La Infidelidad a Dios No trae Buenos Resultados

En el libro de Lamentaciones encontramos que el Señor tiene que castigar la infidelidad de Judá. Judá reconoce su error y su lamento es expresado en el capítulo 1;

Primero, reconoce que Dios es justo y que la culpa es suya.

“Jehová es justo; yo contra su palabra me rebelé.
Oíd ahora, pueblos todos, y ved mi dolor;
Mis vírgenes y mis jóvenes fueron llevados en cautiverio.” v. 18

Jerusalén confiesa que “Jehová es justo”. Ella sabe que lo que Dios ha mandado que suceda en su vida no es porque Dios es injusto, ni porque Dios quiere hacerle daño. A pesar de todo lo que le ha sucedido a Jerusalén, ella confiesa que Jehová es justo. La culpa no es de Dios.
Su confesión incluye el porqué le ha sucedido esta tragedia, “contra su palabra me rebelé.” La culpa es de Jerusalén que decidió decir “no” a lo que Dios le mandó hacer. Dios le llamó la atención a su desobediencia a través de sus profetas como el profeta Jeremías y le advirtió lo que vendría si no escuchaba su voz. Pero ella no escuchó.

Muchos hoy día culpan a Dios por sus pecados y sus resultados. ¿Porqué Dios permite esto si es justo? La verdad es clara: “Jehová tu eres justo”. El problema no está en Dios sino en nosotros. En lugar de acusar a Dios deberíamos confesar “yo contra su palabra me rebelé.”

Jerusalén invita a todos los pueblos que le ven a que le oigan y vean su dolor. Vean lo que le ha sucedido. Es una advertencia a todos de que Dios es el Juez. Las consecuencias que vinieron fueron severas para Jerusalén. Perdieron todo. Sus “vírgenes” y “jóvenes”, lo más preciado de su pueblo “fueron llevados en cautiverio”.
Nadie se escapa ni se escapará de su justo juicio. El libro de Jeremías (Jer. 46-51) habla del juicio que vendrá a todas las naciones.
La advertencia es igual para nosotros. Escuchemos hoy su voz. Si eres creyente te invita a ser desobediente y seguir en tu camino porque Dios te juzgará. Si no haz creído en Cristo, te invita a arrepentirte de tus pecados y creer en Él y no esperar el juicio de Dios.

Segundo, reconoce que ha sido engañada por sus  amantes.

“Di voces a mis amantes, mas ellos me han engañado;
Mis sacerdotes y mis ancianos en la ciudad perecieron,
Buscando comida para sí con que entretener su vida.”  v. 19

Los amantes de los que habló en los versículos 2 y 8-9, las naciones en las que Judá confió y le llevaron a ser infiel a Dios, le han engañado. No le dieron la ayuda cuando la pidió. Los líderes religiosos y los líderes de la ciudad perecieron “buscando comida para sí con que entretener su vida.” Perdió todos sus aliados. La infidelidad a Dios no trae buenas consecuencias. ¡Jamás!

Esta semana leía de la hija de un actor muy famoso que decía que ella era “poliamorosa” que significa que tiene relaciones amorosas con varias personas a la vez. Una de su justificaciones es que el problema con la monogamia es la infidelidad y bueno para evitar eso es preferible tener relaciones poli amorosas. Además dijo ella, que más que todo es acerca de la libertad. ¡Qué ridiculez!

Dios no le dijo a Israel que le incluyera en su circulo de amor con sus amantes paganos. Dios no le llamó para vivir para tener su libertad y hacer su voluntad. Dios le llamó para que fuera fiel al Señor. Dios pidió y pide fidelidad. Eso es la base del pacto entre Dios e Israel (y nosotros). Y cuando no le somos fiel a Él traerá malas consecuencias. Y a propósito, la base de la ética matrimonial está en nuestra relación con el Señor. El Señor es fiel conmigo y yo respondo siendo fiel a Él. Y porque soy fiel a Él soy fiel a mi esposa porque lo que él quiere es que yo modele su fidelidad.

Tercero, ella admite que está sufriendo mucho por su rebelión. 

“Mira, oh Jehová, estoy atribulada, mis entrañas hierven.
Mi corazón se trastorna dentro de mí, porque me rebelé en gran manera.
Por fuera hizo estragos la espada; por dentro señoreó la muerte.” v. 20

Jerusalén esta sufriendo, siendo atormentada de gran manera que afecta su estado mental, tanto que siente calor dentro de sus entrañas. Es algo muy intenso. Su corazón, su interior está volteado o tan conmovido. El estado emocional es intenso.

La razón de este sufrimiento es “porque me rebelé en gran manera”. Una vez más, ella confiesa que ser rebeló (v. 18) pero añade “en gran manera”.
Pero no solo afectó su mente, su corazón y todo su estado físico sino que experimentó muerte dentro y fuera de la ciudad. No hay ninguna seguridad para ella en ningún lugar.

Este pasaje tiene aplicaciones para nosotros hoy día:

El Señor no está lejos de sus hijos pero el pecado afecta nuestra relación con Él. Y esto puede llevarnos a la rebeldía. Esto traerá consecuencias inmediatas como la falta de comunión con Él y otras consecuencias visibles. Contesta las siguientes dos preguntas de aplicación:

  1. ¿Qué puedes hace en tu vida para evitar que tu corazón se rebele contra el Señor?
  2. ¿Cómo estás dejando que otros hablen a tu vida para ayudarte evitar esto?

Recuerda que la infidelidad a Dios nunca traerá buenos resultados.

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Lamenting the Death of a City (part 2)

In the following verses of Lamentations the author expresses what Jerusalem has lost because of her rebellion and asks God to look at her suffering and hear her.

First, he remembers what she had before and lost. 

Jerusalem remembers all the treasures
    that were hers in days of old.
When her people fell into enemy hands,
    there was no one to help her.
Her enemies looked at her
    and laughed at her destruction.” v. 7 (NIV and all subsequent verses unless otherwise stated.)

If we look at the fall of Jerusalem historically, we think that this was the result of the politics of that time. But the cause of her banishment by the nation of Babylon was not political but theological. Jerusalem fell into the hands of the enemy because of her rebellion against God. And since it was God who brought this on her, “there was no one to help her.”

There is a very important principle in all of this. And it is that what happens in our lives, as children of God, is sovereignly directed by God. We may think that what happens to us is something due to culture or politics or circumstances or even chance. But we know that the Lord is always working sovereignly in our lives. Jerusalem remembers what happened to her. She remembers what she had before it happened. But the reality is that she has fallen as a city and no longer has anything or anyone to help her. Her enemies laugh at her downfall.

How sad to think that we had before and lost because of our sins! How sad it is that others mock our fall! If this hasn’t happened to you individually, thank God!

We also see that her sin was the cause of her loss and banishment.

Jerusalem has sinned greatly
    and so has become unclean.
All who honored her despise her,
    for they have all seen her naked;
she herself groans
    and turns away. ” v. 8

Without hesitation, Jeremiah says the cause of her loss and her exile: “Jerusalem has sinned greatly.” The author’s emphasis is that the sin of Jerusalem was great. This was no small thing, and it is not that she did not deserve to be removed. The author uses the comparison of a woman who has been unfaithful to her husband and now “All who honored her despise her, for they have all seen her naked.” She lost her honor among the nations. Her shame is compared to a person showing her nakedness, something that in this context was very shameful. It is a great shame! Her nakedness is her sin that others can now see and reject. It is a deplorable thing!

So is our sin before God. It is embarrassing. It is something that robs us of our dignity.

Her spiritual immorality brought her shame and her downfall.

Her filthiness clung to her skirts;
    she did not consider her future.
Her fall was astounding;
    there was none to comfort her.  v. 9

The author continues with the comparison of the unfaithful woman saying that she is an unclean or impure woman (she is in her period). The impurity of it is evident to all. But she has not listened. She has not noticed her sin. And the results is that she has fallen as a nation and there is no one “to comfort her.” No one was there to help her, she was left alone.
Her unfaithfulness to God has astoundingly brought her this shame. This affliction, this punishment, this exile.

These verses remind us of the warning in Hebrews 10: 29-31 for those of us who are Christians, have been purified by the blood of Christ and continue to sin deliberately:

How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. “

So our duty is to listen and obey the voice of God:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts
    as you did in the rebellion.” (Hebrews 3:15)

Now the author turns to her cry to God. She calls on to God to see her affliction.

“O Lord, behold my affliction,
    for the enemy has triumphed!”

10 The enemy has stretched out his hands
    over all her precious things;
for she has seen the nations
    enter her sanctuary,
those whom you forbade
    to enter your congregation.” v. 9b-10 (ESV)

The nation of Judah did not listen to God’s voice nor seek Him when all was well. When she had prosperity, allies, and she had everything, she did not seek God. When she was unfaithful to the Lord by going after other lovers and following her gods, she did not repent nor listen to the voice of God.

Now that her city is destroyed, she experiences the consequences of her unfaithfulness and has lost left alone and heartbroken, she cries out to the Lord. She cries out to the Lord to look and see what the enemy has done to her. All her “precious things” from the temple have been taken and the place where God dwelt has been desecrated.

Jerusalem’s response to what had happened to her is very similar to ours when the consequences of our sins come to us. We cry out to God asking him to look at our situation and help us.

All her people groan
    as they search for bread;
they trade their treasures for food
    to revive their strength.
“Look, O Lord, and see,
    for I am despised.“v. 11  (ESV)

Jerusalem expresses to God the sufferings she is going through. They sold the most valuable for food. They have suffered from hunger during the siege, so much so that they were forced to eat the flesh of their dead children to stay alive (ch. 4:10). Their clamor was evident. The city calls on the Lord to look at her situation, to look at her dejected state.

Application questions

  • Do you know someone who is suffering due to disobedience to God? Take time to mourn and ask God to make help this person get through it calling upon Him.
  • Think about your faithfulness to God. Is there something that He wants from you but that you are ignoring? Are there idols in your life that you should remove?
  • This week take time to passionately cry out to God about the wickedness, injustice, and consequences of sin. Pray that God will make you sensitive to the pain of others. Pray that God will reveal himself in the lives of those who suffer.
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Lamenting the Death of a City (Part 1)

On August 6, 1945, the American B-29 aircraft dropped at 2,000 feet high the first nuclear bomb in the Japanese city of Hiroshima instantly killing 80,000 people an area of about five square miles. Japan remained reluctant to surrender, and the next day, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki killing 40,000 people. This led to Japan’s unconditional performance during World War II. The end of World War II came to an end but not without leaving these two cities decimated (and many more damage of course). Many more people later died from radiation.

The images of destruction and desolation are a solemn reminder of the cruelty that exists in this world. We haven’t been through something like this, and we hope it doesn’t happen to any nation.

The people of Israel experienced the destruction, violence, cruelty and pain of their city in 568 a.C This was documented in the book of Lamentations. In this chapter we see the loneliness of the city (vv. 1-3), its destruction, affliction and desolation (vv. 4-6), its rebellion that led to its downfall (vv. 7-9a) and its cry to God (vv. 9b-11).

How deserted lies the city,
    once so full of people!
How like a widow is she,
    who once was great among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
    has now become a slave. ” (NIV)

The great nation whose husband was Jehovah God (Isa. 54: 5; Eze. 16) has now become a widow. She has no one. The author remembers how it was before this happened. She was a populous city but now been left desolate. The author watches Jerusalem sitting like a widow in her desolate state. The word “How!” is a funeral word that expresses the feeling of “I can’t believe it!” “What a pity!”  She was great among the nations bu now she “she has become a widow.” He has no one with her to take care of her, protect her or support her. Not only this but she lost her  prominenceShe was the “queen” of the nations before this. She has lost her rank among the nations. Let’s remember the glory she had when Solomon took the throne. The whole world knew that Israel was great among the nations because God was with her. But now, the great nation of God has been defeated. She has to submit to the nation of Babylon and pay tribute to her. She is her slave.

The great city of Jerusalem has been left alone without consolation.

Bitterly she weeps at night,
    tears are on her cheeks.
Among all her lovers
    there is no one to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed her;
    they have become her enemies. ” v. 2

The widow cries bitterly at night. Her tears spill down her cheeks but she has no one to comfort her. She left her husband God and preferred her lovers. Her infidelity led to nothing. Her lovers, the nations she trusted betrayed her. Judah thought that if she allied herself with other nations she would avoid captivity but she did not. It seems that Judah sought help from Egypt but it betrayed her and became her enemy. The widow cries without anyone comforting her. How sad!
But she not only has been left as a widow, alone, without position and without consolation but,

She has been caught at a dead-end and has been taken captive.

After affliction and harsh labor,
    Judah has gone into exile.
She dwells among the nations;
    she finds no resting place.
All who pursue her have overtaken her
    in the midst of her distress.” v. 3

This exile has brought her “affliction” and “harsh labor.” This brings back memories of the suffering they had experienced in Egypt. She now dwells among the nations but she has no rest. She has no rest because her pursuers caught up with her and she had no place to go. She was caught.
The account of this event is found in 2 Kings 25: 1-7 and Jer 52: 1-11. 2 Kgs 25: 1-7 The city was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar for two years. This was disastrous. The people suffered from hunger and there was even cannibalism. Finally, a breach was made in the wall and Zedekiah the king of Judah was captured, his children killed and he was taken captive to Babylon like many of the inhabitants of Judah.

Her destruction, affliction and desolation has left so much destruction.

The roads to Zion mourn,
    for no one comes to her appointed festivals.
All her gateways are desolate,
    her priests groan,
her young women grieve,
    and she is in bitter anguish. ” v. 4

The temple, the most special place in Jerusalem, was destroyed. Her treasures were taken to Babylon. The streets of Zion (Jerusalem) that lead to the temple are lonely. There are no special celebrations, there are no sacrifices and worship of God. The doors through which the people leading to the temple entered are alone. The priests who served in the temple groan or wail in pain. The virgins who possibly had a role in the temple dancing or in processions are not happy but rather sad. Zion “has bitter anguish.” Where did such destruction and bitterness come from?

She is clear about this.

Her foes have become her masters;
    her enemies are at ease.
The Lord has brought her grief
    because of her many sins.
Her children have gone into exile,
    captive before the foe. v. 4

Judah has lost everything. Her enemies now rule over her and those who hated her have now prospered. Who was responsible for all this, this suffering, this pain, this mourning? It was the Lord.

But God is not an unjust God. God does not delight in the suffering they experience. This that has come upon them is because of “the multitude of her man sins.” The word “sins” means “to break” or “infraction.” Israel time after time broke God’s laws. She was warned by her prophets to repent and return to the Lord but she refused. She continued to make altars and worship other people’s gods (Hosea 10: 1).

God “Lord has brought her grief because of her many sins” and “Her children have gone into exile,
captive before the foe.” This is the sad thing. The punishment was for the entire nation, for all her children including the children. These children would grow up in a pagan nation.

Zion (Jerusalem) was vanished.

All the splendor has departed
    from Daughter Zion.
Her princes are like deer
    that find no pasture;
in weakness they have fled
    before the pursuer.” v. 6

She no longer radiates the glory of God. She lost her influence in the world. She lost everything. Her light was turned off.  Israel lost everything. The Babylonian soldiers trampled on her and she carried off her princes, their leaders who were left weak after the siege. They could not against Babylon, they were left without strength. Jerusalem has been left a desolate city, destroyed, and afflicted due to her rebellion.

What kinds of emotions arise in you as you read the description of the destruction of the city of Jerusalem? Take a few minutes and express to God how you feel. Take a few minutes to pray for the nations of the world that are experiencing pain, anguish and suffering due to injustice.

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La Ciudad se Lamenta – Lamentaciones 1:12-22

Como creyentes, sabemos que Dios está envuelto en nuestro lamento. El lamento se expresa no solo a otros sino también a Dios. Esto no es tan común, pero es importante. A menudo este lamento incluye, admitir que lo que ha producido nuestro dolor es nuestra desobediencia a Dios. Esto es lo que vemos en este pasaje. En los primeros versículos (vv. 12-17), Jerusalén expresa públicamente su dolor que Dios le ha causado. Ruega que los que le escuchan tengan compasión de ella. Además, Jerusalén expresa su dolor al Señor (vv. 18-22). Ella declara que Él es justo y que la culpable es ella por rebelarse en contra de Él. Ruega que Dios vea su sufrimiento.

El pasaje nos enseña a lamentarnos horizontalmente y verticalmente. Ambos son necesarios para mantener la perspectiva correcta. De otra manera, nos llevará a la desesperanza.Además nos ayuda a aprender compasión de los que están pasando por dolor y sufrimiento. Nos ayuda también a aprender a expresar nuestro lamento a Dios tanto cuando es nuestra culpa o cuando no lo es.

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The book of Lamentations

In the following posts, I will offer some thoughts on the book of Lamentations. It is a book that documents in poetic form the destruction, violence, cruelty and pain of the city of Jerusalem in 568 a.C by the Babylonians. It is a not popular nor a well-known book among Christians. In this post I want to highlight some of the distinctives that make this book unique and useful for our lives as Christians.

1. It is a poetic book that appeals to our emotions.

First, it’s poetic in its structure. Among the books of the Bible, there is the poetic genre. Some of the Psalms fall into this genre. Lamentations also has a unique poetic structure.
The first four chapters are written in an acrostic form where each sentence begins with one of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Chapter 3 has three sentences for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The last chapter is not in an acrostic form; it has twenty-two sentences like the Hebrew alphabet.

It is also poetic also in its content. Lamentations was used in temple worship and it was read during the commemoration of the destruction of the temple (the first and second temples). It has also been used by Christians during Holy Week. This book was written not for the intellect but for our emotions. The purpose is not for us to respond with an intellectual response but to be able to respond with our emotions. But this emotional response is not out of control but is guided by God’s truth by showing us how things happen and in some cases why they happen. Even though it may not give us a rational, logical explanation, it will show us God’s perspective.

2. It is a book about lament for divine punishment.
Wrapped in the historical background of Judah’s siege and captivity, Lamentations presents us with a visible disastrous picture of divine punishment on his people. The theology (which teaches us about God’s character and nature; the consequences of sin in a theocratic nation) found in this book is not very popular today. An author says:

“In Lamentations, God cares about sin, suffering, and depravity and does something about them. In Lamentations, there is no ease regardless of what the people of God do. In Lamentations, God is fair, tough, caring, and ultimately faithful.” – Paul House, “Lamentaciones” Word Commentary

Lamentations invites us to join in lament. This is something that is not easy for us to understand because there is no nation that has experienced this kind of punishment directly from God. However, we can learn to mourn how horrendous disobedience to God is and the disastrous results it causes. Sin is in force in our times and the results are obvious. So it’s applicable to our times.

3. It is a book that teaches us how to use lament in worship of God.

In the church, this book, like the Lamentation Psalms, helps us understand that worship of God not only involves joy but also pain, suffering, and lament. The book Psalms has a significant number of lament psalms. These kinds of Psalms include, lament, confession, and trust in God’s sovereignty. Similarly, Lamentations possesses these characteristics.

One author says that, “Praise is the language of celebration. Lament is the language of suffering.” He also states:

“Laments are prayers of petition arising out of need. But lament is not simply the presentation of a list of complaints, nor merely the expression of sadness over difficult circumstances. Lament in the Bible is a liturgical response to the reality of suffering and engages God in the context of pain and trouble.
The hope of lament is that God would respond to human suffering that is wholeheartedly communicated through lament.” – Rah, S.-C., & McNeil, B. S. (2015). Prophetic lament: a call for justice in troubled times. Westmont, IL: IVP Books.

4. It is a book that shows us that we need deliverance from our sins through Christ.

We know we’re sinners due to our innate sinful nature. The evidence lives within our hearts . Our actions many times affirm that we are people who have severely offended God with our sins. Sin is horrendous before our Holy God. We cannot grasp the magnitude of how serious it is before God because we have lived accustomed to sinning. When we see evil, suffering, and pain, we try to find human answers to help us make sense of it. But the truth is that we cannot. It leaves us yearning for divine justice.

Divine justice has already been executed on our sin on the cross. It was our Lord who came to become human like us, who felt our pain and our suffering not only during his life and ministry, but experienced the most severe punishment anyone has ever experienced when he died on the cross for us. It was there, as he called in a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) that he experienced the divine punishment for our sins.

Israel (Judah) experienced divine punishment without the reality of the cross. Today everyone who believes in Christ as their Lord and Savior can face suffering, pain, injustice, and even the Lord’s discipline knowing that He paid the highest price. We can look to our Savior and live confidently that “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord..” (Rom. 8:38-39, NIV)

The lament of the fall of the city of Jerusalem, the city of God represents the fall of the nation of Israel because of her sin. As we will look in this book, God has not forgotten her and she will be restored when the 70 years of exile are fulfilled (Isa. 14:1; Jer. 32:1-15; Psalm 126).

Take a few minutes to read the first chapter and join in the author’s mourning. I recommend reading Robert Alter’s Translation. Here is a sample of reading of chapter 1.

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Lamentando la Muerte de una Ciudad – Lamentaciones 1:1-11

El pueblo de Israel experimento la destrucción, violencia, crueldad y dolor de su ciudad en el año 568 a.C Esto fue documentado en el libro de Lamentaciones. El lamento de la caída de la ciudad de Jerusalén, ciudad de Dios representa la caída de la nación de Israel debido a su pecado. Y sin embargo, miraremos en este libro, que Dios no se ha olvidado de ella y que será restaurada cuando se cumplan los 70 años del destierro (Isa. 14:1; Jer. 32:1-15; Salmos 126). Hay tres aspectos que miramos en los primeros once versículos de Lamentaciones. Miramos la soledad de la ciudad (vv. 1-3), su destrucción y aflicción y desolación (vv. 4-6), su rebelión que le llevó a su caída (vv. 7-10) y su clamor a Dios (vv. 9b-11). Esto no solo nos ayuda a entender las consecuencias de la desobediencia a Dios con sus efectos desastrosos, sino también nos enseña sobre como lamentarnos con otros en todo tipo de sufrimiento, y cómo lamentarnos delante de Dios buscando su restauración tanto a favor nuestro como el de otros.

 

 

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Viviendo en Exilio – Jeremías 29:1-14 (parte final) – Los Planes de Dios

Dios siempre desea lo mejor para nosotros, quiere darnos paz, bien y no mal. Pero muchas veces esto no es posible cuando vivimos en desobediencia a Él. Él tendrá que santificarnos. Este proceso no será fácil ni necesariamente corto. Puede que sea doloroso. La primera parte de este sermón fue predicado en la iglesia. Se encuentra aquí

“Porque yo sé los pensamientos que tengo acerca de vosotros, dice Jehová, pensamientos de paz, y no de mal, para daros el fin que esperáis.” Jeremías 29:11

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Viviendo en Exilio – Jeremías 29:1-14

La Iglesia del Señor es su Cuerpo en la Tierra con el propósito de llevar a cabo su misión: comunicar la buenas noticias de salvación en Cristo. La Iglesia es el portavoz y nadie más ha sido designado con este trabajo. Este pasaje nos enseña cómo debe el pueblo de Dios vivir durante el exilio. Nosotros, la Iglesia del Señor no estamos en exilio o desterrados como lo fue Israel, pero las condiciones en las que vivimos tienen similitudes con las del pueblo de Dios. La cultura en que vivimos cada vez se vuelve más antagonista al cristianismo. Y la Iglesia no parece que está tomando en serio su llamado. Sin lugar a duda creo que Iglesia, especialmente en los Estados Unidos experimentará persecución y tendrá que aprender a vivir el llamado de Dios en el exilio. Tendrá que aprender a escuchar lo que Dios dice sobre como vivir en el exilio. La Iglesia militante que pelea con las armas (figurado y literal) de este mundo no es bíblica.

El profeta Jeremías profetizó en Israel más de cuarenta años comenzando desde la edad aproximada de dieciocho (627 A.C – 586 A.C.). Presenció la conquista y el exilio. Jeremías les da el mandato del Señor en Jeremías 29 (vv. 1-7), la advertencia sobre los falsos profetas que decían hablar por Dios (vv. 8-9) y la promesa de restauración de Dios para su pueblo (vv. 10-14). Estos tres aplican a nosotros como creyentes viviendo en “exilio”.

La parte final de este sermón se encuentra aquí.

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God has Good Plans for You

In a previous post I shared about how Israel was sent to captivity by God for refusing to obey him. But God didn’t give up on Israel. God promises his people that when the seventy years are over (70 years was the years Babylon would rule) he would “visit” them, and give them his good word to bring them back to the Promised Land (Jer. 25:11-14). God would punish Babylon and put an end to the captivity of His people. Those who would return would be their children and grandchildren.

“For this is what the Lord says: “When 70 years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm My promise concerning you to restore you to this place.” (HCSB and subsequent verses)

God’s good word for Israel (Judah) is that discipline would not be forever. There would come a time when God would “visit” them to intervene and bring them back to the land He gave them as inheritance. God would intervene in their future. If God is disciplining you, wait for his visit. His visit will be pleasant when you have learned what He wants to teach you

In Jeremiah 29:11 God shares his plans for his people:
“For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

God’s plans for his people Israel were not of complete destruction. God wanted peace for them, not evil. This evil they would experience because of their disobedience for the 70 years would not be forever. Even there he promises to give them peace. In the end, God would give them what they hoped for, to live again in the Promised Land. But God had to discipline his people. Their sanctification was first, before anything else. This would hurt them, but it would bring them back to their God that they had abandoned. But only the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who would experience this.

God’s plans, in this context, and even for us are not in terms of specific or individual plans for each. Plans have to do with the general future of His people. As for specific plans we know that our lives are safe in Christ. The blessings of his grace in Christ are incomparable (Read Ephesians 1). We know that God’s plans are always good for His people. God always wants what is best for us. He wants to give us peace, good and not evil. But many times this is not possible when we live in disobedience to Him. He’ll have to purge us. This process will not be easy or necessarily short. It may be painful. There may be a lot of crying as there was in Israel (read Lamentations). It is important to understand that our sins bring consequences from God. They’re not good consequences. But this doesn’t change God’s plans for us. His plans are our welfare and peace (shalom). He’ll never leave us. He will always be with us even in the midst of our lamenting for our sins.

God’s promise is given in Jeremiah 29:12-13. First we see the condition and promise:
You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 

In exile, the people will realize their evil they have done against the Lord and will call upon the Lord. They will “come” to him in prayer asking for his intervention. God would hear them. In exile, the people would seek him wholeheartedly and they would find him.

Lamentations 3:25 says, “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.
And also in Lamentations 3:31-32 it says,

For the Lord
will not reject us forever.
32 Even if He causes suffering,
He will show compassion
according to His abundant, faithful love.

God is good, always good. If he afflicts, it’s because we need it. But he does not reject us away forever, He is ready to listen to us when we are ready to return to Him looking for Him. This message is for everyone. If you have not given your life to Christ, you can believe in Him today. God is waiting for you to do that! He wants you to seek him for salvation from your sins. He will listen to you when you cry out to Him with all your heart. Romans 10:13 says, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

If you are already a Christian but have become a disobedient believer, he wants you to look for him.

God’s Promise:
“I will be found by you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place I deported you from.”

God promises to be found when people seek Him with all their hearts. He would bring his people back to the Promised Land, no matter where they were. God would restore them completely.
Just as the Father restored the prodigal son who returned home after realizing his foolishness, God would do with them. Likewise, he does so with all who are far from Him because of rebellion. He’s ready to receive you, if you repent and look for him.

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Living as Exiles in a Foreign Land

source:morgue file

Israel was called to be the light of nations and failed. This brought exile, banishment from the Promised Land. God used the nation of Babylon for this. The conquest of God’s people (Judah) was inevitable. Their disobedience had come to its full measure before God. They rejected God’s correction time after time and decided to follow their own path of idolatry. God raised up the nation of Babylon to execute discipline to His people. This discipline was severe. The nation was violently conquered in 605 A.C. Thousands of Jewish people were taken to Babylon as captives, especially those with special abilities (this would prevent them from planning to rise up against Babylon). There were three deportations that took place (605 A.C, 597 A.C., 586 A.C.), leaving the city of Jerusalem desolate. Only poor people remained, with few skills with a puppet king imposed by Babylon (for eleven years there was king in Babylon and Jerusalem simultaneously until 586 when banishment was completed). The picture was very sad.

The prophet Jeremiah prophesied in Israel more than forty years beginning from the approximate age of eighteen (627 A.C – 586 A.C.). He was a witness to the conquest and exile. Jeremiah gives the Lord’s command (Jeremiah 29:1-7) to those in exile.

The command is that they must live as believers in Babylon and accept the inevitable of living in a foreign land.

“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.” (vv. 4-5) (NIV)

The message is not from Jeremiah to the exiles but from God. He’s just the spokesman. God is the one who is sovereignly working in this event. It was He who was responsible for this exile: “says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”

They had had it all upon entering the Promised Land. The land was ready to be settled when they arrived. They didn’t have to do much. But their disobedience had now led them to a foreign land where God commands them to start over. They failed to be God’s people by being the light of nations. Building houses, planting orchards and eating the fruit of them would be the way to survive and sustain themselves in Babylon.

They had to accept the inevitable, for it came from God, and accept exile by living in the land of others. In the midst of a pagan nation they should live and remain God’s people for 70 years. Despite this, they were told  to live normal lives and be productive. They were to submit to the discipline of the Lord. This was hard.

The parallel for us is very similar. The Lord prayed to the Father for his disciples not to take them out of the world but to keep them from evil and sanctify them in his truth (John 17:15, 17). They were sent into the world so that they may be witnesses, and others may believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 17:18, 20).

The way we, as believers should live in this world is clear. We live in the world but we are not of the world. We live apart from evil, sanctifying ourselves in the truth of God. We are constantly “going” into the world when we interact with them and we share with them the Good News of Christ.

This involves being responsable for the resources God has given us. God has not left us to depend on government or to live a nomadic life without stability or productivity. But the purpose is not to possess, win, and enrich ourselves but to be to use the resources God gives us for the purposes of his kingdom.

In addition, the Lord commands them to maintain family life and multiply themselves.

“Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease..” (v. 6)

Not only should they accept to live in the land that wasn’t theirs and be productive, but they should maintain a vibrant family life that multiplies (it was God’s first mandate in Gen. 2:15). Many of his compatriots would live together in certain communities, marry each other, and continue to multiply. In no way did the Lord command them to marry and mingle with the Babylonians. The idea is to maintain their identity as God’s people and grow until the Lord took them out of exile.
This certainly implies that parents would raise their children in the ways of the Lord. The Jews were very diligent in this and would now do so in the midst of a pagan nation.

Our call is the same. Looking at the culture in which we live and the influence it exerts on our lives as Christians, it is something to be concerned especially for our children. I was talking about this with my eldest son recently. I was telling him that I worry about how they would raise their children because the world knows how to disciple them and make them their followers. Christian parents today do not disciple their children, they do not even know how to do it and this is alarming. If we believe that our sons or daughters will believe what we believe because they go to church on Sundays, we are dreaming. The work we have to do involves more than this. It is our responsibility as a father and mother to teach them how to live as believers in exile. If we don’t, let’s not expect them to be committed Christians. And it all starts with our own life as an example. If we do not understand the commitment that involves being part of the Lord’s church and do not commit ourselves to being faithful members, what can we expect from our children?

Finally, the Lord commands you to seek the peace for the city and pray for her.

“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

The people of Israel prayed for the peace of Jerusalem and for her well-being (Psalm 122:6-9). This was to be expected. But now the Lord commands them to pray to the Lord for the peace of Babylon. Pray for the pagan city that had caused them harm. Pray for the pagan city that would no doubt now look at them with spite. This is praying for the enemies the Lord commanded us in His Word:

“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?” (Matthew 5:44-47)

Loving those who are our friends, those who love us is easy. That’s what everyone does. But the believer is called to a higher standard. The Lord commands us to more than this. He commands us to pray, to love, and to do good to those who are difficult to love.

This is what the Lord commands His people to do in Babylon and implies that God would listen to his prayers there and give peace to the city. And God’s people would benefit from this peace. They could live in peace and multiply to be ready for homecoming.

Asking for peace also involves living in peace. God did not command them to fight to free themselves from them. He asked them to pray for their peace so that they too could enjoy peace. God would be the one who would deliver them and rescue them at the end of 70 years.

Seeking peace involves seeking the well-being of the city and this also means serving. In Jeremiah 27:17 he tells them, “Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this city become a ruin?”

The false prophets told them not to serve Babylon because they would not be in exile for no more than two years. The Lord tells them not to follow their advice if they wanted to live. They must serve the king of Babylon.

We are not in exile like Judah, nor are we being disciplined by the Lord. But the truth is that we are foreigners in this world (1 Peter 2:11). We’re pilgrims on the way. However, these principles apply to us. We can live the life that pleases God in a world dominated by the evil one. But this is not to boast and to condemn the world, but to show a better way to live. We must pray for our city, our state, and our country for peace. In this peace we will have opportunities to share Christ’s message.

Our light must shine not only in the way we live but also in our service in a world dominated by darkness. This will give us the opportunity to share the Good News of Christ, the Light of the World. We have a mission as long as we are in the place God has placed us, until He comes for us His people.

Living in the world by being like the world, adapting to its culture is not our call. Living in the world seeking our prosperity in order to have more and have more “treasures” on earth is not our call. Our prosperity must benefit others and be invested in the purposes of their kingdom.

Application Questions:

How are you seeking peace where God has placed you to be His representative?

How are you contributing toward peace and for the benefit of the community?

How are you striving to make sure your family has a good reputation in your community? How are you teaching your children to live in exile?

Are you praying for those who are not your friends (enemies)? How can you show them God’s love in a tangible way?

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