How is your relationship with the Lord?
As I read these chapters I was impressed by the relationship of three different people or groups of people with the Lord: David, Jeremiah and the Pharisees.
In 2 Samuel 7, David told Nathan, the prophet, that he wanted to build a house for the Lord. David was living in a fancy palace and the ark of the Lord was still in a tent. But the Lord told Nathan to tell David that he was not the one to build a house for the Lord. He said he would raise up one of David's offspring to succeed him and that son would build a house for the Lord. We know this was Solomon. It is interesting that the Lord prophesied this even before David committed his sin with Bathsheba and had her husband murdered. 2 Sam 11. The Lord chose Bathsheba's son to succeed David. He could have chosen the son of one of David's other wives. This shows God's awesome forgiveness and restitution.
David's response to Nathan's message was to go and sit before the Lord. He asked the Lord, "Is this your usual way of dealing with man?" 2 Sam. 7:19. David worshiped the Lord and submitted himself to God's will. "Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, 'The Lord Almighty is God over Israel.''' Verse 25. Even though David sinned and suffered the consequences of his sin, he was quick to repent and seek restoration. God called him a man after his own heart. Acts 13:22, I Sam. 13:4.
Jeremiah lived in a time of apostasy, when Israel had sinned so much the Lord was giving them over to their enemies. Jeremiah was troubled by the seeming propriety of the wicked, but he opened himself up before the Lord. "You know me, O Lord; you see me and test my thoughts about you." Jer. 12:3. He was transparent, had nothing to hide. The Lord told him about the judgment that was coming and revealed His heart of compassion in verses 14-17. Even the nations that were going to be used to punish Israel would be spared if they turned to the Lord.
Jesus really blasted the Pharisees in Matthew 23. he calls them hypocrites six times, says they are blind twice, and calls them whitewashed tombs, snakes and a brood of vipers!! He ends his diatribe against them by yearning over Jerusalem. "How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." Matt. 23:37.
The Lord wants relationship with us. Do we, like David, go and sit before the Lord, seek forgiveness and in spite of our failures have a heart that is after God's heart. Can we be transparent like Jeremiah and say, "You know me O Lord, you know my thoughts about you." The Pharisees and their desire to be seen and put on a show only brought judgment upon themselves and left God's heart yearning for a relationship with them.
Tomorrows Bible Reading - 2 Samuel 8-9, Jeremiah 13, Matthew 24
God is good all the time,
2 comments:
Great insight. I love the way you tie all the passages together. This is very though provoking and makes me to want to be transparent before the Lord even in my most sinful and weakest moments. God help us all be transparent and open before you.
Great blog.
As soon as I got done reading I really had a desire to be more transparent than ever with God, I had a desire to be able to tell God every day of my life You know me, O Lord; you see me and test my thoughts about you. Jer. 12:3.
Post a Comment