FWD: Morning Manna (Aug. 9); BP: Jer. 7; RBTTY: Rom. 9: Ps. 77-78

 
Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net

 

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-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Fri, 8 Aug 2008 18:12:40 -0500
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Aug. 9); BP: Jer. 7; RBTTY: Rom. 9: Ps. 77-78
 

August 9                                                                                                                                     “Faded Glory”

 

“But go now unto My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My Name at the first and see what I did to it for the wickedness of the people Israel.  And, now, because you have done all these works, says the Lord, and I spoke unto you, rising up early and speaking—but you heard not.  And I called you—but you answered not.  Therefore, will I do unto this house, which is called by My Name, wherein you trust and unto the place, which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.”

                                                                                                                                                Jeremiah 7:12-14

     The greatest agony known to man is not our not realizing a dream; it’s knowing it was within our grasp and we let it slip away.

     Shiloh.

     Located in the territory of Ephraim, around 10 miles northeast of Bethel, Shiloh served as Israel’s religious center during the establishment of the United Kingdom.  It became the first permanent home of the Tabernacle, soon after the conquest of Canaan by the children of Israel (Josh. 18:1).  Thus, it became the center of worship for God’s People during the period of the judges (Judg. 18:31) and the place where the last seven tribes of Israel received their land allotments (Josh. 18:8-10).

 

     This was also the place where Hannah prayed for a son (I Sam. 1:3, 11) and the place where God granted her request by blessing her with Samuel.  The Tabernacle, which housed the Ark of the Covenant, still stood there during Samuel’s early years as a priest and prophet (I Sam. 1:9; 4:3-4).  However, later on the Ark was stolen during a battle with the Philistines and never retuned to Shiloh because God had forsaken it as the center of worship because of the people’s sinfulness (II Sam. 6:2-17; Ps. 78:60).

 

     Over the years Shiloh gradually lost its importance, which became complete when Jerusalem became the capital of the kingdom.  After the division of the kingdom, Jeroboam established Dan and Bethel as the worship centers for the 10 northern tribes.  And, by Jeremiah’s day Shiloh lay in ruins, although a few people still lived there.

 

     That’s why God’s words in today’s Manna are so piercing.  Although Jeremiah, the “Weeping Prophet,” preached for over 40 years, calling his countrymen to repentance, they continued to harden their hearts and stiffen their necks.  Even though the Lord through Jeremiah called them to “gird themselves with sackcloth, lament and howl” (Jer. 4:8) and to “wash their hearts from wickedness so they could be saved” (4:14), they “refused and made their faces harder” (5:3).  And, the “Word of the Lord had become a reproach to them and in it/Him they had no delight” (6:10).

 

     Oh, dear Pilgrim, how it grieves Jesus’ Holy Heart (and should grieve ours) when we know what He wants, but refuse to surrender to Him.  He calls us to “amend our ways, trust not in lying words (and our own sources of strength) and obey Him” (7:3-7); yet, still we “trust in lying words that cannot profit” (7:8).

 

     And, then we wonder why we suffer and “Shiloh’s glory has faded.”  May we not rest until our all is laid upon His Altar and every part of us is under Jesus’ control.  Only then will we experience His “joy unspeakable and full of glory” (I Pet. 1:8).