Creeping Jenny

1 Kings 15:25-34

²⁵ Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years.

²⁶ He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.

²⁷ Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.

²⁸ So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place.

²⁹ And as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite.

³⁰ It was for the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned and that he made Israel to sin, and because of the anger to which he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel.

³¹ Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

³² And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

³³ In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah began to reign over all Israel at Tirzah, and he reigned twenty-four years.

³⁴ He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.

When I was a kid we made frequent trips to the family farm in northern South Dakota. My dad went up to help his brother during the busy times and we really enjoyed those trips. The farm is located in a very remote part of South Dakota (well, I guess it’s all pretty remote) and there wasn’t much by way of television. So, we were forced to entertain ourselves more “creatively”. This area of the country is very hot in the summer, very cold in the winter and constantly windy. There are very few trees and hundreds of miles of rolling prairie. I find it to be alarmingly beautiful. One very hot sunny July afternoon, as I looked for some way in entertain myself, I noticed a vast quantity of what I thought were very pretty flowers.

 

Turns out this was called “Creeping Jenny” by the people in the area. It is also known as Field Bindweed and is part of the Morning Glory family. It is very difficult to destroy and very good at choking out the crops. The farmers in the area hate it. I was unaware of this animosity and was trying to help, so I picked a bunch of it and floated the little flowers in a big bowl on the dining room table. When my uncle came in for lunch, that bowl had to go. He was not interested in eating his meal staring at this weed which was a tough and formidable enemy.

As we continue to follow the story of God’s people in Israel and Judah, a pattern quickly emerges, of which we have already taken note on numerous occasions. The evil inside of people seems to override the command to be faithful and obedient to God. It is insidious and almost impossible to destroy. In fact, until we die, it remains our enemy. In Romans 7, the Apostle Paul takes on this entire topic and admits that until his sinful flesh passes away he will fall victim to the ravages of sin.

Romans 7:14–20

¹⁴For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. ¹⁵For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. ¹⁷So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. ¹⁸For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. ¹⁹For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

It is tempting to look at the nations of Israel and Judah and shake our heads. Why couldn’t they remain faithful to the God who loved them and cared for them? That same question comes right back to us; why can’t we remain faithful to the God who loves us and cares for us? We are not better than they were. We are just a quick to forget about God and go our own way, for our flesh daily demands that we do so. But – and in Christianity, we always have this great news – Jesus has freed us from the ravages of our sin. Because of His shed blood, we have the hope that even though we are ugly sinners and rebellious toward God, our sins are forgiven and we are constantly restored to His side. Those ancient believers could have had the same restoration (and a few of them did!) for they simply believed on the front end of the promise.

The way to keep the Creeping Jenny from destroying your crops is to keep ahead of it. You kill it before it even has a chance to sprout! The way to keep our lives on track with God is to daily keep ahead of the propensity to allow our flesh to rule our lives. Daily we remember that we are God’s chosen people, baptized into the faith and upheld by His Spirit.