Fill the Wineskin

Scripture: "Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Don’t we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to fill with drunkenness all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. I will smash them one against the other, parents and children alike, declares the Lord. I will allow no pity or mercy or compassion to keep me from destroying them.’" Jeremiah 13:12-14

Observation: Jesus, too, used wine/wineskins metaphorically. His old/new wine/wineskins represented the law (wine) and covenant (wineskins), and thus the old teachings of the law were part of the old covenant, and the new promise of Jesus was part of the new covenant of salvation through faith.

God is saying the exact same thing: The covenant between God and the people of Israel needs to be filled with their keeping of the laws, and most importantly their love of God with no other gods. However, they have emptied their wineskins - dumped out the law (drunkenness = the wine is gone) - and thus God is going to smash the dried out wineskins ... break the covenant!

Application: God's anticipated response to the metaphorical statement that wineskins must be filled with wine is informative. The people KNOW the wineskins should be filled with wine. Just as we today KNOW what we are supposed to be doing to display our faith in Jesus and love of God.

Non-believers KNOW moral truth, or at least parts of it. However, they reject God, worshipping other gods (some as true alternative belief systems, and some as priorities in their lives that become idols). Believers fail to follow Jesus' new-covenant teachings like loving others, caring for the downtrodden, holding our tongue to avoid slander, praying and placing our full trust in God, reaching others with the Gospel as our core mission.

What are we to do? We are to keep our wineskin filled with wine! That means ... placing reliance in the covenant promise of Jesus Christ as our lord and savior, and keep that promise healthy by pouring his word and teaching into our hearts daily. THAT is what daily devotions are for ... it is the choicest wine, poured into our hearts and minds, to keep Jesus' promise fresh and renewed, and thus keeping our souls healthy.

It was one year ago today that I chose to not just begin a discipline of devotions, but to hold myself accountable by going "public" with it. I set up this blog on August 13, 2014, and made my first post on August 14 stating I would begin the devotions on September 1. A year later, I cannot believe how much I love doing this! I miss the readings so much when I skip a day!! I regret not starting this sooner, as every day seems like a blessing to me. I look forward to keeping full of wine so I can remain useful to God.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your love and teaching in your word! It truly is a light unto my feet - a useful instruction, timely reminder, kind encouragement, gentle correction ... and sometimes all of the above on the same day. Thank you for loving me so much that you would make your law available to me, and provide me the time and means to learn about it. May I continue to grow under your love, so I can be fit for you to use for your purposes. Amen, and amen.