Booty

Jer 45:1 {T{his} {is} the message which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written down these words in a book at Jeremiah's dictation, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying:
Jer 45:2 "Thus says the LORD the God of Israel to you, O Baruch:
Jer 45:3 'You said, "Ah, woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning and have found no rest.'"
Jer 45:4 "Thus you are to say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold, what I have built I am about to tear down, and what I have planted I am about to uproot, that is, the whole land."
Jer 45:5 'But you, are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek {them;} for behold, I am going to bring disaster on all flesh,' declares the LORD, 'but I will give your life to you as booty in all the places where you may go.' "

Oh my. Thats an eye openner isn't it. In a culture where "the one with the most toys wins," God speaks of tearing down and uprooting. But He does it with authority. He's tearing down what He built, which just happens to be everything. God is uprooting what He planted, which also happens to be everything.

Everything? Yup. Everything. Even America. Now, I'm not a doomsayer, prophesying that the end is near. I have no idea whats coming down for us. But America was built by God. For that matter, so was Iraq, Iran, China and Sudan. All authority comes from God, even those who deny God, like North Korea. Our greatness is not our own. It comes from God's hand.

Its that last verse that really got my attention: "I will give your life to you as booty." Whoa! What about all my toys? They were on loan from God in the first place. Okay, I know that. Everything in the earth is the Lords. Sure, my 'things' come from God. But my life? Yup. That comes from God also. My life is not my own. If God so chooses, my life is over. The life in me came from Him in the first place. My breath is on loan. This is a shocking thing to learn, again.

Stupid Vows

Jer 44:25 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, as follows: 'As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled {it} with your hands, saying, "We will certainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her." Go ahead and confirm your vows, and certainly perform your vows!'

Wow. This chapter is kind of spooky. "We will do want we have always done, because it has always worked for us," said the people. "Go ahead," said God. "But I will still bring my curses upon you."
Sounds like America to me. "We will do as we have done in the past. Look where it has gotten us." Most people seem to forget it was God who got us here, not our own efforts. Well, I guess its only fair. If we fufil our vows, so should God. But His vows consist mostly of curses for those who turn away from God. For the most part, people worship themselves now, instead of other gods. Well, its still not true worship of the only God. And there are still curses to come. Read the Book.
Fulfil your vows, but expect God to do the same.

A Sad Story

Jer 43:5 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been driven away, in order to reside in the land of Judah--
Jer 43:6 the men, the women, the children, the king's daughters and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, together with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah--
Jer 43:7 and they entered the land of Egypt (for they did not obey the voice of the LORD) and went in as far as Tahpanhes.

This is kind of sad, if you ask me. There was a Remnant, just as God had promised. After the Babylonians left, there was a vacuum in Israel, and these people came Home. Driven out by circumstances, now was their chance. Maybe it was the Babylonians, or the Assyrians, who forced them to leave in the first place. Maybe it was debt, or famine, or family problems of some sort, and they went elsewhere seeking relief from the pressures. But now was their chance. Home, Israel.
But when they show up, the governor is murdered, and things start to go downhill. Jeremiah has prophesied our blessings. Stay here and God will bless us. Living in the shadow of fear, I said. But its still home. But these arrogant men, as Jeremiah labels them, have their own ideas. They don't want to live in the shadow. They want to get away, just as the Remnant had done. Find peace somewhere. So they disobeyed God. His people should be living in His land, but they fled, believing that they know best.
I was going to say it wasn't deliberate disobedience. They thought they were doing best, despite what Jeremiah said. They just didn't believe Jeremiah spoke for God. But afte everything that had happened, how could they not believe in the Divine Authority of his words. God was speaking through him. But they wanted to hear something other than what Jeremiah had to say.
They didn't want to stay here. This land was a mess. Everything taken. Lets go somewhere with better prospects. A land of peace. A place strong enough to defy the Babylonians and ensure peace and prosperity.
Only it didn't work. And everyone who had finally gone home, come back to Israel, these people were forced to leave. To flee to Egypt to suffer even more under the Babylonians. This is what I find sad.

Living in Fear

Jer 42:10 'If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I will relent concerning the calamity that I have inflicted on you.
Jer 42:11 'Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you are {now} fearing; do not be afraid of him,' declares the LORD, 'for I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand.
Jer 42:12 'I will also show you compassion, so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own soil.

This is a hard thing to hear. God promises blessings, if we stay in the land of promise. But if we flee to 'Egypt' to get away from our problems, our problems will overtake us. So, the blessings will come only when we continue to live in the shadow of fear, in the shadow of the king of Babylon.

He won't touch us though. God's compassion will be poured out through him instead. Its a hard thing to hear. Even harder to follow and live.

It makes sense, I guess. It is the weak things of the earth that God uses. So, living on the edge of disaster, or what I think of as failure, may be where God wants me, because it is here that His greatness can be seen. Sure, put me in a class room, and my greatness will shine. Out here on the edges of everything, there is only God. This is where He can show Himself to be great.

I guess I'm in the right place after all.

Life, the Universe, and Everything

And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters Have you ever felt like this? I sure have. The first part of the verse, I mean. I feel like that all the time. Like my life is a waste, an empty void. Without meaning or purpose.
I went to college with a goal in mind. That was 15 years ago, and I still haven't attained that goal. (I've pretty much given up on it, to tell the truth. I know God can still pull it off if He wants. But I'm not sure anymore that it was His plan in the first place.)
I used my training in different churches, up until here. This church is too big to need me. Besides, I have two children, and my time seems to disappear into a black hole. (Although that may be my addiction to the computer, and not them.)
Ten years working in libraries, and its the same story. The libraries here just aren't hiring, and don't really need anybody else.
Whats a guy to do? Everything I have done or planned up to this point just doesn't seem to apply to my future. Darkness, void and waste. The state of things at the Beginning.
Hmmm, the Beginning. Not "The End." Its at this point when the Spirit moves upon the face of the earth and the act of creation begins. True beauty emerges. So, maybe my best days are ahead of me. The Spirit of God has moved in my life in the past. I need to wait upon the Lord in patience, and see what else he has in store for me. At the end, God should be able to look down at my life and say, "Good, its very good."

Coming Home

Jeremiah 40.11 Also when all the Jews in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan;
12 even all the Jews returned out of all places where they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, to Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits in abundance.
What a sweet relief it was to read these words. In the previous chapters Jeremiah had been imprisoned, the king captured, his sons slain, and Jerusalem burned. Very depressing. Everyone was killed, except for the very poorest of people.
They were given vineyards and other rewards. I guess for just being poor. But a remnant was left, and the land could rest for the next 70 years.
And then these verses. All the Jews returned from all the places they had been driven. It feels like a gentle rain. Sweet relief. A cool glass of water.
Coming home. A place of safety, security, and rest. No more fear. No more worry. No more hatred.
I guess it will be like this when we enter the Lord's presence. No more worrying what the surrounding culture thinks. No more worrying about whether I can do this or that on the job. Or what this new law is going to mean for my children. Relief from the stress we daily live under.
Kinda makes you homesick, doesn't it.