July 200, 2010 Trust In God's Rest

July 20, 2010
Jeremiah 50 - 52

Jer 50:6-7 “My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains.
They wandered over mountain and hill
and forgot their own resting place. 7 Whoever found them devoured them;
their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they sinned against the LORD, their true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’”

GREEN PASTURES is a pivotal image in Psalm 23, and pastures are an image of rest and safety here. Growing up on a farm, green pastures were a welcome sight after the winter snows and spring mud. We could turn the cattle onto the lush grass. They could wander at will in the pasture to drink and eat at their pleasure, to give birth to new life and to rest in comfort. What an image of God! Pastures are a place to be nourished and renewed.

Jeremiah’s words from God here in the time of the Hebrew exile could well be written today. Many in the church have been led astray by “shepherds” who do not teach God’s Truth. Sadly many churches are giving into the culture and refuse to trust God’s Word. People who come to worship God are being lead into the barren hills and mountains believing there is rest in man’s sinful desires. But instead these lies and empty promises make us restless. We wander and we wonder, “Why am I so weary?”

My friends, even the Hebrews’ enemies knew the LORD was the Hebrews true resting place. Why must we always look from “pastures” for something better, when all we need to do is trust God for our rest?