Slippery Path

Jeremiah 23:11-12



11 “Even the priests and prophets are ungodly, wicked men. I have seen their despicable acts right here in my own Temple,” says the Lord. 12 “Therefore, the paths they take will become slippery.


Here God says that these religious leaders will walk on a slippery path. Why? They are listed as being ungodly and wicked. They are also accused of doing despicable acts in the temple of Jehovah.

What were these men specific actions?

The prophets committed adultery and loved dishonesty. They encouraged those who were doing evil so that no one turned away from their sins. These prophets were as wicked as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah once were.

Jehovah goes on to say that it is because Jerusalem's prophets that the land was filled with wickedness. THIS IS A SCARY THOUGHT. The thought that the religious leaders of a land determine whether a people act righteously or wickedly.

What could have these prophets of Jerusalem done? Jeremiah 23:22 Says that if these men would have stood before the LORD and listened to Him then he would have spoken to them and the people would have turned from their wicked ways.

Thus, we sin that the slippery path is what God gives people -- when they are wicked and speak their own words to justify themselves and they don't stand before God to get a word from Him.

Envy

Ecc 4:4 NLT
"Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind."

How much do we do for envy? This verse ties into the rewards that Paul talks about in 1 Cor. I truly believe that if we do tasks motivated by envy that much of this work will be estimated as wood, hay, stubble. The key to not doing things out of envy is the desire to honor God. Jesus makes the distinction between honoring God and honoring men. If one honors men, he or she constantly seeks to do things that get praise from the people who surround them. The person who seeks the honor of God does good even in secret places where it can't be seen. He or she knows that even if it is in secret, God will reward him or her openly (taking into consideration that this reward may not come till judgement). Thank you Father for bringing this scripture to my attention. I pray that You would reveal to me all areas of my motivation that stem from envy and that You would help me to base my motivation on honoring You, in Jesus Christ name.

Building walls

Asa, King of Judah, destroyed idols and encouraged the people to follow after Jehovah. The Bible then states that the LORD gave them peace. While they were at peace Asa fortified the cities (he built walls with towers and gates). I believe that there is the principle here of that when we are at peace (not battling) the enemy we should strive to fortify ourselves. The principle is easily understood, but how is applied to our day? I think one of the guiding principles to all biblical application is to understand that the Kingdom of God is within. It deals with the spirit of a man. Of course what is changed in the spirit will have an outer flow into the rest of the one's being, but the principle focus should rest on the change of the spirit. If we take that into consideration, I think the practical application of Asa's example is fortification of the spirit. How is the spirit fortified? I do not limit it to these two things but what comes to mind now are: meditating of God's word and praying in the spirit. Throughout the word of God meditation upon His word is related as a pivotal way of having it become a part of one's spirit (as one thinks in his heart so is he). Praying in the spirit is defined as building upon one's faith. Thus, we should pray that the LORD would help us to fortify ourselves when we are at peace.

3rd generation

Rehoboam was the son of Solomon, and the grandson of King David. Under his rule, God's people became divided: Judah and Benjamin served Rehoboam, the other tribes served Jeroboam. The Levites eventually migrated to Judah because Jeroboam did not follow the Lord, but he served idols.

Rehoboam served the LORD God to a degree. He with 500,000 faced the Jeroboam with 800,000. The Bible says that Rehoboam honored the LORD by calling out for His help. Thus, Jehovah gave Rehoboam the victory and 500,000 of Israel died.

Nevertheless, Rehoboam was considered evil by the LORD. 2 Chr. 12 summarizes Rehoboam's life, "But he was an evil king, for he did not seek the Lord with all his heart." How did Rehoboam not seek God with all of his heart? "But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the Lord, and all Israel followed him in this sin." God had given him the victory and he was securely set as the King of Judah. Nevertheless, Rehoboam left/stopped following the Law of the LORD.

We can learn from this example. First, the LORD wants us to seek Him when we desperately need Him and when we are doing well. Second, one stops following after the LORD when this person does not follow after His word. If we follow/seek the word of the LORD at all times, we can conclude that this constitutes looking for God with our whole heart.

An interesting note, Rehoboam the grandson of David did not follow in David's footsteps. Both Rehoboam and David made mistakes (eg Rehoboam taking the advice of the young counselors, David's deception with Bathsheba). In spite of this, Rehoboam gives us a negative example and David gives us a positive one. The difference is that David depended and turned his attention to God and His word.

Purpose

The purpose of this blog is a personal expression of my thoughts, devotions, and meditations to the One true God. Jesus said that the true worshippers would worship in spirit and in truth. I seek to do this in my life and here in this blog. May the blessings of the Lord be upon all those who seek and trust in Jesus Christ.