OCTOBER 10 READING…JEREMIAH 34-35 & HEBREWS 10
Even in judgment the Lord always has a remnant. Jerusalem was going to fall, its king would be taken captive and die in a foreign land. The people continued in their disobedience to God, refused to repent, so the Lord told them they would suffer greatly, and those who survived would be taken into captivity. In the midst of all the disobedience, idolatry, drunkenness, and sin…there was a faithful remnant. The Rechabites are singled out by God because of their faithfulness and obedience to the way of their faithful ancestors. They refused to be disobedient to that which they were commanded even though their world was falling apart. Some have the attitude that the “world is going to hell”, so what is the use in following God. Eat, drink, and be merry…for we are all going to die anyway. The Rechabites did not see life that way. Yes, times were hard…yes, they were about to lose everything they knew…yes, they would be taken captive into a pagan land…but they chose to do what was right before God. God promised them that they would always have descendants that would stand before Him. In other words, when others would perish in war and in captivity, God promised that the line of the Rechabites would survive and have a special place before Him. It would be easy in the short run just to go the way of the world…but, we are called to remain faithful when there is no faith. And when the world tells us there is no hope, we are called to keep our eyes and hearts upon Jesus, who is our hope. Hebrews 10 reminds us of this great truth. The writer warns us to never return to that which we came from. We belong to Jesus alone, to draw back from that would put us in great peril. There is always danger waiting for us when we believers enter into disobedience and dis-belief. No matter where this world goes, we must stay the course…we must keep our lives centered in Jesus. When you really think about it…where else could we go?
Please share your thoughts.
TOMORROW’S READING…JEREMIAH 36-37 & HEBREWS 11