Jeremiah 23:37-40 – The Need to Be Seen
37 Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 But since you say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’ therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Because you say this word, “The oracle of the Lord!” and I have sent to you, saying, “Do not say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’ ” 39 therefore behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you and forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and will cast you out of My presence. 40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’ ”Jeremiah 23:37-40
Observing an intense reunion between 10-year-old Charles Spurgeon and his father, Matt Carter pauses in Steal Away Home to note, “Children need to be SEEN by their fathers.“
This is the longing, misdiagnosed, in Jeremiah 23:37-40. This is the source of the "look at me" mentality of Judah's spiritual leaders who continually announce and pronounce their privileged position, declaring themselves oracles differentiated from the people. They want to be seen, to be noticed, to be validated. They trade, even so, this God vacuum with which they were created for faux reverence from people whose hands they were supposed to place in the Lord's.
The impact of this replacement, this wrong sourcing, is devastating. As these showmen strive to be seen, the Lord's verdict is that they will be forgotten and forsaken by the One Whose approval they really needed. They have turned opportunities in His Presence, opportunities to learn His Word and discern the patterns of His character, into chances to glean nuggets of knowledge that will impress the people. They are specifically banished from that Presence. In place of the temporary salve of human popularity and respect, they are shamed by the only One Whose verdict really matters.
We, brothers and sisters, are allowed to observe their harrowing shipwreck of faith for our benefit. We, with the sun coming up and revealing His mercy yet again, can change course. Where the words come quickly to our lips which would draw attention to our spirituality and drain any real power from it in exchange for looks, and clicks, and other forms of momentary human attention, we can reappraise. We can treasure once again the Fatherhood of God, the opportunity to come into His Presence for its own sake, the Scriptural certainty that we end our works will be remembered by Him even when men have forgotten.
Resolved to this, reveling in this, we can draw all the more joy when He allows people to notice what He is doing in and through us. He will not hesitate to use us as a testimony, for the ages, assures Ephesians, and before contemporary polities, as we are shown in His teaching Moses to affirm Joshua before the people. He intertwines human stories not short on scandal with His own Gospel, as when he assures the woman who anointed His feet that her story will be told wherever His is.
But He will not, brothers and sisters, share His glory wherever we contend for it is our just recompense. It is only when we are content in His approval, are certain that He is coming, that His reward is with Him, and that His "well done" means more than all the attention we can draw on earth with our oracular pronouncements that He will begin to use our less divided hearts as a testimony before men of His contemporary power. Cry "Father!" and be satisfied. Let Your satisfaction be completed BEFORE men rather than BY men.
Observing an intense reunion between 10-year-old Charles Spurgeon and his father, Matt Carter pauses in Steal Away Home to note, “Children need to be SEEN by their fathers.“
This is the longing, misdiagnosed, in Jeremiah 23:37-40. This is the source of the "look at me" mentality of Judah's spiritual leaders who continually announce and pronounce their privileged position, declaring themselves oracles differentiated from the people. They want to be seen, to be noticed, to be validated. They trade, even so, this God vacuum with which they were created for faux reverence from people whose hands they were supposed to place in the Lord's.
The impact of this replacement, this wrong sourcing, is devastating. As these showmen strive to be seen, the Lord's verdict is that they will be forgotten and forsaken by the One Whose approval they really needed. They have turned opportunities in His Presence, opportunities to learn His Word and discern the patterns of His character, into chances to glean nuggets of knowledge that will impress the people. They are specifically banished from that Presence. In place of the temporary salve of human popularity and respect, they are shamed by the only One Whose verdict really matters.
We, brothers and sisters, are allowed to observe their harrowing shipwreck of faith for our benefit. We, with the sun coming up and revealing His mercy yet again, can change course. Where the words come quickly to our lips which would draw attention to our spirituality and drain any real power from it in exchange for looks, and clicks, and other forms of momentary human attention, we can reappraise. We can treasure once again the Fatherhood of God, the opportunity to come into His Presence for its own sake, the Scriptural certainty that we end our works will be remembered by Him even when men have forgotten.
Resolved to this, reveling in this, we can draw all the more joy when He allows people to notice what He is doing in and through us. He will not hesitate to use us as a testimony, for the ages, assures Ephesians, and before contemporary polities, as we are shown in His teaching Moses to affirm Joshua before the people. He intertwines human stories not short on scandal with His own Gospel, as when he assures the woman who anointed His feet that her story will be told wherever His is.
But He will not, brothers and sisters, share His glory wherever we contend for it is our just recompense. It is only when we are content in His approval, are certain that He is coming, that His reward is with Him, and that His "well done" means more than all the attention we can draw on earth with our oracular pronouncements that He will begin to use our less divided hearts as a testimony before men of His contemporary power. Cry "Father!" and be satisfied. Let Your satisfaction be completed BEFORE men rather than BY men.
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