The Work of the Gardener and The Architect
#308 The Work of the Gardener and The Architect Jeremiah 1.5-10
Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me,
“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” Jeremiah 1:9-10
I relate personally to Jeremiah’s job description because of my position as an owner of a business with 48 employees, and my responsibility as Personnel manager. My job includes evaluation, reward, praise, discipline, problem solving, and empowering others to be the best they can be in our employ with prayers that it will spill over to their personal life. The hardest part of my job is the discipline which can include termination. As I read these verses I realized that there are some similarities to my job. My job is to “tear down and build up”. And I see how God has committed to equip me to do this job and face other challenges in life, in the face of the stress of the personal impact on the lives of others amid the ups and downs of business and personal life.
Jeremiah’s response to the call of The LORD is recorded in Jeremiah 1:6-8 and holds powerful lessons for us.
“Alas, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth.”
But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ because everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And all I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
“I don’t know how to speak, because I am a youth.”
Do not identify yourself by your limitations and perceptions of who you are.
Identify yourself by His purpose for our life. (as exemplified in our Savior John 18:37)
“Do not be afraid of them FOR I AM WITH YOU to deliver you”
Do not make the challenge bigger than our God! Daniel 3:16-18
“I have put My words in your mouth.”
May His Word be in our hearts, in our thoughts, and in our mouths, even at the cost of the fiery coal. Isaiah 6:5-7
The terms of verse 10 describe the work of an Architect and a Gardener.
There are more terms for tearing down in this verse (to root out, pull down, destroy, and throw down – King James Version) than for building up (to build, plant). The point may be that there was a lot of deep rooted sin that needed to be pulled up, and a lot of rubble that needed to be removed before blessing could take place. The work of the Gardener would be to pull out the patterns of sin by the roots. The work of the Architect would be to level the buildings of established power. Jeremiah thereby prophecies of the destruction of Israel’s temple, their city and their nation by Nebuchadnezzar as well as by the Romans in AD 70. He also prophesied of their restoration in terms of an Architect and a Gardener: to build or repair, and to plant, referring to Israel’s return from Babylon (Jeremiah 24:5-7) as well as their restoration as a nation in 1948 and forever after. Jeremiah 32:37-44
There is an important principle in this verse. In order to Build and Plant the old ways must be torn down and uprooted. This destructive phase of experience makes room for the New. It is true not only for natural Israel, it is true for spiritual Israel (2 Corinthians 4:16, 17-18; Hebrews 12:26-18), and it is true for the world Psalm 46:8-10, 11).
In my own life, even the ‘tearing down’ part of my job can be used by God for the ultimate purpose of building up, for the highest good of the company and the individual.
I need to remember the work of the Architect and the Gardener. The upheaval of pulling up sin by the roots prepares the soil for the seeds of truth. God’s Highest Good is at work in all of these scenarios.
Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me,
“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” Jeremiah 1:9-10
I relate personally to Jeremiah’s job description because of my position as an owner of a business with 48 employees, and my responsibility as Personnel manager. My job includes evaluation, reward, praise, discipline, problem solving, and empowering others to be the best they can be in our employ with prayers that it will spill over to their personal life. The hardest part of my job is the discipline which can include termination. As I read these verses I realized that there are some similarities to my job. My job is to “tear down and build up”. And I see how God has committed to equip me to do this job and face other challenges in life, in the face of the stress of the personal impact on the lives of others amid the ups and downs of business and personal life.
Jeremiah’s response to the call of The LORD is recorded in Jeremiah 1:6-8 and holds powerful lessons for us.
“Alas, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth.”
But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ because everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And all I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
“I don’t know how to speak, because I am a youth.”
Do not identify yourself by your limitations and perceptions of who you are.
Identify yourself by His purpose for our life. (as exemplified in our Savior John 18:37)
“Do not be afraid of them FOR I AM WITH YOU to deliver you”
Do not make the challenge bigger than our God! Daniel 3:16-18
“I have put My words in your mouth.”
May His Word be in our hearts, in our thoughts, and in our mouths, even at the cost of the fiery coal. Isaiah 6:5-7
The terms of verse 10 describe the work of an Architect and a Gardener.
There are more terms for tearing down in this verse (to root out, pull down, destroy, and throw down – King James Version) than for building up (to build, plant). The point may be that there was a lot of deep rooted sin that needed to be pulled up, and a lot of rubble that needed to be removed before blessing could take place. The work of the Gardener would be to pull out the patterns of sin by the roots. The work of the Architect would be to level the buildings of established power. Jeremiah thereby prophecies of the destruction of Israel’s temple, their city and their nation by Nebuchadnezzar as well as by the Romans in AD 70. He also prophesied of their restoration in terms of an Architect and a Gardener: to build or repair, and to plant, referring to Israel’s return from Babylon (Jeremiah 24:5-7) as well as their restoration as a nation in 1948 and forever after. Jeremiah 32:37-44
There is an important principle in this verse. In order to Build and Plant the old ways must be torn down and uprooted. This destructive phase of experience makes room for the New. It is true not only for natural Israel, it is true for spiritual Israel (2 Corinthians 4:16, 17-18; Hebrews 12:26-18), and it is true for the world Psalm 46:8-10, 11).
In my own life, even the ‘tearing down’ part of my job can be used by God for the ultimate purpose of building up, for the highest good of the company and the individual.
I need to remember the work of the Architect and the Gardener. The upheaval of pulling up sin by the roots prepares the soil for the seeds of truth. God’s Highest Good is at work in all of these scenarios.
