“Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.” – Psalm 127:1-2
“Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.” – Proverbs 14:1
“For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.” – Isaiah 30:15-16
Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 44
I remember my dad talking more than once about having an “economy of words”. His point was this – use your words sparingly and spend your words wisely, and they will have a greater impact. And although I know he was right, I often catch myself in a spending spree of words, spouting half-baked advice, unsolicited opinions, and counter-productive commentary. My big mouth gets me into trouble on a regular basis.
In Jeremiah 44, big mouths abound. The setting is Egypt. Jewish refugees, the remnant of Judah – following the siege and subsequent burning of Jerusalem by the Babylonians – are in full, unflinching rebellion against God (Verses 1-2). First, God said to get rid of the idols. In truth, He had been saying it for hundreds of years. They never listened. While they were still participating in immoral pagan worship rites and baby sacrifices, God sent prophets (Jeremiah included) to tell them over and over that judgment was coming (Verse 4). They never listened. After countless of their own had been slaughtered or carried away and Babylon wreaked its final destruction on Jerusalem, God told the survivors not to go to Egypt (Verses 6-12, Isaiah 30). He begged them to return to Him. They never listened.
Now, the Lord sends Jeremiah for one last showdown with the transplanted remnant. Generations worth of rebellion have finally come full-circle. They have left the Promised Land, devastated and cursed by their own sin, and have willfully returned to Egypt, the original land of their slavery. And God’s Word is clear. Their escape plan has taken them completely off the course of God’s plan, and with the exception of a few witnesses to tell the sad tale, this remnant will never see Jerusalem again (Verses 11-14).
A startling truth (startling to me, anyway) comes to light in the middle of the chapter – a bunch of big-mouthed, know-it-all women were at the core of the rebellion (Verses 15-19). Now, I have no intention of degrading my own gender, but I can’t deny that I felt a little tug of conviction as I read this passage about women who thought they had all the answers.
Their rationalization for rebellion is even more startling. They lift themselves up as the ones who brought protection and prosperity to their homes. They insist that life was good when they worshiped idols, and it was because of the idols that they chose. They give their idols the credit for every blessing and give God the blame for every evil. Speaking over their own husbands, these women brazenly tell the man of God, “…we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth…” (Verses 16-17). Those words make me want to duck and cover. Who among us is stupid enough to think that we’re smart enough to run our homes without God?
And yet, if I’m honest, I can think of times where I had a plan laid out well before I laid down my prayer. Too often, I hear myself brazenly telling God what He needs to do next, expecting Him to endorse my wisdom, rather than seeking His (Psalm 37:4-6, 46:10, Proverbs 3:5-6, Matthew 6:33, John 10:27, 15:5, Philippians 4:6-7).
I believe that, by God’s grace, I am good for my family. I love them with all my heart. I keep them from living on pizza, wearing the same clothes for weeks on end, and turning the house into a barn. And sometimes, I think they actually appreciate it – even if only for a second. But I’m not kidding myself that I’m the one doing the protecting and the providing and the saving here. My home needs God. Your home needs God. And if we’re not careful, in our fierce determination to protect our homes by our own means and in our own wisdom, we can unwittingly destroy them (Proverbs 14:1, 31:25-31, Luke 6:48, Colossians 3:18, Titus 2:3-5).
Me and my big mouth have caused trouble more than once, but me and my God have come through more troubles than I can count. And the truth is, God took care of the trouble, and I often was the trouble. God brought the blessing, and I was just blessed. And for all my so-called wisdom, the best wisdom is this: my home works best, when God is in charge.
YOUR PRESCRIPTION
Who’s running your home? Is God guiding every major decision, or have you somehow decided that YOU know what’s best? Ask God to be the center of your heart and your home and the central authority in everything.
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