What does the LORD require of you?

 Jeremiah 36: 19-32

How many have heard these words from a parent: “You will do it because I said so,” and how many have also repeated the same words to your young children?  Now it may be time to ponder on those words found in Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”  Why, because the Father told you to do so.  Jesus sat at the right hand of the Father and spoke these words: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”  (Matthew 6:25)  And as long as we are exploring such a small part of what our Father and LORD have said, let’s look at the why: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  I have no understanding of how you are doing in these areas, but this writer has often told his daughter to obey his words, with no regard that he was not obeying his Father who takes note and keeps an account.

What happens when one is king, you may say I have no understanding of kingship but that’s not right, each of us has taken over the role of King of our life, and it is hard to give up control because of pride.  Pride finds its home when we grow satisfied with self, and it produces self-importance, and that leads to arrogance.

Pride has taken over in King Jehoiakim, in his mind he is bigger than God, people do what he says, people fear what he can do, and many who follow him have not thought in a long time.  You may ask will a man like this have any fear of God?  I will allow you to come to that conclusion by reading in Jeremiah 36:19-32.  But do let me share that after the King had burned the scroll of Jeremiah his anger was centered on the Scribe Baruch and Jeremiah, and he gave this order to seize them, but the LORD had hidden them.  Now that is a hide and seek I like, when God has hidden you the king has no chance of locating you!

Many an evil man has set out to remove the Word of God from the world, yet to my understanding it’s evil man 0, God’s Word 100 percent still being read.  God tells Jeremiah to take a new scroll and write on it all the words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah had burned.  This is the account in verses 29-31.  “And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, You have burned this scroll, saying, “Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?” Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.’”

Those who were over me told me; “A word to the wise is sufficient” and is it not advisable to obey and receive a blessing?  Jesus gives us this directive in Matthew 5:6, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”   I want to have such a hunger and thirst for God’s Word, for it is promised that we will be satisfied!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice