Jer 35:4 And I
brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan,
the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was
by the chamber of the princes, which was
above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door: 5 And I set before the sons of the house of the
Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine. 6 But they said, We will drink no wine: for
Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no
wine, neither ye, nor your sons
for ever:
Jer 35:18 And
Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts,
the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your
father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath
commanded you: 19 Therefore thus saith
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want
a man to stand before me for ever.
Here is a
fascinating and intriguing account of a group of people who held fast to their
convictions in the midst of a very wicked and rebellious nation. Whilst others
would go into captivity for their unfaithfulness to God, these would be blest
of God for doing right.
The Prophet
Jeremiah was used of the Lord to test the resolve of these Rechabites by
inviting them into a chamber of the temple and offering them wine, but they
politely refused and God blessed.
It makes me
wonder about all the things we face, the decisions and the snap judgments we
must make. How often are these testings to prove that we are a principled
people with godly hearts, worthy of God's richest blessings.
Today, I went,
for the FOURTH TIME in as many days, to the customer service desk at a Walmart
over 10 miles from my house to try to rectify a situation and transact
business. This store is so far away, I call it the Nebraska City Walmart. I
must admit, I would rather have bamboo shoots shoved up my fingernails than
face that customer service rep once again. Additionally, I thought I would pop
back to the sporting goods area to snag a box of ammo, which is like trying to
find a jelly donut and a Jenny Craig convention.
I was able to
sport a genuine smile and a reasonable greeting to the one who is paid to do
the same for me, the customer, but is sure not earning her keep in that
respect. I was finally able to leave her company with a heartfelt "God
bless you!" and then back to the gun section for my next stage of Wally
World abuse.
Again, after
being treated like a convict at Reiker's Island, I was able to overcome the boiling
pot of rage on the inside, and offer a bit of kindness to the guy we had to
hunt down (ironically, from the sporting goods section). I will call this
employee, Clerk Can't, but he was no Superman!
Of course, the
ammo I needed and have checked on for the past several days was still
unavailable. But another man saw that kindness in me that only Jesus can give
to an abused Walmart patron. So he asked me to purchase a box of .357s for him
since he was only allowed one and he lived so far away. This all ended up in a
very friendly conversation with him all the way out to the parking lot.
So alas, no wine
was consumed in the chamber of the temple that Sam built and God blessed with a
pleasurable experience.
I only hope I
can refuse the devil's wine (whine) throughout the day!
Walmart has taught me many lessons in kindness over the years. Thanks for being such a great testimony! It certainly isn't easy some days.
ReplyDeleteI have learned many lessons in compassion and patience at Walmart over the years. Thanks for being such a great testimony! It certainly isn't easy some day.
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