Day: June 20, 2007

God Makes a Preacher

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

The call of the prophet was one of separation. It was one for Jeremiah that would separate him from his family, due to the message he would be proclaiming, it would even keep him from marriage. There were times he would even feel that God had forsaken Him. We will see these things as we progress through this wonderful prophecy which our LORD God has given us.

The passage of the prophet for today is chapter one, verses 17-19;

“Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.” Jeremiah 1:17-19 (KJV).

The idea of “girding up the loins” is the idea of getting one’s self ready for the task at hand. You might would say of a preacher called by God, “Get yourself ready to do My bidding”. As Paul spoke to Timothy, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV). Jeremiah was called to preach the Word of the Lord and he must be prepared. He must know that calling is sure, becaue there were going to come times in his ministry where that would be all that he had.

“Arise”, get up and get going, the time is short. “Speak to them all that I command thee”. There can be no changing of the message to soften the impact. It must be spoken as God has given it. It is sad to say and to think, but there are many preachers, who are pastors of churches and preach (if you can call it that) messages that are watered down versions of the truth, thus not the truth, but lies. They would rather be popular with their people. Popular with the people unpopular with God. Which would we be? God says to the prophet, “Be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them”.

The prophet is called to stand, to be strong. God tells Jeremiah, “I have made you this day a defenced city, an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests , and against the people of the land.” This is God’s promise to Jeremiah of God’s protection from harm. Even when the judgment comes on the land, even though the people, the kings, the princes, and the priests turn against him Jeremiah is promised protection. His life will be kept and preserved. Someone has said, “The man of God in the will of God is immortal, until God is through with him”. That is a profound statement. Of course the one who made that statement must have been speaking of this temporal life we live here on earth, because with Jesus as our Lord and Savior we are immortal anyway.

The promise of God for protection would be a mighty force in the faithfulness of Jeremiah. The promise is a mighty power in our lives as well. To think that his own family, friends, king, princes, and others would try to harm him, even try to kill him, and he having the promise of God’s protection and keeping. “They shall fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you.” Would you rather have the friendship of the world, or the protection and power of God on your life? Think about it. You cannot have both, if you are going to be a preacher of God’s Word.

A Writing of Divorce

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

Matthew 5:21-48 continuing…

“It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.” Matthew 5:31-32 (KJV).

We live in a day when divorce is running rampant. The Christian family is as infected as is the people outside the Christian faith. The percentage runs about 50 percent. Half of all marriages end in divorce according to statistics. For me to say that Christians are getting divorces as much as those who are not Christians really grieves my heart.

I cannot believe that anyone who has been divorced entered the marriage thinking, “I am going to get married for a few years, and then, get a divorce”. I may be wrong, but I cannot imagine that. I do believe there are some who give their vows to one another thinking, “If this does not work out we can always get a divorce”. I think that is why many get a divorce. There is no bonding. No commitment to the relationship.

It seems that Jesus is referring to a passage of scripture in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 having to do with the process of divorce. The religious leaders of the day had been teaching that a man could divorce his wife for burning the toast. The divorce laws today just as well not exist. They are so lenient that there is no reason needed to get one. NO FAULT divorce.

It might help us to understand this law better to realize that women in the time of Moses had no rights in marriage. The woman was at the mercy of her husband, and in almost every situation if not every situation, she had to marry whom her parents – her father – decided. The only legitimate divorce was if there was proof that she was not a virgin when she and her husband were married. When a husband brought such charges, and if they were false, the parents had the wedding night bedding, and could produce evidence of her virginity. If they had no proof of her virginity, then he could give her a writing of divorce, and she could go and be another man’s wife (See Deuteronomy 22:13-21). Women had no legitimate means of support, except a husband. In many situations their only other alternative was harlotry/prostitution. For a man to give a writing of divorce for another reason other than that mentioned caused her to commit adultery by marrying another man, and the man committed adultery as well. If a man became jealous suspecting his wife of unfaithfulness they had a means of caring for this also (See Numbers 5:11-31).

Jesus’s words on divorce are quite strong. It causes many of us to question what He meant. It is clear. The only reason for a man to divorce his wife was for “the cause of fornication”, ie., sexual sin, sexual impurity. If a man divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and she marries another she commits adultery, and the man who marries her commits adultery. This can also be reversed for the woman and the man concerning our day. In Jesus’s day the woman was not allowed to seek a divorce. Women today can seek a divorce, so that is why I say the thing can be reversed with the woman seeking a divorce.

Divorce, as it is practiced in our society of 2007, does not make sense. It is almost always a losing proposition. The man loses, the woman loses, and if there are children they are the biggest losers, but not of their own doing.