Passage: Jeremiah 345:4
"I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan, son of Igdaliah the man of God...".
Allow me to start this by saying that I have never liked my name. The name, "Eric" just doesn't seem to be one of those, "powerful" names, you know? However, I have never changed it - for two reasons. First, just exactly *when* is a good time to change one's name? All the people who know you by the old name will always call you by that name, so you will forever live a double life... that's not for me. And then there's the fact that my parents went to great lengths to call me, Eric... and so I think, out of respect, I should probably keep the name.
If my parents ever decided to call me, "IGDALIAH"... friends - I would be singing a different tune!! In fact, true story - I came very close to being called something very similar to "Igdlaiah"!! Yeah, my sisters, both much older than me, thought it was pretty funny to call me, "Ignore". They would say, "Here comes Ignore... Ig-nore him!"
Now, you may laugh - but to me, this was devastating! You see, I was too young to know what the word, "ignore" meant - and so I would run screaming to my mother, and when I told her what my sisters were calling me, *SHE* would just bust a gut, laughing at me.
Of course, once I learned what the word meant... I decided to do the Christian thing, and I LAID HANDS ON THEM!
Now, in the passage we are looking at, Jeremiah 35:4, we see that a group of people, known as the "Recabites" were invited to come to the house of the Lord, and brought to the "Room of Igdaliah". Iggy was an unsung hero in the Bible. He was obviously important enough to be mentioned in the Word... and even more outstanding, he was called a, "man of God". In fact, the Hebrew translation of Igadliah means, "God is great". And yet - this is the only place we hear of him... and as such, it was enough to peak my curiosity to this story - the likes of which you may never hear in a Sunday morning sermon.
What is a "man of God"? Does he have to belong to an organization such as Promise Keepers? Were there truly such people, even before the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the Messiah?
Well, while "Iggy" is called a man of God... in stylish heroic form, he does not get the glory in this passage, but instead is but a single figure in the total makeup of the picture presented. You see, the true people of God in this portion of Scripture are the Recabites. They were put into "Iggy's Room", and offered an abundance of wine. But instead of partaking of the wine, which amounted to a test from the Lord... the Recabites decided to obey the commands of their forefathers, and did not drink any of the wine.
As a result of their obedience, God blessed the Recabites, and made a lasting covenant with them concerning their ongoing service to Him. Consider it job security - they made the right choice, and it paid off in lasting protection and blessing.
I believe that the answer lies in the single word, "obedience". God sets the standards, and lays down the laws. He makes us aware of these laws, and then the rest is up to us. Will we choose to obey them? If the answer is yes, then you too can consider yourself a person of God. However, if the answer is no... then you will be held accountable - by the very same law, and the lawgiver Himself. The choice is yours.. where do you stand?
By the way, "man of God" also meant, "prophet". It stands to reason, too - as every true prophet of God must be willing to be obedient to the direction of God.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to become more obedient to Your leading. When we fall, Lord, help us to repent of our wrongdoing, and deliver us from the things that would come between us and our obedience to to You. For this we will give you the credit, and all the glory! This we ask in Jesus' name... Amen!
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Eric Reamer is an evangelist, and full time Christian Illusionist. If you enjoy this devotional, please e-mail Eric at: Eric@IllustratedIllusions.com.
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