14. The Old Command

Meditations in 1 John : 14 : The Old Command

1 John  2:7,8    Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

This is one of those times when context is very important. In verses 3 to 6 John has been speaking all about obeying God’s commands and this will be both an indication of our response of love to His love, and an expression of His love. Love and obedience go together.

It is in this context that John says, “I am not writing you a new command but an old one.” i.e. I’m not writing anything new when I say this. This love-obedience command, he says, they have “had since the beginning.” Now that must refer, not just to the beginning of the revelation of the Gospel, but way before that, right back to the earliest days of Israel’s existence: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deut 6:4,5) and of course, “love your neighbour as yourself.” (Lev 19:18), which Jesus brought together: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: `Love your neighbour as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Mt 22:37-40)

The link of love and obedience was also right there from the beginning. Following that first call to love God with all you are, Moses immediately followed it with: “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” (Deut  6:6-9)  In other words, he was saying, hold to these commands as closely as you can, reminding yourself of them every minute of the day.

John continues, “This old command is the message you have heard.” Indeed throughout Jesus’ teaching in his time with his disciples, he emphasized this link. The Sermon on the Mount is a good example of this. He declared that he had come to fulfil the Law (Mt 5:17) and so they should hold all the commands in high esteem (Mt 5:19,20) He then took Old Testament commands and challenged us to think what was the meaning behind them, and required a heart of love response instead, that went further than simply legalistically following rules. Specifically he extended the call to love your neighbour to even loving your enemies: “You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” (Mt 5:43-45)

When a young lawyer came to talk and hedged on who his neighbour was that he was supposed to love, Jesus told the Parable of the Good Samaritan, clearly extending neighbours to mean more than those from your own group or culture, but to mean everyone.

At the Last Supper, Jesus put to the disciples that humility and obedience go together as expressions of love, when he washed the disciples’ feet and then said, “I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (Jn 13:15,16)  So obedience was the call there at the beginning of the Last Supper.  After he had dealt with the matter of being betrayed, and after Judas had left the room, he instructed the rest of them: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (Jn 13:34,35)  The love he now spoke of was a sacrificial love that looked beyond exteriors and accepted people as they were and indeed went further and laid down life for life.

Perhaps the pinnacle of obedience was being referred to when he later said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (Jn 14:12)  Then came the key link between love and obedience that we also find here in his letter: “If you love me, you will obey what I command,” (Jn 14:15) and then, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” (Jn 14:21)

There it is again and again, the teaching that came through Jesus that took the Old Testament commands that had been there from the beginning, and expanded on them and applied them into living the Christian life. Love and obedience go together and we deceive ourselves if they don’t! This is why it is so important to read, take in, understand and then apply all that Jesus taught and all that we find throughout the rest of the New Testament. May it be so!

171. Kingdom Come

Short Meditations in Mark’s Gospel: 171. Kingdom Come

Mk 9:1   And he said to them, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.”

When Jesus started his ministry we find, “From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Mt 4:17) The kingdom of heaven is the expression on earth of the King who rules from heaven. At that moment the Father ruled from heaven and Jesus expressed His rule on the earth. Now that Jesus has ascended back to the Father, the Bible tells us that he is now ruling at his Father’s right hand and will one day hand back the kingdom completed to his Father (see Eph 1:20-22, 1 Cor 15:24,25).

The rule of God on earth is seen through men and women. This is not to mean that God doesn’t rule over all things anyway, but that when He refers to His kingdom on earth, it appears to mean His rule expressed through men and women. When Jesus started his ministry, he was the only one fully surrendered to the Father and it was through him that the Father expressed His rule. Once the Day of Pentecost came and the Holy Spirit was poured out, then the rule of God was expressed in and through every born again believer.

The rule of God can only be expressed in this way through those who have surrendered their lives to Him; that is what conversion and being born again is all about. It is the point of life where the individual surrenders their life to God and He puts His Spirit within them, to teach, train and guide them and express Himself through them in power.

It seems that the words in our verse above act as a balance to what Jesus has just been saying. He has just been speaking about giving up your life to follow him (8:35) but now he places before those who have ears and hearts to hear him, the reward for doing that. If you surrender your life to Jesus, you become part of the divinely supernatural community where the rule of God is expressed in power: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised.” (Mt 11:5)

All those things are signs of the power of the rule of God. To follow that would come the power expressed as lives were transformed by being born again of the Spirit of God, yet another expression of the power of the kingdom – lives being transformed, being delivered out of darkness into the kingdom of the Son. Hallelujah!

Rejoice in the wonder of the transforming work of Jesus in you, rejoice in the wonder of what he is doing in you, and rejoice that he has a plan and a purpose for you, that involves his power changing you.

103. Raised

Short Meditations in Mark’s Gospel: 103. Raised

Mk 5:41,42 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.

Viewing what goes on around the world, I have noticed that sometimes God’s servants become God’s showmen, except I’m not sure if the showman side is God’s. It happens mainly in deliverance ministry, but also in healing ministry, and I conclude that the screaming and shouting that sometimes goes on is simply to boost the flagging faith of the minister and of the watchers.

Now I say this (not only because it is true) because that seems to be in stark contrast to the ministry of Jesus which at times appears so gentle and so quiet. Now remember that three of the central core of disciples are here to witness this and so if it had happened differently we would have heard about it. I’m sure they retold the story of what happened again and again among themselves and especially after he had ascended. But they do NOT say, “Jesus raised his voice and shouted at the dead body”.

No, what we have is quite different. Note first of all he takes her by the hand. This is a sign of gentle intimacy. It is what a parent might do sitting at the bedside of a sick child. And then he speaks to her. Note the faith language of the writer. He doesn’t say “He took the dead body by the hand and spoke to the dead body.” No, she is still a little girl and she still has a place here on earth. He simply tells her to get up. With the words comes the power and she is raised to life. One minute no life, the next moment, life!

Then we have one of Mark’s ‘immediately’ words that are so common in his Gospel. There is no delay; it happens straight away. Indeed to prove it, she sits up and then gets up and, I suspect, runs to her parents. This is no recovering convalescent time, this is a girl full of life and energy. Her parents are astonished. Pardon? Astonished? Don’t you mean overjoyed?

Well yes, that is probably true but everything about these verses speaks of ordinariness and understatement. There is no great drama about what happens here. It is simply the Son of God using the authority and power of God to restore a young girl. He speaks and it happens. THAT is authority. May we have that in the Church.

 

69. Ears to Hear

Short Meditations in Mark’s Gospel: 69. Ears to Hear?

Mk 4:9,10     Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.

I don’t know about you, but I suspect I take the little phrase in these verses for granted: “he who has ears to hear, let him.” I mean it sounds so obvious, doesn’t it? He says it again in verse 23 with a following admonition, “Consider carefully what you hear.” (v.24) Matthew similarly records Jesus using this expression a number of times – Mt 11:15, 13:9, 13:43. In the book of Revelation, Jesus says it to each of the seven churches (Rev 2 & 3).

Of course we all have ears, but do we hear?  Husbands and wives know this thing. How often does a wife say, “I told you that just now. Didn’t you hear me?” Of course he heard it but he just didn’t take it in for his mind was elsewhere!

There it is: we hear but we don’t take it in because our mind is elsewhere! This is a terrible warning for us, especially in the light of the parable we have just been considering, all about hearing God’s word and responding to it. You see it with children who get so engrossed with what they are doing that sometimes Mum has to say something three times to them before they respond. They are not being willfully naughty in ignoring her, it’s just that they were so taken up with something else that, although their ears would have heard speech in the background, their minds were not taking in the implications of those words.

As I have watched congregations on a Sunday morning during the time of the sermon, I have wondered about this. How many of the bodies in front of the speaker were hearing the words but their minds were elsewhere – on the lunch in the oven, on the events of the afternoon, or the problems at work, or of life next week. It does actually take effort to listen.

If you’ve ever been involved in listening training as a would-be counsellor or carer, you may have done exercises to test whether you are actually hearing what the other person is saying. This phrase that Jesus uses, isn’t just a casual phrase dropped in to bulk out his teaching. it has real significance. Are you a person who does actually hear and take in the teaching of God’s word whenever you read it or hear it spoken? This is a crucial question about your future wellbeing!

 

30. Compassion

Short Meditations in Mark’s Gospel: 30. Compassion

Mk 1:40-42 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

There is healing and there is healing! I mean, it is all very well to stand at a distance and speak a word of command and watch someone be healed, but it is something else to go up close and touch them – especially when they have a possibly infectious skin disease! There is clearly more to healing than simply speaking words of command when you have the authority.

Jesus, it appears, is much more concerned with the man as a whole person than with just his skin. If it had just been his skin he could have spoken a word and that would have been it – healed! But Jesus feels for this man, he is moved by this man, he feels compassion for this man, he enters into his plight and that plight means that here is a man who is isolated by his disease. People would have kept a distance from this man and so as much as having his skin healed, he is in need of human contact, and so Jesus gives it to him – he touches him and then heals him.

You know, you can be in a room full of people and yet be lonely. Some of us struggle with a sense of isolation. The way we have been brought up, or the things that have happened to us in life, means we are left feeling isolated. We either long for or fear human contact. For some it may be a “if only…” as we dream of someone putting an arm around us. The church should have many arms to offer on Jesus’ behalf, but even so, isolated people sometimes need to be made to feel secure before they can respond to such overtures of friendship and contact.

And then there are some of us who deep down fear the contact, fear the change. If I open myself up to others, then the inner me will be revealed and I am not sure I want that. When Jesus approaches such people he does so ever so gently. He understands our needs and understands we can only cope with slow change and so it is just the lightest of touches to start with – the thought of a complete embrace would make us run a mile!

Lord, thank you that you understand each of us and you meet us in the way you know we can cope with. Thank you that you feel with us.

27. To Joshua

“God turned up” Meditations: 27 :  To Joshua the High Priest

Zech 3:1     Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him.

We conclude this series with another of the prophets, Zechariah. This is his fourth vision and he sees the high priest, Joshua. Now Joshua is also written ‘Jeshua’ and that is how we find him named among Zerubbabel and Nehemiah (Ezra 2:2 & Neh 7:7). We need to build up the picture of who was involved and when. Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to encourage the finishing of the rebuilding of the Temple after the Exile (see Ezra 6:14). Haggai specifically mentions Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest. (Hag 1:1,12). The role of the high priest was partly as a spiritual encourager (seen in various places on the Old Testament) but the rebuilding of the temple had received such opposition that it had come to a grinding halt. In fact Haggai’s word had specifically rebuked the people for being concerned about their own homes but now ignoring the Temple of the Lord (Hag 1:4).

Joshua the high priest must have been feeling particularly low about this state of affairs. Here he was, the overseer of the activities of the Temple, but the Temple was not being completed. Will he ever be able to perform the tasks of the priest in the Temple again? There are those who make this vision in Zechariah involving Joshua to mean that Joshua was representative of the Israel and that this was a word to Israel but, I suggest, this ignores the activity or rather the lack of activity to do with the Temple about which these two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah were prophesying. This is a word that this man desperately needs to hear!

The Lord turns up and brings this word about Joshua through Zechariah because indeed Joshua is THE person who will oversee the work within the completed Temple and if the Temple is about to be completed at the urging of these prophets, then the chief priest needs to be brought into a right place and restored in both his eyes and the eyes of the people. THIS is why this is such a wonderful vision! This is the Lord who sees His servants, understands them, and feels for them and who comes and restores them.

See the word that follows: “The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” (v.2)  Joshua has been coming under immense condemnation from Satan. Not only had Satan been using the enemy to discourage the leaders and the builders, but he had been pulling down Joshua with condemnation, declaring him a failure. Have you heard similar thoughts in your mind? “You are rubbish! You are a failure! Give up! Stop pretending you are a man (or woman) of God with a calling. You’ve lost whatever calling you had; you’ve failed!”  Satan had been rebuking Joshua so the Lord rebukes him in turn. Yes, Joshua was burning with shame, burning with condemnation and with a sense of failure and Satan is trying to destroy him, but the Lord has come to come to snatch him from destruction.

See what the Lord does for Joshua: “Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” (v.3,4) which is clearly symbolic of his guilt being taken away: “Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.” (v.4) Now the turban of the priest was especially significant because it had on the front of it, “Holy to the Lord.” (see Ex 28:36) so that gets a special mention in the restoration: “Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the LORD stood by.” (v.5) This representative of the Holy God is completely restored and the nature of his clean clothes indicates that he is reinstated in his role as high priest.

Next he gets his marching orders from the Lord: “The angel of the LORD gave this charge to Joshua: “This is what the LORD Almighty says: `If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.” (v.6,7)

But this cleansing and reinstating of Joshua is symbolic of something so much greater that is yet to come: “Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.” (v.8) What has happened to Joshua is what will happen when “the Branch”, the Messiah comes. Then he refers to him as a stone (v.9) and says he will remove all sin in a single day (v.9) which can only refer to the work on the Cross by the Son of God.

This is pure grace! Joshua has done nothing to deserve this. He’s simply been there to serve the Lord – if the temple is restored – and the Lord comes and restores him and removes his sin. He is now equipped to be the high priest again.  Isn’t this what the work of Jesus has achieved, a holy priesthood? (1 Pet 2:9, Rev 5:10)

In a very negative situation the Lord turns up to restore this man, Joshua. He has done nothing to deserve it; it is a pure act of God’s grace. This is what the Lord longs to do with each one of us. How wonderful!

26. To Hosea

“God turned up” Meditations: 26 :  To Hosea

Hos 1:2 When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, “Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD.”

The life of a prophet in Old Testament times was often not a comfortable one. They were first and foremost a messenger from God to the nation of Israel. Often they were under the nose of the king in Jerusalem and so when they brought a word it soon came to the ears of the king. Gossip travels fast in any society. Often what they said clashed with the lifestyle of the king and the prophet found himself arrested and imprisoned. Some even were put to death. Isaiah at one point, even went naked .

We know virtually nothing about Hosea. He lived in the northern kingdom of Israel in the tumultuous last years of that kingdom before it was swept away in 772-721BC.  Israel, the northern kingdom had been unfaithful from the start. So here was a kingdom that has given itself over to idolatry instead of following the Lord. Yet, there is at least one man, Hosea, who is open to the Lord.

The Lord turns up and starts speaking to him: “When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him……” Again we don’t know how the Lord spoke but the assurance of it being the Lord comes through the very nature of the word to him. In a recent meditation we commented how when the Lord speaks we know it is Him because it cuts right across our own desires or wishes or expectations. That can be no more true than in this word of instruction to Hosea.

In fact we might wonder exactly what Hosea felt and thought about what he believed he was hearing from God? Go and take a wife who is likely to be morally unfaithful? How do you do that? Why should you do that? Well I suppose you look around the local community for a girl who has a dubious reputation, one who is likely to continue in the way she has gone to have gained such a reputation. What a terrible thing to have to do, to win a wife who you know is morally dubious and who is almost certainly going to continue that way after you are married. The outlook is only hurtful!

In passing, I cannot help but note that this is the dilemma of so many young people today. Only recently I was talking to a man in his early forties who was bewailing the fact that he wanted to settle down after a ‘morally flexible life’, but who feared taking a wife from a population that is so often promiscuous. He knew exactly this thing: why should a girl who has jumped from one bed to another settle down and be faithful to him? The ‘free society’ has brought this folly on itself.

So Hosea was obedient and married Gomer: “So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.” (v.3) Not only did she bear him a son but she also bore him a daughter and then another son. Each one of these children Hosea named according to the Lord’s instructions. Now Hebrew names tended to have a secondary meaning and the meaning of these three names pointed to Israel’s unfaithfulness and the Lord’s condemnation. Thus they would be living signposts to the Lord and a reminder to the people of their unfaithfulness.

After this, Gomer clearly commits adultery for later we find, “The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes. “So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you.” (Hos 3:1-3) It appears from this that Gomer had not only committed adultery, but had fallen so low as to become a slave, for Hosea has to buy her back. The Lord explains the significance of this: “For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.” (Hos 3:4,5)

Hosea’s actions are to reveal the depth of God’s love that is still there reaching out to wanton Israel. Indeed there is coming a time when the Israelites (?the northern kingdom) will be without a nation or sacrifices but there will come a time when they will return to the Lord – and He will receive them and bless them. This northern kingdom will be dispersed yet there will be those who will return to the Lord who will be waiting for them. This is an amazing picture that Hosea conveys at God’s instigation, and as we consider what he must have been feeling about being abandoned by his wantond wife, and then having to rescue her from slavery, we might catch something of the pain that the Lord feels when His people abandon Him. Yet in His love He still waits, like the father of the prodigal, to receive His wayward child back. Amazing love!

25. To Ezekiel

“God turned up” Meditations: 25 :  To Ezekiel

Ezek 1:2,3 On the fifth of the month–it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin– the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the LORD was upon him.

I think sometimes we should give special credit to filmmakers. Their work is sometimes amazing. I’m thinking here of the film Independence Day. The arrival of the alien space machines in the thick billowing clouds made me think of Ezekiel’s revelation. It is absolutely amazing! The location of Ezekiel at this time is also something to be noted and amazed at. The fact of the matter is that he is one of the exiles who has been carried away by Nebuchadnezzar and is now having to live in a foreign land – but he’s still God’s man. Simple lesson in passing: if we’re Christians in a land under God’s judgment we may suffer some of the things the nation suffers – but we’re still to be witnesses in it.

So there he is in the land of the Babylonians, an exile – and God turns up in a most dramatic way; in fact one of the most dramatic ways in the Old Testament: “I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north–an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man, but each of them had four faces and four wings.” (v.4-6) Well, we won’t go into the detail of all of it, you can read it yourself, but even here we start to catch a sense of the incredible: storm, clouds, flashing lightning (ordinary so far) brilliant light, a central fire like glowing metal, strange creatures. As I said, Independence Day did it well. Perhaps they had read Ezekiel!

Later we read, “Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking” (v.26-28) There, in the midst of the incredible vision (see 1:1), there is a figure. When God revealed Himself in the most perfect way on earth, it was in the form of a man, His Son, Jesus Christ. There in the centre of the vision He reveals Himself to Ezekiel in an understandable way, and yet He is still an incredible, glorious being with incredible surroundings.

Now why, we may ask ourselves, did the Lord reveal Himself in such an incredible way to Ezekiel? We aren’t told and so we are left to speculate. Was it to counter all that Ezekiel might have been feeling? He is a Jew who has been snatched from his country which appears at the end of its life. It appears that God is about to give up Israel. It is the end; they are no longer His chosen people – or so it might appear, especially when you are an exile in a foreign land.

So the Lord comes with this incredible vision which leaves Ezekiel in no doubt as to who it is – and he is shattered. Then the Lord speaks and we see some more why it may be that He is coming to him in this way: “And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. Go now to your countrymen in exile and speak to them. Say to them, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says,’ whether they listen or fail to listen.” (Ezek 3:10,11) Previously He had warned, “The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn,” (Ezek 2:4) so Ezekiel’s calling was to go to his own countrymen in exile and challenge them about the Lord – but they are going to be obstinate and will not take kindly to what he says. Put this together with Ezekiel’s own negative feelings about being an Israelite in exile, and you begin to see why the Lord revealed Himself to Ezekiel in such a dramatic way.

So why doesn’t the Lord reveal Himself to us in such ways? Two reasons! First you aren’t in the crisis situation that Ezekiel was in and, second, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit, the word of God, and the support, encouragement and direction of the church to help, guide and direct us. There are times when God does turn up in dramatic fashion but if that happens it is almost certainly because you are in big trouble and the Lord knows you need big encouragement!  The rare occasions in the Bible (here, with Isaiah in Isaiah 6, and in Revelation to John) that the Lord does reveal something of heaven breaking through on earth, remind us that we are dealing with an awesome God who, in His graciousness, mostly keeps Himself hidden so that we aren’t destroyed by the immensity of His presence. One day we will see Him face to face but now, for most of the time, He hides Himself to preserve us! For that we should be thankful. When we do see these times they should evoke awe and worship in us. May it be so!

24. To Jeremiah (2)

“God turned up” Meditations: 24 :  To Jeremiah (2)

Jer 32:6-8   Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me: Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, `Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’ “Then, just as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, `Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.

In all these studies on God turning up, as we’ve noted before, the Lord turns up in a variety of ways, but as the Bible develops it seems the most common way is that He comes and simply speaks directly to one of His servants, especially to the prophets who by their very nature had an ear open to God. In the previous meditation we saw the Lord coming to Jeremiah to call him to his ministry. Now there could be a dozen times where we could see the Lord turning up and giving Jeremiah a message, but this one seems a particularly significant example of God’s word coming.

To catch the significance of this episode we need to note what went immediately before it: “This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.” (Jer 32:1,2) So here is Jerusalem under siege, with all the surrounding country taken by Nebuchadnezzar and Jeremiah gets a warning from the Lord that his cousin would come and offer to sell him some of the family land outside the city. Now don’t be under any illusion that Jeremiah thought the present siege was going to turn out all right, because he had just prophesied to king Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape out of the hands of the Babylonians but will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon.” (v.3,4)

So Jeremiah knows that the future is that Jerusalem will be taken and the land devastated by Nebuchadnezzar. What is interesting is that Jeremiah doesn’t say that the Lord told him to buy the land, merely that He had warned Jeremiah. Jeremiah obviously took it that the Lord was inviting him to buy the family land – in the face of impending doom. This is to be an act of faith in respect of the Lord’s plans for Israel obviously!

Jeremiah steps out in accordance with the warning from the Lord and when his cousin comes he does buy the land and goes through all the legal formalities so that there will be no question in anyone’s mind about the authenticity of this sale for he said, “I knew that this was the word of the LORD.” (v.8) .

Indeed at the end of the formalities we read, “I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard. “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: `This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.” (v.12-15)  That was quite an amazing prophecy there at the end. So often Jeremiah was accused of negative speaking, but this is very positive. It says the Lord has plans for the future of Israel after Nebuchadnezzar.

Note what follows: “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD:” (v.16) What follows is a wonderful prayer declaring God’s greatness in all His deeds. Following this comes a further word from the Lord which includes, “I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God.” (v.37,38) and then a reiteration that fields and land will again be sold in the land. There is a remarkable clarity in this prophecy: yes, Israel will be taken into exile, but the Lord will eventually bring them back to this land and restore them.

What we have seen is Jeremiah being invited to step out in trust in the Lord and buy land which appeared worthless at present, as a sign that there was yet a future for Israel there. Jeremiah would not see it, but it would come. Once he acted in faith, the Lord confirmed His word to Jeremiah, a remarkable promise about the future. A simple lesson here?  Sometimes we need to step out in faith on fairly minor revelation before the bigger revelation is given. Faith as big as a mustard seed releases greater things. Let’s not despise the small acts of faith for they can lead to much bigger things. Has the Lord invited you to step out in a small way? Go for it, for it may open the way to something much greater. 

23. To Jeremiah

“God turned up” Meditations: 23 :  To Jeremiah

Jer 1:4,5 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Most human beings at some time, be it ever so fleetingly, ask the question, “Who am I?” Some people go through life struggling the whole time to find out who the ‘real’ them is. We have self-awareness or self-consciousness and this seeks to put us in a framework of living and give us meaning. Some of us might start from, ‘I am a son (or daughter)’ and that may not be good news in their life context. Others might say, ‘I am a mother (or father)’ or we might go on to define ourselves by our job or career or special title. We like to know who we are.

Jeremiah was a relatively young man when God turned up. We don’t know how the Lord came and spoke to Jeremiah; he simply records, “The word of the Lord came to me.” That phrase crops up a number of times in Scripture and unfortunately no one defines it. Somehow the sense of God speaking to him came. You know you are hearing from outside you when what comes cuts right across your natural thinking. Jeremiah obviously recognises who it is speaking to him, and he queries what he is apparently hearing: “Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” (v.6). He feels too young and he feels inadequate as a speaker. I have had similar ‘conversations’ with the Lord where the content of what comes is completely contrary to anything I would naturally think.

Given time to think about this, I suspect that Jeremiah would have felt strangely comforted and assured by these words. “Before I formed you in the womb.” We would normally think of being formed in the womb as a natural product of the coming together of our father and mother, of something that automatically happens after conception, natural growth, but the Lord lays claim to involvement in Jeremiah’s formation. Perhaps in the reality of eternity we will learn something that Scripture hints at – it isn’t just a ‘natural process’ but a God process.

But it goes on, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,” i.e. even from before conception God knew Jeremiah, knew all about him, who he would be and what he could do. God knows our potential from the very makeup of our genes, from the very things we inherit from those who went before us, and He knows what He can do with us. It’s not only nature plus nurture; it’s nature plus nurture plus God! And God knows that possibility before it happens. When we doubt our capabilities when the Lord appears to call us to a task, remember these things; remember that He knows your makeup and your past and He knows what you are capable of with His help. Oh yes, when God calls it is with full knowledge of who we are!

Indeed He carries on, “before you were born I set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Now remember that this isn’t because of Jeremiah’s natural abilities because we’ve seen already that Jeremiah doesn’t feel much about his capabilities. We saw the same thing in Moses’ calling; he too felt utterly inadequate: “Moses said to the LORD, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” (Ex 4:10)

The Lord had an answer for Moses and He has an answer for Jeremiah: “But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, `I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.” (v.7,8) The crucial element of this instruction is found in the words, “whatever I command you.” Put another way, He is saying you say what I will give you to say. It’s not down to you. I will provide the words. To Moses the Lord had said similar words: “I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” (Ex 4:12)

Jesus similarly told his disciples not to worry about being persecuted: “do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Mt 10:19,20). In other words when we are on God’s business we are to simply trust Him to provide the words we will need. He will provide!

Thus when the Lord turns up and calls Jeremiah, we see these most important things. First, the Lord knows us completely and He knows what he can do with us, what we are capable of with His help and guidance. Second, what we are to do isn’t down to us; it is down to Him for He has plans for us and also has the grace to enable us to do what He’s called us to do. Perhaps Paul caught something of this when he wrote, “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:10) Let’s be reassured as we step out in God’s calling on our lives. We know who we are – God’s people on a mission!