For Every Person Who Has Ever Been Mad At God...

“Your people are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right,’ but it is they who are not doing what’s right. For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and turn to evil, they will die. But if wicked people turn from their wickedness and do what is just and right, they will live. O people of Israel, you are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right.’ But I judge each of you according to your deeds.” [Ezekiel 33.17-20]

For every person who has ever been mad at God...

No one wants to admit that they are wrong. This is precisely what Ezekiel encountered in his confrontation of God's people. They were deep into idolatry and all manner of sin that accompanies it but they simply refused to acknowledge their waywardness. So, they blamed their hard circumstances on God. They were no different then than God's people are today. Again, no one wants to admit that they are wrong.

God was very clear in His requirements for all who would be His people. Specifically, God gave the Ten Commandments, the first three of which describe God's rules for man's specific relationship to God:

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. [Exodus 20.2-7]

Additionally, God gave the pivotal 4th Commandment in timeless proclamation of His Son, Jesus Christ. This 4th Commandment describes God's rule for Sabbath Rest only possible in specific relationship with Christ. 

“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. [Exodus 20.8-11]

The last six of the Ten Commandments describe God's rules for man's specific relationship to man.

“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you. “You must not murder. “You must not commit adultery. “You must not steal. “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor. “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” [Exodus 20.12-17] 

The way God set this all up, man's compliance or non-compliance with the Ten Commandments earned rewards for compliance and rewards for non-compliance. Rewards for compliance are called "blessings," and rewards for non-compliance are called "curses." These blessings and curses are described in great detail in Deuteronomy 28. Blessings are described in Deuteronomy 28.1-14 and curses are described in Deuteronomy 28.15-68.

It was in regard to the curses of Deuteronomy 28.15-68 that Ezekiel addressed God's people in Ezekiel 33.17-20 above: they were saying God was not right in punishing them (because they were living under the curses of war, famine & disease). They were proudly calling "foul" on God as if they were suffering curses unjustly. They had effectively been blinded by their idolatry because that is exactly what idolatry does - it causes spiritual blindness and deafness.

Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. [Psalm 115.4-8 bold added (also Psalm 135.15-18)]

Now, back to the Ten Commandments... NOTHING has changed to relieve man of his responsibility to to keep the Ten Commandments. In fact, the "pivotal" 4th Commandment timelessly points mankind to Jesus Christ, in Whom, man effectively keeps all the other nine commandments. HOWEVER! If man does not believe in Jesus, then all the curses for disobedience remain his to "enjoy." Curses are proof-positive indicators that God's plan has been ignored.

Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim. [Proverbs 26.2]

But still, people are mad at God when bad things happen to them. They are blinded by idolatry because they are ignorant of God's Word. They are ignorant of God's Word because false religion has allowed it. In their false religion (that claims 'bad things can happen to good people'), therefore, they are proud. It is pure pride that anyone, at anytime, would be mad at God. This blindness is indeed the blindness of idolatry and it exists more so today than at any other time in history.

People proudly "claim" faith in Jesus while stubbornly refusing to abide by His demands. Then, in the midst of curses for their disobedience, they blame God - none the wiser that their disobedience to Jesus is idolatry in pure raw form. Disobedience to Jesus is the most blatant defiance of the pivotal 4th Commandment securely earning every curse of Deuteronomy 28.15-68. It should be understood that obedience to the 4th Commandment (Sabbath Rest - Jesus) is man's only hope of compliance with the other nine commandments. Only in the Sabbath Rest of Jesus Christ can any man be pure in God's sight - loving God ALONE free of idols, and loving man accordingly.

To be clear, Jesus' demand of His followers is to singularly love God (give up your own way), to unconditionally love man (take up your cross), and follow Him (do the works of Jesus).

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24]

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. [John 14.12]

It's not rocket science, but there is no room for pride. Pride is the idolatry of "self." In fact, Jesus went on to confirm this in Matthew 16:

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. [Matthew 16.25-27]

And yet, people will remain mad at God because they categorically refuse to give up their own way of self-preservation, they refuse to take up their cross of unconditional love for man, and they refuse to do the work(s) of Jesus. And, in their idolatrous disobedience, they suffer every curse described in Deuteronomy 28.15-68 just like the world, proudly calling on the world's gods (idols) for relief instead of humbly repenting before God and fully believing in Jesus.

Look again at verse 27 of Matthew 16:

For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. [Matthew 15.27]

Now, compare that to verse 20 of Ezekiel 33:

O people of Israel, you are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right.’ But I judge each of you according to your deeds.” [Ezekiel 33.20] 

It's kind of stupid really, that we would insist on being mad at God when curses are simply punishment for our deeds (Jesus' words, not mine). And, this is especially stupid if we claim to believe the Bible. If God is someone we could be mad at, then that would make Him inferior to us and we shouldn't believe anything He says (if we do, we are really stupid)!

Father in heaven, You are indeed God and Your Word is indeed true. Jesus did not come in contrast to the rest of Your Word, but in complete harmony with it. May we consume Your Word, free from man's opinions (religion), so that the blinders of idolatry might be identified and removed. May we see our gross idolatry of trusting almost any and everything other than, or in addition to, You. May we not be found proud and mad at You, but instead, humbly repentant for our own way of doing for ourselves what You said You ALONE would do. May we be found giving up our own way, taking up our cross, and following Jesus. So be it. Yes, so be it.

What if...?

“Then hold out the pieces of wood you have inscribed, so the people can see them. And give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: I will gather the people of Israel from among the nations. I will bring them home to their own land from the places where they have been scattered. I will unify them into one nation on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule them all; no longer will they be divided into two nations or into two kingdoms. They will never again pollute themselves with their idols and vile images and rebellion, for I will save them from their sinful apostasy. I will cleanse them. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God. [Ezekiel 37.20-23]

What if the prophecy in Ezekiel 37.20-23 is not about the nation of Israel, but about God's people everywhere? And what if this event yet remains in the future?

Look at what Jesus prayed in John 17:

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began! [John 17.20-24]

Is there any correlation between Jesus' prayer and what Ezekiel wrote? 

What if the people of Israel prophesied by Ezekiel is indeed all who will ever believe in me through their message that Jesus prayed for?

What if home to their own land prophesied by Ezekiel is indeed not a physical place but the spiritual place as you are in me, Father, and I am in you that Jesus prayed for ? 

What if the mountains of Israel prophesied by Ezekiel is indeed the where I am Jesus prayed for?

What if them all prophesied by Ezekiel is indeed these whom you have given me Jesus prayed for?

What if no longer will they be divided into two nations or into two kingdoms prophesied by Ezekiel is indeed such perfect unity that Jesus prayed for?

What if They will never again pollute themselves with their idols and vile images and rebellion prophesied by Ezekiel is the the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one that Jesus prayed for?

What if Ezekiel's prophecies are still ahead of us?

What if? 

Father, I know You chose Israel to reveal Yourself to the world and to point to Messiah, Jesus. I know that Israel's repeated idolatry is our warning against idolatry. I know that Israel's deliverance is our deliverance. I know that Jesus makes every believer "Israel." May Your people, "Israel," truly give up their own way, take up their cross, and follow Jesus. So be it.

Want To Be Clean?

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. [Ezekiel 36.25-27]

This prophecy is about Jesus. Jesus, God's Living Word, is the living water that cleanses us. 

“If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” [John 4.10]

What Ezekiel reveals is that Jesus, the Word, cleanses away our idolatry - our own failed way - our sin. We are not clean as long as our idolatry exists. 

If we want to be clean, we MUST get rid of our idols.

Jesus calls all people unto Himself - His cleansing - in the following way:

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24] 

What Jesus demanded is the same thing God demanded: 

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. [Exodus 20.2-6]

As long as our idolatry exists (in that we have not been cleansed by the Word, Jesus), we retain a stony, stubborn heart, and, we are powerless to obey God's regulations.

The problem with a stony, stubborn heart is that it lies undetected within a person.

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? [Jeremiah 17.9]

The only way to know the human heart in all its stony, stubborn, wickedness, is to know God's Word: His-written-Word-revealing-His-Living-Word (Jesus)-confirming-the-written-Word. 

Jesus' Living Water is the only cleansing remedy for all the filth of our idolatry - the well from which springs all our sin. The Apostle Paul said it like this:

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. [Ephesians 5.25-27]

The promises made in Ezekiel 34 are invalid as long as idolatry exists in God's people,

“I will make a covenant of peace with my people and drive away the dangerous animals from the land. Then they will be able to camp safely in the wildest places and sleep in the woods without fear. I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing. The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken their chains of slavery and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the LORD. They will no longer be prey for other nations, and wild animals will no longer devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will frighten them. “And I will make their land famous for its crops, so my people will never again suffer from famines or the insults of foreign nations. In this way, they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them. And they will know that they, the people of Israel, are my people, says the Sovereign LORD. You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my people, and I am your God. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!” [Ezekiel 34.25-31]

There is an unmistakable distinction between God's people (cleansed from idolatry by the Living Water - the Living Word, Jesus) and the rest of the world. At least, there should be...

We must understand that a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is not an abstract idea! Ezekiel 34.25-31 (identifying God's people as remarkably unaffected in a degraded world) and Ephesians 5.25-27 (identifying God's people as glorious, without spot or wrinkle) both attest to the fact that a Christ-follower's life stands out from the rest of the world with clear and obvious distinction.

The caveat however is found early in Ezekiel 34:

Then this message came to me from the LORD: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty. So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal. They have wandered through all the mountains and all the hills, across the face of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them. “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, you abandoned my flock and left them to be attacked by every wild animal. And though you were my shepherds, you didn’t search for my sheep when they were lost. You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I now consider these shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, and I will stop them from feeding themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey. [Ezekiel 34.1-10]

The shepherds, representing religion, ae more interested in shearing the sheep than protecting them. Instead of competently leading God's people away from idolatry, religion leaves God's people unattended and vulnerable, because all religion wants and needs is the milk, wool, and meat of the "sheep" - their money. Religious leaders who "shepherd" God's people in indistinct, abstract religion void of the distinct and miraculous power of God do so because that is what idolatry does! Idolatry, for its own financial gain, distracts God's people, leading them away from relying on God ALONE. Religion accomplishes this distraction by flooding God's people with abstract theologies, doctrines, and denominations thus effectively diluting (and muddying) the pure Living Water of the Word - Jesus Christ. Consequently, idolatry is left intact and God's people are none the wiser.

Until God's people understand that Jesus Christ is the antithesis of idolatry, religion will continue to do its worst - Ezekiel's timelessly relevant words will be lost in abstract religion and the Church will remain powerless and ineffective in the world today:

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. [Ezekiel 36.25-27]

Father, the more I meditate on today's One Year Chronological Bible reading, the more I realize how revelatory Ezekiel's words are for us in our present time. May we get it right in understanding that Jesus is the Living Word, and that, unless we give up our own way, take up our cross, and follow Him, we are hopelessly filthy and idolatrous. May Your Word, and the cleansing it brings, transform us into "the glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish... holy and without fault." So be it.

Someone Has To Say Something

“Listen, you remnant of Judah. The LORD has told you: ‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Don’t forget this warning I have given you today. For you were not being honest when you sent me to pray to the LORD your God for you. You said, ‘Just tell us what the LORD our God says, and we will do it!’ And today I have told you exactly what he said, but you will not obey the LORD your God any better now than you have in the past. So you can be sure that you will die from war, famine, and disease in Egypt, where you insist on going.” [Jeremiah 42.19-22] 

Three years ago today, I wrote the article Really Want To Know? I very much recommend reading that article with the understanding that Jeremiah 42-44 from today's One Year Chronological Bible reading is so absolutely relevant and applicable to us today that it is scary (at least, it should be).

God's people today are just as blind and deaf as God's ancient people. They read the Bible and do not see their own repetitious idolatry problem.

“Again and again I sent my servants, the prophets, to plead with them, ‘Don’t do these horrible things that I hate so much.’ But my people would not listen or turn back from their wicked ways. They kept on burning incense to these gods. [Jeremiah 44.4-5]

Not ironically, the same prophets that God sent again and again to decry idolatry are the same prophets who foretold the coming of Messiah, Jesus. Then, when He came, Jesus demanded no less unadulterated faith and trust in God ALONE than did the prophets who foretold his coming!

For far too long God's people have seen Jesus' hard words as abstract. Perhaps the most glaring example of this is found in people's interpretation of Matthew 16.24:

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24] 

And, just as they misinterpret Jesus' words in Matthew 16.24, they also misinterpret Matthew 6.33:

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. [Matthew 6.33]

With both of these demands of Jesus, religious people assume god-like authority to explain how and why these demands do not mean what Jesus actually said. As a result, idolatry is a greater problem today than at any other time in history. Trusting anything and everything other than, or in addition to, God has become the norm and not the exception among those who claim to be God's people. They have fallen into the same "reason trap" with which Satan appealed to Adam and Eve, concluding that what they "think" somehow supersedes what God said.

As idolatry had started to become industrialized in the Apostle Paul's day (Acts 19.23-27), it has now become so advanced that is it just the way of life in our day. If we will just "see it," man's industries of finance, insurance, medicine and technology are the most glaring examples of modern-day industrialized idolatry. They exist as the object of man's trust as much or more among God's people than they do among the world.

At some point, someone has to say something! Idolaters have no place in God's heaven!

This is no "new revelation" but rather the realization of what the Bible (God) has been saying all along. Jesus' demand in Matthew 16.24 runs consistently true with God's demand on Mount Sinai:

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. [Exodus 20.2-6]

Father, help us to see and to hear and to obey. May we give up our own way of idolatry, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. So be it.

Not Calling Any Names...

We submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough food to survive. Our ancestors sinned, but they have died—and we are suffering the punishment they deserved! [Lamentations 5.6-7] 

Lamentations 5.1-7 is a prayer for restoration. Verses 6-7 above reveal why God's people needed to be restored: they trusted in something other than or, in addition to, God - they trusted in Egypt and Assyria. God's people committed spiritual adultery in doing this - it was idolatry.

Once again, today we are faced with what we believe about the Bible. Is it for us today? Or, is it just a historical record with no relevance to modern man? Most of us will religiously say it is for us today, but then hypocritically refuse to live by what it teaches. 

God's people today are effectively in the same position as God's people in Jeremiah's time. We did not necessarily initiate our own worship of idols, but we are very much living in the wake of idolatry that began before our generation but we are doing nothing to get out of it. 

Our idols today are not so much other nations (at least not those of us who live in the USA) but instead are idols made to meet our needs. These idols were made to meet our needs independently of God. These idols do not require any assistance or help from God, and certainly no accountability to God. In fact, most of the promotions for these idols depict, and thereby promote, tell-tale Godless behavior.

God's people today defend their idolatry the same way God's people defended their trust in Egypt and Assyria - it is excused as a matter of survival. Oh, the truth revealed by Lamentations! The names have changed, but the spiritual adultery of idolatry has not.

As much as the Bible has always spoken about idolatry, it has also spoken about Jesus. How? In every reference to the Sabbath! Jesus is the Sabbath Rest promised by God. So, if Jesus is the antithesis to everything the Bible tells us about idolatry, what did He, the Sabbath Rest, have to say about how we live? Here are two things Jesus said that His followers most need to reconcile with:

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. [Matthew 6.33]

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24] 

If God meets all our needs, we don't need idols of our own making to do so.

If we are followers of Jesus, we cannot hold to anything of our own way (our own making - to meet our own needs - our idols). 

Any named thing we trust instead of or, in addition to God, is an idol. I'm not calling any names...

Father, I am intentionally refraining from naming idols here in this article today. If these idols are obvious to me, they will be obvious to any other person who reads Your Word with relevance to us in our time. May our hearts be moved to give up our own way (of idolatry), take up our cross, and follow Jesus. So be it.

Not The Problem, But The Symptom Of The Problem

Tenderhearted women have cooked their own children. They have eaten them to survive the siege. [Lamentations 4.10] 

Perhaps no other passage in the entire Bible describes the appalling nature of abortion better than Lamentations 4.10.

Women are tenderhearted by their God-given nature. This does not mean that a woman cannot suppress that beautiful nature (as many do today), but that that nature is there in every woman as part of her creation.

As all of Jeremiah's writings reveal, idolatry is at the root of suppressing mankind's undivided trust in God alone. Idolatry offers all manner of alternatives to God. 

In its ultimate digression, idolatry eventually leads to the unthinkable treatment of children. The Bible consistently speaks of children being offered/burned/sacrificed where idolatry is unchecked. Abortion is not the problem but rather the symptom of the problem of idolatry.

Idolatry is trusting anything other than, or even in addition to, God. At its worst, idolatry terminates innocent human life. As the subject passage above reveals, the digression of Israel into idolatry (not trusting God ALONE) eventually manifested in otherwise tenderhearted women cooking and eating their own children in order to survive.

Abortion is not a mean-hearted act of murder (although it is murder), but rather the desperate attempt of an otherwise tenderhearted woman to survive - but without God. This explains why abortion is so damaging to a woman's life (created by God). Abortion is a man-made solution to a God-less problem. The solution of abortion seems reasonable without God, but it tears at the very soul of the woman who is created by God to be nurturing and tenderhearted.

As stated above, a woman's tenderheartedness can be suppressed. Without God, her instinct to survive selfishly sees her children as expendable. It is no use to appeal to the suppressed tenderheartedness of a woman without tracing that created tenderheartedness to the Creator. Again, abortion is not the problem but rather the symptom of the problem of idolatry - not trusting God the Creator ALONE.

In Genesis 21, a child was conceived as the result of not trusting God ALONE. As the story goes, Hagar, the mother, eventually suppressed her tenderhearted nature leaving her baby under a bush to die. Although she was devastated, she went off to survive without the child. In that wilderness of Beersheba, God came to Hagar:

But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.” [Genesis 21.17-18]

God reassured Hagar to not be afraid. God instructed Hagar to not allow the child to die, but to go to him. When God showed up, circumstances changed! 

Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy as he grew up in the wilderness. He became a skillful archer, and he settled in the wilderness of Paran. His mother arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of Egypt. [Genesis 21.19-21] 

The solution to abortion is to help mothers to see God. The solution to abortion is to help mothers see that God is not to be feared, but to be trusted. The solution to abortion is to help mothers trust Creator God, and therefore trust the tenderheartedness He created in them, to preserve the life of their child. 

Only God can open a mother's eyes - and, when He does, she will see that the solution is not abortion, but the solution is to trust God and raise her child.

Father, of course the world will never see the validity of what is said here. However, help Your people to see it. Help Your people understand that not trusting You (idolatry - with all its symptoms, including killing innocent children) is only remedied by trusting You ALONE. Help us give up our own way, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. So be it.

Those Who Hang On To Their Life Do Not Believe God

The LORD had given the following message to Jeremiah while he was still in prison: “Say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will do to this city everything I have threatened. I will send disaster, not prosperity. You will see its destruction, but I will rescue you from those you fear so much. Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the LORD, have spoken!’” [Jeremiah 39.15-18] 

What did Ebed-melech the Ethiopian do? Here's the whole story:

Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah had been telling the people. He had been saying, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who surrender to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be life. They will live!’ The LORD also says: ‘The city of Jerusalem will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’” So these officials went to the king and said, “Sir, this man must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left, as well as that of all the people. This man is a traitor!” King Zedekiah agreed. “All right,” he said. “Do as you like. I can’t stop you.” So the officials took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard. It belonged to Malkijah, a member of the royal family. There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick layer of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it. But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an important court official, heard that Jeremiah was in the cistern. At that time the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate, so Ebed-melech rushed from the palace to speak with him. “My lord the king,” he said, “these men have done a very evil thing in putting Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern. He will soon die of hunger, for almost all the bread in the city is gone.” So the king told Ebed-melech, “Take thirty of my men with you, and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.” So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to a room in the palace beneath the treasury, where he found some old rags and discarded clothing. He carried these to the cistern and lowered them to Jeremiah on a rope. Ebed-melech called down to Jeremiah, “Put these rags under your armpits to protect you from the ropes.” Then when Jeremiah was ready, they pulled him out. So Jeremiah was returned to the courtyard of the guard—the palace prison—where he remained. [Jeremiah 38.1-13]

Ebed-melech believed Jeremiah was legitimate even though what Jeremiah was saying affected him too. It would have been much easier for Ebed-melech to have joined in with the rest, rejecting Jeremiah's message from God, but he chose not to. 

Why? Because, Jeremiah 39.18 says Ebed-melech trusted God.

Because Ebed-melech trusted God, he recognized the truth of what Jeremiah prophesied. Because Ebed-melech trusted God, he was willing to go against popular opinion to preserve Jeremiah's life and message. Because Ebed-melech trusted God, he was spared from the very destruction he refused to disbelieve.

What the writer of Hebrews records about trusting God is true:

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. [Hebrews 11.6]

To believe that God rewards those who sincerely seek Him is to also believe that God punishes those who do not believe Him. In fact, those who believe God can see the punishment coming upon those who do not believe God. 

Jesus recognized the future of those who refused to believe:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. [Matthew 16.24-25]

Follow this closely! Those who hang on to their life, do not believe God. 

People today are more interested in saving their own lives than they are to preserve and promote the Word of God. Even though they would never confess to such, their actions prove it over and again day after day. And, just like God's people in Jeremiah's time, God's people of our day trust in themselves and their idols (worldly allies) instead of God. Consequently, when they hear the timelessly relevant Word of God presented by Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others that decries idolatry, they reject it. Oh, they enjoy the "stories" but completely fail to see that those stories are about them!

Ebed-melech put himself in a dangerous position to rescue Jeremiah. He effectively gave up his life to do the right thing - to save Jeremiah - to preserve the Word of the LORD against idolatry. I would like to do the same thing: Jeremiah did not deserve to be in that cistern! If Jeremiah's message of impending doom upon God's idolatrous people was relevant then, it is many times more relevant today. Rejection of God's Word against idolatry is rejection of God, and furthermore, it is rejection of Jesus.

It is hard to believe we can cry out "grace" as if Jesus is our rescuer, if that "grace" we cry out allows us to retain our idols. In hard Biblical fact, that is in every way unprecedented and unsubstantiated.

If we advance Jeremiah's message to our present day, the idols it speaks out against are not "Egypt" or "carved images." Present day idols are man's industries of finance, insurance, medicine and technology (to name the main offenders) that all promote hanging on to our life. They are idols by virtue of the fact that man depends on (trusts) them instead of, or in addition to, God. In light of this, Jeremiah's message is indeed more relevant today than it was the day it was written as idolatry is clearly more advanced and ingrained in society today than ever before. All who doubt this are effectively those who throw Jeremiah into the muddy cistern and, those who believe it (trust God) are those who bring Jeremiah and his message of warning out of the mud!

I believe God's Word (all of it) is relevant to us today. I believe Jeremiah. I trust God.

Father, I want to be a modern-day Ebed-melech. I want to bring Jeremiah back into society where he belongs so his message can be heard. Help me to do just that. So be it.