We have been studying Jeremiah in our Sunday School class...taught by Cheerios...it's really awesome, I love his teaching style and I have learned a LOT! We just finished chapters 40-45...and something just hit me as we were going through an actually unfamiliar story to me.
In a nutshell, Judah had been taken captive by Babylon and there was a remnant of poor people left there. Gedaliah had been appointed Governor over the land there and told the people to not worry, they could work the land as they pleased and keep what they needed from the crops they produced...life would have been bearable, at least. Anyway, Gedaliah was happy with what he had done and when one of his men, Johanan, tells him that another man, Ishmael (no, not Isaac's brother) was planning on killing him, Gedaliah didn't believe him. Not wise. Ishmael and ten other men not only killed Gedaliah, but everyone in his household as well. They also killed 70 of 80 men who had come from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria. (Yeah...11 men killed 70 men...I thought that was a little weird, too.)
When Johanan hears about the killing, he sets out with a bunch of men to kill Ishmael, but Ishmael and eight of his men get away. Johanan heads to a place near Bethlehem with all the men, women and children who had come with him from Mizpah. (He was on his way to Egypt) There they find Jeremiah and ask him to pray to God to ask Him what they should do next. So...Jeremiah agrees...ten days later, he comes back with an answer.
"He said to them, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition, says: 'If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I am grieved over the disaster I have inflicted on you. Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.'
"However, if you say, 'We will not stay in this land,' and so disobey the Lord your God, and if you say, 'No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the trumpet or be hungry for bread,' then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there, then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die. Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, famine and plague; not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.' This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'As my anger and wrath have been poured out on those who lived in Jerusalem, so will my wrath be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will be an object of cursing and horror, of condemnation and reproach; you will never see this place again.'
"O remnant of Judah, the Lord has told you, 'Do not go to Egypt.' Be sure of this: I warn you today that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, 'Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.' I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the Lord your God in all he sent me to tell you. So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle." Jeremiah 42:9-22 (italics, mine)
Okay...now that I have told you this lengthy story...that is not EXACTLY what this blog is about. At the end of the story, a woman from our class asks Cheerios a question. She states that she understands that the Old Testament is a foreshadow of the New Testament." Cheerios agrees. And that for us, Egypt represents sin. Cheerios agrees again.
And that's when it hit me. Ever since their freedom from their captivity in Egypt...Moses leading them out victorious...every time things get difficult or the path is unclear, or they feel God is asking too much from them, the Israelites want to flee back to Egypt. It's safe there. They are familiar with it. It's comfortable. Like an old sweater on a cool Autumn evening.
And that is exactly what we do. When we pray and ask God to help us in a particular situation and we are harboring sin in our lives...from smoking to overeating to alcohol...whatever your sin may be...we only want God to answer OUR way. If He asks us to stop the sin we are in...and we don't...we are being disobedient. And disobedience brings consequence. We want God to fix or restore or renew, but we are not willing to be obedient in even the smallest of tasks. Why hasn't He answered your prayer? Take a step back and listen. Is God asking you to release something in your life?
You may be thinking "That little thing? He wouldn't hold back His blessing from me just because He asked me to end THAT little thing and I haven't yet, would He?"
What is your Egypt? What keeps you from the full blessing God has prepared for you? Will you be obedient to His request of you?
Or will you be just like that remnant? And FYI...that band of people called Jeremiah a liar and went on to Egypt. And they kidnapped Jeremiah and took him with them. Jeremiah was right...he knew they would not obey...it was their M.O. And they died in Egypt...never having seen their beloved Judah again.
God is a loving, kind, compassionate God. Full of Mercy and Grace...more than we could ever hope for...way more than we deserve. But, He is a Just God. And just as His blessings rain on the just and unjust...so does His discipline.
The next time you want to blame God for whatever predicament you are in...when you think God does not hear you...when you feel like God has looked the other way...remember what He has asked of you. That one little thing...quit smoking...eat healthy...stop watching that program...spend more time with Me. Have you been obedient? Or do you justify your disobedience with: "it's just too difficult to stop that right now, I am under so much pressure...so much stress. I need this little habit. I'm not really hurting anyone."
Peace and Praise.
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