“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” (Jer 15:16 AV)
The circumstances of this verse are the power behind it. Jeremiah makes this statement in rather
difficult times. The exact timing of
this verse escapes the mind. Either Judah
is in the process of being carried away by Babylon, or they already have
been. It really matters not because, from
Jeremiah’s perspective, the carrying away is only a matter of time. Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, has run out the
patience of God. Jehovah has had enough
of Judah’s unfaithfulness and has passed judgment. Jeremiah knows this. He also knows no matter how hard he preaches,
the nation as a whole will not respond.
He sees the dark clouds rising. He
sees the hard times ahead. The disobedience
of Judah will affect him in some small or great way. The prophet’s life will never be the same
again. Jeremiah may have been given liberty
from the government of Babylon, but the life he knew will never be the life he
will have. In the light of all this
truth, Jeremiah still testifies to the power of the written word. Regardless of what may happen, the word of
God is the prophet's joy and rejoicing.
Sometimes, we are so used to the word of God that we forget what impact
it truly has on us. Streaming is the new
cable TV. What is great about streaming
is you can find entertainment that is worth watching. Especially the really old stuff. The stuff I grew up on. Today’s entertainment is so full of
wickedness it is discouraging. The
golden age of television merely put in video form the art of storytelling for a
purpose. When stories are told, they are
usually told to teach a principle in the venue of being interesting. The golden age of television was when things
were black and white. The days, way back
when, wherein a night shot was done by merely diming the lens. Every once in a while clouds and even the sun
can be seen when it is supposed to be nighttime. Those were the days. The thing is until streaming came along, we
had forgotten what it was we were missing.
We missed the programming that reinforced morality. In watching some of the old black and white westerns,
I am reminded of a time when there was appropriateness among the genders. When there were only two genders. These shows, and others like them, help to escape
the evil and wicked nature of today’s world.
How much more the word of God!
Joy and rejoicing are strong words.
Especially considering what it was Jeremiah and Judah faced. When Jeremiah stated the words were found,
this could be referencing the discovery of the word of God in the temple when
Josiah the boy king ordered the temple to be cleansed. The word of God had taken a back seat for
several generations to the point it was lost in the house of God. Imagine that!
Going to church and not finding a bible anywhere. Those were the dire conditions under which
Jeremiah served. When the word of God was
found, it became the source of Jeremiah’s survival and more so. Even his spiritual thriving! When we are going through the mill, it is so
important to have our eyes and minds in the word of God. It will feed us when no other can. The power of the word of God is beyond our
comprehension and it is the source of all joy even when things are not all that
good.
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