Jeremias 15
J. Vernon McGee · Citado em PreceptAustin
Jeremias 15:16
Vernon McGee writes "I received a letter from a man who heard our broadcast when I was in Galatians. He heard one word: Father. That arrested his attention. May I say to you that God is still using His Word today. Oh, how important the Word of God is!" NET Notes - "Your words were found and I ate them.” This along with Ezek 2:8-3:3-note is a poetic picture of inspiration. The prophet accepted them, assimilated them, and made them such a part of himself that he spoke with complete assurance what he knew were God’s words. Thy Words were found - What is the implication of Jeremiah finding God's Words? Clearly this phrase implies that he was seeking God's Words. In a word, even in the midst of oppression, he had a passion for God's Word, a heart attitude all of God's children should seek to cultivate, because as Yogi Berra said "You won't find anything unless you're looking for it!" So how do we look for God's Word? There is only one sure place - the Bible. There is however, more than one way to seek His Word. In fact, many methods have been proposed. After over 30 years of zealously pursuing the Word and using many of these methods, the best method I have discovered is Inductive Bible study (which entails Observation, Interpretation, and Application). Yes, inductive study requires more labor, but as one begins to glean the fruit of their labor, this method goes from arduous to ardor, becoming a true labor of love. And a labor to love. In other words, one does not dig deeply into the Word of God simply to glean and gain information but to commune intimately with the God of the Word and be transformed (not just informed) into the image of His Son! To know the Father's heart, the Son's love and the Spirit's power, should always be our goal when we seek God's Words.
Jeremias 15:16
Vernon McGee says "He found his consolation in it. He ate it and he digested it and it became a part of him. Oh, how we need to get into the Word of God today. We don’t need just a little surface learning of a few rules, or just a little guideline of a few steps to take. We need to digest it so that it becomes part of our being. It will bring joy and rejoicing to the heart just as it did for Jeremiah. Only the Word of God can do this. I received a letter from a man who heard our broadcast when I was in Galatians. He heard one word: Father. (cp Gal 4:6) That arrested his attention. May I say to you that God is still using His Word today. Oh, how important the Word of God is! Jeremiah is in real difficulty. Remember that his hometown rejected him and got rid of him. His own family rejected him. His life is actually in danger. (Listen to Dr McGee - Jeremiah 15 - 'Thru the Bible') Other prophets were told to eat God's Word… Ezekiel 2:8-3:3, Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.” 9 Then I looked, behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. 10 When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back; and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe. Ezek 3:1 Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach, and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth. (See Ezekiel 2:8-10 Commentary, Ezekiel 3:1-3 Commentary) Comment - Ezekiel was to be a prophet to a rebellious people who refused to obey God, and so the first thing he was asked to do was obey. In obeying the command to eat, he immediately distinguished himself from the disobedient people to whom he was sent. And in his act of obedience, he discovered the taste of the scroll to be “sweet as honey”. The same scroll that would taste so bitter to the house of Israel, tasted sweet on the prophet’s tongue. There is in every act of obedience a sweet taste. Obedience as such guarantees no freedom from pain, but it does bring the satisfaction of a life fulfilled, a life pleasing to our Father (1Sa 15:22-23). Application - Ezekiel came to know the "will of God" because of his willingness to humble himself to "eat" the Word of God. Are you wrestling with God's will for your life? Ezekiel's submission and reception of the LORD's word gives us a pattern by which we too can know His "good and acceptable and perfect" will in our life. Are you in the Word so that His Word can get in "your stomach and fill your soul" and by it your mind can be renewed and you will be enabled by the Spirit and the Word to "prove what the will of God" in your life? (Romans 12:2-note) Whenever we "eat" God’s word, we experience a sweetness, for God’s words always contain hope. Yes, God’s judgment will come upon the rebellious, but in the midst of wrath He remembers mercy and so His judgment also holds promise for those who repent and return. Food that truly sustains in a time of trial or temptation is the "bread of life". It is often (probably usually!) in the humbling circumstances of the trials that we come to understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD." (Dt 8:3, read Dt 8:1-5) Let me ask you a practical question? How do you best assimilate God's Word so that it fills your body (cp Ezek 3:3 "fill your body"? Is not the most practical way to realize this objective memorization of His precious sweet truth? Related Resources: Memorizing His Word Meditate Primer on Biblical Meditation Rev 10:9 And I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he *said to me, “Take it, and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” Tony