Articles
Who Will You Believe?
“Let, we pray thee, our supplication be presented before thee, and pray for us unto Jehovah thy God, even for all this remnant; for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us: that Jehovah thy God may show us the way wherein we should walk, and the thing that we should do. Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto Jehovah your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass that whatsoever thing Jehovah shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you. Then they said to Jeremiah, Jehovah be a true and faithful witness amongst us, if we do not according to all the word wherewith Jehovah thy God shall send thee to us. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of Jehovah our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of Jehovah our God” (Jeremiah 42:2-6).
Within this text, Nebuchadnezzar had made his final siege of Jerusalem, taking captive all but a few of its inhabitants. Nebuchadnezzar had appointed Gedaliah governor in the land to the ire of Ishmael who perceived his royal lineage as the obvious heir. Ishmael had killed Gedaliah and now the people of Judah were afraid Nebuchadnezzar would return and utterly destroy them, thus, they asked of Jeremiah Jehovah’s words in what they should do.
How many people, in less than Judah’s physically severe circumstances, but greater in spiritual, have not said the same, i.e., Lord, save me? “Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of Jehovah our God.”
Jehovah, “according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:11), determined to bless “us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ: even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will” (Ephesians 1:3-5).
Nevertheless, many have come to the Lord seeking salvation with a “Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of Jehovah our God,” only to be bewitched by those who would make merchandise of them, and be hindered so as to “not obey the truth” (Galatians 3:1; 5:7). Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned” (Mark
How does this apply to Jeremiah’s audience? “The word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah,” and Jeremiah assembled “all the captains of the forces that were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, and said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him” (Jeremiah 42:7-9). “And it came to pass that, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of Jehovah their God, wherewith Jehovah their God had sent him to them, even all these words, then spake…all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speaketh falsely: Jehovah our God hath not sent thee to say, Ye shall not go into Egypt to sojourn there” (Jeremiah 43:1-2).
What would you have done? What do you do today? Are you obedient, and “ready unto every good work” (Titus 3:1), or like unto the Pharisees, of whom the Lord said, “This people honoreth me with their lips; But their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men” (Matthew 15:8-9).
The Lord said, “”Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Who will you believe, the Lord, or man? ret
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