After completing three
things which the Lord does not approve, Jeremiah begins a new vein of
thought as he continues his discourse in the third chapter of
Lamentations in verse thirty-seven. This time he begins with a series
of questions where we read:
The
verse begins, “Who is he that
says, and it comes to pass,...” Jeremiah
asked, “Who is he”
to begin his series of questions, and then adds a qualifying phrase
“that says”. The
idea is “to speak or utter” in a “bold or proud” manner. We
might picture a person who is within a crowd of people who makes a
boastful proclamation, prediction or uttering so that all around him
may hear, but Jeremiah augments his question with this “and
it comes to pass”. The
validity of the pontification is whether or not it happens just as
the person stating it said it would. It is one thing to predict, and
it is quite another for that prediction to come true.
The verse goes on to say, “...when the Lord commands it
not?” After asking who could make a boastful forecast and it
come to pass, Jeremiah states “when the Lord commands it not?”
If the Lord is not involved in the completing of the proud words,
fulfillment of them will never occur. Though a man may boastfully act
as though he has some sort of control or handle upon things
happening, without the Lord's completion of it, his words are wasted.
In other words, the Lord's “commands” are essential to the
culmination of any boast.
Have we
ever been around someone who makes a boastful statement as though he
or she can control the future? Perhaps we remember a time when we
boastfully stated something as though we had full regulation of the
outcome. When these situations arise we must keep in mind that
Almighty God oversees every happening of man, and nothing occurs
without Him completing or allowing it. Though we may feel in control
of certain outcomes, ultimately it is the Lord who decides. Jeremiah
wrote in the book after his name in chapter seventeen and verse ten:
I the LORD search the
heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to
his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
May we
always remember that the Lord is the source of our happenings, and no
matter what is boasted before us, He is ultimately in control.
Next
time we see Jeremiah's second question which concerns evil and good,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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