Jeremiah 47-48

Jeremiah 47:1-7 (NASB95) 1 That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh conquered Gaza. 2 Thus says the LORD: “Behold, waters are going to rise from the north And become an overflowing torrent, And overflow the land and all its fullness, The city and those who live in it; And the men will cry out, And every inhabitant of the land will wail. 3 “Because of the noise of the galloping hoofs of his stallions, The tumult of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels, The fathers have not turned back for their children, Because of the limpness of their hands, 4 On account of the day that is coming To destroy all the Philistines, To cut off from Tyre and Sidon Every ally that is left; For the LORD is going to destroy the Philistines, The remnant of the coastland of Caphtor. 5 “Baldness has come upon Gaza; Ashkelon has been ruined. O remnant of their valley, How long will you gash yourself? 6 “Ah, sword of the LORD, How long will you not be quiet? Withdraw into your sheath; Be at rest and stay still. 7 “How can it be quiet, When the LORD has given it an order? Against Ashkelon and against the seacoast-- There He has assigned it.”

Verse one “concerning (or against) the Philistines“, reminds me of where we started this section of chapters (in 46) which talks about the prophecies from the Lord through Jeremiah “to the nations”. We think of prophecies as being directed to God‘s people, specifically Israel, but even though in a certain sense, God divorced the nations or at least was estranged from the nations (Deut 32:8). God is not done with the nations. It’s not permanent that Israel was specifically the bride of the Lord. Not only that but God used other nations, unrighteous nature nations to prosecute his judgment against Israel, and God is righteous and just to allow those other nations to bring judgment against Israel… Yet God judges them as well. Psalm 89 Verse 14 says righteousness and judgment are the foundation of your throne.

And historically, the context for this prophecy against Philistia was before pharaoh attacked Gaza and according to several sources that I looked up pharaoh Neco sacked Gaza about 609 BC.

Verse 2 and 3 talk about judgment that came from the north against both Judah and Egypt when Babylon invaded and began to rule over that entire region, and it says that the fathers will not look back for their children, lacking courage.  The natural thing to do under normal circumstances would be for the fathers to surround and protect their children but this invasion with the noise and the chaos, and the brutality put such fear into the fathers that they forsook their normal instincts to protect their own kids and ran for their lives.

Then in verses 4 and 5, the Babylonians wouldn’t spare these people of the philistines' coastal territories, and I think if you underline the word “all” there, that’s the key to it. It’s all the philistine territories. And Tyre and Sidon which are the Phoenician cities would not be of any help against this judgment, so this kind of implies there was some sort of an alliance between the philistines and the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon.

Depending on the Bible version that you use, you might see a little different rendering of verse five.   Where it says “the remnant of the valley“, it might read “the remnant of the Anakim”. Particularly the revised standard version and a couple other others.  This difference is due to the NASB using the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible versus the RSV using the Septuagint. So what I’d like to point out is that in certain instances not a lot and not anywhere that would make a substantive difference in our doctrine, but there are certain instances where there are differences between various ancient manuscripts. Specifically, the Masoretic text is a different stream separate from the Septuagint text. The Septuagint happens to be the version of the Bible, the Old Testament that Jesus used whereas the Masoretic text came along later. I just give that to you as context and background.  

Now in verses six and seven, we are given this metaphor about the sword of God’s judgment. And the sword is both spoken to and heard from.   Obviously, this is a figure of speech here a poetic form where this inanimate object the sword is personified.  “Seeing the Lord has given it charge”, in other words, the sword of God‘s judgment is in command. So God‘s judgment was a sure thing it was a given, and it would be accomplished.

I want to do a little bit of a deep dive (or you could call it a rabbit trail) of something for us to think about.  The sword is being used as a metaphor for God‘s judgement.   Elsewhere the sword is symbolic of God’s word. That’s biblical. Ephesians 6:17b says the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12 says for the word of God is living an active and sharper than any two edged sword and piercing as far as the division between the soul and the spirit of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. so God’s word can cut; it is sharp. It’s a scalpel that can do surgery in our lives. Another metaphor for God’s word is that it’s like a mirror, see James chapter 1 verse 23 and 24 for if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. For once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.  God’s word is like a seed.   First Peter chapter 1 verse 23 says for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable that is through the living and enduring word of God.  Jesus Himself used the metaphor of God’s word being represented by a seed in the parables of the sower, the wheat and the tares, and the mustard seed in Matthew 13.   God’s word is also like milk.  First Peter chapter 2 verse 2 says like newborn babes, long for the milk of the word so that you may grow in respect to salvation.   God’s word is like a lamp.  Psalm 119 verse 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.  God’s word is like a fire.  Jeremiah 23:29 is not my word like a fire, declares the Lord.  Another one where God’s word is like a hammer.  Jeremiah 23:29 again, like a hammer that shatters rock. Lastly, God’s word is like water, Ephesians 5:25-26 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.

My point in all of this is both the importance of God‘s word and the scope of the impact that God‘s word can have on our lives.  God‘s word can have a profound bearing on such a broad set of circumstances and aspects of our lives.

We quote this verse a lot here in this sanctuary, but I think it’s worth remembering 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NASB95) 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Last verse, I’d like to quote that kind of sums it up, Isaiah 55:11 (NASB95) So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

Now onto chapter 48 of Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 48:1-47 (NASB95) 1 Concerning Moab. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Woe to Nebo, for it has been destroyed; Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured; The lofty stronghold has been put to shame and shattered. 2 “There is praise for Moab no longer; In Heshbon they have devised calamity against her: ‘Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!’ You too, Madmen, will be silenced; The sword will follow after you. 3 “The sound of an outcry from Horonaim, ‘Devastation and great destruction!’ 4 “Moab is broken, Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress. 5 “For by the ascent of Luhith They will ascend with continual weeping; For at the descent of Horonaim They have heard the anguished cry of destruction. 

Moab was Israel’s neighbor to the east, on the other side of the Jordan. The ancestor of Moab came from the incestuous pairing of Lot and his daughter; after Sodom and Gamora got destroyed Lot’s daughters felt like there was not a man left on earth to be a husband to them so they took it into their own hands to get their dad drunk and get him to lay with them and they conceived. Nobody can say that the Bible is this whitewashed sanitized message. Then Jeremiah mentions the major cities of the nation of Moab that were gonna be overwhelmed by this judgment; Nebo, Kirjathaim, Heshbon, Horonaim and Luhith

Verses 6-9 “Flee, save your lives, That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness. 7 “For because of your trust in your own achievements and treasures, Even you yourself will be captured; And Chemosh will go off into exile Together with his priests and his princes. 8 “A destroyer will come to every city, So that no city will escape; The valley also will be ruined And the plateau will be destroyed, As the LORD has said. 9 “Give wings to Moab, For she will flee away; And her cities will become a desolation, Without inhabitants in them. 

 “Flee, save your lives!” Do you hear the urgency in that statement?

“because of your trust in your own achievements and treasures”, what an expression of complacency and self sufficiency. And I’m speaking to myself here, but I need to constantly guard against independence.  This thought that what I have attained or obtained will get me through. Just by way of a specific example I have a set of accounts; retirement accounts that I live off of now. Almost everything I have in terms of financial ability is on paper so to speak it can all vanish in an instant.   Even what we have that might be a physical asset can be stolen, or burned up.   Beware of the danger of self-sufficency.

“And Chemosh will go off into exile together with his priests and his princes” I thought this was interesting so not only would the people be taken off into exile, but the gods of the people would be included in that.  Like the other gods that were mentioned earlier, Baal and Molech; this god Chemosh was associated with child sacrifice. This deity was also related to fertility. Isn’t it something how people even in our own day and age can be so concerned about, focused on and enamored with fertility and yet at the same time so eager to sacrifice their own children?

Now verses 10-13 “Cursed be the one who does the LORD’S work negligently, And cursed be the one who restrains his sword from blood. 11 “Moab has been at ease since his youth; He has also been undisturbed, like wine on its dregs, And he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into exile. Therefore he retains his flavor, And his aroma has not changed. 12 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will empty his vessels and shatter his jars. 13 “And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence. 

In talking about the condition and status of the nation of Moab, I just think it’s so interesting that the Lord uses this representation of Moab being like a bottle of wine.  Back in the day when they would make wine, they didn’t have maybe the same standards or the same facilities to be able to strain out the stems and the leaves when they were crushing the grapes to make wine so some of that junk would end up in the bottom of the bottle and it would just settle there.  Then when you were ready to serve the wine, you would pour it from one container into another leaving the dregs in the bottom of the bottle and the wine could go into a decanter from which you could pour it into the cups.  Moab was just a picture of a bunch of junk that had just settled and was there; that needed to be gotten rid of.

Do you see the association of god Chemosh with Israel there in the last part of verse 13.  This is a warning for us to not allow idolatry.

1 Corinthians 10:7 (NASB95) Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.”

1 Corinthians 10:14 (NASB95) Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

Colossians 3:5 (NASB95) Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

1 John 5:21 (NASB95) Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

Matthew 6:24 (NASB95) “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Verses 14 through 24, “How can you say, ‘We are mighty warriors, And men valiant for battle’? 15 “Moab has been destroyed and men have gone up to his cities; His choicest young men have also gone down to the slaughter,” Declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. 16 “The disaster of Moab will soon come, And his calamity has swiftly hastened. 17 “Mourn for him, all you who live around him, Even all of you who know his name; Say, ‘How has the mighty scepter been broken, A staff of splendor!’ 18 “Come down from your glory And sit on the parched ground, O daughter dwelling in Dibon, For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you, He has ruined your strongholds. 19 “Stand by the road and keep watch, O inhabitant of Aroer; Ask him who flees and her who escapes And say, ‘What has happened?’ 20 “Moab has been put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out; Declare by the Arnon That Moab has been destroyed. 21 “Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, Jahzah and against Mephaath, 22 against Dibon, Nebo and Beth-diblathaim, 23 against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul and Beth-meon, 24 against Kerioth, Bozrah and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 

This section conveys two main things (I think): 

1. The calamity that’s about to come upon Moab
2. The utter completeness of the judgment that’s about to come upon them

And really one thing this speaks to the fact that there is really no comparison between the local deity of Moab versus the supreme and infinite God of all the Lord.

Verses 25 through 35, “The horn of Moab has been cut off and his arm broken,” declares the LORD. 26 “Make him drunk, for he has become arrogant toward the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock. 27 “Now was not Israel a laughingstock to you? Or was he caught among thieves? For each time you speak about him you shake your head in scorn. 28 “Leave the cities and dwell among the crags, O inhabitants of Moab, And be like a dove that nests Beyond the mouth of the chasm. 29 “We have heard of the pride of Moab--he is very proud-- Of his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance and his self-exaltation. 30 “I know his fury,” declares the LORD, “But it is futile; His idle boasts have accomplished nothing. 31 “Therefore I will wail for Moab, Even for all Moab will I cry out; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres. 32 “More than the weeping for Jazer I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah! Your tendrils stretched across the sea, They reached to the sea of Jazer; Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvest The destroyer has fallen. 33 “So gladness and joy are taken away From the fruitful field, even from the land of Moab. And I have made the wine to cease from the wine presses; No one will tread them with shouting, The shouting will not be shouts of joy. 34 “From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have raised their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate. 35 “I will make an end of Moab,” declares the LORD, “the one who offers sacrifice on the high place and the one who burns incense to his gods. 

The reason for the judgment upon Moab, succinctly, was pride. They thought they were better than Israel (vs 25-28) 

The ultimate result of the judgement was that they would be brought low.  Shane spent most of the message last week speaking on this topic of pride so I don’t wanna spend a lot more time on it but just that there’s a difference between a good and valid pride in maybe something you’ve produced or accomplished or maybe something your kids have accomplished; you can be proud of your kids. But pride and arrogance are contrary to God‘s desire for our character. Conceit is something where I feel like I’m better than the next person.  I can tell you for sure I am no better than anyone else. I might be better off than some who don’t know the Lord and haven’t surrendered to him, but I’m no better than anyone else. Humility says we don’t bring anything to the table.   We don’t contribute anything to our salvation except for the sin that made it necessary.

Ok let’s finish this section of Jeremiah chapter 48; verses 36 through 42 “Therefore My heart wails for Moab like flutes; My heart also wails like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have lost the abundance it produced. 37 “For every head is bald and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands and sackcloth on the loins. 38 “On all the housetops of Moab and in its streets there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable vessel,” declares the LORD. 39 “How shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back--he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an object of terror to all around him.” 40 For thus says the LORD: “Behold, one will fly swiftly like an eagle And spread out his wings against Moab. 41 “Kerioth has been captured And the strongholds have been seized, So the hearts of the mighty men of Moab in that day Will be like the heart of a woman in labor. 42 “Moab will be destroyed from being a people Because he has become arrogant toward the LORD. 43 “Terror, pit and snare are coming upon you, O inhabitant of Moab,” declares the LORD. 44 “The one who flees from the terror Will fall into the pit, And the one who climbs up out of the pit Will be caught in the snare; For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab, The year of their punishment,” declares the LORD. 45 “In the shadow of Heshbon The fugitives stand without strength; For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon And a flame from the midst of Sihon, And it has devoured the forehead of Moab And the scalps of the riotous revelers. 46 “Woe to you, Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished; For your sons have been taken away captive And your daughters into captivity. 47 “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab In the latter days,” declares the LORD. Thus far the judgment on Moab.

This section really is an expression of God’s heart towards the nations.  His heart breaks for those who are alienated and estranged from him.  The section ends with hope but it’s filled with mourning.

I just wanna give you a view into my heart and my life lately, and it’s much along the same lines as something Shane expressed fairly recently. I feel like I’ve been surrounded with death .  Not just physical death but death to relationships . Sometimes we don’t see it coming, but circumstances will hit us and we will be faced with heartbreak and loss and sorrow.  It’s been just over a year since my dad passed away. Julie and I were faced with the loss of our dog recently. I didn’t realize that was going to be so painful. It’s just about the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through. In my own family‘s life, we’ve had some upset and discord recently. That has really brought about deep stress, and I’ve just been distraught over some things that have gone on in my own family. And yet believe it or not coming through all of that, I feel I have hope.   God has really given me peace, because like it says in verse 47 “yet I will restore the fortunes”.  I feel like God has been faithful where I have failed. God has been a comfort where I was in pain.  My prayer for you is that you will depend on the Lord through whatever trials and loss and failure and rejection. You might experience it in your own life. If you’ve gotten to a point where you feel like you just can’t go on; what just kept going through my mind was I’m dying here. You’re killing me. Just know that God himself is the light at the end of that tunnel.

We have eternity with our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ to look forward to:

John 14:2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 

Meditate on This

Matthew 12:35b the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

I’m talking to myself!

Casa Del Pastor Mission Trip

 We drove down to San Vincente Mexico in vans with the church youth group.

April 3 Calvary Chapel Red Bluff

April 4 Calvary Chapel Chula Vista 

April 5-10 Casa Del Pastor San Vincente, Baja California 

April 10-11 DoubleTree by Hilton Buena Park

April 12 return 

The Lord showed me just how old I am.

This trip was faith building and faith testing.

This trip was extremely humbling to see how poor, in worldly terms the people of San Vincente are. I was humbled seeing the kids and the moms of the Casa Del Pastor, but specifically Fancisca, the gal and her three sweet kids who we were building the house for; she gave us her testimony.  It was so deep and moving. Having already heard her story how she was mistreated by her husband, it made me cry.

Honestly seeing how God took care of so many situations and seeing how God helped us with the building project was amazing.

My verse from the trip is:

Galatians 2:20 (KJV) I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

My biggest fear before the trip was would I have the strength and endurance to keep up.   Here’s the faith building lesson: even though, yes I took more breaks than everyone else I felt better physically than I have in a long time.  God was with us by faith and He carried me (and all of us) by His Holy Spirit and He filled me afresh with His Holy Spirit.

Another faith builder for me was how the youth found a great way to evangelize at Knotts Berry Farm.   We sang the Doxology while we sat strapped in waiting for the zero-to-eighty mile an hour in two seconds roller coaster to launch. The people waiting in line were smiling. Right on queue as we sang “Amen”, the car launched and we all screamed.

Jeremiah 35

This chapter (35) that we’re going to look at tonight actually goes back 10 or 20 years.   Remember, these chapters of the book of Jeremiah in our Bibles are not in chronological order.   They are in an intentional sequence though, they’re arranged as a coherent ‘message’ that God wants to convey through Jeremiah.

Let’s momentarily think about our VISION

• We are a community of people responding to the Gospel, living in freedom, and growing in the grace of God.

MISSION

• We are committed to communicating God's love and plan for people & making disciples through His Word.

CORE VALUES:

• WORD
• WORSHIP
• PRAYER
• FAMILY
• MISSIONS

What we at Calvary Chapel Lake Stevens are all about the same thing Jeremiah is teaching.   God wants us to be real, committed, devoted christians, putting God first in our lives.   And God wants us to be honest, transparent, committed people towards each other.

In this chapter, the Lord calls attention to the commitment of a single clan within Israel and to highlight their devotion as a family.  God highlights the Rechabites as a stark contrast to the nation of Judah.

Jeremiah 35:1-19 (NKJV) 1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2 “Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.” 

Picture this, let’s try to figure out what Jeremiah is doing here.   He gets this clan called the Rechabites and he brings him into the to the area of the temple and he sits him down and of course whenever Jeremiah does something he draws a crowd and so there's a crowd of people going okay what's jeremiah up to now and he sits him down and he pours out of these big jugs of wine and sets him in front of the Rechabites and says ok guys here’s some drinks.  Indulge!

3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, his brothers and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites, 4 and I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which [was] by the chamber of the princes, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door. 5 Then I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine.” 6 But they said, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons, forever. 7 ‘You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, nor have [any of these;] but all your days you shall dwell in tents, that you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.’ 8 “Thus we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9 “nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; nor do we have vineyard, field, or seed. 10 “But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 

So the Rechabites were nomadic herdsmen by decree if you will, of Jonadab.   They didn’t have permanent dwellings, they lived in tents.   They followed this practice of abstinence from alcohol as laid down by their parent Jonadab.  As a family they were a picture of having a very light connection to the world.

11 “But it came to pass, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, ‘Come, let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and for fear of the army of the Syrians.’ So we dwell at Jerusalem.” 12 Then came the word of the LORD to Jeremiah, saying, 13 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not receive instruction to obey My words?” says the LORD. 14 “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; for to this day they drink none, and obey their father’s commandment. But although I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, you did not obey Me. 

Sometimes, God teaches us lessons by comparison and contrast. In other words these guys (these Rechabites) are faithful and are doing what their forefather told them to do.   And yet you guys are not following what God (your heavenly Father) told you to do.

15 “I have also sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending [them,] saying, ‘Turn now everyone from his evil way, amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them; then you will dwell in the land which I have given you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear, nor obeyed Me. 16 “Surely the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them, but this people has not obeyed Me.” ’ 17 “Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the doom that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them but they have not heard, and I have called to them but they have not answered.’ ” 18 And Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts and done according to all that he commanded you, 19 ‘therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me forever.” ’ ”

That means the descendants of Jonadab the son of Rechab shall continue (they will exist as a family down through the ages).   Wouldn’t it be interesting to be able to trace that lineage of Jonadab to this very day and see who his family were.   I guarantee you, based on God’s promise in His Word right here that you would see a Jewish family descended from Jonadab who trusts Jesus as their messiah.

God, through Jeremiah is trying to show the rest of the people that were listening how these Rechabites obeyed a man but you won't obey God.   God is shaming them and we ought to be ashamed when we obey man and not God.

You remember when the disciples got hauled in before the sanhedrin in Acts 5

Act 5:27-29 NASB95]  27 When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, "We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man's blood upon us." 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.

This story reminds us that obedience is a good thing but whenever we are called to an obedience that overrides what God has said in his word we have no obligation to obey it. We put a lot of prayer and discussion and thought into whether or not to hold church at a time during COVID when the state was basically mandating no in-person gathering.   We decided (with caution and with sobriety) we would meet.  Masks were in place, social distancing was in place, extreme deep cleaning of the premises was put in place, our air conditioning system was retrofitted with medical grade filtration.   We even rented a circus tent and met in the parking lot.   We began to offer youtube streaming of our services, for anyone with a compromised immune system or a tender conscience.

Here’s a thought experiment; you're in a job and your boss says i want you to fudge some numbers so we don’t have to pay so much in taxes. You are under no obligation to follow that order. But I’ll lose my job. You think God can't get you another job. You think God can't take care of you if you walk in obedience to him.  He will honor those who honor his word and that's the important thing to remember: we are to obey God.

If God gives you a command you obey it.  If man says no you can't keep that command you politely say i'm sorry but you’re not God.

Let’s look at some scriptural examples of being out of alignment with God bu placing man’s commandments over God’s.

Mark 7:3-13 (NKJV) 3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash [their] hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 [When they come] from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, [like] the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” 6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with [their] lips, But their heart is far from Me. 7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching [as] doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 “For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men--the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.” 9 He said to them, “[All too] well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 10 “For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 11 “But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me [is] Corban”--’ (that is, a gift [to God]), 12 “then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, 13 “making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

Some people place great emphasis on religion and religious acts, and going to church and how in some way that makes them right before God.    Some people a so focused on rule following, and yet they are involved in breaking the 7th commandment or the 9th commandment.

1 Samuel 15:22 (NKJV)

So Samuel said: “Has the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, [And] to heed than the fat of rams.

Here’s the punch-line.    What’s more important, to follow some tradition (something that’s been passed down from your forefathers) or to obey God?  Obviously, keep your word.  If you say you're going to do something, do it.   More importantly though, is to keep your word to God.

I try to keep the main thing, the main thing and I believe I’ve done so in this chapter of Jeremiah, but there’s a side topic that I want to give you my personal perspective on.

This chapter only peripherally deals with alcohol, but I want to briefly give you my thoughts on it.

I’m not a ‘teetotaller’.   In other words, I have drunk alcohol, and I don’t believe in a total prohibition of alcohol in everyone’s life.   But let me offer a few scriptural warnings:

Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.

Romans 13:13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor [the] covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Ephesians 5:17-18 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

As an elder, I’ve sat and talked with more than one guy who struggled with alcohol or some other addictive behavior.   What do I tell them?   I give them my personal testimony related to drinking alcohol…

Here’s how I received the victory over drinking alcohol. I used to drink; even as a Christian.  I would tell myself and Julie, I just need to blow off a little steam.   She would say, “you don’t need that stuff.”

Around 25 years ago, I was working with a brother, Patrick Miles, to start Calvary Chapel Monroe.   We were studying and praying together.  We had a weekly church service that Julie and I were part of.   One time Patrick asked me, “do you drink?”   I said yeah.   He just challenged me not to drink any more.  It wasn’t until he set that challenge before me and I took it seriously that things changed.   It was just that simple.   What’s the Biblical principle in action here?   Titus 2:15 says These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.