Bible Reading: Judges 2; Acts 6; Jeremiah 15; Mark 1
Jeremiah 15:1 Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.
The LORD told Jeremiah not to pray for the children of Israel. God was going to send them into exile and he would not change his mind.
Jeremiah 7:16 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.
God said it would not matter if Moses and Samuel stood before the Lord on behalf of the people. Judah was in a terrible position because God said he would not hear the two mighty intercessors on their behalf. Do you remember what these men did? Both of them were tasked with serving a rebellious people and both of them interceded for that people and God heard their prayers and spared them because of the prayers of Moses and Samuel.
Exodus 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Exodus 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
1 Samuel 7:9 And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD: and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him.
The people of Jeremiah's day had crossed a line and God would not hear the prayers of righteous men on their behalf. Do you ever wish you had a man like Moses or Samuel to pray for you because they have a 'direct line to God'? If that is the case, you need to understand what an incredible change God has made in you when he saved you. He made you righteous. He gave you access to his throne of grace. He will hear your prayer just as he heard the prayers of men of old. Not only that, but until God draws that line for someone, you and I are instructed to pray for them:
1 John 5:16-17 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
You can intercede like Samuel and Moses!
James 5:16b -17 The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
You can pray like Elijah, Moses and Samuel – so let's pray!
In Christ,
Rody
