11.15.24 ~ Protect This Deer
Good morning!
It's the opening day of deer season here in Michigan. It's the beginning of man's judgment day for the deer. The schools are closed and I'll be wearing orange! Thousands of hunters will be out early, all day, and this evening trying to get their winter meat. I'm glad I'm not a deer! Then again, in one sense we are like a deer (Psa. 42:1), hunted by the enemy 365 days a year (1 Pet. 5:8; Job 1:7; 2:2; Lk. 22:31; Eze. 22:25).
This week, I've focused on Sodom and Gomorrah and the judgment/mishpat coming. Over in Jeremiah 10, we have another picture of Yahweh bringing judgment, but different than we might expect...it's not for our destruction, but for our deliverance (Jer. 10:24). Huh?
What comes to mind when you hear the phrase 'judgment of God'? Do you think of fire and brimstone like the judgment on Sodom (Gen. 19:24)? Do you imagine the fiery lake reserved for the devil (Matt. 25:41)? With those images in mind, it’s impossible to understand Jeremiah’s plea. No one would ask God to bring that kind of punishment into life.
O Lord, correct me, but with judgment, not with anger (Jer. 10:24)
We need a better picture of this word for judgment/mishpat. Lord knows we, speaking of me, myself and I, have missed God's purpose of judgment in the lives of His people and beyond. God's judgment/shaphat speaks about the process of legal decisions within government; not His wrath.
What Jeremiah asks of God is this: Lord, chastise me, correct me by rendering a legal decision based on Who You are (Psa. 89:14; Isa. 16:5; 30:18); modeling for us how we should do to one another (Zech. 7:9; Jn. 7:24; Matt. 7:1-4). Jeremiah is appealing to the God of mercy and justice. He wants to be corrected. He is willing. But he knows that Yahweh is merciful and it is on the basis of mercy that he desires correction. Jeremiah knows that if Yahweh is not merciful, no flesh will stand. Jeremiah asks Him to remember His everlasting covenant of compassion and base correction on that.
What is the basis of your request for correction? Do you ever ask Him? Or does our view of God's judgment want to make us run and hide in our shame (Gen. 3:8-10)? It is God’s merciful intervention in life through the death of Yeshua, that we can come to God, knowing we need correction, and plead, Lord, chastise me. Bring me back to Your path. But do it on the basis of Your Son.
Remember that our legal status before the Judge has been settled by Yeshua's death (1 John 2:1-2). Don’t treat me according to what I deserved but according to Your merciful promise. Then I can stand the correction.
When we ask for correction, we must at the same time plead for mercy. If God were to treat us strictly, we would be finished. But there is another judgment: the judgment of compassion. For us, the two must go together: correction and compassion tied to righteous judgment. And the only reason that they can be tied together is Messiah Yeshua. Even in chastening, I owe Him everything.
Thank you Lord for the deer meat. Protect this deer, please (Psa. 42:1,2; 63:1,2; 84:2; 143:6,7; Isa. 6:8,9).
Keep correcting and protecting me Yah!
Shalom!
This week, I've focused on Sodom and Gomorrah and the judgment/mishpat coming. Over in Jeremiah 10, we have another picture of Yahweh bringing judgment, but different than we might expect...it's not for our destruction, but for our deliverance (Jer. 10:24). Huh?
What comes to mind when you hear the phrase 'judgment of God'? Do you think of fire and brimstone like the judgment on Sodom (Gen. 19:24)? Do you imagine the fiery lake reserved for the devil (Matt. 25:41)? With those images in mind, it’s impossible to understand Jeremiah’s plea. No one would ask God to bring that kind of punishment into life.
O Lord, correct me, but with judgment, not with anger (Jer. 10:24)
We need a better picture of this word for judgment/mishpat. Lord knows we, speaking of me, myself and I, have missed God's purpose of judgment in the lives of His people and beyond. God's judgment/shaphat speaks about the process of legal decisions within government; not His wrath.
What Jeremiah asks of God is this: Lord, chastise me, correct me by rendering a legal decision based on Who You are (Psa. 89:14; Isa. 16:5; 30:18); modeling for us how we should do to one another (Zech. 7:9; Jn. 7:24; Matt. 7:1-4). Jeremiah is appealing to the God of mercy and justice. He wants to be corrected. He is willing. But he knows that Yahweh is merciful and it is on the basis of mercy that he desires correction. Jeremiah knows that if Yahweh is not merciful, no flesh will stand. Jeremiah asks Him to remember His everlasting covenant of compassion and base correction on that.
What is the basis of your request for correction? Do you ever ask Him? Or does our view of God's judgment want to make us run and hide in our shame (Gen. 3:8-10)? It is God’s merciful intervention in life through the death of Yeshua, that we can come to God, knowing we need correction, and plead, Lord, chastise me. Bring me back to Your path. But do it on the basis of Your Son.
Remember that our legal status before the Judge has been settled by Yeshua's death (1 John 2:1-2). Don’t treat me according to what I deserved but according to Your merciful promise. Then I can stand the correction.
When we ask for correction, we must at the same time plead for mercy. If God were to treat us strictly, we would be finished. But there is another judgment: the judgment of compassion. For us, the two must go together: correction and compassion tied to righteous judgment. And the only reason that they can be tied together is Messiah Yeshua. Even in chastening, I owe Him everything.
Thank you Lord for the deer meat. Protect this deer, please (Psa. 42:1,2; 63:1,2; 84:2; 143:6,7; Isa. 6:8,9).
Keep correcting and protecting me Yah!
Shalom!
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