There Is A Way That Seems Right (Proverbs 12:15)

Introduction

There is a way that seems right, or there is a way which seems right. I don’t like to let the cat out of the bag, but I announced the sermon title already anyway. But you might have said to yourself, if you looked more closely to the verse that I associated with it in the advertisement, he chose the wrong proverb. Proverbs chapter 12 and verse 15. Actually, it’s not the wrong proverb. It fits the point of the lesson this morning. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes. But a wise man is he who listens to counsel. We want to be that wise man. I want to begin this morning by throwing out one of the themes of this lesson that relates to the text that we’re going to be studying.

And is the tendency that we have to allow our emotions, the passion that we have for something or someone to allow our emotions to rule our head. To get into the way of being the wise person who listens to God’s counsel. Now I’m going to take you to a text you probably weren’t expecting. Jeremiah chapter 27. Jeremiah chapter 27 and 28. And you might want to start looking at these texts as I set the background for you. The point through Jeremiah the prophet is that the Babylon yoke is coming. Babylon is going to come, King Nebuchadnezzar, and besiege the city of Jerusalem and destroy it. That’s going to happen. Seventy years of captivity that Jeremiah has been prophesying. And the time frame of this particular story is the beginning of Zedekiah’s reign.

That is the 590s BC time period. Of course, the destruction is going to come in 586. He is the nephew of Jehoichid. Or actually, Jehoichan is the nephew of Zedekiah. And he was king, but he was taken into captivity in 597 BC. And it is through Jehoichon, who is in Babylon, that the Davidic line will continue with Zerubbabel when the captives returned. So Jehoichan’s in captivity. And Zedekiah is his uncle, whose name was formerly Mataniah. And the only reason why I’m throwing this out is that Mattaniah, they named their kids great things, and this was a great thing. Gift of Jehovah, but he didn’t turn out to be one. The Babylonians renamed him Zedekiah, which is also true, and that is that the Lord is righteousness, but he really didn’t live up to that either.

1. Make for Yourself Bonds and Yokes

He was a vassal under oath of allegiance to Babylon. When they took Jehoichin off, they make Uncle Mataniah the king in his place, a vassal king, who has sworn allegiance to Babylon. Still of David’s family. He’s 21 years old. When he begins to reign, he reigns 11 years, and it ends in a disaster. As he rebels against Babylon, bad idea, which that’s what this text is about. And the last thing that he sees with his eyes is probably his young sons, his sons being executed. And then they gouge out his eyes. This is a tragic story in the Kings and Chronicles and in the days of Jeremiah. So Jeremiah chapter 27. God says to Jeremiah, make for yourself bonds and yokes. Okay, this is a literal physical demonstration.

Make for yourself bonds and yokes. And the people did not respond very well to these visual demonstrations. And this message, though, goes beyond the borders of Judah to all of her neighbors, countries or nations like Edom and Moab and Ammon and Tyre and Sidon with this message. I have given all these lands in the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Do not fight this. Do not listen to your prophets and diviners or whoever it else that you’re going to turn to for counsel who speak to you, saying, You shall not serve the king of Babylon. Don’t listen to that. I’ve given, I’ve given it into his hand. And to Judah, and really to all of them, if anyone comes to you and says, You’re not going to serve the king of Babylon, they are lying to you.

Now that’s 27. Well, we covered that pretty quickly. Now let’s get to 28 and enter Hananiah, the prophet. His prophecy, thus says the Lord of hosts, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Boy, that was music to the people’s ears. Ferocious Babylon. The yoke has been broken. Within two years. Oh, that’s very optimistic. Within two years, I’m going to bring back to the place all the vessels of the Lord’s house. I’m also going to bring back to this place Jehoiche, Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, and all the exiles of Judah. This is all going to be over in a couple of years. I love Jeremiah’s response. Mockingly, chidingly, instructively responds. If you watch game day, Lee Corso on Saturday mornings, not so fast.

He says in Jeremiah chapter 28 and verse 6, Amen. Mockingly.

Now Jeremiah’s saying it’s going to be 70 years. But yet hear now this word which I am about to speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. Let’s do a little history lesson. The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms of war and of calamity and of pestilence. Derek Kidner in his commentary quoted him last week. Yes, same guy. His fellow prophets fought with the familiar weapons of religious conflict. This is applicable to our times. With sweeping assertions on emotive issues, that is, things people are passionate about, have emotions about. And finally, they, and not thee, they resort to intimidation. He summarizes the emotive issues where the hopes centered, and I did spell that right actually, according to the commentary, on the temple vessels.

For people have always focused more passionately on holy objects, than appeals for holy living, and a swift reunion with the exiles. I sort of liked what was there in the parentheses. How the people will focus passionately on things and get very emotive about that, if we can use that term, and holy living, well, not so much.

In verse 9 of Jeremiah 28, the prophet who prophesies of peace. When the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly said. Basically saying what Hananiah is telling you is a lie. And when it doesn’t come to pass, you will know that it is not true. And then in this melodramatic display, Hananiah takes the yoke that is on Jeremiah. He’s actually bearing a yoke here, folks. And he breaks it. Oh boy, that was good. That’s some of the best pulpit stuff I’ve ever seen. He breaks the yoke of Jeremiah. What a symbol. Two years. It’ll all be over. You know what I really like about this? And you pass over it if you’re not careful.

Jeremiah’s response to this, his yoke that God has told him to make, that he is broken, Head and I is broken. It says, Jeremiah just walks out. Well, I mean, the Lord isn’t giving him a word to speak at the point. Jeremiah just walks out. But God is not done. God affirms to Jeremiah that the yoke of wood that Jeremiah had on will now become a yoke of iron. I like what Kinder says here. God’s word when it came was unsparing. First, we only add to our chastening when we resist it. But secondly, the personal word to Hananiah agrees with a major burden in these chapters. The literally dead sin, deadly sin of false prophecy. What we might describe as wishful and unorthodox teaching, God more briefly calls a lie and rebellion, and a fatal disservice to the hearers.

If we do not speak consistently with truth, whomever hears, we do a fatal disservice to the law and to the testimony. Through Isaiah the prophet, it was spoken in Isaiah chapter 8 and verse 20. If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. They are not bringing light if they do not speak consistently with truth. This is where I really like the events of this story. God informs Hananiah.

The Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people to trust a lie.

Sherry has a very strong sense of justice. I knew she would like this. Some of her favorite shows are ones where justice is meted out. So even the bitchalenti kind of stuff. But I mean, just as long as it’s justice. She’s good. God says, I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. He says to Hananiah. This year you are going to die. Because you have counseled rebellion against the Lord. And verse 17 so matter of factly says that Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month. In the seventh month. Okay, so you say to yourself, you know, I’ve never really heard of Hananiah the prophet before. Well, it’s a short story, and that’s how it is. He’s done. At the end of Jeremiah chapter 28.

2. Discerning God's Will

What kind of applications can we make in a few minutes this morning to this interesting story in the book of Jeremiah? There’s a message here about discerning God’s will. And that simply means drawing proper conclusions about thinking and behavior that God either accepts or disapproves. Here’s the important thing this morning. You need to be discerning, and I need to be discerning. I need to make proper conclusions about what is right, about what is good, and about what will please God and get me to heaven and to avoid what we talked about last week, and that is the wrath of God. I need to be discerning about that, and you need to be discerning about that, and I need to help you with that. That’s right. Solid food is for the mature.

The Hebrew writer says, if I could sort of, there’s a lot going on contextually there about their spiritual immaturity, and he’s challenging them to grow, and he says, you need to be mature because those who are mature have their senses trained. I like that. There’s training that has to be done. We have to spend time in the Word so that we can be sufficiently trained that we can discern good and evil. It’s not always so absolutely crystal clear that even a caveman’s going to see it. You’ve got to work at it sometimes. That’s right. You’ve got to invest of yourself. That’s why we spend all this time in Bible study, discussing the phrases and the verses and the text, so that we’ll be able to discern between good and evil.

It’s not all just crystal clear and easy without any effort. We’re admonished to abstain from every form of evil in 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 22, but the previous verse says to examine everything carefully. Hold fast to that which is good. So I’ll tell you, that’s what we’re all about here. I think about my role as the one who stands in this pulpit and preaches on a regular basis. My business, my responsibility, is to equip you and myself, but to equip you to be able to discern between what is right and what isn’t. Between what is good and what is not. Because you’re going to be held responsible for the decisions that you make, and I’m going to be held responsible for the decisions that I make and the things that I’ve taught you.

3. Obstacles: Appeals to Reverence

And that leads me to point number one, two points that relate to the subject of obstacles. Hananiah was an obstacle to people discerning right things about God’s will. He prophesied a lie. Why does that happen? Why do people embrace lies? There are religious charlatans everywhere. And sometimes they don’t even know that they’re charlatans. They think that they’re really on God’s side. Hmm. I wonder if we read about people like that in the Bible. Yeah, we do. They somehow convince themselves that their alternative message is not an alternative, that it’s actually right. That their alternative message is not really good, even though they think it is. I don’t know if Hananiah was really buying into his own prophecy or not. But the bottom line was God had to send it.

So why would anybody listen to Hananiah? He’s a prophet. He’s a religious man. I’m not a prophet. He’s a he’s a big guy. He’s important. At least he was important enough to command some kind of an audience that he could have this back and forth with Jeremiah, a real prophet. So there he was. How does that work? Why do people listen to things that aren’t true? They do it all the time all around us. I don’t want to be that person. I don’t want you to be that person. But one of the reasons why it happens is what is called in logic appeals to reverence. That is, we place undue trust in the source that is delivering the information. We’re all learning a lesson about that now, aren’t we?

In the last year in regard to the political cycle that is, well, we wish it had concluded, but it hasn’t. About the news sources that you can trust, the stories that are out there that are trying to manipulate and spin. And sometimes the things you read on the internet. Well, it’s true because it says it on the internet. I’m being facetious, folks. I mean, I think there was a level of credibility. I think I think folks are waking up a little bit. Maybe there was a level of credibility given to things that we read on the internet. Oh, if it was written on the internet, and if a doctor said it. That’s gospel. It’s got an MDE outside of their name. That’s an appeal to reverence.

And we do the same thing with not just because it’s on the internet, it must be, you know, you should be able to reason through this when you start searching something on the internet, and somebody says this, oh, that sounds good, and then somebody says the exact opposite. Something else over here. These both cannot be right. Oh, I read it on Facebook. It’s true. Really? How many times have you had to go to Snopes? And then I’ve been told that everything you read on Snopes isn’t true. Oh, man. The Snopes is supposed to be telling me what’s true and what isn’t. I don’t, I don’t know. Half the stories I don’t read anymore. Maybe. Maybe. Lester Holt said it on NBC. He may be better than most.

Actually. I don’t know. But we do the same thing with preachers. And I hate to make this point in some ways because now everybody questions everything that I say. Don’t listen to anything he says. He’s a preacher. No, I don’t mean that. I mean, you’ve got to measure what a guy says against the objective standard of God’s word. It’s not right merely because somebody that you respect, oh, but you know, Brother So-and-so, he preached for 170 years. I love that guy. He couldn’t have been wrong. I’ve been wrong about some stuff. I might be wrong about some stuff I don’t even know yet. I get challenged all the time by the students of this class. Like every class. But it’s not right merely because somebody you respect said it, or my family member believes it.

4. Packaging Righteousness in Terms Palatable to Me

I love my parents. My grandparents. They were the greatest people that ever walked on the face of the earth because they’re my grandparents and I love them. And so they couldn’t have possibly been wrong. They couldn’t have possibly been deceived. Those are appeals to reverence. People who are generally decent people can be wrong. Spiritually and eternally wrong. And we read about that all through scripture, and this is just one more example of that. And I could go on for days. But I promise I won’t. The second point that I want to make about these obstacles is it’s just really tempting to package righteousness or what is right in terms that are palatable to me. I mean, who wants to think about Babylonian captivity for 70 years and Nebuchadnezzar coming and burning the temple and burning Jerusalem?

I mean, who wants to think about that? Oh, it’s ought to be over in two years. Oh, that sounds a lot better. Oh, let’s move Jeremiah out of here and get Hannah in here. Well, unfortunately, Han and I is not going to last very long. He’s going to die this year. But this is the temptation. And there’s warnings about this. And, you know, I know a lot of you know this text. Preach the word, be in season and out of season. But accumulating teachers. Paul said, folks are going to want to accumulate teachers that match their desires. That’s this point right here. And I want to say we’re all tempted to do it. We all come to the table with certain prejudices and ideas and preconceived notions, and it’s our tradition.

And if it’s our tradition, we really love it a lot. Tradition. It’s everything. No, it’s not. But we think of it. Tradition is everything. A lot of things about tradition are right, but things aren’t right merely because they’re tradition. But tradition, I’m comfortable with that. It’s the way I’ve always done it. The older you get, the worse that problem becomes. This is the way I’ve always done it. And therefore, it is the right way. Tradition, it’s comfortable. I like it. It feels good to me. A lot of people can’t leave error because they love tradition more than they love God. That’s the bottom line. I get it. It’s palatable to me. I mean, it tastes good. It goes down the palate. Well, I like it.

It comforts me. It’s a lot uncomfortable to say, man, this religion that I’m practicing, it’s really not what the Bible says. I’ve got to get out of this. Wait a minute. There are people there that I respect. There are people there that I like. I’ll just stay with these people that I respect and I like. That’s dangerous. Wouldn’t it be better to get in conformity with truth and then try to teach them so that they can get in truth with you? That’s right.

So, again, I could go on all day about this. Packaging righteousness in terms that are palatable to me. But you know, Paul said something about this in Ephesians 5, and I want to end with this morning, so I want to mention it briefly right here. That we’re in the business of trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Ephesians 5 and verse 10. We’re children of light. It says earlier in verse 8 and in verse 9, the fruit of the light. Okay, we want to walk in the light. The light consists in goodness and righteousness and truth. That’s the standard. It’s a standard we can know. It’s a standard we have to believe and embrace with our hearts and practice. Goodness, righteousness, and truth.

Don’t ever sacrifice it. Be careful how you walk. Not as unwise men, but as wise.

5. Poor Discernment and the People We Influence

Not just counsel that’s wise in any given situation, but ultimately God’s counsel. Therefore, be careful how you walk not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Two more points briefly, we’ll be done. I want to talk for a minute about poor discernment. And there is a lesson here in this story about the people we influence. What a horrible an half of Hananiah’s life versus Jeremiah’s life. Hananiah lied to people. Listening to his lies. Destructive. And so I thought about the impact and influence that we have on other people. And I want to tell you just that’s why teachers have to be careful.

They receive a stricter judgment. And then there’s this in Luke 17, 1 and 2. A frightening passage. In Luke 17, verses 1 and 2, Jesus says, very extreme terms here. He says, it is inevitable that stumbling blocks should come. Hananiah was a stumbling block. It is inevitable that they should come, but woe to him through whom they come. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck.

Right to the bottom. That would be better than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble. Now I want to tell you. If you didn’t see any relevance, anything else that I said this morning, this point is relevant to you. And it’s relevant because non-influence is not an option. Okay. I get what you’re saying. I’m just not going to influence people. Well, that choice influences people to be like you. I mean, people look up to you. People watch what you do. And we obviously know this in our homes. What are we conveying to our children? Oh, we’re telling our children. Almost said children, but we’re almost killing them. If we don’t teach them the right things. Well, I’m saying the right things to them, but I want to tell you, actions speak louder than words.

And if our actions are not consistent with our words, are they going to believe what you say you love and prioritize, or are they going to believe what they see you love and prioritize? They’re not done.

In fact, kids are maybe smarter than they’ve ever been. Isn’t that right, kids? Yes, we’re smarter. Your kids will know if the Lord isn’t first in your life. I know we all have struggles. And I would just say, if one of those struggles is profanity or a bad temper, you better be working on that. Because your kids see that. And it influences them. So one of the takeaways from this story is what are you telling your kids about what’s really first in your life? We have such a short window of opportunity with our kids.

And probably going through some of that when we’re not at our spiritual best, as maybe we will be 10 or 15 years down the road. Every parent has regrets.

6. Outrageous Behavior and God's Displeasure

So I want to challenge you. Be thinking about how you’re influencing your kids. And be thinking about the fact that you cannot escape influence. At one point, I want to make very briefly about outrageous behavior and God’s displeasure, right? I think the compelling thing to me about this story is that not everybody that sins in the Bible gets the boot so quickly. I mean, I think of us, right? But he was just trying to study the art. But God says, what you’re doing, this is a sacred object. It was irreverence, and he was struck down before the Lord. He should have known better. And when God acts in such a severe way, it is almost always a case where the person doing it should have known better.

He’s not calling the Gentiles you bunch of snakes.

You vipers.

To whom much is given, much is required. And some of God’s most severe punishment, immediate retribution that he offers is because the behavior is so outrageous from people who should have known better. Here we go. Finally. This is what Hananiah illustrates. There is a way. It seems right unto a man, but its end is the way of death. Notice it’s found in two places. In the Proverbs 14, 12 and 16 25. To somehow manufacture your own way or do things your own way. It’s a bad idea. Like the kid this week who decided at the age of 10 he was going to take his mother’s car on a joy ride and is chased by police, going a hundred miles an hour, ends up with three flat tires, and comes to a halt in a roadside ditch.

Bad idea. And it’s the second time that he’s done it. Even worse. The bad idea. To reject God’s righteousness. And manufacture your own.

Conclusion

Walk as children of light. Walk in goodness and righteousness and truth. Is there someone in this audience this morning who needs to embrace that walk? That begins, he who believes and is baptized shall be saved. You need to respond to the invitation. Come now as we sing.