Stay True to God's Word - Jeremiah 34 - 40

Is it reasonable or even possible for you to believe that a vast majority of the people in the world actually detest the Holly Bible? You should believe because it is sorrowfully true. It is even harder to believe that there are a large percentage of American citizens that reject it; especially since our country was founded as ONE NATION UNDER GOD. One of the best proofs that the Bible is the inspired Word of God is the fact that many prophets, like Jeremiah, foretold, in detail, events that would happen hundreds of years in advance of their happening. How could they have known the future events without God’s revelation to them? Rejection of the Bible has always been a problem, because people just do not want to be reminded of their sins. Jeremiah wrote God’s message to Judah on a scroll and when King Jehoiakim heard it read, he cut the scroll into pieces and burned it in his wintertime fireplace [36:23].

There are at least three ways that rejection takes place. 1. Some refuse to honor the Bible; they attack it instead. Many who proclaimed the Word were attacked or even killed. Some trivialize, mock and ridicule the Bible; and others have burned or otherwise destroyed it. William Tyndale’s version of the English bible was burned in England in A.D. 1526 by the Bishop in London. 2. Some simply ignore the Bible, refuse to read and study the Word and their rejection is through ignorance. 3. Probably the most common rejection of the Bible today is simply by disobeying it. Many have studied the Holly Writ and are able to tell you much about it; however they still reject the message and refuse to be guided by God’s Word.

There seems to be no doubt that God expects his people to read, honor and obey his Word and acknowledge his authority, and STAY TRUE, that is heed his word. He is grieved when anyone fails to accept his word, and for sure there will be a penalty to pay for those that refuse, or even neglect to study. I thank the Lord every day for the privilege I have of studying and sharing His Word with you. I praise Him for making it possible for it to appear in two papers; The Sun Times and the White River Journal. If you read this commentary, please complement the papers for publishing it without charge. The Word tells us to study to show ourselves approved by Him. It is a commandment and is imperative. Do you have a set plan or system to follow that provides regular Bible study?

The lesson today tells us that we must STAY TRUE to God’s Word. Ask yourself the question; how can I stay true to the Word when I do not read and study what it says? In chapter 34, God’s judgment arrived. Jeremiah was directed to remind Judah’s King Zedekiah that following the Exodus from Egyptian bondage, God directed that all Jewish slaves, men and women, be set free after six years of service to their owner. Slaves were set free under this king, and then almost immediately, they were again enslaved. This was repulsive to God and Zedekiah was told that he and his subjects would be taken bondage by the Babylonians.

In chapter 35, the Recabite family was chosen by God to be an example to all people showing that the tribe that followed Jonadab son of Recab was more dedicated to their leaders than the Jews were to Almighty God. The Recabites were a nomadic tribe of Jews; Jonadab, their leader, set forth a rule that the Recabites were never to drink wine, live in houses, or farm fruits and vegetables and they STAYED TRUE to his teaching. Even when Jeremiah set wine before them and told them that God had given them the order to drink, they still refused. God did not approve of the drinking of wine; he used this as a test to prove that the Recabites would remain true to their leader. God directed Jeremiah to tell Judah that they were told to have no other gods, not to marry aliens, to be honest, not to practice extortion, to release their slaves and etc. etc. and since they had refused to STAY TRUE TO HIS TEACHING, He would allow them to go into captivity.

God is a patient and loving God and has never damned any person or people without first giving more than one warning; and I want to remind you that all of these warnings were written for the benefit of all posterity, including the USA. His patience was being tested too far by King Jehoiakim and the people of Judah. Jeremiah dictated and Baruch wrote a scroll demanding their obedience and in chapter 36 we find that God was still patiently waiting for His people to repent. He said; “Perhaps they will bring their petition before the Lord, and each will turn from his wicked ways…” However, even though warned by three of his leaders not to destroy the scroll, the King cut it into shreds and burned it in his fireplace. The Supreme Court has ordered God’s Law, The Ten Commandments, removed from the view of the public—“Because they might read it and could become defiled.”

In chapter 37 & 38, we find that Jeremiah remained true to God, but was taken prisoner and punished and accused of deserting to the Babylonians. He was finally thrown in a cistern with no water, just mud, where he was left to die from starvation. A Cushite official pleaded his case to the King and got permission to rescue Jeremiah. He sent thirty men who used ropes to draw him from the cistern. God will always use his tremendous power to rescue his own when they choose to STAY TRUE to Him in time of need.

God’s patients were frayed to the breaking point in chapter 39, and the fall of Jerusalem was great and disastrous. Space and time prohibits me from telling you the story, so please go there and read what happened. It is both interesting reading and a very definite warning to all who are disobedient. And, what do you think King Nebuchadnezzar did to Jeremiah? Did he take him captive? Or, did he allow him to return home to his own people? You will find the answer if you read all eighteen verses. Now, I ask you, have you paid the price that was paid by Jeremiah for the privilege of worshiping and telling others what the Word of God says to them? Will you STAY TRUE TO GOD, no matter what happens?