How Can We Raise Up the Next Generation
Scripture Passage: Jeremiah 22:20-30(NASB)
20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
And raise your voice in Bashan;
Cry out also from Abarim,
For all your lovers have been crushed.
21 I spoke to you in your prosperity;
But you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your way from your youth,
That you have not obeyed My voice.
22 The wind will sweep away all your shepherds,
And your lovers will go into captivity;
Then you will certainly be ashamed and humiliated
Because of all your wickedness.
23 You who live in Lebanon,
Nested in the cedars,
How you will groan when sharp pains come on you,
Pain like a woman in childbirth!
24 “As I live,” declares the Lord, “even if Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off; 25 and I will hand you over to those who are seeking your life, yes, to those of whom you are frightened, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans. 26 I will hurl you and your mother who gave birth to you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. 27 But as for the land to which they long to return, they will not return to it.
28 Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar?
Or is he an undesirable vessel?
Why have he and his descendants been hurled out
And cast into a land that they had not known?
29 O land, land, land,
Hear the word of the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:
‘Write this man down as childless,
A man who will not prosper in his days;
For no man among his descendants will prosper
Sitting on the throne of David
Or ruling again in Judah.’”
SUMMARY
God tells Jehoiakim, son of Josiah king of Judah, that Jehoiakim’s allies will be of no help and will be driven into exile. Jehoiakim did not listen to God when he felt secure and prosperous. Because he didn’t listen to God from his youth, a time is coming when his allies will abandon him and he will feel shame and disgrace.
God then tells Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, that he, his mother and his children will be delivered into the hands of the Babylonians and that he will die in exile. God says Jehoiachin shall be recorded in history as “childless” because none of his offspring will prosper or sit on the throne of David.
MEDITATION AND REFLECTION
What spoke to me the most were verses 28-30. God says that not only is Jehoiachin a despised and shattered jar and an undesirable jar because of his sins, but his children will be also hurled out and will not prosper. In fact, Jehoiachin’s children won’t even be recorded in history. History will treat Jehoiachin as a childless man.
I realize more and more now that how I speak, think, act, worship and conduct myself in my day-to-day life affects not only my life but my child as well. The repercussions of my sin are far greater and heavier now, for I am the direct example and model that my son follows. What I do and say helps to shape his vision and life. His behavior is the direct mirror of who I am. Raising him and shaping his life is a big responsibility and a privilege that God has given to me on this earth.
APPLICATION
In verse 29, it says, “O land, land, land, Hear the word of the Lord!”. Everything, including godly parenting, begins with listening to the word of the Lord. I want to resume doing a “write the word” journal with my son every morning. I want to resume the weekly family worship that we used to do as a family. I am imperfect and have a lot of shortcomings as a mom, but I know that my son will be in good hands as long as I point him to look to the Lord and know and hear his words.
PRAYER
Lord,
I confess that I am so self-centered, selfish. Again and again I fail to love, discipline and steward this precious gift that you have given to me. I easily get irritated, impatient and simply don’t know how to parent my son unless you help me.
Lord,
Help me to look to you.
Help me to open my ears and eyes to your words only and not to what the world says.
Fill me with your spirit, wisdom, knowledge, insights and understanding.
Help me also to realize that at the end of the day, this child is not mine but yours. Help me to be at peace knowing that You are his ultimate father who loves him and will always watch over and guide him to what is best for him. ]
In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.
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