it, she scoffed.

…she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?” – Genesis 18:12 NLT

But responded to Sarah’s doubt with a question of His own.

“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” – Genesis 18:14 NLT

This rhetorical question was meant to assure Abraham and Sarah that their God was faithful, powerful, and indomitable. Barrenness and old age were no match for God. An impassable sea was no problem for the God of the impossible. Asaph’s difficulties and the seemingly impenetrable darkness of his despair would fade in the light of God’s glory and goodness. All Asaph had to do was heed Moses’ advice: “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exodus 14:13 ESV).

Father, when things take a turn for the worse, I tend to allow my circumstances to distort my view of You. I let the darkness of life drown out the light of Your goodness, drawing faulty conclusions about Your love and faithfulness. This reminder from Asaph was much needed. In those moments when I can’t see You, I need to recall the countless stories of Your past provision in my life. When those become cloudy and difficult to remember, I need to turn to Your Word and recount one of the many occasions when You delivered Your people from far worse situations than anything I have ever faced. You are good, gracious, powerful, faithful, constant, and always reliable. Never let me forget that nothing is impossible with You. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Gratitude is Good Medicine

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

1 “But now they laugh at me,
    men who are younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
    to set with the dogs of my flock.
2 What could I gain from the strength of their hands,
    men whose vigor is gone?
3 Through want and hard hunger
    they gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation;
4 they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,
    and the roots of the broom tree for their food.
5 They are driven out from human company;
    they shout after them as after a thief.
6 In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell,
    in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they bray;
    under the nettles they huddle together.
8 A senseless, a nameless brood,
    they have been whipped out of the land.

9 “And now I have become their song;
    I am a byword to them.
10 They abhor me; they keep aloof from me;
    they do not hesitate to spit at the sight of me.
11 Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me,
    they have cast off restraint in my presence.
12 On my right hand the rabble rise;
    they push away my feet;
    they cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13 They break up my path;
    they promote my calamity;
    they need no one to help them.
14 As through a wide breach they come;
    amid the crash they roll on.
15 Terrors are turned upon me;
    my honor is pursued as by the wind,
    and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

16 “And now my soul is poured out within me;
    days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 The night racks my bones,
    and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest.
18 With great force my garment is disfigured;
    it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.
19 God has cast me into the mire,
    and I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry to you for help and you do not answer me;
    I stand, and you only look at me.
21 You have turned cruel to me;
    with the might of your hand you persecute me.
22 You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it,
    and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.
23 For I know that you will bring me to death
    and to the house appointed for all living.

24 “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
    and in his disaster cry for help?
25 Did not I weep for him whose day was hard?
    Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
26 But when I hoped for good, evil came,
    and when I waited for light, darkness came.
27 My inward parts are in turmoil and never still;
    days of affliction come to meet me.
28 I go about darkened, but not by the sun;
    I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
29 I am a brother of jackals
    and a companion of ostriches.
30 My skin turns black and falls from me,
    and my bones burn with heat.
31 My lyre is turned to mourning,
    and my pipe to the voice of those who weep.” – Job 30:1-31 ESV

Job’s moment of reminiscence is followed by a painful realization that there’s no going back. All that he has lost is gone forever and, from what he can ascertain, it is all the handiwork of God. To make matters worse, Job feels as if God has emasculated him, leaving him defenseless against all those who would do him harm or further damage his reputation. He describes himself as being surrounded by a host of individuals, both young and old, who seem determined to grind his life and name into the mud.

“I am mocked by people younger than I,
    by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs.” – Job 30:1 NLT

“…they mock me with vulgar songs!
    They taunt me!
They despise me and won’t come near me,
    except to spit in my face.” – Job 30:9-10 NLT

And Job holds God responsible for the relentless attacks of these despicable people.

“God has cut my bowstring.
    He has humbled me,
    so they have thrown off all restraint.” – Job 30:11 NLT

Part of the frustration he feels is his inability to be able to defend himself. It is as if God has sent him into battle without a reliable weapon or ammunition. He is easy prey to all those who mean to do him harm, and the number of his enemies increases daily. Job describes himself as being surrounded and overwhelmed with no one to come to his aid or defense. He is convinced that God has abandoned him.

“They block my road
    and do everything they can to destroy me.
They know I have no one to help me.” – Job 30:13 NLT

According to Job’s estimation, he has suffered a litany of indignities at the hands of his oppressors. They mock and taunt him. They treat him with disrespect, avoiding him like the plague and only coming close in order to spit in his face. His enemies lay traps for him and attack him when he is weak and defenseless. The effects of all this mistreatment is a deep depression and a growing sense of despondency and defeat. Job has nowhere to turn and no one he can count on to come to his aid.

He even describes God as joining in the abuse, having grabbed him by the collar and cast him into the mud. His enemies kick him while he’s down but it is God who put him in that vulnerable position. The middle portion of this speech reveals the depth of Job’s despair as he levels his charges against God.

“I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer.
    I stand before you, but you don’t even look.
You have become cruel toward me.
    You use your power to persecute me.
You throw me into the whirlwind
    and destroy me in the storm.
And I know you are sending me to my death—
    the destination of all who live.” – Job 30:20-23 NLT

He accuses God of neglect. No matter how often or hard Job has cried to God, his pleas have been met with indifference. It is now to the point where he feels as if God gone from being disinterested in his plight to being an active participant in his pain and suffering. He accuses God of being אַכְזָר (‘aḵzār), a Hebrew word that means “to act harshly” and implies cruel treatment to the point of death. In other words, he is convinced that God is out to kill him. He even suggests that God is sending him to his death.

At this point, Job can’t comprehend why all of this is happening to him. He recalls the many times when he was the friend of the helpless and hopeless. In his former life, when he was healthy, happy, and whole, he would “weep for those in trouble” and he “grieved for the needy” (Job 30:25 NLT). Isn’t that the right thing to do, he asks. Wouldn’t a righteous God expect His people to treat one another with love and care, not cruelty and harshness?

But when Job looks for good, all he finds is evil. When he could use a bit of help and hope, all he gets is a steady diet of mockery, cruelty, and false accusations – even from the hand of God. And this state of affairs has left him in a deep pit of despair.

“My heart is troubled and restless.
    Days of suffering torment me.
I walk in gloom, without sunlight.
    I stand in the public square and cry for help.” – Job 30:27-28 NLT

It’s interesting to note that in chapter 29, Job spent a great deal of time recalling and lamenting his former glory days. His memory took him back to the good old days when things were so much better. But while he look back longingly and remembers those trouble-free days, at no point does he thank God for making it all possible. This oversight on Job’s part is glaring when you consider the words he spoke after the first news of disaster struck his life in the opening chapter.

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” – Job 1:21 ESV

Job had just received the devastating news that he had lost all his flocks and herds as well as all ten of his adult children. Yet, he was able to bless God. But now, we find him throwing himself a pity party and bemoaning his lonely and ill-fated life. He doesn’t thank God for all the amazing benefits he enjoyed during the vast majority of his life. Instead, he wallows in the memory of his former state and complains about the less-than-enjoyable nature of his current circumstances. It was an unknown psalmist called Asaph who recorded the following words from God:

“Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God,
    and keep the vows you made to the Most High.
Then call on me when you are in trouble,
    and I will rescue you,
    and you will give me glory.” – Psalm 50:14-15 NLT

God went on to say, “…giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God” (Psalm 50:23 NLT). Job was so busy deluging God with his complaints and declarations of mistreatment, that he forgot to thank God for all the wonderful blessings he had enjoyed. God had blessed him with life, health, financial prosperity, a large family, and a good reputation. Job had not earned or deserved any of those things. Now that they were gone, he longed to have them back but he failed to thank the One who had made them possible in the first place.

While Job had a rock-solid memory regarding his former life, he couldn’t seem to remember the words he spoke when his health first failed.

“Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” – Job 2:10 NLT

Job suffered from selective memory loss. As time passed, he became less and less willing to accept anything bad from the hand of God. He didn’t like the cards he had been dealt and was anxious to see God remedy the situation as soon as possible. Job was running out of patience and hope, and it seemed that his well of gratitude had run dry as well.

For all his reminiscing, Job struggled with forgetfulness that produced in him an unhealthy ungratefulness. God would have Job repent and remember just how blessed his life had been.

“Repent, all of you who forget me,
    or I will tear you apart,
    and no one will help you.
But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.
    If you keep to my path,
    I will reveal to you the salvation of God.” – Psalm 50:22-23 NLT

Job didn’t need any more lectures from his friends, but God didn’t need any advice or criticism from Job either. They say gratitude is good medicine and the apostle Paul would have wholeheartedly agreed.

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT

Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. – Colossians 3:16-17 NLT

Gratitude has a way of changing one’s attitude. If Job could learn to give thanks as readily as he complained, his outlook on life would undergo a dramatic change. But his near-sighted focus on his circumstances left him with a distorted view of God and a disgruntled outlook on life and eternity.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Feast of Booths

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33 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths to the Lord. 35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. 36 For seven days you shall present food offerings to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work.

37 “These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the Lord food offerings, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day, 38 besides the Lord’The s Sabbaths and besides your gifts and besides all your vow offerings and besides all your freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord.

39 “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. 40 And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. 41 You shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

44 Thus Moses declared to the people of Israel the appointed feasts of the Lord. – Leviticus 23:33-44 ESV

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five days after the Day of Atonement, on the 15th day of Tishri, the people of Israel were to celebrate the last of the seven feasts on Israel’s religious calendar. This feast goes by many names, including the Feast of Booths and the Feast of Tabernacles. Earlier in Israel’s history, it was known as the Festival of the Final Harvest (Exodus 23:16) or the Festival of Ingathering. Today it is known by its Hebrew name, Sukkot or Succoth, which can be translated as “booth” or “tabernacle,” and most often refers to a temporary shelter.

This seven-day-long festival came in the autumn, at the end of the harvest season, and was intended to be a time of thanksgiving and rejoicing. After months of laboring in the fields, orchards, and vineyards, the Israelites would have enjoyed the benefit of all their hard work. Their granaries would have been full. The threshing floors would have been busy. All the wine and olive presses would have been operating at full capacity. And it was at this time of fruitfulness and abundance that God called His people to spend seven days feasting and rejoicing in His presence.

“You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. For seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.” – Deuteronomy 16:13-15 ESV

The Feast of Booths was one of three major holy days that required the Israelites to gather “at the place that the Lord will choose” (Deuteronomy 16:15 ESV). This is a reference not only to the Tabernacle but to the location within the land of Canaan where the Tabernacle would eventually reside. Once they conquered the land of Canaan, the Tabernacle would cease to be a temporary or portable structure. It would be set up as a permanent sanctuary to the Lord in the land that He had promised to His chosen people. After Joshua and the Israelites crossed the Jordan River and began their conquest of the land, they erected the Tabernacle in Gilgal, there it remained for seven years. Later, it was relocated to Shiloh, where it remained until the period of the Judges. In time, it was moved to Nob and Gibeon and then, during the reign of King David, it was moved to its final location in Jerusalem.

During the Feast of Booths, the Israelites were commanded to leave their homes and live in temporary shelters built within sight of the Tabernacle. These “booths” were to be constructed “from magnificent trees—palm fronds, boughs from leafy trees, and willows that grow by the streams” (Leviticus 23:40 NLT). Gathered from the lush and leafy trees that filled the land, these branches were to be used to make temporary shelters in which the Israelites would reside during the seven days of the festival.

God provides an explanation for this rather strange housing arrangement.

“This will remind each new generation of Israelites that I made their ancestors live in shelters when I rescued them from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” – Leviticus 23:43 NLT

One of the things God knew about His people was that they would be prone to self-sufficiency and forgetfulness. He would later remind them of their need to remember all that He had done for them.

“Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell. Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.” – Deuteronomy 8:2-5 NLT

He was leading them to “a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey. It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking” (Deuteronomy 8:8-9 NLT). And this fruitful land, “of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills” (Deuteronomy 8:7 NLT) could prove to be a problem for God’s people if they were not careful. That’s why God warned them:

“Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God…” – Deuteronomy 8:11-14 NLT

God knew that their success in the land would inflate their sense of self-worth and bolster their tendency toward self-sufficiency. And Moses reminded them that all the miraculous acts of provision and providence God did for them in the wilderness had been so they could never say in the future, “I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy” (Deuteronomy 8:17 NLT).

God wanted them to remember that He was their sole provider and protector. He was the one who gave them the land in the first place. It was He who caused the trees to bear fruit and the fields to yield grain. The rivers and streams that provided them with fresh water were gifts from Yahweh. Everything the Israelites would enjoy in the land of Canaan would be the result of God’s grace and mercy. And it is important to remember that this decree to celebrate the Feast of Booths came long before the people ever entered the land of Canaan. In fact, it would be more than four decades before the Israelites ever set foot in the promised land and enjoyed the fruits of its bounty.

But when they eventually did, God wanted them to be prepared to give Him thanks for all that He had done. Each day of the feast was to be marked by sacrifices and the book of Numbers provides the details concerning these elaborate and costly offerings. On the first day, they were to offer “thirteen bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old” (Numbers 29:13 ESV). These were to be accompanied by grain and drink offerings. On the second day, they were required to offer “twelve bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish” (Numbers 29:17 ESV). This pattern would continue over the next five days, with the number of bulls that were offered decreasing by one each day, until on the seventh day, they offered “seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish” (Numbers 29:32 ESV). In total, 70 bulls, 14 rams, 98 lambs, and 7 goats were to be sacrificed as burnt offerings to Yahweh.

It is important to note that this festival was inaugurated long before the Israelites entered the land of Canaan. In a time when they were living in tents and still eating manna and quail provided for them by God, they were expected to celebrate this festival that marked God’s bountiful provision. In doing so, the Israelites would be looking back on their time as slaves in Egypt, but they would also be looking forward to the day when they would enjoy all the blessings of the land of promise. Their God was good, gracious, and faithful to keep His promises. During a time when they owned no land to till, had no houses in which to live, or possessed no vineyards from which to harvest fruit or grapes, they were still expected to honor God for His faithfulness and abundant provision.

As Moses would later remind them, God had been abundantly faithful to them.

“Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good.” – Deuteronomy 8:15-16 NLT

In the months and years ahead, the Israelites would continue to learn of the faithfulness of God. He would guide them and provide for them all during their days in the wilderness. Their shoes and clothes would not wear out. Their stomachs would never be empty. Their need for water would never go unmet. God would provide. But He expected them to honor His provision by giving Him the honor He was due. Right now, they needed Him and they knew it. But the day would come when they entered the land and they grew fat and happy because of its abundant provision for all their needs. They would forget their past and place all their hope for the future in their own ability to provide for themselves. But these feasts were intended to serve as powerful reminders of God’s power and provision. That is why Moses told them, “Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful” (Deuteronomy 8:18 NLT).

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Don’t Forget to Remember

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9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, 11 and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord. 13 And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the Lord with a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin. 14 And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.” – Leviticus 23:9-14 ESV

God adds another element to His list of sacred days and observances, but this one would not go into effect until the people occupied the land of Canaan. This celebration was known as firstfruits, which in Hebrew (רֵאשִׁית – rē’šîṯ) translates as “beginning, first, or best.” It was to be held in the early spring at the beginning of the grain harvest, on Nissan 16, the third day after Passover, and the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. According to the book of Deuteronomy, the feast of firstfruits was intended to commence after the Israelites had brought in their first official harvest in the land God had promised as their inheritance.

“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession and you have conquered it and settled there, put some of the first produce from each crop you harvest into a basket and bring it to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored.” – Deuteronomy 26:1-2 NLT

God had promised to give them a land of fruitfulness and abundance. In his call of Moses, God had described the land in glowing terms:

“So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.” – Exodus 3:8 NLT

Now, from their vantage point at the base of Mount Sinai, the Israelites were being reminded by God that the land of Canaan would one day be theirs. Despite all the setbacks and difficulties they had faced up to this point, He was still going to honor His commitment to give them the land of Canaan as their inheritance. And when they got there, He expected them to express their gratitude for His goodness.

When they brought the first produce from each crop they had harvested, they were to present it to the priest at the Tabernacle and declare, “With this gift I acknowledge to the Lord your God that I have entered the land he swore to our ancestors he would give us” (Deuteronomy 26:3 NLT). The gift was meant to serve as proof of the fact that God had kept His word and that the land was just as He said it would be. In other words, God was faithful and the land was fruitful.

As part of the ceremony, the Israelites were to recount how God had miraculously delivered them from bondage in Egypt and delivered them to Canaan.

“You must then say in the presence of the Lord your God, ‘My ancestor Jacob was a wandering Aramean who went to live as a foreigner in Egypt. His family arrived few in number, but in Egypt they became a large and mighty nation. When the Egyptians oppressed and humiliated us by making us their slaves, we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He heard our cries and saw our hardship, toil, and oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and powerful arm, with overwhelming terror, and with miraculous signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey! And now, O Lord, I have brought you the first portion of the harvest you have given me from the ground.’” – Deuteronomy 26:5-10 NLT

The gift of firstfruits was meant to be an expression of thanksgiving, but also an acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty over all things. Not only did they belong to Him but so did the land in which they lived and all the produce it provided. By giving to God the best of what the land had given them, they were declaring their allegiance to Him. Their fruitfulness had been the result of God’s faithfulness.

As part of the ceremony, the Israelites would place their gift before the Lord, then bow down and worship Him. Only after celebrating the goodness and graciousness of God could the people rejoice in the bounty of the harvest He had given them.

“Afterward you may go and celebrate because of all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.” – Deuteronomy 26:11 NLT

The Leviticus passage adds another vital element to the ceremony. The Israelites were also to bring a sheaf of grain gathered from the first harvest in the land. What is interesting to note is that the Israelites were forbidden to eat “any bread or roasted grain or fresh kernels on that day until you bring this offering to your God” (Leviticus 23:14 NLT). As they presented the best of their grain to God, they would be in the midst of a fast. It was not until they had demonstrated their gratefulness to God and given Him the best of all that they had gathered that they could break their fast and enjoy the blessings He had bestowed upon them. God had to come first.

Along with these offerings, the Israelites were to sacrifice a one-year-old unblemished lamb as well as a burnt offering. This was accompanied by a grain offering consisting of four quarts of choice flour moistened with olive oil. The lamb and the grain offering were burned on the altar and the smoke would rise as “a pleasing aroma to the Lord” (Leviticus 23:13 NLT). The final part of the ceremony was “one quart of wine as a liquid offering” (Leviticus 23:13 NLT). In a sense, the people were serving God a sacred “meal” to celebrate all that He had done for them. It was a visible expression of thanksgiving to their divine provider and protector.

The real purpose behind this ceremony was to remind the people of Israel that they were completely dependent upon God at all times. Even in the midst of fruitfulness, they were expected to maintain their faithfulness to God and never allow His gracious gifts to distract from their reliance upon Him. In fact, Moses would later warn the Israelites of the dangers the bounty of Canaan would present.

“When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.” – Deuteronomy 8:10-14 NLT

If they weren’t careful, God’s blessings could actually become a curse. The fruitfulness of the land could end up making the Israelites self-sufficient rather than God-dependent. As their crops grew, their flocks expanded, and their fortunes improved, they might be tempted to see themselves as the masters of their own fates. The real threat they faced in the promised land was not the Canaanites but spiritual apathy brought on by physical prosperity.

Moses would go on to warn the people of the dual perils of affluence and forgetfulness.

“Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’” – Deuteronomy 8:15-17 NLT

Forgetfulness would be a real and present danger. If they weren’t careful, their wilderness experience and God’s miraculous provision all along the way could become a fading memory. Once they arrived in Canaan and got settled in their new homes, their success in the land could produce gratefulness and a greater dependence upon God or it could result in an unhealthy sense of self-reliance. That’s why Moses warned them: “Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath” (Deuteronomy 8:18 NLT).

God’s blessings were intended to produce greater dependence upon Him. By giving God the firstfruits of their harvest, the Israelites would be acknowledging their reliance upon Him. He had blessed them with freedom, and soon He would bless them with land, houses, fields, flocks, and vineyards. Their days as slaves and nomadic wanderers would be far behind them. But that would become the greatest test of their allegiance to God. Forgetfulness would lead to ungratefulness and ungratefulness would eventually result in unfaithfulness.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Remember, Restore, and Renew!

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1 Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us;
    look, and see our disgrace!
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
    our homes to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans, fatherless;
    our mothers are like widows.
4 We must pay for the water we drink;
    the wood we get must be bought.
5 Our pursuers are at our necks;
    we are weary; we are given no rest.
6 We have given the hand to Egypt, and to Assyria,
    to get bread enough.
7 Our fathers sinned, and are no more;
    and we bear their iniquities.
8 Slaves rule over us;
    there is none to deliver us from their hand.
9 We get our bread at the peril of our lives,
    because of the sword in the wilderness.
10 Our skin is hot as an oven
    with the burning heat of famine.
11 Women are raped in Zion,
    young women in the towns of Judah.
12 Princes are hung up by their hands;
    no respect is shown to the elders.
13 Young men are compelled to grind at the mill,
    and boys stagger under loads of wood.
14 The old men have left the city gate,
    the young men their music.
15 The joy of our hearts has ceased;
    our dancing has been turned to mourning.
16 The crown has fallen from our head;
    woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 For this our heart has become sick,
    for these things our eyes have grown dim,
18 for Mount Zion which lies desolate;
    jackals prowl over it.
19 But you, O Lord, reign forever;
    your throne endures to all generations.
20 Why do you forget us forever,
    why do you forsake us for so many days?
21 Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored!
    Renew our days as of old—
22 unless you have utterly rejected us,
    and you remain exceedingly angry with us. – Lamentations 5:1-22 ESV

The state of affairs in Judah could not have been any worse. And Jeremiah had an up-close and personal perspective on every aspect of the suffering and pain. He had been there for the days of the Babylonian siege. He had lived through the fall of Jerusalem. And he had watched as the enemies of Judah had leveled the royal capital, destroyed the temple, and murdered vast numbers its citizens. Jeremiah had been forced to watch as thousands of his fellow Jews had been placed in chains and forced to march all the way back the Babylonian capital as slaves.

For those who remained behind in Judah, the prospects were grim. Their nation had been destroyed. Their homes had been reduced to rubble and the national economy was non-existent. They had no king, no army, and, therefore, no means of protection from the enemies. They were weak, defenseless, and hopeless. Their army had not protected them. Their allies had abandoned them. And every one of their false gods had failed to come through for them.

But while everyone around him was wringing their hands in fear and dismay, Jeremiah was taking his concerns to the one source who could do anything about it. He was pleading his case directly to God Almighty. And the first thing he asks God to do is remember.

Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us;
    look, and see our disgrace! – Lamentations 5:1 ESV

Jeremiah is not afraid that God will somehow forget what has happened to Judah. He is calling on God to reflect upon their current circumstances and to consider them soberly and circumspectly. Jeremiah had his perspective on things, but he knew that only one viewpoint mattered and that was God’s.

And Jeremiah appeals to God as to a Father, describing the devastated condition of His children.

Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
    our homes to foreigners.
We have become orphans, fatherless;
    our mothers are like widows. – Lamentations 5:2-3 ESV

The land of Judah had been part of the inheritance provided by God to the people of Israel when they had arrived in the land of Canaan. It had been His gift to them, in keeping with the promise He had made to Abraham centuries earlier.

“And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” – Genesis 17:8 ESV

But Jeremiah reminds God that the land was no longer controlled by the descendants of Abraham. It was being ruled by the Babylonians. The Judahites who had been left in the land were nothing more than caretakers for their Babylonian overlords. And without any army, the people of Judah would find themselves incapable of defending the land from incursions from foreign raiding parties. Before long, what little remained of the former inheritance given by God to the descendants of Abraham would be lost.

And Jeremiah appeals to God’s sense of justice by describing the people of Judah as fatherless orphans and widows. They are like children who have lost their fathers and have no one to protect them. Their status is no better than that of a recently widowed woman who, upon the death of her husband, finds herself without a home and without access to any legal rights to ensure her future. And as a prophet of God, Jeremiah was very familiar with God’s stance on widows and orphans.

Learn to do good.
    Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
    Defend the cause of orphans.
    Fight for the rights of widows. – Isaiah 1:17 NLT

Jeremiah knew that God had strong feelings for the helpless and the defenseless, and took exception to those who abused them.

Your leaders are rebels,
    the companions of thieves.
All of them love bribes
    and demand payoffs,
but they refuse to defend the cause of orphans
   or fight for the rights of widows. – Isaiah 1:23 NLT

And Jeremiah had repeatedly conveyed God’s message of concern for the helpless and hopeless to the people of Judah.

This is what the LORD says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent! – Jeremiah 22:3 NLT

But no one had listened. No one had cared. They had refused to take God’s commands seriously. And, as a result, the entire nation had become widows and orphans. They had gone from being the abusers to being abused. Before the fall of Jerusalem, when it was business-as-usual in Judah, the people had practiced injustice by taking advantage of the helpless and hopeless. Everybody had been out for themselves. But now, the table had turned. And Jeremiah describes just how radical the shift in circumstances had been.

Clean drinking water, which used to be readily available and free, was now exorbitantly expensive. Firewood had become a not commodity as well. And food had become virtually non-existent because of famine and the constant presence of foreign raiding parties. Children were dying of starvation. Women were being raped. Young men and boys were being forced to do manual labor like slaves. Civil society had fallen apart, with village elders being shown no respect, former princes being treated like common thieves, and the general population left in a state of abject despair.

Joy has left our hearts;
    our dancing has turned to mourning. – Lamentations 5:15 NLT

Jeremiah is sharing his heart with his God. He is telling the King of Judah the sorrowful state of His citizens. He is appealing to the loving Father of the children of Israel and asking Him to consider their fate and intervene on their behalf. Not because they deserve it, but because He is God.

The garlands have fallen from our heads.
    Weep for us because we have sinned.
Our hearts are sick and weary,
    and our eyes grow dim with tears. – Lamentations 5:16-17 NLT

Jeremiah knew full well that this fate had long been coming. It had been the inevitable outcome of generations of unfaithfulness.

Our ancestors sinned, but they have died—
    and we are suffering the punishment they deserved! – Lamentations 5:7 NLT

But now, Jeremiah calls on His faithful God to intervene. Jerusalem may have been destroyed, but the God of Jerusalem was alive and well, sitting on His throne in heaven.

But you, O Lord, reign forever;
    your throne endures to all generations. – Lamentations 5:19 ESV

Nothing that had happened on earth had changed anything about God’s rule and reign in heaven. The current conditions in Judah were no indictment on the power and sovereignty of God. He had not lost a step. He had not diminished in His authority or power. That is why Jeremiah knew that any delay in the reversal of their affairs was up to God. He was obviously not out of control, so He must have had a reason for postponing His deliverance.

So, Jeremiah begs God to act now! No more delay. If there was no reason for delaying His deliverance, then why not bring it now?

Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored!
    Renew our days as of old—
unless you have utterly rejected us,
    and you remain exceedingly angry with us. – Lamentations 5:21-22 ESV

Remember, restore, and renew. That is what Jeremiah longed for God to do. He was counting on the fact that God had not utterly rejected them. His knowledge of God would not allow him to go there. He knew that God was faithful and would not abandon His children forever. He had punished them, but He would also restore them. This was the God Jeremiah knew and believed in. It was the God he had served with his life and in whom He relied upon for salvation.

Like his fellow prophets, Jeremiah continued to place his hope in the trustworthiness of God.

Where is another God like you,
    who pardons the guilt of the remnant,
    overlooking the sins of his special people?
You will not stay angry with your people forever,
    because you delight in showing unfailing love.
Once again you will have compassion on us.
    You will trample our sins under your feet
    and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love
    as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago. – Micah 7:18-20 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Forgetting God

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10 “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. 14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— 15 for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.

16 “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. 17 You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. 18 And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers 19 by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised.” – Deuteronomy 6:10-19 ESV

After nearly a half-century of leading the people of Israel, Moses knew them well. He was painfully familiar with all their character flaws and their predisposition toward sin. You can sense his father-like approach in preparing them for the fast-approaching day of their entrance into the land of promise. And he tried his best to help them understand just what they were about to experience.

As with any significant life event, there was much about the conquering of the land of Canaan that was unknown to the Israelites. While God had repeatedly promised them the land and had assured them that He would go before them, fighting on their behalf against their enemies, they had no idea what any of that was going to look or feel like. And, no doubt, they had all kinds of fears and apprehensions.

So, Moses tried to set their minds at rest by focusing on the good news. He told them about the positive outcome of their crossing over the Jordan and taking possession of the land. Moses fast-forwards and describes “a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant” (Deuteronomy 6:10-11 NLT).

Moses wanted them to know that God was about to bless them in ways they couldn’t even begin to understand. The picture he painted for them was designed to remind them that God was going to meet all their needs, and He was going to do it in spectacular fashion. They were going to find themselves enjoying the comfort and shelter of houses they had not built, located within the walls of cities they had not constructed. They would eat food they had not planted or harvested, from fields and orchards they had not cultivated. There would even slake their thirst by drinking water from cisterns they didn’t have to dig.

It was as if they were going to win the lottery. Almost instantaneously, they would find themselves transformed from a wandering nation of vagabonds and nomadic shepherds, living in tents, to a nation of prosperous land-owners. And it would all be the work of God Almighty. But Moses knew the danger they faced. This virtual overnight metamorphosis could prove to be dangerous if they failed to remember the one who had made it all possible. That’s why Moses warned them, “When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 6:11-12 NLT).

Moses knew that they were going to be tempted to forget God. Man’s natural tendency is to focus on the gift while neglecting to show gratitude for the one who made the gift possible. He fully realized that the people of Israel faced the very real prospect of becoming fat and happy and, at the same time, forgetful and ungrateful. Their physical prosperity would anesthetize them to the spiritual reality of God and His goodness. Their lack of need would make their dependence upon God unnecessary. When they suddenly found themselves surrounded by an abundance of material things, they would have no need for God. But Moses knew the danger they faced if they allowed God’s blessings to lull them into a sense of contentment and complacency.

So, he reminded them, “You must fear the Lord your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name” (Deuteronomy 6:13 NLT).

Their prosperousness could easily lead to forgetfulness. They could find themselves substituting the worship of God with an unhealthy obsession with the blessings of God. The gifts could take precedence over the Giver. And, when that happens, it isn’t long before the forgetfulness of God results in an allure of false gods. Which is why Moses warned them, “You must not worship any of the gods of neighboring nations, for the Lord your God, who lives among you, is a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 6:14-15 NLT).

If they allowed themselves to forget God, the next time they had a need, they would be susceptible to seeking help from any and every other god. Forgetfulness is one of the greatest enemies of faithfulness. Failing to remember all that God has done can easily result in a failure to worship Him for who He is: Our all-powerful provider, protector, and praise-worthy God.

Moses charged the people of Israel to be always mindful of God and faithfully obedient to God. They were not to allow His many blessings to lull themselves into a state of complacency. He was a holy God who demanded obedience to His laws and who would not tolerate unfaithfulness to His covenant. The people of Israel were His chosen possession, and they were to live with that reality in mind. And Moses left nothing to their imaginations, spelling out in black-and-white terms just what they would need to do if they wanted to enjoy the blessings of God and the ongoing benefits of the presence of God.

Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so all will go well with you. Then you will enter and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to give your ancestors. You will drive out all the enemies living in the land, just as the Lord said you would. – Deuteronomy 6:18-19 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

 

 

 

Remember.

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Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands — remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. – Ephesians 2:11-13 ESV

In these verses, Paul seems to be contradicting a statement he made in his letter to the Philippian believers. There, he told them, “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14. Yet, here we hear him telling the Ephesian believers to “remember” – not once but twice. So which is it, Paul? Are we to remember or forget? Should we look back or press forward? Truthfully, I believe Paul would simply say, “Both.” As always when reading Scripture, context is critical. In his letter to the believers in Philippi, Paul was stressing “the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Philippians 3:9 ESV). He was contrasting human merit with God’s grace. He had spent years of his life trying to earn favor with God and make himself acceptable to God. He boldly professed, “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Philippians 3:4-6 ESV). But then he confessed, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (Philippians 3:7 ESV). In other words, all his past achievements and efforts at self-justification before God were worthless when compared to the free gift of grace made available to him through faith in Jesus Christ. Which led him to conclude, “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Philippians 3:8-9 ESV). So, for Paul, when it came to his right standing with God, there was no looking back. No need to dwell on his past efforts or put hope in his own attempts at righteousness. They were worthless to him. So he chose to look ahead and press on to the goal of righteousness made possible through faith in Christ. His past accomplishments were of no value when it came to his future righteousness.

But when he wrote to the Ephesian believers, Paul had a slightly different goal in mind. In verse 10, he reminded his readers, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV). Good works were not a means for achieving a right standing with God, but they should be a reflection of and response to our right standing with God made possible by faith in Jesus Christ. Good works were not to be meritorious, done in hopes of earning favor with God, but were to be done out of gratitude for all He has done for us. When it comes to works, grace is opposed to earning, not effort.

In the verses above, Paul is specifically addressing the Gentile converts who were part of the local church in Ephesus. He wants them to remember that their salvation had nothing to do with works. As a matter of fact, they weren’t even circumcised. He told them, “Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called ‘uncircumcised heathens’ by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts” (Ephesians 2:11 NLT). Prior to coming to faith in Christ, they had been on the outside looking in. Paul told them, “You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them” (Ephesians 2:12 NLT). And to make matters even worse, he reminded them, “You lived in this world without God and without hope” (Ephesians 2:12 NLT).

Notice the difference in Paul’s emphasis from his letter to the Philippians and his letter to the Ephesians. One is calling them to get their minds off their thoughts of self-righteousness or any hopes of earning a right standing with God based on human effort. The other is reminding them to never forget what they were before God showered them with His grace. What makes grace so amazing is our total undeservedness. None of us is righteous. None of us deserved to receive God’s grace. And yet, in spite of our undeserving status, God made His Son’s sacrificial death and gift of redemption available to us. Which is why Paul places two simple, yet powerful words right in the middle of this section of his letter: “But now…”

It should remind of us of what Paul had written just a few verses earlier. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV). God stepped in. God intervened on our behalf, out of His love and according to His rich mercy. And Paul wanted them to remember just how bad things had been, so that they would fully appreciate all that God had done for them. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13 ESV). Far off…brought near. Outsiders…insiders. Enemies…friends. Condemned…justified. Dead…alive. Lost…found. Sinful…blameless. Guilty…forgiven.

Paul would have us never forget our past. We are not to dwell on it or feel any pangs of guilt because of it. But there is value in recalling just how bad things were before we heard the good news of Jesus Christ. The glory of grace always shines brightest against the dark backdrop of human sin and hopelessness. It is in considering what God has done for us that we gain assurance and confidence in all that He has promised to do in the future. Paul put it well in his letter to the Colossians.

You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. – Colossians 1:21-23 NLT

Remember. Renew. Restore.

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But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations. Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days? Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us. – Lamentations 5:19-22 ESV

Jeremiah was living in what was the ruins of Jerusalem. He is surrounded by a rag-tag remnant of individuals who were left behind by the Babylonians after they took tens of thousands of their fellow Israelites into captivity. In the earlier part of Jeremiah’s prayer, recorded in chapter 5, he gave God a vivid description of their circumstances. They were living in disgrace. In keeping with the book’s name, Jeremiah laments, “Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners. We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows” (Jeremiah 5:2-3 ESV). They were having to pay for clean water to drink and wood to burn. They had resorted to alliances with Egypt and Assyria just to be able to have bread to eat. Crime was on an upswing. It wasn’t safe to go into the wilderness. Jeremiah reported, “Women are raped in Zion, young women in the towns of Judah” (Lamentations 5:11 ESV). Everyone was forced to work in order to exist. There was no longer any joy or any reason to celebrate or dance. And Jeremiah knew that their circumstances were the result of their own sin and rebellion against God. While the remnant that remained had escaped captivity, they were trapped in an endless cycle of poverty and despair. They were living in the land of Judah, but without any of the blessings or benefits they had known before.

And in the midst of all the pain and suffering, Jeremiah called out to the only one who could do anything about it. He turned to God, acknowledging His power and sovereignty. “But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations.” Everything else was unstable and insecure, but not God. The temple may have been destroyed, but the one for whom it had been built was alive and well. The city of Jerusalem may have fallen and the king of Judah taken captive and humiliated, but God remained King of the universe. God remained the one stable factor in Jeremiah’s topsy-turvy world. But Jeremiah couldn’t help but feel that God had somehow forgotten them. He knew that God had promised to restore the people to the land, in spite of all that they had done. But each day Jeremiah woke up to the same sad circumstances. Poverty, injustice, pain, suffering, and hopelessness. He wondered when God was going to keep His word. When would God step in and do what He had promised to do? Jeremiah pleaded with God to restore them and to renew things back to the way they used to be. He longed for the good old days. But he knew that any hope of restoration was up to God. He would have to do it. As a people, they were completely incapable of saving themselves. Those in captivity were helpless to do anything about their situation. Those left behind in Judah were powerless to change their circumstances. They needed God.

It is amazing how quickly we can become God-focused when we find ourselves in a jam from which we can’t escape. Nothing improves our prayer lives like troubles and trials. The feelings of helplessness and hopelessness are great motivators when it comes to our spiritual lives. We seem to operate on the maxim: when all else fails, try God. But Jeremiah wasn’t turning to God as a last resort. He was appealing to his one and only hope. Without God, all was lost. There were no other viable options. God alone was capable of doing anything about their predicament. But sadly, many Christians always have another trick up their sleeve or another option to turn to other than God. Whether through pride or a lack of faith, far too many of us make God our desperation destiny. When all is lost, we turn to Him. And amazingly, He is always there. He is the one consistent, unchanging and constantly reliable reality we can count on. Jeremiah ended his prayer and his book with the words, “Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us.” I don’t think Jeremiah believed that was the case. He knew his God all too well to think that He would abandon them forever. He had heard God promise to restore them. He had obeyed when God told him to purchase land in Judah as an investment for the future. He knew in his heart of hearts that God was going to remember, renew and restore. But that did not stop him from wondering when it would all happen. It did not prevent him from asking God to move the timeline up.

And we know that God kept His word. He did eventually restore the people to the land. He brought them back out of captivity and allowed them to rebuild the temple, restore the walls of Jerusalem and repopulate the land. He did exactly what He had promised to do. Catastrophe and captivity were no match for God. The hopelessness and helplessness of men were poor indicators of God’s capabilities. To Him, the circumstances were nothing more than an opportunity, not an obstacle. At no point was God worried, concerned, or sitting up in heaven wringing His hands, wondering what He was going to do. He was and is the Lord God, who reigns forever. He is the King of the universe, the all-powerful God for whom nothing is too difficult. He will remember. He will renew. He will restore. We can rely on Him.

And This Is the Thanks I Get?

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And you gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. And they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them. – Jeremiah 32:22-23 ESV

Jeremiah 32:17-25

Sometimes a little bit of reflection can go a long way. Jeremiah had taken time to look back on Israel’s long relationship with God and had recalled the faithfulness of God. He had remembered all that God had done for them as a people. From the moment He had called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees to the day He had appointed David the king of Israel, God had been there for nation of Israel. He had promised them the land of Canaan and He had made good on that promise. When they had taken possession of the land God had reminded them, “I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant” (Joshua 24:13 ESV). He had done these things, not because they had deserved it or had earned it, but out of His grace and mercy and in order to fulfill His word.

And how had they responded to the kindness of God? With disobedience. In exchange for His unmerited favor and undeserved love, God had simply asked that they treat Him with the dignity and respect He deserved. He expected them to stay faithful to Him alone and worship no other gods beside Him. He gave them laws to follow that would set them apart from all the other nations and protect them from committing sins that could result in their own harm and destruction. But as Jeremiah so sadly recalled, “But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do.” They had returned God’s faithfulness with unfaithfulness. They had repeatedly disobeyed, disrespected and dismissed God, treating Him as irrelevant, replaceable, or even optional in their lives. And now they were about to reap the results of their long history of ingratitude and insubordination. God was not going to tolerate their behavior any longer. 

Sometimes, in our obsession over the grace and mercy of God, we can tend to neglect the doctrine of God’s holiness. We can forget that God is holy in all His ways and cannot tolerate sin. Yes, He is able to offer forgiveness and extend mercy to mankind because of the sacrificial death of His own Son. But Christ’s death did not diminish the seriousness of sin, it simply provided a payment for the penalty. In fact, the death of God’s Son provides us with some idea of just how serious God takes sin. The only payment He could accept that would satisfy His own need for justice and cover the steep price to cover the penalty due for the sins of mankind was the life of His own sinless Son. When we look back at the history of Israel and see God bringing destruction on the people He had chosen as His very own possession, we should be reminded of just how much God hates sin. He couldn’t just overlook it and dismiss it. He couldn’t just say, “Boys will be boys” and act as if it was not that big a deal. Sin was and always will be a bid deal to a holy, righteous God. Sin is an affront to His character. It is rebellion against His sovereign rule. It is a slap in the face of God by the ones He has made and who exist only by His grace and mercy.

As believers, while our sins have been paid for in full by Jesus, that does not give us the right to act as if our sins no longer matter or carry no weight. Paul had to deal with this kind of illogical thinking when he wrote to the Christians in Rome. “Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!” (Romans 6:15 NLT). In fact, Paul had told them, “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace” (Romans 6:12-14 NLT). As those who had benefited from the grace of God made possible through the death of His own Son, they were to take sin seriously and treat God with the gratitude and respect He deserves by glorifying Him through obedient, righteous living. God’s grace is not a license to sin. It is a gift to be appreciated and treated with great honor and respect. God paid a high price in order for us to enjoy a right relationship with Him. He gave His own Son and made it possible for us to exchange our sin for His righteousness. He died so that we might live. Our sins were the cause of Christ’s death. His death was the cost required for our salvation. Our obedience is the least we could do to express our thankfulness for all that God has done. Our hatred and rejection of sin is a great way to let God know just how much we love and appreciate Him.