The Patience of God

Rising Up Early and Sending

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In Jesus' story the owner kept sending: first some servants, then more servants, and last of all his son (Matthew 21:34-37). The Bible shows that God really did keep sending messengers to His people. Many Christians see the servants in the story as a picture of the prophets God sent.

Rising up early. The Bible says the Lord sent warnings to His people by His messengers, rising up early and sending them (2 Chronicles 36:15). It is a picture of someone who gets up first thing in the morning because something matters so much.

Why He kept sending. The same verse tells us why: God had compassion on His people and on the temple where He was worshiped. Compassion is love that feels sorry for someone and wants to help.

Jeremiah's long work. The prophet Jeremiah told the people that he had spoken God's word to them for twenty-three years, rising early and speaking, but they had not listened (Jeremiah 25:3).

The same message. All the prophets said the same thing: turn from your evil way, and you will live in the land God gave you (Jeremiah 25:4-5). God's warnings were invitations to come home.

Many years. Later, God's people prayed and remembered that for many years God had been patient with them and had spoken to them by His Spirit through the prophets (Nehemiah 9:30).

Mocked. Sadly, many people laughed at God's messengers, looked down on His words and made fun of His prophets (2 Chronicles 36:16).

Patience is not forever. At last there was no remedy, and Jerusalem was conquered (2 Chronicles 36:16-17). God's patience is real, but it is not a promise that we can ignore Him forever.

Still merciful. Even then God did not forget His people. In His great mercy He did not leave them completely (Nehemiah 9:31), and years later He brought them home (2 Chronicles 36:22-23).

Last of all, His Son. Then God sent His Son, Jesus. Many people rejected Him too, and He was crucified. But God raised Him from the dead.

Still patient. God is still patient today. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Longsuffering means patient for a long time.

God is patient with you. God still sends His message today through the Bible, through parents and pastors, and through friends who love Jesus. Each time, He is calling you to come to Him.

What to do. Think of someone God has used to tell you about Jesus. Thank God for that person, and thank the person too. Then answer God's call today instead of waiting.

The owner in Matthew 21:34-37 sent servants, then more servants, then his son. Many Christians see in the servants a picture of Israel's history: God sending messenger after messenger to a people who would not listen.

Rising up early (2 Chronicles 36:15). The Lord God of their fathers sent warnings by His messengers, rising up early and sending them. The phrase describes an eager, urgent sender who does not wait to be asked.

Chamal. The reason follows: He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. The Hebrew word chamal (say: khah-MAHL) means to have compassion or to spare. God's warnings came from the same heart that spares.

Twenty-three years (Jeremiah 25:3-5). Jeremiah reminded Judah that he had been rising early and speaking for twenty-three years, and that the Lord had sent all His servants the prophets. Their message was always the same: turn from your evil way and dwell in the land God gave you.

By His Spirit (Nehemiah 9:30). When the people who came back from exile confessed their history, they said God had been patient with their fathers for many years and had warned them by His Spirit through the prophets. The prophets' words were God's own voice.

The response (2 Chronicles 36:16). They mocked the messengers, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the anger of the Lord arose against His people and there was no remedy. God's anger came only after many years of refusal.

Patience with a purpose. God's patience is not a lack of concern. Every delay in judgment was a door held open. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Mercy after judgment. Even when Jerusalem fell, God did not utterly forsake His people, because He is gracious and merciful (Nehemiah 9:31). He stirred the heart of Cyrus to send them home and rebuild (2 Chronicles 36:22-23).

The last messenger. Jesus said, “Then last of all he sent his son to them” (Matthew 21:37). After the prophets came the Son. He was rejected and crucified outside the city.

Patience through the cross. Jesus died on the cross for sinners and rose from the dead. God's patience did not end at the cross. It ran through it.

Application. Ask yourself how many times God has spoken to you through Scripture, sermons or people who love you. Do not let His patience become a reason to delay. Answer Him today, and thank Him for every messenger He has sent your way.

Take Another Scroll

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In Jesus' parable the vinedressers did not want the owner's messengers. In Jeremiah's day a king refused God's message too, and God answered with patience.

Write it down. God told Jeremiah to take a scroll and write on it all the words He had spoken about His people (Jeremiah 36:1-2). A scroll was a long roll of writing material.

Why God sent it. God said that perhaps the people would hear and turn from their evil way, so that He could forgive their sin (Jeremiah 36:3). God's warning had a loving purpose: forgiveness.

Baruch writes. Jeremiah called his helper Baruch. Jeremiah spoke the words, and Baruch wrote them on the scroll (Jeremiah 36:4).

Read in the temple. Jeremiah could not go to the temple, so Baruch went and read the scroll aloud there to the people on a day of fasting (Jeremiah 36:5-10).

The officials. Some leaders heard the words and were afraid. They told Baruch and Jeremiah to go and hide, and then they told the king (Jeremiah 36:16-20).

The king and the fire. King Jehoiakim was sitting in his winter house with a fire burning in front of him. Each time a few columns were read, the king cut them off with a knife and threw them into the fire, until the whole scroll was burned (Jeremiah 36:22-23).

Not afraid. The king and his servants were not afraid, and they were not sorry. Some officials begged him not to burn the scroll, but he would not listen (Jeremiah 36:24-25).

Take another scroll. The Lord hid Jeremiah and Baruch (Jeremiah 36:26). Then God told Jeremiah to take another scroll and write all the same words again. Baruch wrote them, and many more words were added (Jeremiah 36:27-28, 32).

God's Word stays. A king could burn a scroll, but he could not burn up God's Word. God patiently sent His message again.

The Son was sent. Later God sent His Son. After Jesus rose, Peter told the people in Jerusalem, “To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities” (Acts 3:26). Even after they rejected Jesus, God offered them forgiveness first.

To save, not to condemn. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). God's messages always aim at saving people.

What to do. When the Bible shows you something wrong in your life, do not cut it away or ignore it. Tell God the truth and receive His forgiveness through Jesus.

The vinedressers in Matthew 21:35-39 showed what they thought of the owner by the way they treated his messengers. Jeremiah 36 shows the same refusal beside a winter fire, and God's patient answer to it.

Megillah (36:1-2). In the fourth year of King Jehoiakim, God told Jeremiah to take a megillah (say: meh-gee-LAH), a scroll, and write all the words He had spoken against Israel, Judah and the nations.

The purpose (36:3). God said that perhaps Judah would hear of the disaster He had planned, turn from its evil way, and He would forgive their wrongdoing and their sin. The warning was written so that forgiveness could follow.

The messenger's helper (36:4-10). Baruch wrote as Jeremiah spoke and, because Jeremiah was kept away from the temple, read the scroll to the people there on a fast day.

Fear among the officials (36:11-19). When the officials heard it, they turned to one another in fear and decided the king must hear it. They also told Baruch to hide with Jeremiah.

The knife and the fire (36:22-23). It was the ninth month, and the king sat in the winter house before a fire on the hearth. As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king cut them off with the scribe's knife and threw them into the fire, until the whole scroll was gone.

No fear, no grief (36:24-25). Neither the king nor his servants were afraid or tore their clothes in sorrow. Some officials pleaded with him not to burn the scroll, and he would not listen.

Take another (36:26-28, 32). The Lord hid Jeremiah and Baruch, then told Jeremiah to take another scroll and write all the former words again. Baruch wrote them, and many similar words were added. A king can destroy a scroll; he cannot cancel what God has said. God also said the king would answer for refusing His word (36:30-31).

The pattern continued. In Jesus' parable the owner sent again and again, and last of all his son (Matthew 21:36-37). The Son was rejected and killed, as Jehoiakim had rejected the scroll. God's answer to the Son's rejection was resurrection.

Sent to bless. Peter preached in the temple, “To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities” (Acts 3:26). The people who rejected Jesus were the first to be offered His forgiveness.

Not to condemn. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). God's messages, from Jeremiah's scroll to the gospel, aim at saving people.

Application. There are ways to cut up God's Word without a knife: skipping the parts that confront us, or listening with no plan to change. This week, when Scripture points to something wrong in your life, do not set it aside. Confess it, and trust Jesus to forgive you.

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