Jeremiah 12:2 KJV
Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins.
God's preacher approached the Lord first with the words, "Righteous art thou, O Lord..." He was not accusing the Lord. He knew that all that God does is perfect and it is righteous. Still there were some things that he found to be beyond him. He could not get a hold on them; namely, why do the wicked sometimes prosper so well while he, and others like him, suffer so greatly in this world?
He said of the wicked
They take root
They grow
They bring forth fruit
But then he said of them, "thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins." The term, reins, speaks literally of the kidneys. In that era, the reins were considered the seat of the affections, like we would say of the heart. They spoke well of God, but their affections were far from Him.
I do not want to twist the word of God for personal use but something else came to my thoughts today. In our day we use the word reins to speak of that tool we use to control a horse. The reins attach to the bit which turns the horse in response to the rider. In that light, the passage could say that these were people who spoke a lot about the Lord but they did not allow the Lord did not have hold of their reins.
I know some like that today. On the surface, it may look as if the Lord is using them.
They are cheerful and excited.
They seem to being growing and bearing fruit.
They talk much of the things of the Lord
But the fact of the matter is, they do not heed His Word. They obey those portions of the Bible that serve their purposes, but they ignore or pervert those parts that would lead them in a direction different than they want to go.
I want to be a different sort. I want to be a Jeremiah Christian. I want to speak of the Lord and I want to let Him lead my life even in the smallest details.
Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins.
God's preacher approached the Lord first with the words, "Righteous art thou, O Lord..." He was not accusing the Lord. He knew that all that God does is perfect and it is righteous. Still there were some things that he found to be beyond him. He could not get a hold on them; namely, why do the wicked sometimes prosper so well while he, and others like him, suffer so greatly in this world?
He said of the wicked
They take root
They grow
They bring forth fruit
But then he said of them, "thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins." The term, reins, speaks literally of the kidneys. In that era, the reins were considered the seat of the affections, like we would say of the heart. They spoke well of God, but their affections were far from Him.
I do not want to twist the word of God for personal use but something else came to my thoughts today. In our day we use the word reins to speak of that tool we use to control a horse. The reins attach to the bit which turns the horse in response to the rider. In that light, the passage could say that these were people who spoke a lot about the Lord but they did not allow the Lord did not have hold of their reins.
I know some like that today. On the surface, it may look as if the Lord is using them.
They are cheerful and excited.
They seem to being growing and bearing fruit.
They talk much of the things of the Lord
But the fact of the matter is, they do not heed His Word. They obey those portions of the Bible that serve their purposes, but they ignore or pervert those parts that would lead them in a direction different than they want to go.
I want to be a different sort. I want to be a Jeremiah Christian. I want to speak of the Lord and I want to let Him lead my life even in the smallest details.
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