The way of the LORD is sure to make one pause and question oneself because it is often contrary, if not always to human logic or rationale. Many of the prophets in the Bible had to do things that were non sensical to our intelligent brains. Indeed, to the LORD, the wisdom of this world is foolishness in His sight (1 Corinthians 3:19). No wonder the only thing acceptable to come to God is by stripping yourself of your flesh, that is any sort of acquisition that can make you boastful, anything that you can rely on to say that “the work of my hands has done this” instead of God. That is what Paul did when he boldly proclaimed that his confidence is not in his flesh though he had many reasons to boast in his flesh: identity (being circumcised on the eight day, from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews); theological scholar (a Pharisee which means in addition to being a “doctor of the Law”, that is knowledgeable in the things of God he practiced it and strictly adhered to the Law of Moses upholding it to a higher standard); zealousness for the LORD (in his zeal he persecuted the church before his conversion); faultlessness in his actions (he was righteous for legalistic reasons). These are the pedigrees Paul could have boasted in when he came to Christ, yet he counted all of these as loss compared to the surpassing knowledge of knowing Christ as LORD (Philippians 3:5-8). In the same way, we too, when we come to Christ, must lay down our “crowns” otherwise, we will not be able to receive His wisdom and guidance. This week I would like to encourage us to work intentionally at recognizing ways at which our flesh creeps in making us boastful.
As I continue in the book of Jeremiah, it was striking to realize that while God was speaking to Jeremiah and giving him a consistent message, other prophets were also speaking consistently a message that was not from the LORD although some boldly lied that their message was from the LORD. One of such prophets is Hananiah who has an entire chapter dedicated to him (Jeremiah 28). What is interesting about Hananiah is that he spoke to Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the presence of priests and all the people and proclaimed that the LORD would break the yoke of the king of Babylon and within two years would bring back the articles the king of Babylon had brought from Jerusalem to Babylon in addition to bringing back the king of Judah that was also exiled at the time (Jeremiah 28:2-4). I am not sure what the process was with prophets and priests at the time, but I would assume before telling the whole world what the LORD has said you communicate with your peers for confirmation and validation since you are not the only one the LORD speaks to? This is not what Hananiah did, in fact, though his message was a stark contrast to what Jeremiah had been preaching over and over again, he did not consult with Jeremiah or at the very least inquired of the LORD concerning the word he received. He went straight to tell the world because it was a message the people would love, and he too would be loved since he was the one who brought the “good news”. This is how the flesh creeps in on us. Moreover, I believe, Jeremiah’s response should have given Hananiah a hint that his prophecy may not have been from the LORD or at the very least warned him to wait for the accomplishment of it before proclaiming it so boldly to the entire world. Jeremiah simply stated that with time everyone will know whether Hananiah’s prophecy was correct as there have been prophets in the past who proclaimed calamities for Jerusalem (like Jeremiah had been prophesying) yet the prophets who prophesied peace will be recognised as truly from the LORD only if their predictions came to pass (Jeremiah 28:8-9). Clearly this response from Jeremiah was not cautioning enough, since Hananiah’s next move was to break the wooden yoke God had told Jeremiah to put around his neck that same year as a judgement sign that Judah was going to be under Babylonian’s yoke (Jeremiah 27). Shortly after this event, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah for Hananiah. God said Hananiah would get an iron yoke instead of a wooden one he broke. In addition, God reiterated His message to Jeremiah that He will put an iron yoke on the necks of all the nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (Jeremiah 28:14). Jeremiah went and confronted Hananiah, telling him how he has deceived the nations with lies because the LORD had not sent him and because of this rebellion against the LORD, he would die. Indeed, Hananiah died in the seventh month of that same year (verse 17). For the desire of his flesh, Hananiah died. For wanting to declare what the LORD had not declared because it sounded good, Hananiah died. The name of the LORD is not to be taken in vain, His name is to be exalted and honoured not mingled with anything that does not resemble Him like lies. We should tremble at the name of the LORD because His name exhibits all that He is.
So how can we recognize the doings of our flesh? I understand that in a story like the one between Hananiah and Jeremiah, there are some assumptions made but the idea of the flesh creeping in and taking a central place is a real one. To recognize the flesh, we have to evaluate it against the word of the LORD. We have to ponder on our actions to see how we fair in comparison to what Scriptures command us. We have to hold ourselves with Jesus’s standards that includes equating being angry with one’s brother with murdering or looking at a woman lustfully with committing adultery (Matthew 5:21,27). Moreover, we have to come humbly before our God, asking Him to “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts” (Psalm 139:23). Only God is able to understand the heart of man which the Bible tells us is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9). He is the One who made this heart and so we might not understand it, but He does and can heal it completely. Such was the promise the LORD gave to Israel before and while in exile. He told Jeremiah that He would bring complete healing and restoration to His people (Jeremiah 33:6-9). The LORD is our refuge and shelter at all times, He is the shield that protects us from the enemy’s schemes, and He is the light we need to bring the darkness of our flesh out. May we never fool ourselves into thinking we can do without the LORD of Hosts. Amen.
A Word Aptly Spoken 