Jeremiah 19
Message in the valley of son of Hinnom verse 1- 3
Thus says the LORD
Go and get a potter’s earthen bottle
and take of the ancients of the people
and of the ancients of the priests
and go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom
which is by the entry of the east gate
and proclaim there the words that
I shall tell you and say
Hear you the word of the LORD
O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem
Thus says the LORD of hosts – the God of Israel
BEHOLD I will bring evil upon this place
the which whosoever hears his ears shall tingle
Valley will be called valley of slaughter verse 4- 6
BECAUSE they have forsaken ME
and have estranged this place
and have burned incense in it to other gods
whom neither they
nor their fathers have known
nor the kings of Judah
and have filled this place
with the blood of innocents
They have built also the high places of Baal
to burn their sons with fire
for burnt offerings to Baal
which I commanded not
nor spoke it
neither came it
into MY mind
THEREFORE – BEHOLD – the days come
says the LORD
that this place shall no more be
called Tophet
nor the valley of the son of Hinnom
BUT the valley of slaughter
During siege of city there will be cannibalism verse 7- 9
AND I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem
in this place and I will cause them to fall
by the sword before their enemies
and by the hand of them that seek their lives
and their carcasses will I give to be meat
for the fowls of the heaven
for the beasts of the earth
And I will make this city desolate – and a hissing
every one that passes thereby shall be astonished
and hiss BECAUSE of the plagues thereof
And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the
flesh of their daughters
And they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the
siege and straitness wherewith their enemies
and they shall seek their lives shall straiten them
Message of the broken bottle verse 10- 13
THEN shall you break the bottle in the sight of the men that
go with you and shall say to them
Thus says the LORD of hosts
Even so will I break this people and this city
as one breaks a potter’s vessel
that cannot be made whole again
and they shall bury them in Tophet
till there be no place to bury
Thus will I do unto this place – says the LORD
and to the inhabitants thereof
and even make this city as Tophet
and the houses of Jerusalem
and the houses of the kings of Judah
shall be defiled as the place of Tophet
BECAUSE of all the houses upon whose roofs they have
burned incense unto all the hosts of heaven
AND they have poured out drink offering to other gods
Jeremiah gives message at the Temple verse 14- 15
THEN came Jeremiah from Tophet
whither the LORD had sent him to prophesy
And he stood in the court of the LORD’S house
and said to the people
Thus says the LORD of hosts – the God of Israel
BEHOLD – I will bring upon this city and upon all her
towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it
BECAUSE they have hardened their necks
that they might not hear MY words
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 4 Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents. (5234 “estranged” [nakar] means to scrutinize, pay regard, to treat as foreign, to misconstrue, disfiguring, making unrecognizable.)
DEVOTION: The LORD tells Jeremiah to take an earthen bottle and go to the leaders of Jerusalem with an illustration of what is going to happen to their city. The LORD uses the word “because” many times in this chapter to give the reason why judgment is coming to Jerusalem.
One of the things that the children of Judah had done is turn a section of Jerusalem, the Holy City, into a place where they sacrificed their children to foreign gods. They used this place to burn incense to these false gods. They had turned a place that was supposed to be HOLY into a place that was disfigured to worship of God. It was a place that was foreign to the worship of the true God of Israel.
God was acquainted with Jerusalem and its purpose in HIS kingdom. The people had disregarded God’s purpose. They used the city for a place to worship other gods. There were no other gods in reality but the people made things or objects into gods and spent time and money on them.
HE sent Jeremiah with an object lesson to the ancients of the city. The object lesson was to use a potter’s earthen bottle. Jeremiah proclaimed the LORD’S judgment on the people.
Once the judgment was proclaimed, the LORD told Jeremiah to break the bottle. Once broken, the LORD told them that it was impossible to put the bottle back together again.
So it was impossible for Israel not to go into judgment. The LORD continues to use object lessons in our lives. Are we listening to the object lessons? HE warned Judah, HE is warning us.
Is judgment coming? Are we making our homes a strange place for the LORD to work? Are we making our work place a strange place for the LORD to work? Are we making the church we attend a strange place for the LORD to work?
There should be nothing strange in any of the locations mentioned above. A strange thing is anything that can be worshiped other than the only true God of the Bible.
CHALLENGE: Always check with the LORD regarding any activity that might be done to worship anything or anyone in our life. It causes confusion. The LORD is the only one we should worship.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 8 And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passes thereby shall be astonished and his because of all the plagues thereof. (8074 “astonished” [shamem] means desolate, waste, appalled, to be in a state of being struck with dread, fear or consternation, to be or make uninhabited or deserted, or cause to tremble.)
DEVOTION: The LORD was going to cause Jerusalem to become a deserted city because the children of Israel were worshiping false gods and had no intention of returning to the correct worship of the LORD.
They were giving the LORD no place in their lives and so HE said that HE was no longer going to protect them from their enemies. HE was sending judgment that all the people around them would know that HE had stopped protecting them because of their sin.
Today, we find that the LORD is not protecting many people who claim to be followers of HIM yet are living in sin and not concerned about what was going to happen when they met the LORD.
The children of Israel were the chosen of the LORD but they didn’t think that was important in their daily lives. So they would worship whoever they wanted and do whatever they wanted and thought that the LORD would still protect them from their enemies.
They were lying to themselves and the LORD sent Jeremiah to them to proclaim the truth that they were no longer going to receive HIS blessings because of their actions.
Any nation that doesn’t honor the LORD will receive HIS judgment. We need to realize that it is our responsibility to spread the Good News of the Gospel to every individual we know if we want the LORD to bless us and our nation.
Salvation is only promised to those who honor the LORD in their daily life. Yes, we still sin but we need to confess our sins and realize that if we mean business the LORD will forgive our sins and cleanse us.
HE could cleanse Israel but they never returned to HIM in repentance. HE respects genuine repentance from HIS people both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.
CHALLENGE: Judgment follows if there is no genuine repentance and turning from sin to service to HIM.
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:10–11 Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be made whole again; and they shall bury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
DEVOTION: For young people and also adults, it is useful to dramatize your message and create a visual as well as a verbal impression. God does that very effectively with the people of Israel. He instructs Jeremiah to take a flask or a jar with him and then invite the leaders to accompany him to the valley. God then declares, through Jeremiah, that he would smash both the city and the nation as the flask has been smashed. The visual rubble and the complete reality that it could not be put back together again was to emphasize how they would be reduced to rubble and destruction. So much death and carnage would occur that there would be no room for burials to take place. The prophecy is powerful and should have stirred the leader’s hearts. Yet there is no repentance or remorse!
God continues to warn the people of this world of His judgment and all-consuming power. Like the nation of Judah the people in the NT are being warned and again they turn deaf ears and blind eyes to the teachings of God. Jesus warned the disciples of the destruction that would come in Mathew 24 and again Peter warns “that the day if the Lord will come as a thief in the night…” (2 Peter 3:10). Jude states that we are to have compassion and …save with fear, pulling them out of the fire…” (Jude22-23).
CHALLENGE: In whatever way we can we need to be warning our culture and people that we love of the impending judgment God will pour out upon this world one day! Jeremiah did not know the exact day or time it would happen but he knew God had spoken! We may not know when He will return but we do know that he has spoken and it will come to pass. Be dramatic and demonstrate how complete the destruction will be when He judges the earth! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member of SCM)
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 15 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words. (6203 “hardened” [‘oreph] means obstinate, stubborn, impudent, difficult, stiffen, cruel, or harsh)
DEVOTION: Here we have the LORD communicating with the leaders of Jerusalem first and then Jeremiah heads to the Temple to speak to all the people. HE wants HIS message to be heard by not only the leaders but also the common man in the streets. HE doesn’t want anyone to say that HE didn’t warn them concerning what was happening in the near future.
HE doesn’t hide HIS plans from HIS people throughout the Old Testament and even today through the New Testament. HE sends HIS messengers with HIS message for all to hear and either obey or disobey. No one can come to HIM and say HE never gave them warning.
The “evil” that is talked about in this verse is HIS judgment for their disobedience. HE is sending the Babylonians to judge HIS people for their sins.
HE even gives the reason for HIS judgment. The reason is that they are stubborn in the way they are not listening to the LORD. They are difficult to work with in a proper relationship. They have been cruel to the messengers the LORD has sent.
God has throughout history sent HIS messengers with a message for not only the leaders who have a greater judgment but to the common man who will receive judgment but to a lesser degree.
In the New Testament we are told that those who know much will receive a greater judgment because they have led people away from the LORD instead of toward HIM. The Pharisees were a group that worked hard to convert individuals into their way of thinking and the LORD Jesus Christ told them that they were making their disciples twofold more a child of hell.
Leaders who are not listening to the LORD lead their followers further from the LORD and cause them to receive judgment. We are not to be leaders who lead people further from the teachings of the Word of God but we should bring people closer to the Word of God.
Once individuals understand their responsibility to worship the LORD with all their heart, soul and mind our ministry is successful. Our goal should always be to lead people closer to the LORD and HIS commandments.
CHALLENGE: We need to be listening to the Word of the LORD in our life. We need to have a tender heart toward what HE is trying to teach us, so that we can teach others. This will bring glory to God.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Priests verse 1
Court of the house of the LORD verse 14
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Proclaim Word’s from LORD verse 2
Word of the LORD verse 3
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 3, 6, 11, 12, 14, 15
LORD of hosts verse 3, 11, 15
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 3, 15
God of Israel verse 3, 15
I will bring evil on this place (Jerusalem verse 3
Evil = Judgment of God verse 3, 6- 9, 15
I will make Jerusalem desolate and a hissing verse 8
I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons
and he flesh of their daughters
and the flesh of friends verse 9
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Tophet = Valley of slaughter verse 6, 11- 14
Enemies verse 7, 9
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Forsaken LORD verse 4
Estranged Temple verse 4
Burned incense to other gods verse 4
Filled Jerusalem with blood of innocents verse 4
Built high places to Baal verse 5
Offered human sacrifices to Baal verse 5
Make void counsel of Judah and Jerusalem verse 7
Burned incense to host of heaven verse 13
Drink offerings to other gods verse 13
Evil verse 15
Hardened their necks verse 15
Not hear LORD’S words verse 15
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Proclaim words of the LORD verse 2
Prophesy verse 14
Listen to the words of the LORD verse 15
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Jeremiah verse 1- 15
To go get a potter’s earth bottle
Take ancients of people
Take ancients of priest
To proclaim the words that LORD
tells him
Say “Hear the word of the LORD”
Came to Tophet: LORD sent him to
prophesy and he stood in the
court of the LORD’S house
Thus says the LORD of hosts
God of Israel
People will not hear God’s words
Ancients of the people verse 1
Ancients of the priests verse 1
Valley of the son of Hinnom (East Gate) verse 2
Kings of Judah verse 3, 4, 13
Inhabitants of Jerusalem verse 3, 11- 13
God will make void the
counsel of Judah verse 7
counsel of Jerusalem
This people verse 11
Break potter’s vessel verse 11
People will be buried verse 11
Houses of Jerusalem verse 13
Houses of the kings of Judah verse 13
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
19:14–15 The narrative of 19:14–20:6 is in the third person and suggests that Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe, may have been the author of these verses. Jeremiah stood in the court of the temple and repeated his warnings of the approaching “disaster” (raʿ, “evil”) on “this city and the villages around it” (lit. “upon this city and upon all its cities,” an unusual expression but correctly translated by the NIV). Judgment was certain because the people were stiff-necked (lit. “they have stiffened their neck”) and refused to listen to the Lord’s words delivered through his prophet.
In this chapter Judah is referred to as a broken jar, i.e., its punishment was irrevocable. Its future, however, was not. To the contrary, its future was very bright according to the promise of the new covenant. In this period of Judah’s history, there was a shift from corporate responsibility to individual responsibility (Jer 31:27–30; Ezek 18:1–32). No longer would the people suffer for the sins of their ancestors. It is the same today. When people stand before God in a state of sin, they need to be broken like the jar that cannot be reassembled as it was; but now in the hands of the Potter, the repentant person can be reformed (18:1–12) into a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). (Huey, F. B. (1993). Jeremiah, Lamentations (Vol. 16, pp. 188–189). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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19:14–15. Returning from Topheth to the city Jeremiah went directly to the temple court. The message given to the leaders (cf. v. 1) was now repeated to all the people. God’s judgment would come against Jerusalem and the villages around it … because the people refused to listen to His words. (Dyer, C. H. (1985). Jeremiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1154). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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15 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.
He assureth the people from God that he would most certainly justify all his words, and bring to pass all his threats against that city, and that they must thank themselves for it, for hardening their heart, so as all that he had said made no impression upon them, nor found any place with them. (Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 2, p. 556). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.)
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Jeremiah stood in the court of the temple and repeated his warnings of the approaching “disaster” (raʿ, “evil”) on “this city and the villages around it” (lit. “upon this city and upon all its cities,” an unusual expression but correctly translated by the NIV). Judgment was certain because the people were stiff-necked (lit. “they have stiffened their neck”) and refused to listen to the Lord’s words delivered through his prophet.
In this chapter Judah is referred to as a broken jar, i.e., its punishment was irrevocable. Its future, however, was not. To the contrary, its future was very bright according to the promise of the new covenant. In this period of Judah’s history, there was a shift from corporate responsibility to individual responsibility (Jer 31:27–30; Ezek 18:1–32). No longer would the people suffer for the sins of their ancestors. It is the same today. When people stand before God in a state of sin, they need to be broken like the jar that cannot be reassembled as it was; but now in the hands of the Potter, the repentant person can be reformed (18:1–12) into a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). (Huey, F. B. (1993). Jeremiah, Lamentations (Vol. 16, p. 189). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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Can nations and individuals sin so greatly that even God can’t restore them? Yes, they can. As long as the clay is pliable in the hands of the potter, he can make it again if it’s marred (18:4), but when the clay becomes hard, it’s too late to reform it. Judgment is the only response to willful apostasy. The Northern Kingdom of Israel refused to repent, and the Assyrians took it captive. Now the Southern Kingdom of Judah was resisting God’s truth, and Babylon would destroy the land and deport the people. The Jewish people rejected their King when they asked Pilate to crucify Jesus; forty years later, the Romans did to Jerusalem what the Babylonians had done six centuries before. “There is a sin unto death” (1 John 5:16). Jeremiah experiences pain (20:1–6). What before had been threats now became a reality. Pashur, son of Immer, assistant to the high priest and chief security officer for the temple, didn’t like what Jeremiah was saying. Therefore, he had Jeremiah arrested, beaten, and put into the stocks until the next day. The stocks were located at a prominent place in the temple area, in order to add shame to pain. Spending all night with your body bent and twisted wouldn’t be at all comfortable, and when you add the pain of the beating, you can imagine how Jeremiah felt. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Decisive (pp. 89–90). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)
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Ver. 15. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, &c.] See the note on ver. 3: behold, I will bring upon this city, and upon all her towns; the city of Jerusalem, and all the cities and towns near it, even all the cities and towns in Judea; of which Jerusalem was the metropolis, and therefore called her’s: all the evil that I have pronounced against it; or decreed against it, as the Targum; all that he had purposed, and all that he had threatened, or spoke of by the Prophet Jeremy, or any other of his prophets; for whatever he has said he’ll do, and whatsoever he has resolved upon, and declared he will do, he assuredly brings to pass: because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words; they turned their backs upon him, pulled away the shoulder, stopped their ears that they might not hear what was said by the prophets from the Lord; they neither inclined their ears to hearken to, nor bowed their necks to receive the yoke of his precepts; but, on the contrary, were, as was their general character, a stiffnecked people, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, obstinate and disobedient; and this was the cause of their ruin, by which it appeared to be just and righteous. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, p. 511). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Knowledge of Eternal Life
“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13)
It is important that a believer have real assurance of eternal life, and our text indicates that this was John’s very purpose in writing his epistle. It is dangerous, however, to use this verse as a “proof text” apart from the whole context of “these things” that John had written to give such assurance, because the question must be faced as to what constitutes real belief “on the name of the Son of God.” Many professing Christians may well have a superficial assurance of salvation because of a superficial faith.
According to the apostle John, genuine belief in the Son of God can be tested by “these things” that he had written. Space here permits listing only a few of them, but all are important. “Whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him” (1 John 2:5). “Ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him” (2:29). “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren” (3:14). “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us” (3:24). “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not” (5:18).
Such words of assurance do not require that the believer be sinless (note 1 John 1:8-10), for the Greek tenses imply only that he does not sin habitually. Nevertheless, Christians who are comfortable in a nominal profession of faith, with little outward evidence of that faith, would do well to examine their faith in light of John’s “tests of faith,” whereby we may “know that [we] have eternal life.”
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Landing Spot
We live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5
The impala, a member of the antelope family, is able to jump up to ten feet high and thirty feet in length. It’s an incredible feat, and no doubt essential to its survival in the African wild. Yet, at many impala enclosures found in zoos, you’ll find that the animals are kept in place by a wall that’s merely three feet tall. How can such a low wall contain these athletic animals? It works because impalas will never jump unless they can see where they’ll land. The wall keeps the impalas inside the enclosure because they can’t see what’s on the other side.
As humans, we’re not all that different. We want to know the outcome of a situation before we move forward. The life of faith, however, rarely works that way. Writing to the church at Corinth, Paul reminded them, “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Jesus taught us to pray, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). But that doesn’t mean we’ll know His outcomes beforehand. Living by faith means trusting His good purposes even when those purposes are shrouded in mystery.
In the midst of life’s uncertainties, we can trust His unfailing love. No matter what life throws at us, “we make it our goal to please him” (2 Corinthians 5:9).
By Bill Crowder
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Edom is judged because she has acted with violence toward Israel.
INSIGHT
Esau and Jacob were brothers. Esau was the father of the nation Edom, and Jacob was the father of the nation Israel. Therefore, in a sense, the nations Edom and Israel are brothers. A day comes when Assyria wages war against Jerusalem. But instead of joining Israel, their brother, in the fight against Assyria, Edom joins Assyria and fights against their brothers in Jerusalem. Because of this breach of loyalty, God pronounces judgment on Edom through the prophet Obadiah. God offers no hope for possible restoration or deliverance for Edom. Her fate is sealed. Edom is destroyed as a nation. (Quiet Walk)
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THE DEVIL IS A PERSON
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.
John 8:44
The second thing that the Bible tells us about the devil is that he is a person. This is most important at the present time, because it has been the fashion for at least a century not to believe in the devil as a person. This is true not only of those who are unbelievers but also of many who call themselves Christians. They say they believe in the power of evil or an evil influence or a kind of lack in us, but they have a feeling that to believe in a personal devil is to be very much behind the times. But that is thoroughly unbiblical, because the Bible teaches us that the devil is a person.
For myself, there is one proof that is more than sufficient in and of itself, and that is the accounts we have in the Gospels of the temptations of our Lord. Now obviously our Lord’s temptations came from somewhere, and when people say that temptation to evil is something that arises solely from within and from a certain lack of power or positive qualities in us, they have no explanation to offer for the temptations of our Lord. It was a person who tempted our Lord, and our Lord addressed him as such; it was the devil who spoke to Him, and He spoke to the devil (Luke 4:1-13)–not an influence, but a person. Furthermore, we find the same thing in the book of Job in the first chapter, where the devil appears quite clearly as a person and addresses God. And God addresses him.
The biblical teaching is in no doubt at all about this. Our Lord, turning to certain Jews one day, said to them, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do” (John 8:44). How often you find the phrase, “the wicked one”–for example, “then cometh the wicked one” (Matthew 13:19).
A Thought to Ponder
It was a person who tempted our Lord, and our Lord addressed him as such.
From God the Father, God the Son, p. 117. (Walking with God DAily Devotional by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
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Jesus points out the hypocrisy of observing traditions yet ignoring the Scripture.
INSIGHT
Even the earnest Christian must guard against hypocrisy. How easy it is to sing, “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give,” and then go out to live with some areas of our lives not given over to Christ.
Yet, there is a difference between weakness and rebellion. All of us struggle with weaknesses which we wish we didn’t have and with which we wrestle in the grace of God to overcome. Rebellion expresses itself when we could overcome a sin if we wanted to but make no attempt to do so.
The Bible expresses compassion for us in our weaknesses as we cry out to the Lord for greater strength. But God’s Word pronounces a scathing rebuke for hypocrisy and rebellion. We must check our hearts to be certain that our shortcomings are weaknesses and not hypocrisy. (QuietWalk)
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THE SECONDARY MEANING OF“SANCTIFY”
Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy. Leviticus 19:2
There is a secondary meaning to the word sanctify, and this is equally clear from the Scriptures. This is that we are not only regarded as holy—we are made holy. And obviously we are made holy because that is how we are regarded. God sets us apart as His peculiar or special people, and because of this we must be a holy people: “Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy,” says God. So we are to be holy because we are holy, and that is the great New Testament appeal for sanctification.
So this second meaning is that God does a work within us—a work of purifying, cleansing, and purging; and this work is designed to fit us for the title that has been put upon us. We have been adopted, taken out of the world, and set apart, and we are now being conformed increasingly to the image, the pattern, of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that we may in truth be the people of God, in reality as well as in name.
So this is obviously progressive work. The first meaning involves something that is done once and for all, and it is because we are set apart that we are justified. God has looked upon His people from all eternity and has set them apart. He sanctified them before the foundation of the world, and because of that they are justified, and also because of that they are sanctified in this second sense. So the question is, which of these two meanings is to be attached to the word in John 17:17: “Sanctify them through thy truth”? It seems to me that there is only one adequate answer to that: Obviously both meanings are involved. Our calling demands that we must be a holy people since we cannot represent a holy God unless we ourselves are holy.
A Thought to Ponder: We are to be holy because we are holy. (From Sanctified Through the Truth, pp. 10-11, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Tell Them About the Savior
“Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?” (Exodus 2:7)
In Exodus, Pharaoh ordered the execution of all newborn male Israelites. Moses was spared as his sister intervened, and she later became his helper as he led their people to freedom. Throughout the Bible, godly women played important roles. In “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship,” such women are enjoined to pray for sinners and testify of His power to save.
Sisters will you join and help us?
Moses’ sister aided him;
Will you help the trembling mourners
Who are struggling hard with sin?
Tell them all about the Savior,
Tell them that He will be found;
Sisters, pray, and holy manna
Will be showered all around.
In the beginning, “God created man in his own image . . . male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27). Evidently it takes the characteristics of both male and female to adequately reflect His image. Godly women are often the most effective in many situations in ministering to individual needs. In our hauntingly beautiful study hymn, such women are called to help trembling sinners convicted of and struggling with sin.
Women often are the most powerful in prayer. Lasting fruit is borne in ladies’ Bible studies and in children’s Bible lessons taught by godly women. Many rescue missions, mission fields, and counseling rooms are primarily staffed by ladies unashamed of the gospel. Thankfully, God has chosen to shower “manna all around” through the ministry of godly Christian women. (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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THE PRIMARY MEANING OF “SANCTIFY”
But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11
You will find that the primary meaning of the word sanctify is often applied to Christian people. Read, for instance, 1 Corinthians 6:11, where Paul tells the Corinthians that there was a time when some of them were guilty of terrible sin—drinking, adultery, etc. “But,” he says, “ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” You notice he says they are “sanctified” before he says they are “justified.” Now with our superficial and glib ideas about sanctification, we always say, “Justification first and sanctification afterward.” But Paul puts sanctification first, which means that they have been set apart by God and taken out of the world. That is the primary meaning of sanctification, and in that sense it comes before justification.
Or take 1 Peter 1:2: “…elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” Sanctification comes before believing and sprinkling with the blood and justification. So in its primary meaning this word is a description of our position. It means that as Christians we are separated from the world. Our Lord has already said that in John 17:16: “They are not of the world.” Now He says, “Sanctify them through thy truth” John17:17). “They have been set apart,” He says in effect; “set them still more apart.” It means separation from the world. In 1 Peter2:9 this is applied to the Christian church: “Ye are . . . a peculiar people,”a special possession for the Lord. The same is true of all Christian people. We are a holy people, set apart for God and for His service and for His purpose. That is the primary meaning.
A Thought to Ponder: Notice that Paul says they are sanctified before he says they are justified. (From Sanctified Through the Truth, pp. 9-10, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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