Defiance
"Whenever Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king took his knife and cut off that section of the scroll. He then threw it into the fire, section by section, until the whole scroll was burned up. Neither the king nor his officials showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard." Jeremiah 36:23-24
We've all witnessed our own children or somebody else's child locked into a position of defiance. It may be a temper tantrum. It may be an ear piercing, "No!" aimed at the beleagured parent. It may be a poorly disguised, "I didn't hear you." However it comes, the message is clear ... "I have no desire to respond to what you're saying and you aren't going to make me." In a word ... defiance.
The king in this story chose to go toe-to-toe with God. The prophet had issued the warnings. He then had them written down and the king arrogantly cut them up and threw them in the fire. The rest of the chapter reveals that his defiance didn't end well for him. It never does.
In our world, this spirit of disdain for God's word and defiance to his will is the order of the day. And, truth be told, it also lurks in our hearts as well. It's easy to point fingers, but not so easy to have a heart to heart with ourselves. We can, through repentance and respect for his word, find a deep and lasting connection with our Creator. He opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
Grace and Peace,
Tom Wiles
tom@fallcreekchristian.org
We've all witnessed our own children or somebody else's child locked into a position of defiance. It may be a temper tantrum. It may be an ear piercing, "No!" aimed at the beleagured parent. It may be a poorly disguised, "I didn't hear you." However it comes, the message is clear ... "I have no desire to respond to what you're saying and you aren't going to make me." In a word ... defiance.
The king in this story chose to go toe-to-toe with God. The prophet had issued the warnings. He then had them written down and the king arrogantly cut them up and threw them in the fire. The rest of the chapter reveals that his defiance didn't end well for him. It never does.
In our world, this spirit of disdain for God's word and defiance to his will is the order of the day. And, truth be told, it also lurks in our hearts as well. It's easy to point fingers, but not so easy to have a heart to heart with ourselves. We can, through repentance and respect for his word, find a deep and lasting connection with our Creator. He opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
Grace and Peace,
Tom Wiles
tom@fallcreekchristian.org
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