August 11
Jeremiah 49:1-33; 2 Kings 24:5-7; 2 Chronicles 36:6-8; 2 Kings 24:8-9; 2 Chronicles 36:9; Jeremiah 22:24-23:32
Recently, on vacation, on my terrace from my room I see this small black bird working tirelessly binging small amounts of material and building a nest in a small covered area near a drainpipe in an adjacent building. She knows enough to do this for a temporary structure which might not last the next downpour of rain. Yet, how little we humans do to establish where we will spend eternity. I have heard some say if they could have been present during one of those earlier times, for example, the Red Sea parting before Moses, then they would believe and take God more seriously. Others say if they could have been there personally hearing Jesus deliver the Sermon on the Mount, then they would believe. But these are isolated events that would have come and gone. What we have that they don’t have is God’s completed Word, called the 66 books of the Bible, in our own language, small enough to be carried anywhere, in easy to read formats. We have more than those in previous generations could have dreamed of, but the great majority of individuals fail to see it’s worth. Most never bother to study it. Many that do, approach it with biased, pre-conceived ideas, therefore not allowing God’s Word to speak directly to them. God has given us a gift, made it available, yet most never bother opening the present.
We read an amazing prophecy in Jeremiah 23:5-6, stating that the coming Branch, or Messiah, would indeed be God or Jehovah Tsidkenu, which means "THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS". We understand that our Messiah, Jesus Christ, was indeed God in the flesh, but the Jewish people reject this and falsely claim that we worship more than one God. Along with this passage, Isaiah 9:6 also describes that the Child who was born, the future Messiah would have the name of "Mighty God". Interestingly, their own commentaries in the Targum, Talmud and Midrash all claimed that these verses referred to the future Messiah. This view, that these verses were indeed Messianic in nature, was not reversed by the Jewish religious leaders until approximately 1000 years after Jesus walked the earth, primarily by a Rabbi named Rashi. Growing up in Brooklyn, and now as a physician caring for so many Jewish patients, I have always had a heart for the Jewish people and for the nation of Israel. Unfortunately, by allowing leaders to tell them what these portions of Scripture mean, along with Jesus not coming as their preconceived ideas of the Messiah were, as the conquering King, they have largely rejected Jesus. Yet, portions such as this along with portions of Scripture such as Isaiah 53 (along with the other suffering servant sections in Isaiah), Psalm 22, Zechariah 12:10, etc. clearly present Jesus’ first coming.
In today’s reading we read a portion of prophecy which was handled correctly. We read an amazing prophesy in Jer.25:11, "And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years." This is what sets our Book apart from every other book from every other religion. Our Bible is full of specific prophecy which has been fulfilled. In Daniel 9:2, Daniel doesn't wonder but approaches the prophecy with expectation, "in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem." (We read of the fulfillment of this prophesy in 2 Chronicles 36:20-23). Faithfully believing God’s Word was indeed God’s Word, not allowing the improbability of the course of events to deter him, not allowing anyone else to steer him away from the Word, Daniel trusted and lived his life trusting God’s Word.
The Word of God is the Word of God. Many are faithful to teach it and lead others allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture. But many have allowed society and the desire to remain “relevant” to contort Scripture or avoid talking about certain parts of Scripture. We read in Jeremiah 23:14, “Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: They commit adultery and walk in lies; They also strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.” The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was a brazenness or complete lack of shame which accompanied their sinful behavior. We are seeing this with everything in our culture now. It has been normalized by society and accepted by many religious leaders who cherry pick the Scriptures who justify by using a verse here and a verse there, rather than using the totality of Scripture. Like that little bird preparing her nest, may we diligently take hold of our Bibles and study and apply from cover to cover, opening our eyes to our Savior who has already paid the price for our eternal home and has already sent out the invitations to any who will choose to accept.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: