Author: Gary Witcher

Listen!

     There are various things that the world considers "noble."  Some of these are shared by the Bible, while others are not.  What would you include on such a list?
     "Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica," Acts 17:11 says of the people in Berea, "for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so."
     Obviously, one entry from the New Testament would involve those who compare every religious teaching with the Word of God, accepting only that which can be supported by Scripture.
     We do not ask you to believe what we say.  We simply ask you to turn to the Bible and believe what it says.  So take time to pick up your Bible and read along with us.  Or make notes and check in the Bible after the broadcast to see whether or not we have told the truth.
     If you find that the Bible disagrees with what we teach, it is your obligation to inform us about this error.  If we teach the truth, you are then faced with the decision of what you are going to do with this truth.  You can ignore it, or you can act on it.
     How would Acts 17:11 read if it dealt with your reaction to the truth?
     "Hear the words of this covenant," the Lord says to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 11:2-5, "and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, "Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant which I commanded your forefathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, 'Listen to My voice, and do according to all which I command you; so you shall be My people, and I will be your God; in order to confirm the oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.'"'"
     "Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem," God continues starting in verse 6, "saying, 'Hear the words of this covenant and do them.
     'For I solemnly warned your fathers in the day that I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, warning persistently, saying, "Listen to My voice."
     'Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked, every one, in the stubbornness of their evil heart; therefore I brought on them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.'"
     Verse nine mentions a conspiracy that is described in the next verse.
     "They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers."
     Notice the one theme that runs throughout this passage: the people refused to listen to the words of God.
     In chapter 13, Jeremiah receives an unusual command.  God tells him to buy a linen waistband and put it on.  Later he is instructed to bury the waistband in a crevice of a rock along the Euphrates River.
     When God sends Jeremiah back to get the waistband, the prophet finds that it is, in his words, "ruined and totally worthless."
     God explains the similarity between what happen to the waistband and what He will do to Judah.
     "This wicked people," God says beginning in verse 10, "who refuse to listen to My words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this waistband, which is totally worthless.
     "For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah cling to Me...that they might be for Me a people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they did not listen."
     Skipping over to chapter 35 of Jeremiah, we find the story of a group of Israelites known as Rechabites.  God encourages the prophet to try to entice these people to disobey a commandment they have received from their forefather.  However, they refuse to disobey.
     "Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel," we read beginning in verse 13, "'Go and say to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: "Will you not receive instruction by listening to My words?" declares the Lord.
     "The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons not do drink wine, are observed.  So they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command.  But I have spoken to you again and again; yet you have not listened to Me.
     "Also I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying: 'Turn now every man from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to worship them, then you shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me.
     'Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have observed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.'"'
     "Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.'"
     Are there any more disappointing words in the Bible?  It's no wonder that Jeremiah was known as the "Weeping Prophet."  God tried over and over and over again to get the people to follow Him, but they would not listen.
     What should our attitude be?
     "Thus says the Lord," Jeremiah 9:23-24 states, "'Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things.'"

     Jeremiah pursues a searching question in chapter 12.
     "Why has the way of the wicked prospered?" he inquires at the end of the first verse.
     "Thou hast planted them," he continues, "they have also taken root; they grow, they have even produced fruit.  Thou art near to their lips but far from their mind."
     After pointing out in verse four how even innocent elements of nature suffer because of the wicked, Jeremiah gives an indication of the answer to his own question.
     "Because men have said," he explains, "'He will not see our latter ending.'"
     Why do those who should be following God end up ignoring Him?  It's because they don't listen to Him.  Why don't they listen?  Maybe it is because they don't believe that God is really aware of what is happening.  They feel they can do what they want to and get away with it.  2 Peter 3:3-13 points out that this illusion is created by the fact that God is patient and wants all to have time to obey Him.
     But this illusion is just that...an illusion.
     "Behold I am about to uproot them from their land and will uproot the house of Judah from among them," God warns in Jeremiah 12:14-17.
     "And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land.
     "Then it will come about that if they will really learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, 'As the Lord lives,' even as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up in the midst of My people.
     "But if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it."
     Let's be honest with ourselves.  How much longer will God allow us to continue given modern-day attitudes about things such as divorce, abortion and homosexuality?  Society calls them acceptable.  God calls them an abomination.
     And let's be honest with ourselves as individuals.  The modern religious world preaches acceptance of any and every man-made doctrine.  Meanwhile, God is in the background crying, "I tried to instruct them, but they would not listen."
     There is one more thing to consider.  What we have been discussing works both ways.
     "Therefore thus says the Lord," Jeremiah writes in verse 11 of chapter 11, "'Behold I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they will cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them.'"
     The choice is ours.  Will we ignore God and be enslaved to falsehood?  Or will we listen to the truth so that it can set us free?

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."