Blogging the Bible

The judgment of God is fierce! There is no doubt about it. And the reason for his judgment is clear. Chapter 16 repeats what Isaiah and Jeremiah have repeated time and time again. 16:10ff says that when the people ask why God is doing this, destruction and judgment, Jeremiah is to tell them it is because their fathers forsook God and followed after other gods. They forsook him and did not keep his law. But YOU–the people Jeremiah is addressing–have acted even more wickedly! Their stubborn and evil hearts have caused them to rebel even worse than their fathers!

But like Isaiah, all is not judgment. There is another possibility. There is hope. Chapter 17 verse 5-7 lays out the choice. If a person trusts in himself or in other men, depends on his own strength, and turns away from the Lord, they are cursed–judgment will follow. However, if a person trusts in the Lord, puts their confidence in him, that person will be blessed. They will have nothing to fear! This is hope. And the choice is ours every bit as much as it was the Israelites–their fathers and themselves. We can choose to believe God and follow his word or to disobey and rebel against God and his word. The old testament was recorded for our sakes as well as for the people of the nation of Israel. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:11 that these things (old testament stories about Israel) were written for our example and as a warning so that we might not make the same mistakes. We have a choice. Blessing or curse? What will it be?

The scripture often uses pictures to teach. Jeremiah is given two pictures from God to help him understand what God is doing and to help him explain to the people of Israel what he is doing. The linen belt and the wineskins are vivid pictures of what God is doing. The belt hidden in the rock becomes useless because of what happens to it and the wineskins and drunkenness display the effects of God’s judgment as well. Why is the Lord doing this? 13:8-10 makes it clear.

The people are full of pride. They are wicked–meaning doing what God has told them not to do. They refuse to listen to God’s word. They are stubborn. They “go after” other gods. The do not only NOT listen to the one true God, but the run after other gods that are not gods at all! This is why Jeremiah calls it “prostitution.” Israel is not only turning away from God’s love. Like lustful men who run around finding prostitutes, they are literally chasing around finding other gods to give their love and devotion to. They are serving and worshiping other gods.

This sounds horrible. And it is easy for us to see in others. But it can be true of us, too. The human heart is prone to wander and seems always to be easily wooed away from God and his word. We, too, refuse to listen. In our stubbornness we think we know better and do not obey God’s word. We follow after other “gods.” The god of money or work or sex or drugs or pride or possessions or another person. Our gods are not statues that we bow down to, they are things and people in our lives that take the place of God–the rightful place of God. The love and devotion and service that belongs to him we frequently give to others. This is wrong and if we do not repent and turn again to follow God he will judge us for our sin.

All it takes is repentence and following God’s instructions. If only WE will listen. We will be blessed.

Chapter 10 continues the “outpouring of rebukes, appeals, reflections, warnings, and prayers,” says Derek Kidner. The cries of Jeremiah reflect all these realities. Chapter 10 especially speaks of the results of the kind of idolatry that Israel so often found itself entangled in. The pull of the majority (adult peer pressure?!) and the impressiveness of visual idols continually lured God’s people away. Sounds pretty familiar! The lust of the flesh and the pride of life is what Paul describes as the cause of our turning to other “gods.”

Chapter 11 and 12 talk about the covenant as a catalyst for change in Israel. Remembering the covenant has the power to draw people back to their real God and king, the Holy One of Israel. Jeremiah’s “sermon” was a repetetive one. The words of the public reading of the law that had been found in Josiah’s day was still “ringing” in the prophets ears, says Kidner. God had sent Jeremiah to preach this throughout the kingdom with the unfailing promise of God’s covenant with Israel as a backdrop. The message was intended to be repeated over and over, not only by Jeremiah but by all the people who put their faith and trust in God and had experienced his hand of mercy and deliverance.

It is the same today. The good news of the Gospel is not only to be preached by the pastor or the ministery of educatiton, but by all the people. It is meant to be told and retold by everyone who has come under its grace. God’s truth never changes. It is to be taught to our children and our children’s children, and on and on. Because we are slow learners and prone to return to our old ways quickly, the message must be repeated over and over again. God is faithful and just. What he says he will do–reward those who follow him and punish those who rebel. He will woo his “bride” and they will live together in peace and harmony. That is the future hope and the direction of the covenant. In the meantime, we have to live it out in the not yet fully realized kingdom of God in our midst. And we have the added advantage of looking back on the mistakes of the people of Israel to see how very dangerous it is to not believe God. Like the man in the sermon from yesterday. We need to say to God, “I believe, help my unbelief!” If we do, all things are possible.

Yesterday we had internet problems, so we were unable to write our blog, but here is yesterday blog. The people of Judah were doing very bad things and they were trying to cover it with religious practices. They were saying “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord” (7:4) like pretending that their bad deeds were not noticed because of their great pride in the temple of God.

There are people that they don’t practice God’s words, but they still can imagine that if they keep a little religious side they will be fine no matter the style of life that they are living. Again these 3 chapters are a clear reminder to this people that God really care for them but is also expecting that they change their lifestyle.

God actually told them that if there is anything in which they should boast that would be in knowing and following him. He contrasted the most desirable things many people is looking for, wisdom, wealth, and might with the most important things God is expecting us to acquire, love, justice, and righteousness because these things are the joy of his heart. (9:23-26)

What a wonderful contrast, it looks like God saying instead of wisdom look for love instead of might look for justice and instead of wealth look for righteousness.

What is your biggest goal in life? No matter what your answer might be, if it that doesn’t bring glory to God, it is worthless.

Today along with a little group of people of the church I went to the UCLA book fair, there we saw very interesting things.  One of them was a man with an attractive t-shirt that said “atheist” who  stopped us and invited us to a conference where the speaker will talk to us about the “foolishness of believing in God” we told him that we were Christians, and it triggered a wonderful conversation of about 10 minutes. Arguments went back and forward, and almost at the end of the conversation I asked the man: what gain have you profited for no believing in God? The man was silent for a while and said “nothing” then I told him why then you want us not to believe in God? More arguments went back and forward but in order to avoid a parking ticket we concluded the conversation.

I think this man in some ways has the same problem that the people of Judah had in Jeremiah’s times. The people from Judah wanted to live without paying attention to God; they actually acted like if there is not God and their lives and business were totally separated from God’s word.

Jeremiah was very clear that punishment will come if they do not repent from their bad deeds.  The prophet describes their situation like this: “They know no limits in deeds of wickedness; they do not judge with justice the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the cause of the needy. Shall I not punish them for these things?”

Even though this was an announcement of judgment, also it was a call for repentance and mercy. The chapters 4-6 are a merciful calling to repentance, but also a precise description of the reasons for the punishment that was about to come.

There is always mercy, but we cannot play with God grace in our lives, as the apostle Paul said it: “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow” (Galatians 6: 7)

Jeremiah is a very interesting book in which we can see God dealing with his people in a very direct and familiar way.  When God approached Jeremiah with his calling he knew that this potential prophet had a very limited image of himself, actually Jeremiah said: “I am only a boy” (1:6) but according to God he was more than a boy, he already was his prophet and God actually told him: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations”

If you read carefully, God is telling him everything in past tense “I knew you, I consecrated you, and I appointed you” but Jeremiah was unable to hear that because he was measuring everything according to his present reality.  And in his present reality he was “only a boy” how many of us cannot hear what God has to tell us because we only can see our present reality?

The truth is that God told him “Do not say, I am only a boy” in others words,  it doesn’t matter how do you feel or  what do you think about yourself, what really matter is what I already prepared for you and the fact that I will be with you in everything that I am calling you to do.

Jeremiah was called to be a faithful prophet among a very unfaithful people. God made sure that he can picture himself as someone who certainly was sent from God to call his people to repentance. His mission was filled with opposition but God promised him that nobody would be able to stop him, because he will deliver and bless him. (1:19)

Chapter 2-3 are the continuing insistence of God through Jeremiah to call his people back to his covenant. The people of Judah were away from God and had developed a sense of inability to come back to the Lord. It seems that on certain moments they wanted to come back, but in some way they felt a compulsive attraction to stay in their sin.

God was so tender with them and actually told them: “Return, O faithless children, I will heal your faithlessness” (3:22) in others words if you don’t feel able or your sin is o overwhelming; I also can heal you and help you to come back.

Are you or somebody that you know feeling incapable to come to God and be restored?  The Good news of the prophet Jeremiah is that with God’s help is always possible to come back

 What is the most powerful voice in your mind, the crowd, or your conscience? This is a very important question because many times we are not aware of that, and because of that we can be making our decisions just to please the crowd and not according to which we know is the right thing to do.

Pilate was an empire official to whom was given the great responsibility of making the greatest decision ever in the Roman Empire. I t was not about which territory they have to conquer or which war they have to fight, but instead he had the great opportunity of Judging The Lord Jesus Christ. The saddest part of this story was that Pilate was a crowd pleaser, and because of that, he put over them a responsibility that only he was able to do.

The Bible says that he knew that Jesus was an innocent man, but “Pilate wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified” (15:15). In doing so, he became the supreme example of those who are no able to take responsibility over their actions, but instead “They wash their hands” and hand over the responsibilities.

Pilate was able to “wash his hands” but what about his conscience? We can excuse ourselves about our responsibilities, but can we excuse our consciences?

Chapter 16 is the great reminder that even though Jesus was silenced for a period of time, after his resurrection nobody else will be able to stop his powerful message. This chapter also is a great contrast between the hands’s washing of Pilate to excuse himself about Jesus, and the washing of the baptism to commit ourselves to Jesus and his plan for us to proclaim the Gospel to the entire world.

Will we excuse ourselves or will we commit ourselves?

I love the way Jesus turns obstacles into opportunities. In chapter 12:13-17 Jesus is confronted by some Pharisees and Herodians about taxes, they came with the intention of trapping him in what he said, but instead of fighting with  them for their wrong attitude, he Just turned this situation into an opportunity to teach them about God. “Whose head is this, and whose title?” he asked them, then after their answer he added “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (12:17)

The same thing happened with the Sadducees “who says there is not resurrection” they came with a tricky question to Jesus, by saying “Moses wrote for us” and then they told him the whole story about the seven brothers and the woman who married all of them, and then asked him: in the resurrection whose wife will she be? Again Jesus did not answered in the way they expected, but instead he reminded them “about the story of  the bush” and from it  he show them a new approach towards the resurrection that they  might not thought  about before. He told them: “He is God not of the dead, but of the living”

Finally, I like to share the other story that called my attention in which again Jesus took a difficult situation and turned into an opportunity. He was meeting in the house of Simon the leper (14:3-9) and suddenly a woman came and poured over him “a very costly ointment of nard” and some there didn’t like it and said: “why was the ointment wasted in this way” obviously the reasons that they gave were kind of reasonable, but Jesus show them that anything that they or we invest on him will never be “a waste”  and he told them, if you really want to take of the poor “ you always will have the opportunity to do so”.

If we really want to walk we Jesus, we need to be ready to learn how to see things in the way he does.

The Gospel of Mark also could be called “learning in action” Gospel, everything you read is happening here and there, and in every occasion there is something to learn.

Take for instance “the healing of a boy with a spirit” (9:14-29). Here we read about a very frustrating experience for the disciples and for the rest of the people who gathered around them to see the exorcism of a boy who was demon possessed. The father expressed his frustration to Jesus and said: “I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they could not do so” (9:18) so Jesus uses the situation to teach some very important lessons about faith and the power of God.

First of all Jesus expressed a bigger frustration that he himself have, he said “You faithless generation” (9: 19) Jesus took away their focus on the disciples failure of casting out the demon, and pointed them out to the real issue they were unable to see, their lack of faith. Then the father of the boy knowing that he could not cover his lack of faith with the disciple’s failure anymore he try a new approach, he asked Jesus, “if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us” (9:22). Now the father wants Jesus to take responsibility for his lack of faith, and once again Jesus redirected the father’s focus and forced him to face his real problem; Jesus told him “If you are able! All things can be done for the one who believes” (9:23) finally, the father gave up and acknowledges that he wants to believe, but he is unable to do that “I believe; help my unbelief”

 Have you ever acknowledged your lack of faith? I think our problem is that sometimes we are more willing to find excuses rather than to take responsibility and come to God asking for help to overcome our lack of faith. I also see in the question made by Jesus to the father “how long has this been happening to him?” another more deep question for the father and for us, how long have you been faithless just letting things be without any willingness to changes it?

Finally, the disciples were also confronted with their failure and lack of faith, and asked Jesus: “Why could not we cast it out?” (9:28) in others words if “all thing can be done for the ones who believes” how can we believe? Jesus answer could not been plainer: “this kind can come out only through prayer” or, if you want to be people of faith you need to be people of prayer….

That is why when He was teaching them a lesson from the withered fig tree, he told them: “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea, and if you don’t doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (11:22-24)

The gospel of Mark is truly a great book with a wonderful way of telling the story of Jesus. He goes straightforward to his readers, and as Pastor Blankman said, he does not waste any time to declare that Jesus is the Son of God (1:1) but also he does not hesitate to show the disciples weakness along with the rest of the characters presented in this Gospel.

What we see in the disciples is a progressive understanding of Jesus and his teachings. I am glad that they did not get it right away, because we are not any different than them, we are slow learners and sometimes “heart hardened” (6:52) to believe even in the midst of great demonstration of the power of God.

In the gospel of Mark we can see that Jesus pay so much attention to the condition of our hearts. He even quotes Isaiah when is confronting the Pharisees and scribes: “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (7:6) and also he says: “For it is from within, from human heart, that evil intentions comes” (7:21) he actually in chapter 8 confronted his disciples by telling them: “Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? The psalmist also says: “Fools say in their hearts, “there is not God’ they are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does well” (Psalms 14:1)

So what is the cure that this Gospel presents for our flawed hearts? I think that actually in the incident, in which Peter was trying to advice Jesus against dying in the cross, Jesus himself told Peter that his troubles comes “For you are setting your mind (heart) not on divine things but on human things” (8:33) so according to this by the grace of God we have to learn how to transform and align our hearts with the divine purposes and ways.

How can we do that? Jesus answered: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (8:34)