God Will Never Fail Us

[Christsdaughter]

God Will Never Fail Us
Friday March 18, 2011

“2“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Go to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. 3You will not escape from his grasp but will surely be captured and handed over to him. You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will speak with you face to face. And you will go to Babylon.
4“‘Yet hear the promise of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the LORD says concerning you: You will not die by the sword; 5you will die peacefully. As people made a funeral fire in honor of your fathers, the former kings who preceded you, so they will make a fire in your honor and lament, “Alas, O master!” I myself make this promise, declares the LORD.’” (Jer 34:2-5)

The Lord sent Jeremiah with another message for Zedekiah to let him know that He was getting ready to hand the city over to the king of Babylon and that Zedikiah nor his city would escape. God then had mercy on Zedikiah by promising that he would die a peaceful death rather than by the sword.

“8The word came to Jeremiah from the LORD after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom for the slaves. 9Everyone was to free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Jew in bondage. 10So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free. 11But afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.
12Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 13“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your forefathers when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said, 14‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrew who has sold himself to you. After he has served you six years, you must let him go free.’£ Your fathers, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me. 15Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to his countrymen. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. 16But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again.
17“Therefore, this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom for your fellow countrymen. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the LORD—’freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18The men who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces. 19The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf, 20I will hand over to their enemies who seek their lives. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.
21“I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials over to their enemies who seek their lives, to the army of the king of Babylon, which has withdrawn from you. 22I am going to give the order, declares the LORD, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, take it and burn it down. And I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.”

For years, God had been commanding them to free their Hebrew slaves every seventh year. Their forefathers did not obey, but these particular Judites did. Then they turned around and enslaved them again. Their repentance was only temporary because there was no heart change. True repentance is only possible when our hearts have been changed by denying ourselves, submitting to the Lord, and allowing Him to change us.To their temporary repentance, God says, “You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom for your fellow countrymen. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the LORD—’freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth.” In other words, because their hearts were unchanged, they did not truly repent and would suffer the promised judgment.

“6But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. 7Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.’ 8We have obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab son of Recab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine 9or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. 10We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab commanded us.” (Jer 35:6-10)

“12Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: 13“This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?’ declares the LORD. 14‘Jonadab son of Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. 15Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me. 16The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’
17“Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.’”
18Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Recabites, “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’ 19Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jonadab son of Recab will never fail to have a man to serve me.’”

The Recabites kept their vows to a human, while the Israelites broke their covenant with a perfect and faultless God for many years. The Recabites would be rewarded, while the Israelites would be punished. How foolish for the Israelties to refuse to obey the Lord for years, while the Recabites obeyed a human leader for many years! Think about this, though. How many people today are doing the very same thing? People choose to follow traditions and to put their trust in men and men’s standards and methods that will fail, but will not submit to the perfect and holy God? God is the only one who is perfect and faultless. The ways of the world are futile! The ways of the world and of man are displeasing to God and when we choose to adopt them as our own, we can’t possibly be fully committed to God! Friendship with the world (adopting its standards and methods as our own), is hatred toward God. The ways of the world and man will fail you, but God never will! Let Jesus be your Lord, not man! Surrender your heart to Jesus today!

“Lord, I pray that you will show me and my fellow Christians today where we might be adopting a worldly standard or method over Your perfect standards and methods. Show us where we might be trusting in man more than in the one and only God. May we be fully surrendered to you, Lord! Amen!”