Embedded Files
Jeremiah 35:1-19 This chapter dates to before the first deportation to Babylon in 597 BC. Little is known of the Rechabites except that they were a singular group who remained faithful to God’s covenant. They were a nomadic tribe who, like the Nazirites, lived a life of asceticism, which included a renunciation of wine. The Rechabites fled from their secluded areas to the relative safety of Jerusalem for protection from the encroaching armies of Babylon. Though hungry and thirsty from their travels, they still, out of loyalty to their strict ascetical way of life, refused the wine offered them. Prompted by divine inspiration, Jeremiah praised the Rechabites as an example of fidelity to the laws of God for all of the Chosen People.
Ch 36:1-32 Jeremiah was banished from the Temple about 605 BC, so the Lord instructed him to write down all his prophecies to date. He dictated his words to Baruch, his scribe, and had Baruch read the scroll in the Temple. When word of the prophecies reached the king, he had the scroll destroyed, which angered the Lord. Jeremiah consequently dictated a new scroll of these same prophecies to Baruch.
Judith 6:1-20 Holofernes took Nebuchadnezzar’s words regarding victories over Israel as if coming from a divine being. Therefore, the divine attribution ascribed to Nebuchadnezzar would give the war between the Judeans and Babylonians a strong religious component. (CCC 2096-2097)
Ch 7:1-32 Uzziah delayed the surrender in the hope that God would intervene. He held to this faith even in the face of dire hardships and mutiny among the people but set a deadline in an attempt to provoke God’s action. Unwittingly, by placing conditions on God’s providence, he committed the sin of tempting God by trying to impose his own will on him. (CCC 2118-2119)
(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)
In Proverbs 17:3, “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tries hearts.”
GOSH! THIS IS SO GOOD YOU GUYS!!
Think about the crucible, it is where things are purified (And it also happens to be where noob guardians get nova-bombed into oblivion 🤓😉 If you get this reference, I’ll be very impressed because it’s pretty niche 😉)
The author of Proverbs is saying, “Yeah the crucible is NOT FOR UNPRECIOUS THINGS. The crucible is NOT FOR THINGS OF NO WORTH. The crucible is for SILVER. And the furnace is not just for WOOD or DIRT. That is for GOLD. And the Lord will try hearts. The Lord will purify hearts just like the crucible purifies silver so that it is even more precious. And the furnace purifies gold so it is even more precious. So the Lord allows us to be tried, so that our hearts can become more and more clean.”
THIS IS SO GOOD!
So many of us are in places of DISTRESS
“Oh yeah, I’m being TRIED right now. The question is, am I being purified?”
We go through sufferings ALL THE TIME
EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Every day has its OWN KIND OF SUFFERING
Every day has its OWN KIND OF TRIAL
Every day has its OWN KIND OF TEST
The question is, “In face of this, in that place where we are tried and tested, will I ALLOW MYSELF TO BE PURIFIED? Or will I become BITTER? Or will I become RESENTFUL OF THIS TRIAL?”
If I become RESENTFUL, then it will NOT PURIFY ME
If I become BITTER, then it is not going to MAKE ME BETTER
BUT…
If I say, “Yes, Lord, I know that in this moment you are working with me. And I know that you can do ANYTHING. You can do ALL THINGS. You can work ALL THINGS FOR GOOD FOR THOSE WHO LOVE YOU. Then I am going to allow myself to be TESTED AND PURIFIED.”
Now let’s go to Jeremiah Chs 35 and 36
So who are the Rechabites?
Basically, we more or less only hear about the Rechabites here in Jeremiah Ch 35 and a little bit in 2 Kings Ch 10 as well
The Rechabites were nomads
You might think of them as similar to monks in a monastery, only they have families
They have Jonadab, son of Rechab, and that’s why they are called Rechabites
They have taken a couple of vows
They decided that they will live according to the teachings of their father
They would not drink alcohol
They would live in tents instead of homes, just like Abraham
“Listen, our earliest fathers were NOMADS. So we will also be nomads.”
They would not own land
They would not own a house
They would not be the ones who till the land or plant crops
They were always going to be on the move
They will live a certain way, depending on God for everything
Rechabites are now living in Jerusalem and NOT OUT IN THE FIELD
Why?
Because the Chaldeans aka Babylonians are attacking
So the Rechabites realized that they needed protection
So they made a little bit of a compromise
They still don’t own any homes in the city
But they are taking an extended stay in Jerusalem so that they can be protected (Possibly in a Holiday Inn Express is my guess 🤪 Anyone here know how to say that in Hebrew? 🤔)
So the Word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah, “Hey, call them into the Temple and offer them wine. Even have it right there.”
So Jeremiah did this and the Rechabites said, “No thanks because our father told us to not drink wine.”
It’s so interesting because basically the Lord tells Jeremiah to “put them to the test”, to offer them wine
They say NO and they pass the test
Jeremiah makes the point, “Listen, this is just a family, a local sect, a local tribe within the house of Israel who are FAITHFUL TO THE COMMANDS OF THEIR HUMAN FATHERS. But here, House of Israel, you have GOD HIMSELF who has given you these commands and you DISMISS THEM!!”
So Jeremiah is able to use these Rechabites as a GREAT IMAGE OF FAITHFULNESS
A GREAT IMAGE OF INTEGRITY EVEN IN THE FACE OF OPPOSITION
Jeremiah says, “Ok, other Israelites and other Jews, in some ways you can be shamed by the GOODNESS OF THE RECHABITES.”
When we see people around us who are going to the LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR, we can think that our slightly rising SLIGHTLY ABOVE this lowest common denominator is us being HEROIC IN OUR FAITH
BUT…
When you see people who are CONSISTENTLY PEOPLE OF INTEGRITY
CONSISTENTLY PEOPLE WHO ARE GENEROUS
CONSISTENTLY PEOPLE FAITHFUL TO THE LORD
CONSISTENTLY PEOPLE WHO CARE FOR OTHERS IN A SELF-SACRIFICIAL WAY
Then we realize THAT IS THE STANDARD
THE STANDARD IS NOT THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR
THE STANDARD IS HERE IS HOW HIGH GOD HAS CALLED US TO
THAT IS SUCH AN INCREDIBLE WITNESS that when you meet those kind of people there is a little bit of shame there
BUT…
IT IS THE GOOD KIND OF SHAME
It is the kind of shame that says, “Ok God is calling me HIGHER.”
It is NOT the kind of shame that says, “Well no I’m no good. They’re better than me.” (In a Mr. Snuffleupagus voice 😉)
It’s the kind that says, “No. THAT is the new standard. The new standard is FAITHFULNESS TO THE LORD. CARE FOR MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS.”
Now Jeremiah Ch 36 we get re-introduced to Baruch
Baruch was Jeremiah’s SCRIBE (We already established this. Do you remember when? Go back and read Day 206: The Book of Baruch in The Bible in a Year Study Guide if you would like a refresher 😁)
At one point the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah and said, “Write these things down. All that you have preached out loud, write them down on the scroll.”
So Jeremiah does but he is not able to go into the Temple because he is kept from going by those pesky bouncers
So he tells Baruch to read the words that he dictated
Baruch does this and important people hear these words
They are CUT TO THE HEART
They say, “Man, the king needs to hear this!”
And this is the part that is SO DEVASTATING
Remember, The Book of Jeremiah is NOT CHRONOLOGICAL
We have already heard Jeremiah preaching to Zedekiah who is the final king of the exile
BUT…
Right now, we are talking about King Jehoiakim again
So you’re probably thinking, “Oh my gosh! Back and forth! Back and forth!”
It’s ok!!
They bring this scroll, the WORDS OF GOD HIMSELF through Jeremiah written by Baruch, into the king’s presence
It is the ninth month, wintertime, possibly December
So there is a fire burning there
As they are reading the scroll in the king’s presence, think of how methodical and dark King Jehoiakim is
Every so often they read several columns
Jehoiakim gets up, walks over with a knife, cuts off those columns, and throws them in the fire
Keep on reading
So they keep reading some more
Jehoiakim gets up, walks over with a knife, cuts off those next columns, and throws them in the fire
Keep on reading
It says very clearly, Jehoiakim DOES NOT REPENT
IT DOES NOT CUT HIM TO THE HEART
IN FACT…
JEHOIAKIM CUTS THE WORD OF GOD AND THE WORD OF GOD DOES NOT CUT HIM!!
That is...that is...GOSH!!!
What is the temptation for ALL OF US?
IT IS TO DISMISS THE WORD OF GOD!!
Where the WORD OF GOD and the SPIRIT OF GOD is MEANT TO CUT US TO THE HEART
BUT…
Sometimes, we come across teachings of God in his Word, and in the Gospels
In a week or two we will read The Gospel of Matthew
Jesus will teach us things that are REALLY HARD
The temptation is going to be, “I’m going to cut those out. I’m just going to ignore those.”
As opposed to, “I’m going to allow that to CUT ME TO THE HEART.”
IT IS SO IMPORTANT!!
Jeremiah says, “The result of this, Jehoiakim, is that you are going to be DESTROYED. You’re not just going to be CUT TO THE HEART. You are going to be CUT OUT. You are not going to be just SPIRITUALLY DEAD. You are going to be DEAD DEAD as well.”
And that is what happens
This is a POWERFUL THING we need to pay attention to
Now let’s get on with Judith
We have the people of Bethulia and Holofernes is attacking
We heard this yesterday and it was SO GOOD
Achior had said, “Here is what you are going to face. If you face down the Israelites, here is what you are doing. You are attacking this people who have fighting for them the Lord, their God. If they are faithful, you cannot defeat them. If they are unfaithful, then yes they are just ordinary. But if they are faithful to the Lord, their God, there is no way, Holofernes, that you will be able to defeat them.”
Holofernes does not take that very well
So they are going to have the showdown here at Bethulia
All the people are praying
This is REALLY IMPORTANT
They proclaim this fast
Holofernes gets some WISE COUNSEL by the Ammonites, “Listen, don’t attack the city. It’s on the mountain. How about we just take over the water supply and pretty soon they are going to be going crazy with thirst.”
And that is what happens
34 DAYS LATER the people feel like giving up
And then there is this great word from Uzziah
Judith 7:30, “And Uzziah said to them, ‘Have courage my brothers! Let us hold out for five more days; by that time the Lord our God will restore us to his mercy, for he will not forsake us utterly. But if these days pass by, and no help comes for us, I will do what you say.”
So they have FIVE MORE DAYS OF PRAYER
They have FIVE MORE DAYS OF SUFFERING
They have FIVE MORE DAYS OF HOLDING ON TO THEIR FAITH
And that is the setting when we are introduced to JUDITH tomorrow!!
Judith is going to be this GREAT GREAT HEROINE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT!!
Can’t wait to meet her tomorrow!
Fr. Mike apologizes for a long day (Even though he doesn’t need to EVER APOLOGIZE in my opinion 😁)
FR. MIKE IS PRAYING FOR YOU
PRAY FOR FR. MIKE
PRAY FOR EACH OTHER
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise and thank you so much. Thank you for your Word. Thank you for pouring out your Wisdom, pouring out your care upon us. Lord God, we come before you this day in need of your mercy. Not only in need of your wisdom and your guidance, but also in need of your mercy. That just like the people of Israel cried out to you, knowing that even if there is no immediate answer, yet you hear our prayers and you care. Not that you hear and are indifferent. Not that you just see our pain and are indifferent. You hear our cries. You see our pain and you care. Lord God, help us to trust in your care. Help us to trust in your power to save us. And help us to trust in you this day and every day. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”
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