Discernment

O. T. #1744  "Discernment"
July 29, 2020
Jeremiah 8

LET IT GLOW

Which path are we on? Which path are our loved ones on? Is it Jesus' path or our own path? Is it a path of sin or righteousness?

How did the Lord describe the people of Judah and Jerusalem?

• They were on the wrong path-the path of sin and the self-destructive path. (verses 5-6)
• They were slidden back by a perpetual backsliding (turning away; apostasy). (verse 5)
• They held fast to deceit and refused to return to God. (verse 5)
• They knew not the judgment of the LORD. (verse 7)

Their ministers (scribes, prophets, and priests) did not teach the Word of God. The scribes were guilty because they wrote falsely; the prophets and priests were guilty because they spoke falsely. So the people did not know they were on the wrong path.

Do we know what the Word of God says so we know if our spiritual teachers, writers, and speakers are doing so about the Truth, the Word of God? Or are they telling stories that tickle our ears instead?
Jesus is the Truth that we are to teach, write, and speak about. It is up to us to discern what we hear and read.

LET IT GROW

The Lord doesn't beat around the bush, does He? He tells it like it is. Of course, He sees into the hearts of people. In the first two verses, God gets to the heart of the problem Judah had.

Conquerors would ransack all the tombs to gain treasures and then humiliate the Jews by scattering the bones of the rich and honored in open spaces as a tribute to the superiority of their gods. (MacArthur)

Judah turned away from worshiping the One True God to worshiping celestial creation of sun, moon, and stars. This was introduced by their kings Ahaz and Manasseh.  (Falwell)

The bones of Judah's significant people would be spread out those that they worshiped.
How did they treat those things as idols? According to Matthew Henry's Commentary:

• They loved them. As amiable beings and bountiful benefactors they esteemed them and delighted in them, and therefore did all that follows.
• They served them, did all they could in honor of them, and thought nothing too much; they conformed to all the laws of their superstition, without disputing.
• They walked after them, strove to imitate and resemble them, According to the characters and accounts of them they had received, which gave rise and countenance to much of the abominable wickedness of the heathen.
• They sought them, consulted them as oracles, appealed to them as judges, implored their favor, and prayed to them as their benefactors.
• They worshipped them, gave them divine honor, as having a sovereign dominion over them.

I wonder if those are the bones in Ezekiel's vision in Ez. 37

Who or what do we love, serve, follow, seek, and worship? Is it Jesus Christ and God?

LET IT GO
Our God is faithful, loving, worthy of worship and praise.
We are to walk in His ways, serve Him, seek Him, and love Him.