Part 4: Ignoring God's Word
Day 22: Going after worthlessness
Jeremiah 2
My wife and I have different traditions upon opening some new piece of home décor. I do what comes naturally to me and lay out all the pieces, along with the assembly hardware, in hopes that the practicality of the design will reveal the steps on how to set it up. My wife immediately grabs the instructions manual and step by step begins to assemble the item like the manufacturer intended. Although it takes me much longer to assemble things, I feel like I usually win a moral victory.
In today’s reading (verse 5) we see God accuse His people of chasing after worthlessness and becoming worthless. And later in verse 8 we see the accusation of ignoring God’s law to go after the prophets of Baal (Baal was a local God to the surrounding non-Israelites). God’s law was already available to God’s people as an instruction manual on how to display his character to the nations. But the people seem much more interested in looking at their neighbor’s false god’s and using that god’s character as a guide. The worthless gods of Baal.
Christians on this side of the cross also have a revelation of God’s Character. Along with the Law the Israelites had, we have God in human flesh. Jesus Christ and the writing about him in the New Testament represent an even greater revelation than just The Law. Yet we are often tempted to check with the moral compass of the world around us in place of following God’s Law. Like the Israelites we chase after worthlessness and become worthless ourselves. It’s the spiritual equivalent of opening an item needing assembly and ignoring the manual.
As always, we should give thanks and praise to our Lord Jesus Christ for perfectly living out the requirements of God’s manual, and through that making himself worthy of purchasing us out of our folly. Yet let us never forget the need to repent, to stop chasing worthlessness and to chase after Jesus.
A Prayer for Reading the Word: Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and the comfort of your Holy Word we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
In today’s reading (verse 5) we see God accuse His people of chasing after worthlessness and becoming worthless. And later in verse 8 we see the accusation of ignoring God’s law to go after the prophets of Baal (Baal was a local God to the surrounding non-Israelites). God’s law was already available to God’s people as an instruction manual on how to display his character to the nations. But the people seem much more interested in looking at their neighbor’s false god’s and using that god’s character as a guide. The worthless gods of Baal.
Christians on this side of the cross also have a revelation of God’s Character. Along with the Law the Israelites had, we have God in human flesh. Jesus Christ and the writing about him in the New Testament represent an even greater revelation than just The Law. Yet we are often tempted to check with the moral compass of the world around us in place of following God’s Law. Like the Israelites we chase after worthlessness and become worthless ourselves. It’s the spiritual equivalent of opening an item needing assembly and ignoring the manual.
As always, we should give thanks and praise to our Lord Jesus Christ for perfectly living out the requirements of God’s manual, and through that making himself worthy of purchasing us out of our folly. Yet let us never forget the need to repent, to stop chasing worthlessness and to chase after Jesus.
- Do you and the people in your closest community approach daily tasks differently? Who seems to have the better outcomes?
- What are some places where the Bible approaches moral issues different than our culture does? Are there places where they draw the same moral conclusions?
- Do you seek a biblical world view more by reading the Bible on your own or having digested by others (i.e. sermons, podcasts etc.)?
- What are some roadblocks you need to overcome to be more regularly reading the Bible?
A Prayer for Reading the Word: Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and the comfort of your Holy Word we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.