Growing up, God was teaching me many things. I did not know at that time that HE was teaching me, but now in hindsight, I realize HE has always been with me. He was watching, teaching, and protecting me. Even in the days when I fell away into the world, HE was always still with me.
I began to work at the early age of 10 years old, helping my dad at his grocery store. Then, when he died when I was 12, my responsibilities skyrocketed. But as Proverbs 1 tells us, wisdom is found and learned in the hustle and bustle of life. If we stay home and do nothing but scroll on our phones, do not think you will become wise. You will become dull as a useless knife.
As I grew up, there was a strong impression to learn from other people’s mistakes and good choices. It came to me that by learning through others’ experiences, I did not have to actually go through the experience just to learn the same thing while losing valuable time. I keenly observed many people to learn from their successes or failures. People make the same choices in history. There is nothing new under the sun. We are all humans stuck in a vicious “washing machine cycle” – wash, rinse, dry, and repeat the curse. But wisdom tells us there is a way not to repeat our same mistakes over and over again, which only leads to destruction.
I take His wisdom, which God has been teaching me through the years, and I apply it to the Word of God. I read the history of God’s people and realize what we should do and not do, so I do not have to go through their judgments but rather their blessings. This is why the OT is still very important to read and know.
What are these verses warning us about?
Jeremiah 2:7-9 NLT “And when I brought you into a fruitful land to enjoy its bounty and goodness, you defiled my land and corrupted the possession I had promised you.
8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who taught my word ignored me, the rulers turned against me, and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal, wasting their time on worthless idols.
9 Therefore, I will bring my case against you,” says the Lord. “I will even bring charges against your children’s children in the years to come.”
There is a warning that once we enter the good life, we are prone to self-sabotage and move away from God. I see many of our own people making the same mistakes as the people of old. I see the same old behavior. The only differences are the different faces in a different generation. Individuals may do what they should not do and do not do what they should do, but it is also generations of families, clans, or tribes who make the same mistakes over and over again. Who will decide to break out of this cursed cycle when grace has thrown a lifeline to save you and your children?
When you enter the good land and life, you must know and acknowledge the danger of moving away from God as we become prideful and desensitized to sin. First, it starts with inconsistent praying, reading, tithing/offering, attendance, fellowship, lack of obedience, etc. But the greater danger is we could still be doing all the above but living without true love.
Then what happens? If you know the Word, you will know what happens to such people within that generation which defiles our Living God and choose Baal. Who is Baal? He is the one many will go to for their prosperity and comfort. He allows you to make your own rules on how to approach the Living God. People will believe their own choices of how to worship and approach God is acceptable. It is great deception!
Seek wisdom more than gold or silver, the Bible says
Senior Pastor Steve Kim