The author of the blog To Be A Worshiper reactivated his blog after a break of 3½ years. His bio reads, “Semi-retired pastor, Semi-retired engineer, pretty much semi-everything, but a full time worshiper.”
I love the fact that within this short devotional, we not only get insight into the scripture verse at hand, but we also get to see his Bible study method, or Bible study process. Click the link in the title which follows to read this where it first appeared.
The Ancient Path
Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)
This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
In “Alice through the Looking Glass”, Alice comes upon a Cheshire cat, sitting up on a tree branch grinning. When Alice asks the cat for directions, the cat asks Alice where she wants to go. Alice said she didn’t know, to which the cat responded “Then any direction will do”.
Sometimes I feel like I’m standing at an intersection, a cross road if you will, and I’m not sure which direction I’m supposed to take. My human nature says “Take the easy way”, or “Look for the least painful, the shortest”. I listen to my human nature a lot…I know the voice pretty well.
But God said something very specific to Israel in the book of Jeremiah. He said “Look, and ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” Actually, that doesn’t really sound very specific at all! Ancient paths? Good way? What in the world does that mean?
I started thinking (I know, rare, but I do it sometimes), about the term “ancient paths”. Does He mean old roads, or the road less traveled, or goat paths in the desert? Hmm. What is the oldest path mentioned in the Bible?
Genesis 3:8 (NIV) Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”
Eureka! The oldest path in the Bible is where God used to walk with Man in the Garden of Eden! Before sin, Man would have walks with God Himself, and I can only imagine the conversation! What intimacy. What peace and rest, to walk with God, to talk to God, to be as a friend.
But just like Israel, Man violated the contract, basically saying “We will not walk in it”. Sin separates. Sin condemns
Sin leaves us to walk alone.
But why would God tell us to stand at the crossroad and make the “right” choice if we didn’t have a choice? The word for Ancient (old) is the Hebrew word ʿôlâm. It also means, and is translated, as “everlasting”.
So we are to choose to walk in the path of the “everlasting” life. A life where we get to walk with the King, a life of intimacy and fellowship with God.
So, today, decide that you will choose the ancient path, the eternal path. Follow Jesus, and you will find rest in Him.
Second Helping: Since we were looking at “ancient paths” I decided to check out the oldest post on this blog, and found something that seemed to have many illustrative possibilities for those who teach and preach. Check out, This Page Intentionally Left Blank.
Christianity 201 
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