Daily Devotional for November 16, 2015
Jeremiah 35
Scripture:
1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: 2 “Go to the Recabite family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the house of the LORD and give them wine to drink.” 3 So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons–the whole family of the Recabites. 4 I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God. It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. 5 Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the men of the Recabite family and said to them, “Drink some wine.” 6 But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. 7 Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.’ 8 We have obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab son of Recab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine 9 or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. 10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.” 12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: 13 “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?’ declares the LORD.
Observation:
In this chapter I noticed that the Lord communicated in single steps as He lead Jeremiah. In this task, and many others, the Lord gave Jeremiah one piece of the puzzle at a time. The Lord did not tell Jeremiah how the family would respond or what to do when they responded. All Jeremiah knew was the first step. He was only told to get the Rekabite family and take them to one of the side rooms of the house of the Lord. Once they responded the way they did, vs. 12 says, “then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.” One step at a time the Lord guided Jeremiah.
In many ways, this describes the experience of a Spirit-Empowered Man. One day at a time, one step at a time, hearing the voice of the Lord then responding to it. As we seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance on this discipleship journey, we will most likely not receive the complete plan before we start. The Lord will lead us day by day and step by step. The challenge is having the wisdom to know the Lord’s voice and the courage to respond when the He calls.
Application:
- Personal Application: Trusting in the Lord may be easy to say but difficult to do when. This is true especially when we don’t know the end result or how it will affect us. As Spirit-Empowered Men, this represents how we live. One day at a time and one step at a time listening to the direction of the Holy Spirit and responding to His voice.
- Family Devotional: Read this chapter to your family. Point out how Jeremiah responded to the voice of God even though He didn’t know the next steps to take. Ask them if there were ever times when they felt the Lord asking them to do something? Discuss whether they responded or if they were afraid. Encourage them to trust in the Lord and have the faith that He will be there for you on this discipleship journey. Pray with them.
Prayer:
- Personal Prayer Focus: Ask the Lord to give you the wisdom to know His voice and the courage to respond to it.
- Family Prayer Focus: Pray that your family will continually seek the direction of the Lord as they travel the discipleship journey.
Three Year Reading Plan for Sunday, November 15 – Sunday, November 22:
- Sunday, November 15: Jeremiah 34
- Monday, November 16: Jeremiah 35
- Tuesday, November 17: Jeremiah 36
- Wednesday, November 18: Jeremiah 37
- Thursday, November 19: Jeremiah 38
- Friday, November 20: Jeremiah 39
- Saturday, November 21: Jeremiah 40
- Sunday, November 22: Jeremiah 41
—TOM GROOT is National Director of Men’s Ministry and Christian Education. Connect with Tom on Facebook or Twitter @TomGrootJr.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise marked, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblicia, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Fire Bible® elements including all Articles, the Bible Reading Plan, selected black and white maps and charts as noted, Book Introductions and outlines, color maps and the Color Map Index, footnotes, Study Notes, Subject Index, Themefinder™Index are the property of Life Publishers International, Springfield, MO U.S.A. All rights reserved