Jeremiah was not a popular
prophet. He didn’t tell the people what they wanted to hear. He wasn’t
concerned with gaining their approval. He was determined to keep on
speaking God’s Word - whatever the people thought about him, said about
him or did to him. The first priority is faithfulness. We must not make
relevance the be-all and end-all. Relevance must be built on
faithfulness. The two are to be held together - faithfulness and
relevance. If we do not remain faithful to God’s Word, our words will be
irrelevant. They will not be God’s Word for the people. “Your Word is
truth” (John 17:17) - This must be at the heart of both our preaching
and our living.
“At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem”, the keynote of the service was joyful thanksgiving. They gathered together “to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving” (Nehemiah 12:27). “On that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy” (Nehemiah 12:43). They sang “songs of praise and thanksgiving to God” (Nehemiah 12:46). This joyful thanksgiving is only a foretaste of the greater joy and thanksgiving of heaven: “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). In the city of God, “the glory of God” will be shining with everlasting brightness (Revelation 21:23). The Church of God will be “prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). The beautiful picture of the godly wife in Proverbs 31 gives us an outline of what God is seeking to do in His people. It is summarized in Proverbs 31:30: “A woman who fears the Lord is to be
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