Jeremiah 6:16: “Thus said the Lord, stand ye in the way, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, we will not walk therein.”
Jeremiah’s mission as a prophet was to reveal the sins of the people and explain the reason for the coming captivity by Babylon. The people were nervous and frightened. They heard the horror stories of what the Babylonians did to their captives. Actually it wasn’t as bad as they thought it would be but it was bad enough. Along comes Jeremiah who seemingly offers no hope whatsoever. He tells the people their captivity is a done deal and if they just surrender to the Babylonians things would go much easier for them. Jeremiah declared to the people to just stand in the way of the Lord, seek the paths of their fathers which were the good way and walk in it and you will find rest for your souls.
We seem to stand at such a cross road today. Christians today are terrified over the coming elections. They are afraid of Trump who is a loose cannon and my hit the nuke button if someone insults him and they are terrified of Hillary who will turn this country into a socialist state which will remove the first amendment and bring persecution on the Christians. The barbarians are at the gate and the people are in a panic. I am no prophet just a student of the Old Testament and if there is any parallel between the United States of 2016 and the Judah of 500 BC then I am afraid it is too late, the judgment has been sealed. Prophets all over this country have been warning against this nation’s sins, the reasons for the coming disaster has been explained over and over to the entire country through radio, television, the internet and all the other media. But maybe I am wrong, we should not be making a comparison of the United States and Judah. Judah was special, they were God’s chosen people, and the United States is basically a Gentile nation perhaps we are wrong to compare. But if not – dum da dum dum.
I know I am making light of a serious matter. But hey the Word of God stands and my Bible tells me that no matter what disaster hits this country if we stand in the way, see and ask for the old paths where the way was good and we walk in it we will find rest for our souls in the midst of any disaster. I like to think that maybe this means we should get rid of all those I like God songs we sing on Sunday morning to beat of drums and electric guitars making all the music sound the same and then repeating the same song over and over for a half hour and return to the good old Gospel songs and hymns with organ and piano. But no, they said we will not walk in it. I know, I’d make a lousy Jeremiah. Of course our music not sinful however after listening to a half hour of our contemporary worship music I do need rest for my soul, But our young people love it and worship God to it and since they will likely be the ones to live through this judgment, let ‘em have their music but couldn’t you throw a little Chuck Girard, Andre Crouch or Maranatha in the mix, just to delight us old timers? Ok back to the issue.
The word “way” or path used in Jeremiah 6:16 is derekim which is in a plural form preceded by the word al which is in a construct form. The plural would indicate the word is more appropriately rendered a crossroad. With al as a construct to derekim would create a picture of one standing at a cross road trying to decide which road to take.
God is instructing us to first stand. There are number of words in the Hebrew which are translated as stand. You have yatsab which is a standing to be seen, there is chamar which is standing in fear, quwam which is rising up to stand, aman which is standing firm, immoveable, but in this verse you have amad which is standing or pausing to contemplate.
So what are you contemplating when you face a crossroad? Trump or Hillary? The Mem and Resh would suggest that you are contemplating the revealed knowledge of God and the move of the Holy Spirit within you to give you the right direction.
The next thing you are told to do is to see. This word is ra’ah and is both a physical and a spiritual seeing as in discernment or as the seeing like a prophet or seer. In this context it would appear that one is to try to imagine what lies at the end of that road or looking at the consequences of taking that road.
Then we are to ask for the old way. The word for way or path here is linethiboth and not derek. This word comes from the root word: nathav which is a path of uncertainty. The word is spelled Nun a path free of fear, ignorance and hatred, Taw a path following divine guidance and Beth a path leading to God’s heart.
It is the word that is rendered old or ancient that really caught my attention. For the word old is ’olam which has a root meaning of conceal, hidden, or secret. We get the idea of old from the fact that the past, like the future is hidden from us. We can only be certain of the present. Hence the word is also used for eternity. However, in this context I read that we are told to ask for the path that is uncertain and hidden. The syntax would suggest that we are to also ask for the good path. The word good or tov means a path that is in harmony with God.
Ultimately, this is a path where you have to walk in complete faith. The outcome is hidden or conceal, you just have to trust God. That is what makes this path so difficult. To many no matter who is elected president, disaster is imminent. But if your faith and confidence is totally in God and not the arm of the flesh if you follow this path you will have rest for your soul.” The word rest is raga’ which is a rest that comes suddenly upon you after going through a turbulent time. It is a play on the word marag which means a threshing machine. It is a rest that comes after God has taken you through the fires.
I was going through a very turbulent time last week. I was anxious and fearful. Then Sunday morning I made the decision to trust entirely on God. I felt raga’ a rest and peace suddenly come upon me and for over a half hour I just sat there with my head bowed and just rested and enjoyed His presence.
Maybe disaster will come to this nation, maybe not, but I tell you if it does I know what to do. I will make that decision at the crossroads to surrender the entire thing to God and then I shall find raga’ for my soul.
Recent Comments