Fires and Forests

O. T. #1776  "Fires and Forests"
Sept. 11, 2020
Jeremiah 22

LET IT GLOW

Previously, we read about the message God sent to the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, through the Prophet Jeremiah. He had the opportunity to surrender to God, turning from idolatry, yet he would not repent of his sins.
God sent Jeremiah to the last kings of Judah because they were responsible for the spiritual leadership of their country. Had the last 4 kings of Judah not been a sorry bunch and heeded the warnings, they would have obeyed God and Babylon would not have taken the people of Judah captive and Jerusalem would not have been destroyed, along with the Temple.

What was the message Jeremiah delivered to those kings, found in verse 3?

• Execute judgment and righteousness; being fair-minded and doing what is right. 
• Helped those who have been robbed.
• Rescue them from their oppressors.
• Quit your evil deeds.
• Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows.
• Stop murdering the innocent.

If the kings obeyed God, then there would always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne in Jerusalem. The king would ride through the palace gates in chariots and on horses, with his parade of attendants and subjects. But if they refused, to pay attention to this warning, then their palace would be a pile of rubble.

He hath shown thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8)

Those are all related to how we treat others. Are we doing what is right and good? Are we helping others in need? Are we merciful? Our God is merciful toward us, or we would have been taken out of this world already.

LET IT GROW

If Judah's kings did not hear and heed God's Words, then their royal palace and city would be destroyed. We read this in verses 6-9.
God loved His people as much as fruitful Gilead and the green forests of Lebanon. Gilead, a region east of the Jordan River, is mentioned 3 times in this chapter-verses 6, 20. 23. It was a region where livestock and goats grazed. Certain trees grew there-pine, cedar, cypress, and terebinth, which dripped a liquid rosin, balm, used for medicinal purposes. Back in 8:22, the question is asked, Is there no balm in Gilead?"

Lebanon was a mountain range in Palestine. The cedar of Lebanon is mentioned 72 times in the Bible. It is known that cedar trees grow best in deep soil where their roots have access to water.  (Numbers 24:6) Thick cedar forests found in Lebanon during that time provided the wood used in building may things. Solomon used the cedars of Lebanon to build the Temple and the second building of the Temple, Ezra 3.

God said that He would turn their cities into a desert with no one living within their walls. The cedar beams would be torn down and thrown into the fire.
People who passed by would wonder why the LORD destroyed such a great city as Jerusalem. The answer was because they violated their covenant with the LORD their God by worshiping other gods.

We can see how God can burn thousands of acres as it has happened in our northwestern states lately. Those are mountains with forests of trees we use in our nation for paper and building wood, which is important to us. Are we asking God to stop the fires? To bring people to Him? To protect His children in that region?

LET IT GO
At the cross, I surrender my life; I owe all to You, Jesus.
There is nothing that our God can't do. He is all-powerful. He can send rain to put out fires.