Jeremiah 38:1-40:6; 1 Timothy 3
Today in Psalm 119:57-64, we see the Psalmist’s commitment to obey the LORD and to “seek His face with all his heart” (verses 57-58). In verse 59, the Psalmist tells us that he has “considered” God’s ways and “turned his steps” to God’s statutes. No doubt, the Psalmist took the time necessary to evaluate his own behavior, and then he concluded that his own ways were inferior; the ways of the LORD were clearly better. We learn from today’s reading that trusting and obeying God is a reasonable thing to do – definitely an act of faith – but it is not frivolous, foolish, or flighty. God says to us, “Come now, let us reason together” (cf., Isaiah 1:18). He does not call us to a blind faith, but one that is rational. Exercising faith in God is worthy of our consideration, and it requires an informed decision. Biblical faith does not just happen randomly or by accident. Based on the certainty of His Word and His creation, God – Who is faithful, reliable, and trustworthy – provides the information necessary for faith, and then He does exactly what He says He will do. We can trust Him. Two years ago, I needed to have a tooth extracted, a process that required reasonable faith. My dentist, who is worthy of my trust, said he would do it. By faith, I sat down in the dentist’s chair, and two nurses prepped me for oral surgery. Then they administered anesthesia, after which I had no knowledge of anything. The nurses could have done anything to me, and I wouldn’t have known it – I never even saw the dentist – though it is reasonable for me to believe that my dentist – not the nurses – was the person who extracted my tooth. I only know that, when I woke up, my tooth was gone, and I felt nothing. This is rational faith, and it expresses exactly how the Psalmist could say, “according to Your promise, I will hasten to obey Your commands” (verses 58-60). God is reasonable, and He is worthy of our trust.
In Jeremiah 38:1-40:6, we read again about the prophet’s faithfulness to God in light of his continuing struggles with unbelieving Jews who simply did not want to hear his proclamation of the truth. God told Jeremiah to inform them that they would die if they remained in Jerusalem, but “they would live if they escaped to Babylon” (verse 38:2). The “officials” didn’t want to hear this truth, so they attempted to kill Jeremiah (verse 4). They “took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah” (verse 6). It amazes me how easily and quickly crowds of unrighteous people can overpower righteousness and truth – something we now see every day in our culture. Thankfully, Ebed-Melek was compassionate toward Jeremiah and saved his life. Chapter 39 describes the fall of Jerusalem – one of the saddest chapters in all of Scripture. In Jeremiah 40:1-6, we see that Jeremiah was released “from the chains on his wrists” by the commander of the Babylonian guard (verses 40:1-4).
In 1 Timothy 3, we see Paul’s instructions about church formation and development. He wants Timothy to know and apply in his pastoral ministry the qualifications, selection, and training of elders and deacons. These church leaders have the God–ordained responsibility to direct and manage the affairs of the church and move it toward God’s ultimate purposes for believers – personal godliness and corporate holiness. Paul was careful to indicate that “the wives of these leaders should also be worthy of respect, temperate, and trustworthy in everything” (verse 11). The church is to be “the pillar and foundation of the truth” (verse 15), so that it might properly express “beyond all question the great mystery of godliness” (verse 16). We notice that all of these instructions and requirements of our faith are reasonable – God is worthy of our trust.
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