It Stinks to be Young!

“Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.” (Eze 16:60 AV)

This is the only encouraging verse in an otherwise very discouraging chapter.  The entire chapter describes Israel from the time the LORD rescued them from Egypt until the time they were carried away.  The first part of the chapter tells of God’s grace and what He did for them.  Then, the LORD rehearses just what it was they did in response.  Some pretty discouraging things.  They completely rejected and embarrassed the very gracious God who took them from slavery, cleaned them up, and used them to glorify Himself.  The verbiage used is very dramatic.  It speaks of a promiscuous woman who is worse than them all because she gives away her wealth, rather than demanding it from, her lovers.  A truly immoral and hideous creature.  All this verbiage to describe what Israel did is, in the above verse, described as her youth!

Herein is the encouraging thing.  This everlasting covenant will be established at the beginning of the reign of Christ!  When their Messiah returns and sits upon the throne of David, this covenant will be in force and Israel will fail no more.  This covenant, although never voided, will come completely to pass when Jesus comes back.  But here is the encouragement for the believer:  All the mess we have ever created was in our youth.  Just like Israel, there will come a time when we will fully mature and failure is no longer possible.  Sin will never again corrupt our minds, bodies, or souls!  All this failure we succumb to is our youth!  Our immature, impulsive, selfish natures will mature at our glorification.  When transformed into the image of Christ, we will never again battle a youthful sin nature.  Glory!

Just as physically growing older is inescapable and inevitable, so too is spiritual maturity!  Just as my children could not wait to grow older and get on with their lives, the true child of God who walks with God looks forward to shedding the sinful body of our youth!  This is why God is so gracious to us.  We are in our youth. We will get it!  Sooner or later, we will understand by and by!

Yes, This is the Same God!

“And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old [and] young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom [is] the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which [were] before the house.” (Eze 9:5-6 AV)

Yes, this is the same God whom we worship today!  Even though we do not care to think of God in this way, it is the same God!  In chapter nine, the LORD instructed six men to go through the city and slay all those who had not received the mark of contrition.  Those who sorrowed over their own sin and the sins of the nation received a mark on their foreheads.  Then the six followed and killed man, woman, and child who had not received this mark.  This is a foreshadow of exactly what will happen during the tribulation period.  There will be two marks then.  The mark of the beast and the mark of the Holy Spirit.  Those without the mark of the Holy Spirit will be destroyed.

Ezekiel was bothered by what he had seen.  It seemed so senseless.  The killing of all those in Jerusalem who showed no remorse for their sin.  To be honest, it would bother me as well. Especially comparing sin with sin.  Sure, there would be those who probably deserved the die.  Those guilty of sin wherein death was the sentence.  But what of the others?  Just because they showed no remorse, isn’t slaughtering them a little extreme?  This is what Ezekiel thought, anyway.

What we fail to remember is the holiness of God.  We fail to realize that things are eternal.  We all die.  Sooner or later.  Whether by natural causes after living a full life, or by tragic ends such as disease or violence.  Life is but a vapor.  Compared to eternity, life is very short no matter how long we live.  The real issue is the right of God to demand holiness.  Our God does just that.  He has created all things that breathe.  Including every human being.  Because of that, He has the right to demand righteousness, holiness, and contrition when we fail.  If we are in rebellion against the God who created us, we have no expectation to life.  This is the God whom we serve.  He is a God of grace as manifested in the free gift of salvation.  But He is also the God of holiness and judgment.  A fact we have conveniently forgotten.

Perceived Privacy Proves Poor Piety

“Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.” (Eze 8:12 AV)

God is never absent.  Not in the sense that He is not present in any way, shape, or form.  God is omnipresent.  He is everywhere at all times.  However, there may be times we perceive His is not present.  This is our perception and not reality.  God sees all things.  He is aware of all things.  He may choose to be silent.  He may choose to not interact with people or things.  But that does not mean He is not present.  When people believe they perceive the absence of God, their true character is revealed.  In the above verse, the elders of Judah are in the temple worshiping false gods in the basement of the building.  They have their own chamber thinking the walls and ground around them shield them from the sight of God.  How foolish.  When we think we perceive the absence of God, then our true selves show up!

Every parent has done this from time to time.  They place their children in a room to play, giving them the security of privacy.  After a bit, the parent sneaks to just outside the room to hear what is going on inside.  Often, we are pleased with what we hear.  However, there are many times when we are not pleased.  They begin to misbehave.  They treat one another with cruelty.  Or, they do things they know Mom or Dad would not approve of.  Now that my sons are adults, we are finding out all sorts of things they did while unsupervised.  On one such occasion, we came home to find Lincoln logs in all sorts of strange places and a few dents in the dry wall throughout the house.  It appeared as though a Lincoln Log war with the babysitter erupted in our absence!

God is always watching.  But, child of God, if you perceive that God is afar off, maybe what He is doing is giving you a lesson in the true you!  How are you doing?  Do the “absent eyes” of God mean you fail to live according to His word!  He truly is not absent!  He is nearer than You think!

What a waste

“That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.” (Eze 4:17 AV)

The older I get the more I am aware of the true wickedness of mankind.  Including myself.  What is really sad is the destructiveness of this wickedness.  It completely destroys everything it touches.  What God intended for the benefit of mankind never really comes to pass.  There are blessings from obedience.  And, these blessings are wonderful.  These blessings are from the grace of God.  Yet, if the grace of God is rejected, sorrow and death take its place.  It is enough to desperately pray for eternity!

It is a difficult thing to watch.  When someone makes the choice to make iniquity the pattern of life.  Ezekiel must have had mixed feelings.  He knew the nation was in complete and irreversible rebellion against God.  He saw the waste of a nation.  He saw the absolute desecration of their one-time greatness.  He saw nothing but the torturous dissolving of his own countrymen.  On the one hand, he had compassion and sorrow for them.  On the other, was the passion for truth.  The two are often at odds with one another.  It is almost enough to make one mad!  Especially when redemption is so near and reversal of a course of destruction is possible.

The older I get the more and more I desire heaven.  Not that my personal trials will be over because I truly believe the LORD has blessed me far more than I deserve.  Rather, I am sickened by the destructive nature of sin.  It truly is maddening.  The world has gone crazy over iniquity.  The world is about ready to go ablaze for the right for total and complete self-gratification.  Anyone or anything that stands in their way they will destroy.  Including one another.  There is no hope outside of Jesus Christ.  He is the only hope for mankind, yet they reject Him.  It will all consume away.  All of it.  What a waste!  If only the world would turn after Jesus!  If only…… 

Hope From a Humbled Heart

“My soul hath [them] still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.” (La 3:20-21 AV)

Change means hope.  From worse to better is always hope.  Jeremiah, writing on behalf of the nation, is referring to the effect God’s chastening hand has, or will, have on them. That which he is remembering is the heavy cost they paid for their sin.  In particular, the humbling effect this chastening hand had upon those to whom it fell.  Circumstances may or may not change.  But our heart always can.

Over the years, I have dealt with many who struggle with sin.  Particularly a stubborn one which they have fought for a long time.  The belief that salvation would instantaneously free them from all temptation had added to the frustration.  I remember one such fellow who struggle with alcohol.  I truly believe he accepted Christ.  However, at the age of almost sixty, he had been a drunk for forty-five years.  He really had known no other life.  After he accepted Christ, he still struggled against the spirits.  Living within walking distance of four liquor stores, it was easy to see that death would be his only victory.  Some may look on a fella like that and think he never truly accepted Christ.  What they wouldn’t see is his reaction to the hand of God working on his heart.  He was no longer sorry because of consequences of choices alone.  He was sorrier for failure to slay this giant.  He was sorrier that he had failed the LORD and this vice controlled him than he was losing his electric or having no food in the house.  Questions of salvation entered his mind. How could someone who got saved still struggle with booze?  He was humbled at the rebuke of the LORD.  He simply failed to trust the leading of the Spirit to overcome the spirits.

Jeremiah is giving Israel hope.  The same hope that God gives His children today.  Our hope is not in changing circumstances.  Our hope is in changed hearts.  Our hope is not that the captivity will end.  Our hope is that we will no longer be captive to our hearts.  Our hope is not that life will be nothing but blessings.  Rather, our hope is that our hearts are humbled before the great and wonderful God of grace!

Grace May Take Time

“And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth [day] of the month, [that] Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the [first] year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison,” (Jer 52:31 AV)

What came to mind was the king of Israel became an object lesson to the rest of Israel of God’s coming grace.  Evil-Merodach, Nebuchadnezzar’s son, may have served some prison time with Jehoiachin.  Jewish tradition says that Evil-Merodach mocked his father while he suffered seven years madness.  Because of this, it is said, Evil-Merodach was thrown in prison and befriended Jehoiachin.  Upon the death of his father, Evil-Merodach freed the prisoner and elevated him to a place of honor above all other kings in captivity.  What came to mind was a generation would pass and the LORD would visit Israel in Babylon.  Much like Nebuchadnezzar passed and his son showed mercy.  When the generation of the disobedient passes, then God visited his children again to show mercy.  There is hope!  There is a future!

One of God’s most valuable assets is time.  We often want an immediate answer to our situation.  Especially when we caused it ourselves.  However, there may be nothing that can be done.  Time!  As a pastor, we are faced with difficult situations that have no immediate solution.  Or, the solution may end up causing more problems than allowing time to take care of it.  Hasty problem solving sometimes creates more problems that we initially had.  When it comes to personal failures, there may not be an immediate solution.  A generation or age may have to pass away before grace comes again.

I am reminded of our young adult years.  Those are scary years.  Years when we have the freedom to make adult decisions, but lack the discipline or wisdom to make the right ones.  If someone makes a mistake in those years, it is usually one whose consequences may last a life time.  There are no immediate solutions.  We can try to pick up the pieces as best we can.  But time is the only fix.  In Jehoiachin’s case, it took an empathetic individual who could understand his suffering to show him some mercy.  To the rest of the world, he was a rebel and failure.  To Evil-Merodach, he was a prisoner who spent far too many years in a prison sentence which was more than his crime deserved.  God knows our situation.  Whether self-inflicted or not.  Time will take care of it.

Grace Does Have Limits

“So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, [and] because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.” (Jer 44:22 AV)

What a sad statement this was.  Jeremiah had stayed behind to encourage the remnant to stay in the land to steward it under the governance of Babylon.  They would have great liberty even though a tax would have been demanded.  Some laws may have had to be changed.  But all in all, they would be able to live in relative peace under the jurisdiction of Babylon.  However, if they fled to Egypt for protection, the LORD would give them over to violence and death.  What compounded the problem was the women worshiped the queen of heaven and tempted their men into the same.  The LORD has had the last straw.  He is removing any and all hand of protection and grace from the people of God.  He can no longer bear.  Many believe God’s grace is unlimited in availability and application.  This is simply not true.  Although His grace is eternal and unlimited, it does not mean He chooses to exercise it.  God’s grace does have limits.  We soon forget this.

We have seen, from time to time, someone who has gone down a road a little farther than God’s grace followed.  Years ago, there was this fella that worked with me.  He claimed to be saved and was a student at the Christian school which our church operated.  This fella got involved in drugs.  He and another good friend of mine got into all sorts of drugs even though they claimed to be saved.  The first fella came home from a party and attempted to climb a rain spout.  He forgot his keys and was trying to get to his bedroom window.  He never made it.  He fell right on his head and broke his neck.  It was a miracle he survived.  We saw him laid up in the hospital with a wire cage screwed into his skull.  The second fella learned from his friend’s mistake.  At least for a little bit of time.  However, he too, just like Judah, went down the same road.  Only he went further than the two of them ever did.  Today, he is sitting in prison for a mistake he wishes never happened.

If we are unrepentant, God will eventually take His hand of protection from us.  A lesson few, if any learn.  He will allow us to suffer the consequences of our choices without any hope of relief.  This remnant, who was shown grace above their brethren, lost more than they ever did.  It is quite sad.