Verse of the Week: V19 “Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before Me for ever.”
1. The Obedient Man (V1-11)
V2 “Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.”
God commanded prophet Jeremiah to test the obedience of the men of Rechab by offering them wine to drink. The men of Rechab passed the test as they resisted the wine because they were commanded by Jonadab, their father or leader, not to drink wine!
V6 “But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:”
2. The Disobedient Man (V12-16)
V13 “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? Saith the LORD.”
Jeremiah contrasted the obedient men of Rechab with the disobedient men of Judah and Jerusalem. The men of Rechab consistently obeyed the commandments of Jonadab, by not drinking wine, while the men of Judah and Jerusalem consistently disobeyed the commandments of the prophets of God time and again.
V14 “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father’s commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.”
3. The Blessed Man (V17-19)
V19 “Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before Me for ever.”
God blessed the men of Rechab as every one of them was obedient to the commandments of Jonadab, their leader, and ultimately, the commandments of God. Let us be blessed of God as we delight in obeying and meditating the commandments of God day and night!
Psalms 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law doth he meditate day and night.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, help me to be an obedient Christian.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 11:53 am
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Verse of the Week: V17 “Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.”
1. The Defeat (V1-7)
V2 “Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:”
God told prophet Jeremiah to speak to Zedekiah, King of Judah, that Judah shall be completely defeated, burnt and destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army because they had pretended to obey God when they had actually disobeyed Him.
2. The Disobedience (V8-16)
V11 “But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.”
Do you know that partial obedience is disobedience? The people pretended to obey God by freeing their Hebrew servants and handmaids after 6 years of service. However, once they freed them, they actually forced them back to be their servants and handmaids.
V14 “At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.”
3. The Destruction (V17-22)
V17 “Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.”
Our secret sins are known of God. We can never hide anything from God. God sees and knows everything. The people in Judah thought they could hide from God but they were mistaken as God completely destroyed them.
V22 “... I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, help me to completely obey You.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 01:48 pm
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Verse of the Week: V17 “Ah Lord GOD! Behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee:”
1. God Can Do Anything (V1-17)
V17 “Ah Lord GOD! Behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee:”
Are we worried about our health? Career? Finance? Family? Church? Country?
Do you know that the Lord who makes the heaven and the earth, and who saves you from the pits of hell to the portals of heaven, can do anything for us, if it is His perfect will?
The main reason why we are going through the storms of our lives is that God allows the storms to increase our faith in Him and mould our character to be like Him in holiness, righteousness and perfection!
Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
2. God Gives The Best (V18-25)
V22 “And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;”
God who gave the nation of Israel the promised land flowing with milk and honey shall also give the best to His children in this church age. Just like our earthly father who will give his best to bring us up the best we can be, our heavenly perfect Father shall certainly give us much more than our earthly imperfect father. We may not be healthy or wealthy or successful in man’s standard, yet God’s best is not in terms of material success, but spiritual success of love, joy and peace in our hearts, minds and souls.
Matthew 7:11 “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?”
3. God Is Our God (V26-44)
V38 “And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:”
When we call upon God and acknowledge Him as our personal God, we shall never be disappointed with Him, as He shall never fail us, not even once in our entire human life, as well as through all eternity, world without end!
Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, thank You for being my God and giving me the best.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 03:30 pm
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Verse of the Week: V3 “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
1. God Never Fails (V1-8)
V3 “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
The hardest thing for Christians to accept from God is when we have done our best and obeyed God yet bad things happen to us! Prophet Jeremiah had done his best and had obeyed God yet he ended up in prison and waiting to be executed. He must have asked God, “Why, why, why?” Let us remember that God shall never fail us and even though we go through crises and not fully understand them, we still trust God to the end!
V6 “Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.”
2. God Gives Joy (V9-14)
V9 “And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.”
God never fails Israel, His chosen nation, yet time and again, Israel failed God. In spite of the failures, God continues to show His goodness and mercy to Israel and give them many opportunities to repent of their sins and return to Him so that one day He can restore their joy in Him.
V11 “… for the LORD is good; for His mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.”
3. God Fulfills Promises (V15-26)
V15 “In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.”
God fulfilled His promise when He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins, that whosoever believes in Christ shall have eternal life through His righteousness. Trust God as He shall keep His promises now and forever!
Romans 5:21 “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, help me to trust You even when I cannot fully understand my crises.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 02:34 pm
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