Category Archives: Meditation

Day 32: Pray

Exhortation, Lent 2016, Meditation

Day 32: Pray
Passage: Jeremiah 29:7
Link to Lent 2016 Vimeo Channel

Transcription of the video above:

Jeremiah in chapter 29, verse 7 told the Jewish exiles in Babylon to, in addition to building, planting, and marrying, pray and seek the peace and prosperity of the city they found themselves in. Like many metropolis, Babylon was an enormous, intimidating city with diverse populations that espoused a variety of values and morals. God would empower the Jewish people to relate and respond in love to all people, without either assimilating too much to the culture around them or separating themselves through tribalism. They are called as citizens of both the city of man and the city of God, they work on the principle of peace and grace for the betterment of all.

As Christians, we find ourselves in a similar situation as the Jewish exiles were. God empowers us to relate and respond in love to all people. God expects us not to assimilate too much to the culture around us or separate ourselves through tribalism. As citizens of both the city of man and the city of God, Christians work on the principles of peace and grace for the betterment of all. Prayer can change a city because God has a heart for His people to reach and impact the city; do you?

 

Day 30: Build & Plant

Exhortation, Lent 2016, Meditation

Day 30: Build & Plant
Passage: Jeremiah 29:4-5
Link to Lent 2016 Vimeo Channel

Transcription of the video above:

In Jerusalem as the holy city was being destroyed, some false prophets were telling Israelite captives that they would come back to Jerusalem soon. Jeremiah decides to write a letter to the exiles in Jeremiah 29:4-5 that although they would have a future under God’s protection, the captives would have to settle down in Babylon for a while. This captivity would last for 70 years until Nehemiah brought the exiles back to Judah and rebuilt the ruined city.

God through Jeremiah instructed Israelites that they were to build houses, plant gardens, and marry in order to have children while they were in captivity. The command to build, plant, and marry echoes passages in Deuteronomy and Isaiah as grounds for exemption from war. Israelites are not to mount an armed insurrection against Babylon. Rather, they are to regard Babylon as their temporary home. The exile would become the place where the daughters and sons of Abraham and Sarah would thrive to become a blessing to all nations (Gen. 12:3), and where they will be a light to all the nations, the Gentiles (Isa. 42:6).

Christians are living in an exile in this world, our “Babylon.” But in Jeremiah’s words, there is an implicit promise. God is with you in the exile, and He will provide the resources that we need in the exile. We might have to work to gather the rocks and the wood. We might have to plow the fields to make ends meet. But Jeremiah assures us that within the exile, God is with us to help us make a home. Are you committed to not only be a blessing to all nations but also show the world your faith in God?

Day 29: The Wilderness of Babylon

Lent 2016, Meditation

In 586 B.C., the unthinkable happened to the citizens of the kingdom of Judah. The city of Jerusalem, the one which God appointed for Him to dwell with His people, was utterly destroyed by the pagan nation of Babylon. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob sent the Babylonians to desecrate his temple and to devastate his people. He did that to his people because they forgot God, the God of heaven and earth, the Most High, the God over Jew and Gentile, in order to worship other false and dead gods. Instead of living according to the Law, and being a light to the Gentiles, a glory to Israel and an example to the nations, they became just like the nations.

God sent the Israelite nation into Babylonian captivity and exile that year. They were forced to travel far away from their homeland and dwell along the river Chebar. They were shocked and dismayed over what happened. They wondered why God would allow such death and destruction to take place among the Israelite people. In short, God used this seemingly unexpected and terrible event to capture Israel’s attention and draw their attention back to Him.

The exile event effectively purged idolatry from the hearts of God’s people. They never forgot the penalty of turning away from Yahweh to follow other gods. They were more faithful to God in Babylon than in Jerusalem. But in order for that to happen, God had to send them into the wilderness of Babylon and into confusion.

This week, we will examine Jeremiah 29 and other passages to find out how God disciplined yet never abandoned His people – both during the Babylonian exile and also in today’s world. God also uses terrible events in our lives not only to create a longing in our hearts for a Savior and Lord but also to draw our attention back to God.

Day 28: Let Us Labor

Exhortation, Lent 2016, Meditation

“Give diligence” is a good translation of this admonition. Diligence is the opposite of “drifting” (Heb. 2:1–3). How do we give diligence? By paying close attention to the Word of God. Israel did not believe God’s Word, so the rebels fell in the wilderness. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17).

In comparing the Word of God to a sword, the writer is not suggesting that God uses His Word to slaughter the saints! It is true that the Word cuts the heart of sinners with conviction (Acts 5:33; 7:54), and that the Word defeats Satan (Eph. 6:17). The Greek word translated “sword” means “a short sword or dagger.” The emphasis is on the power of the Word to penetrate and expose the inner heart of man. The Word is a “discerner” or “critic.” The Israelites criticized God’s Word instead of allowing the Word to judge them. Consequently, they lost their inheritance.

God uses the Word to enable us to see the sin and unbelief in our own hearts. The Word exposes our hearts; and then, if we trust God, the Word enables our hearts to obey God and claim His promises. This is why each believer should be diligent to apply himself to hear and heed God’s Word. In the Word we see God, and we also see how God sees us. We see ourselves as we really are. This experience enables us to be honest with God, to trust His will, and to obey Him.

All of this is possible because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. (The two “He’s” in Heb. 4:10 refer to Jesus Christ.) God rested when He finished the work of Creation. God’s Son rested when He completed the work of the new creation. We may enter into His rest by trusting His Word and obeying His will. We can do this as we listen to His Word, understand it, trust it, and obey it. Only in this way can we claim our inheritance in Christ.[1]

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 289). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Day 27: Let Us Fear

Exhortation, Lent 2016, Meditation

For the next two days’ meditations, they are written by W.W. Wiersbe in his “The Bible Exposition Commentary.” The text is right below:

Believers today may enter and enjoy their spiritual inheritance in Christ. We must be careful lest we fail to believe God’s Word, for it is only as the Word is “mixed with faith” that it can accomplish its purposes. The argument in this section is given in several propositions: (1) God finished His work and rested, so that His rest has been available since Creation. (2) The Jews failed to enter into their rest. (3) Many years later (Ps. 95), God said that a rest was still available. That “today” is still here! This means that Joshua did not lead Israel into the true rest, because a rest still remains. (Note that the name “Jesus” in Heb. 4:8, kjv, ought to be “Joshua.” “Jesus” is the Greek form of “Joshua.”)

The Canaan rest for Israel is a picture of the spiritual rest we find in Christ when we surrender to Him. When we come to Christ by faith, we find salvation rest (Matt. 11:28). When we yield and learn of Him and obey Him by faith, we enjoy submission rest (Matt. 11:29–30). The first is “peace with God” (Rom. 5:1); the second is the “peace of God” (Phil. 4:6–8). It is by believing that we enter into rest (Heb. 4:3); it is by obeying God by faith and surrendering to His will that the rest enters into us.[1]

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible Exposition Commentary (Vol. 2, p. 289). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.