SOME THINGS I HAVE BEEN REMINDED OF
FROM THE STUDY OF JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
1. God warns and warns and warns. He does so because he is not willing that any should perish. 2 Peter 3:9.
2. God wants man to follow, love, and serve Him. He truly knows what is best for us as he knows our hearts.
3. We should never take advantage of God’s grace, then go out and sin knowing that we are doing so. This presumes upon God’s grace, and if we continue in sin (remembering that God knows our hearts) we are, in essence, daring him to do something about it. Never sin with the attitude that God will forgive you. We should hate sin in our lives as much as God hates sin in his creation. When we do sin, take advantage of God’s grace and mercy, and strive harder in your fight against sin and satan in your own life.
4. The prophets preached time and again. God used many different prophets, preaching to his people, to gain their repentance. GOD DID NOT GIVE UP ON HIS PEOPLE until they gave up on God. This is a warning to all mankind today!
5. Some of the prophets are hard to understand – hence we need to know the background as much as possible. We need to see their sin for what it was and for the damage it does to our relationship with God and with others, Why should we examine this? Consider how God punished HIS OWN PEOPLE TIME AND AGAIN – he would send them into captivity, giving them time to think. A whole new generation would be given a chance to do better, but, sadly, they followed in their parent’s footsteps and spurned the God of heaven and earth. I pray that I am not so hardheaded that I cannot see the results of sinning against God.
6. The emphasis that we see in the minor prophets is that God still wants to be with his people, and desired that they build and rebuild the temple. The temple is where God is with his people. The prophets had to encourage the people to build and rebuild BECAUSE GOD WANTED TO BE AMONG HIS PEOPLE. Now JESUS IS THE TEMPLE OF GOD. We are baptized into Christ, we have put on Christ and HE, THE FATHER AND THE HOLY SPIRIT DWELLS IN THE TEMPLE OF OUR HEARTS. THE CHURCH MAKE UP HIS PEOPLE TODAY! OH THAT WE WOULD LEARN FROM THEIR SINS AND LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL OF OUR HEART, MIND AND SOUL (MATTHEW 22:34-40).
The prophets had a hard job — preaching to people who would not listen. They wept over the sins of the people and their own sins. They were abused and persecuted for their message; were not believed, and their hearts broke as they foresaw the captivity, and punishment of God’s people. GOD IS SERIOUS ABOUT OBEDIENCE, AND ABOUT HIS HONOR.
How serious am I when it comes to my relationship with HIM?
Think on these things!
