Jeremiah 35-37 -- What Type Of Devotion?

God had Jeremiah perform another action sermon.  He highlighted the devotion of the family of Rechab, which had followed their ancestor's admonition to remain nomads and refuse to drink wine for over two centuries.  

"The message to the nation was clear.  If the command of a mere man, Jonadab, was respected and obeyed by his family for over two centuries, why didn't the people of Israel and Judah obey the command of Almighty God?  If a family tradition was preserved with such dedication, why was the very law of God treated with such disrespect? ... How often God's people are put to shame by the devotion and discipline of people who don't even know the Lord but who are intensely loyal to their family, their religion, or their personal pursuits.  Even people who want nothing to do with the Word of God can by loyal to traditions and man-made codes.  If Christians were putting into their spiritual walk the kind of discipline that athletes put into their chosen sport, the church would be pulsating with revival life," my commentary said.  

God had Jeremiah deliver all of the words God had spoken to him to Baruch, who wrote them on a scroll, then Baruch was told to read them in the Temple on a fast day when a large number of people would be in attendance.  There's no word about the crowd's reaction, but one man listened and told the princes.  They asked for a reading and them hid the scroll and went to get the King to listen.  As King Jehoiakim heard the words, he sliced strips from the scroll and through them into the fire, until the entire 23 years of messages were burned up.  "he had a very high opinion of himself and a very low opinion of God," my commentary said.  "The same God who gives the Word has the power to protect and preserve the Word.  The king had tried to destroy the Word, but the Word destroyed him."

Father, I thank You for preserving Your Word for me to read, and for quickening my ear and my heart to it after drawing me back to Yourself all those years ago.  Thank You for leading me to also preserve what You show me so that perhaps someday my boys and their families will be able to read the words You have given to me.

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Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford