FWD: Morning Manna (Oct. 11); BP: Jer. 36; RBTTY: Col. 3; Is. 37-38

 
Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net

 

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-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:05:17 -0500
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Oct. 11); BP: Jer. 36; RBTTY: Col. 3; Is. 37-38
 

October 11                                                                                                                                                                                    “The Persistent Word”

 

“Take again another roll and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, has burned.  And you shall say to Jehoiakim, king of Judah, ‘Thus says the Lord, You have burned this roll, saying, Why have you written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast?’. . .Then took Jeremiah another roll and gave it to Baruch, the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim, king of Judah, had burned in the fire—and there were added besides unto them many like words.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Jeremiah 36:28-29, 32

     The age-old adage “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” are also true in the spiritual realm.

     The Scriptures are clear when they declare “So shall My Word be that goes forth out of My Mouth.  It shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Is. 55:11).  That’s why the Lord God instructed Jeremiah to capture His Word once again on a new scroll and read them once again to Jehoiakim, the evil king of Judah, who cut the first scroll up into pieces and threw it in the fire (vv.23-24).

 

     Just as God rewrote the Ten Commandments on two, new tablets of stone after Moses broke them in anger over the people’s sinfulness (Ex. 31:18; 32:15-19; 34:1-4), so does He repeatedly continue wooing and warning us by His Spirit and the Word.  So often, we wonder why we keep running into the same obstacles. . .having to deal with the same type people who grate on our nerves. . .or find certain portions of His Word pricking us more than others.

 

     The reason?

     Because “the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joint and marrow and is a Discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).  And, in the following verse we read “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight—but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do” (v.13).

 

     Thus, we shouldn’t be surprised the God of Abraham instructed Jeremiah to capture His Word once again on a scroll and once again to present them to Jehoiakim.  Just as water continually dripping on a rock will eventually wear it away, so will God’s Word finally break the hardest of hearts if the “owner” will finally surrender to Him.

 

     Dear Pilgrim, our responsibility is not to change others or even abrasively confront them—for confrontation so often simply hardens the heart even worse.  No, our responsibility is simply sharing the Word and leaving the convicting and changing up to the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:8-11).  Too often we give up before the Lord does.  And, even if those we’re dealing with refuse to hear and heed (as did Jehoiakim and the people in Noah’s day), we still must be found faithful. . .for that’s what we’re called to do.