They Have Sown Wheat, But Shall Reap Thorns...the Wayfarer 8/24/14
They Have Sown Wheat, But Shall Reap Thorns
8/24/14
8/24/14
"They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
(Jeremiah 12:13)
An old hymn, well liked and often sung by this old preacher poses a question asked by just about every single Christian I have ever come into contact with as to why it seems that so many seem untouched by the promised and assured wrath of God for deeds done and left undone;
"Tempted and tried, we're oft made to wonder, why it should be thus, all the day long.... While there are others living about us, Never molested, though in the wrong."
That song promises a better understanding "Farther Along".
Understanding will indeed be far clearer, "farther along", but is readily available through the scripture when time is taken to bother to read it now as well!
"Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?
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.
But thou, O Lord, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter."
(Jeremiah 12: 1-3)
The old prophet, Jeremiah, also asked that question of God, then not only answered it, but issued warning to his people of the consequence to come for transgressions against what he KNEW to be the truth of God's will.
He saw his nation providing lip service to God, but ignoring what had been given as the requirements for the blessings given by God, as well as ignoring the warnings given to return to His laws and will.
Note that what he pleaded with God about, was not his own judgment of what he thought should be, but the judgment of God Himself!
While posing this often asked question of God, still and yet he realized that it is the judgment of God alone that mattered, and that that judgment and justice that is sought will be provided "Farther Along", and will be GOD's justice, not that devised by man.
He looked inward, to make sure of his own standing with God in full knowledge that God knew his heart, and that what was seen there would be acceptable to God despite all those around him that seemingly prospered while wasting away, denying themselves of the true promise given for the, paltry rewards taken by actions they took while offering only lip service to God.
"How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.
If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with the horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedest, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of the Jordan.
For even thy brethren and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak words unto thee.
I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.
Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.
Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her, come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.
Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion underfoot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
They have made it desolate, and being desolate it morneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.
The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness; for the sword of the Lord shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace.
They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the Lord."
(Jeremiah 12:4-13)
Questions of "why" ring out daily throughout the world, and particularly within the confines of the nation in which I live.
Those questions are given by both those possessing the answer, and the truly rebellious and ignorant who see only the thorns that are to be reaped, never realizing the wheat sown could have developed into fields of plenty, if properly tended by those giving more than lip service to both God, and the fields they refused to weed as the thorns choked all sustenance from their land.
Those possessing the answer know also that God knows us, sees us continually, and that the trials are there to assure sincerity toward meeting the requirements given man since Adam of obedience to that God in Spirit and in Truth, not in lip service alone.
Jeremiah could well have been describing this land, and many others as well when he spoke of the treacherousness displayed daily by those entrusted with that Truth, and entrusted to assure that blessing to those coming after them as well.
As that trust was, and is continually violated and ignored, the question why is not given to that violation, but to the consequence seen when that violation occurs.
"Thus saith the Lord against all mine evil neighbors, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck them out of the house of Judah from among them.
And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out, I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.
And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people.
But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the Lord."
(Jeremiah 12:14-17)
Yes, we will understand it all by and by. The question is why it should take the expenditure of a lifetime to comprehend what is so readily available to those with ears to hear, and eyes to see both the promise that has been given, and the warning that was given with it... the question should be why do we make complex the simple answer given that redemption requires repentance, and the understanding that without repentance there is no redemption, either for nations, nor individuals.
"And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.
And he taught them may things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,
Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
But when the sun was up, it was scorched: and because it had no root, it withered away.
And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
(Mark 4:1-9)
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee our of my mouth.
Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor and blind, and naked:
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me.
To him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
(Revelation 3:14-22)
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
the Wayfarer
(Jeremiah 12: 1-3)
The old prophet, Jeremiah, also asked that question of God, then not only answered it, but issued warning to his people of the consequence to come for transgressions against what he KNEW to be the truth of God's will.
He saw his nation providing lip service to God, but ignoring what had been given as the requirements for the blessings given by God, as well as ignoring the warnings given to return to His laws and will.
Note that what he pleaded with God about, was not his own judgment of what he thought should be, but the judgment of God Himself!
While posing this often asked question of God, still and yet he realized that it is the judgment of God alone that mattered, and that that judgment and justice that is sought will be provided "Farther Along", and will be GOD's justice, not that devised by man.
He looked inward, to make sure of his own standing with God in full knowledge that God knew his heart, and that what was seen there would be acceptable to God despite all those around him that seemingly prospered while wasting away, denying themselves of the true promise given for the, paltry rewards taken by actions they took while offering only lip service to God.
"How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.
If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with the horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedest, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of the Jordan.
For even thy brethren and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak words unto thee.
I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.
Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.
Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her, come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.
Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion underfoot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
They have made it desolate, and being desolate it morneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.
The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness; for the sword of the Lord shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace.
They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the Lord."
(Jeremiah 12:4-13)
Questions of "why" ring out daily throughout the world, and particularly within the confines of the nation in which I live.
Those questions are given by both those possessing the answer, and the truly rebellious and ignorant who see only the thorns that are to be reaped, never realizing the wheat sown could have developed into fields of plenty, if properly tended by those giving more than lip service to both God, and the fields they refused to weed as the thorns choked all sustenance from their land.
Those possessing the answer know also that God knows us, sees us continually, and that the trials are there to assure sincerity toward meeting the requirements given man since Adam of obedience to that God in Spirit and in Truth, not in lip service alone.
Jeremiah could well have been describing this land, and many others as well when he spoke of the treacherousness displayed daily by those entrusted with that Truth, and entrusted to assure that blessing to those coming after them as well.
As that trust was, and is continually violated and ignored, the question why is not given to that violation, but to the consequence seen when that violation occurs.
"Thus saith the Lord against all mine evil neighbors, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck them out of the house of Judah from among them.
And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out, I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.
And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people.
But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the Lord."
(Jeremiah 12:14-17)
Yes, we will understand it all by and by. The question is why it should take the expenditure of a lifetime to comprehend what is so readily available to those with ears to hear, and eyes to see both the promise that has been given, and the warning that was given with it... the question should be why do we make complex the simple answer given that redemption requires repentance, and the understanding that without repentance there is no redemption, either for nations, nor individuals.
"And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.
And he taught them may things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,
Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
But when the sun was up, it was scorched: and because it had no root, it withered away.
And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
(Mark 4:1-9)
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee our of my mouth.
Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor and blind, and naked:
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me.
To him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
(Revelation 3:14-22)
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)
12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
the Wayfarer
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