Day 6 - First things first
Scripture focus: "But for right now, because you've taken up with these new-fangled prophets who set themselves up as 'Babylonian specialists,' spreading the word 'God sent them just for us!' God is setting the record straight: As for the king still sitting on David's throne and all the people left in Jerusalem who didn't go into exile with you, they're facing bad times. God-of-the-Angel-Armies says, 'Watch this! Catastrophe is on the way: war, hunger, disease! They're a barrel of rotten apples. I'll rid the country of them through war and hunger and disease. The whole world is going to hold its nose at the smell, shut its eyes at the horrible sight. They'll end up in slum ghettos because they wouldn't listen to a thing I said when I sent my servant-prophets preaching tirelessly and urgently. No, they wouldn't listen to a word I said.'" God's Decree. Jeremiah 29:15-19 (The Message)
I had this weird experience recently after a Saturday night celebration service. I used the very familiar passage in Matthew where Jesus talks about how when we feed the hungry, clothe the poor, give water to the thirsty, and visit the imprisoned - we're doing it to him. He goes on to talk about how the choices we make in regards to loving the abandoned and ignored in our society will determine which pen - sheep or goat - we'll be relegated to. Afterwards, I didn't feel particularly good about what I communicated. I feared that our crowd, filled with families in recovery - or in need of it - might misunderstand the call to action and instead hear it as a shout out of condemnation.
The Matthew passage is powerful, but I think better understood if the messenger has the good sense to point out one of the distinctive characteristics of sheep - they listen to the voice of their master. This is crucial for sheep, because they have notoriously bad eyesight and are prone to follow whoever happens to be walking in front of them. Much like the poor fools who listened to the "Babylonian specialists" in Jeremiah 29, sheep will follow anyone. They're extremely gregarious animals, and love to hang out in large crowds. I suppose they are quite the party animals. But when properly trained, they can be kept safe and on the right path by a willingness to listen to the voice of their good shepherd.
This continues to be God's decree. He said it to the Jews in captivity, Jesus preached it to the crowds, and we must find ways to remind ourselves of the same message. Tirelessly and urgently, we must commit ourselves to listening to God's voice. The issue that got the Jewish people in trouble; the problem that gets the goats separated and sent into judgment; the point that God continues to make consistently over the ages is this - bad things happen to people when they refuse to listen to God.
So listen to this - if we rush out and feed the hungry, water the thirsty, visit the prisoners, clothe the poor - and we've done so without first listening to God's voice - we're in big trouble. Because the foundational principle is this: listen to God. And as we listen, he will lead. As he leads, we'll know who to feed and where to rush, who to provide water to, and which prisons to visit, who to clothe, and much, much more. But it starts with listening. I wish I had said it this way the other night.
Recommended reading: Leviticus 21 - 24
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