The Words of the Lord
Words matter. The words of the Lord matter the most! God has consistently spoken to people throughout the history of the world. He knows human nature, so He has preserved some of His words for all of us to read and to obey. We see this process taking place in Jeremiah 36:4 when the prophet instructed his assistant, Baruch, to write down the words which the Lord had spoken to him. He did this because God told him to have them written on a scroll. Now, we have a collection of all of the inspired words of the Lord, which He instructed men to record for us.(II Timothy 3:16,17) We call it the Bible. It is such a blessing to have His words and to be able to obey them, so that He can lead us and bless our lives.
The problem is that many people listen to the words of man more than the words of God. Jeremiah 35 tells the story of the Rechabites who would not drink any wine or have anything to do with things associated with the making of wine, because their leader, Jonadad, had given them that instruction years before. They were faithful to his directions. He was only a man. However, the people of God were hearing the words of the Lord from the prophets, but they would not listen and obey God's words. When the scroll Jeremiah dictated to Baruch was read to the king, he burned it in anger. He would not listen to God's words. Jeremiah had to dictate another scroll after that.
We have a choice. We need to realize that God has inspired people through the years to speak and to record His words for us. Now we have them. What will we do with them? Jesus told us that we are to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.(Matthew 4:4) How are you doing? If we neglect God's words in the Bible, but we listen to the words of men, we are in danger of God's punishment just like His people received in Jeremiah's day. If we neglect His words, we can't know His mind and His ways, so we end up living a life that misses the mark and fails to enjoy His favor. Please, spend time in the inspired Word of God each day reading the words of the Lord, and then, do whatever it takes to obey every one of them. It will change your life in a dramatic way that will be better than anything you could ever imagine.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 38-40.