Life Lessons

Last week we started talking about how God is our Teacher. We talked about how God knows everything which is what makes Him a wonderful teacher. We looked at the example of Jesus and how He was humble and submitted to the will of God. If we are to grow and mature in Christlikeness, we too must be humble and submitted to the will of God. We don’t just automatically know this when we are born again, no. We need a Teacher, God. And God uses our pastors and those more mature than us to train us and help us learn His ways.

Job 36:22 says, “Look, God is all-powerful. Who is a teacher like him?” That is an interesting verse. Last week we looked at God being our Teacher based on His omniscience, but this verse does not refer to God’s omniscience. Instead, it refers to His omnipotence. Why? I think this is because sometimes, if we refuse to learn things the easy way, we will have to learn the hard way. The Israelites certainly liked learning things the hard way. So many times, God would give them warnings and try to help them learn His will and His ways and so many times they decided to do their own thing instead.

Jeremiah 42 has one of these interesting stories. In verses 1-4 it says, “Then Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, the military leaders, and all the people from the least to the greatest who were with him, approached me [Jeremiah] and said, “Please listen to our humble plea and pray to Yahweh your God for us and for all this remnant. We were once many, but as you see, only a few of us remain. Pray that Yahweh your God may show us where to go and what we must do.” “Very well then,” I replied. “I will take your request to Yahweh your God and tell you whatever answer he gives me, and I will keep nothing back from you.””

So Jeremiah prays for them, hears from God and tells them essentially, “whatever you do, stay here in Judah and do not go to Egypt because you will certainly die if you do”. God gave them a warning, don’t do it! Jeremiah 43 continues the story, and it says in verses 1,2 and 4, “Jeremiah finished telling the crowd what the Lord had commanded him. Then Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and other arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying. Yahweh our God did not tell you to say to us, ‘Do not go live in Egypt.’ So Johanan, all the army officers, and all the people refused to obey Yahweh ’s command to stay in Judah.” Verse 7, “In total disobedience to the voice of Yahweh, they entered the land of Egypt and arrived at Tahpanhes.”

The story continues in Jeremiah 44 – 46 and it was a rough time for the Israelites. The interesting part in the above verses is that it refers to “arrogant men”. It was the people’s arrogance or pride that made them say, “Nah, God didn’t say that.” How often do we hear the truth of God’s word and tell ourselves, “God didn’t say that?” How many times has God tried to teach us some things and we thought, “No, God wouldn’t say that.” Not because we believed He hadn’t spoken but because we were too focused on having our own way. God is a Teacher, but we have to be willing to be taught. If we won’t see Him as omniscient and knowing what He is doing, we will have to deal with His omnipotence and learn through trouble. That is, God uses the consequences of our actions to teach us the hard lessons of life.

Let us be people who learn the easy way. People who are quick to obey and people who are teachable. Yes, let us keep a teachable spirit within us. Fully cognisant of the fact that we do not know everything and that we need and have a Teacher.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.