Today’s post will be fairly brief. Sometimes less is more. Jeremiah’s prophecies about the nations around them all came true — all of them. Prophecies in Scripture about the final end of the world will come true too. Be among God’s people when the end comes. See you tomorrow, Lord willing.
I hope you’re getting as much out of these readings as I am. I’ve always liked Jeremiah, but I’m impressed over and over again by his long-suffering persistence in pleading with a sometimes fearful, sometimes hard-headed and hard-hearted, and sometimes just plain foolish people to do the right thing — obey God. Today’s reading continues Jeremiah’s story of the Babylonian conquest of Judah and the aftermath of assassination and fear that it engendered.
Jeremiah had been telling the people and their rulers for a long time that if they would simply submit to the Chaldeans (Babylonians) they would at least receive their life as a reward. Most didn’t listen, but of course Jeremiah did follow his own God-inspired advice and indeed received his life and a little extra. Jeremiah was released from the chains of the Jewish rulers, was offered safe passage to Babylon (where potentially he might have been received well by Nebuchadnezzar as a prophet that “had been on their side”. But Jeremiah chose to stay with his people; God had plans for people like Daniel and Ezekiel to be the prophets in far away Babylon. But the point for us to remember is that no matter how crazy the advice might have seemed, when the conquest of Jerusalem first happened, God’s command to submit to the punishment of exile was the only half-way decent ending for this episode of Israel’s history. Resistance really was futile. So also for us — why do we insist on resisting what God has to say to us? Do we really think we can prevail? Do we really think that our plan will work out better? Then why do we struggle against Him so often?
In the margin of my Bible at 40:15,16, during at previous reading through the book of Jeremiah, I wrote, “Why didn’t he [Gedaliah] ask Jeremiah [about the seriousness of the assassination threat]?” I mean, after all, you’ve a prophet of God near at hand to give you the always accurate intelligence you need. But he didn’t, and his reliance on his own ability to see a plot coming got him assassinated in the end. Is there a point here? We receive a lot advice in our lives from well meaning family and friends — and occasionally the not-so-well intended enemies we might have — about important decisions we need to make in our lives. We listen to them all, we weigh their advice, we think about it, maybe we even pray about it, but regrettably we often don’t consult with God’s word about it — and usually suffer the consequences, just like Gedaliah. The vast majority of us have God’s word right at hand, why not consult with the one always right Advisor.
After the assassination of Gedaliah panic ensued — someone, after all, had just murdered the governor of the province of Judah appointed by Babylon. Babylon would surely see this as rebellion and wipe out the remainder of the Jews in the land. And even if he doesn’t, their long-standing enemies, the Ammonites, have sinister plans for the remaining Jews. What will we do? Many wanted to run to Egypt, thinking that Egypt would be too far for Babylon to pursue them. But unlike Gedaliah who didn’t consult with Jeremiah, the remaining Jews do ask Jeremiah to ask God what they should do. Jeremiah 42:5, 6 “Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole message with which the LORD your God will send you to us. “Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will listen to the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well with us when we listen to the voice of the LORD our God.”” So, Jeremiah consulted with the LORD, who told them to not go to Egypt. As the remaining Jews thought this over, (spoiler alert) their fear overwhelmed their good intentions. The point: it’s not enough to get advice from God, you need to follow through and obey. As an evangelist, I’ve talked with a lot folks who have sworn loyalty to God and His word, that they would do anything that God commanded — and then turned away to truth in His word that was undeniably plain, a truth that they acknowledged to be there. Don’t let that guy be you.
See you tomorrow, Lord willing.
Have you ever known someone who was hurtling toward destruction (e.g., of their health, of their marriage, of their family, of their reputation, of their business, of their soul) who steadfastly refused opportunity after opportunity to save himself/herself through immoral or stubbornly dumb choices? It’s tragic and heartbreaking to watch. Today’s reading deals with the last chances offered Zedekiah and the city of Jerusalem to avoid not just defeat, but cataclysmic destruction of the city and the Temple, not to speak of the human life lost — last chances that Zedekiah and the rulers of Jerusalem decided to take a pass on. What can we learn from Jeremiah’s account of the last days of Jerusalem in his lifetime.
The political rescue that made sense to Zedekiah and his advisors was to ask the Egyptians to come to their rescue, and sure enough when the Egyptians approached the Babylonians did lift the siege and confronted the new threat. But the Egyptians were a false hope to Jerusalem, the Egyptians could never be Israel’s savior, the God that they had offended and abandoned was their Savior — the very One who was bringing Nebuchadnezzar’s army to Israel’s doorstep. Jeremiah 37:10 “‘For even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.’”” Somehow political intrigue and complexity was deemed better than repentance and obedience, but it wouldn’t work. Israel had offended God and God was a very determined enemy. The awful thing is that it didn’t need to be this way.
Politicians and their constituents still seek political answers to spiritual problems. The solution is always doing right and faithfulness to the LORD, and repentance, if it is called for. Psalms 144:15: “How blessed are the people who are so situated; How blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!”
Zedekiah seemed to have been inclined listen to Jeremiah, but he had also been inclined to listen to the false prophets with their false hopes. And at this point the false prophets’ prophecies were being exposed for the foolishness that they always were. Jeremiah rightly asks, (Jeremiah 37:19) ““Where then are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’?” The answer was Nowhere to be found!
There continue to be false prophets (false teachers and preachers) in our own day, full of false hope and misinformation. As in Zedekiah’s case, there’ll be those who listened to them to their own tragic demise. The destruction coming, however, is not just of a city and its Temple, but the final judgment. The false prophets will be unable to rescue.
The answer is when foolishness is really wisdom. Jeremiah’s advice to Zedekiah, the rulers, and the people sounded like treason in the ears of the leaders, Jeremiah 38:3, 4 ““Thus says the LORD, ‘This city will certainly be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.’” Then the officials said to the king, “Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and all the people, by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of this people but rather their harm.”” But there was no treason here, there was godly wisdom — a submission to God by submitted to the judgment that He had ordained for them through the Babylonian captivity. Think about it like a criminal holed up in a house, surrounded by the police. The smart thing to do is to come out with your hands up, confess, and do the time for your crime. It may not be much fun but it’s better than taking a hundred bullets and or spending more time in prison for the further crimes of resisting.
Today people continue to resist the consequences for sins and continue to resist submission to God. Dodging consequences, however, doesn’t solve the larger and more serious problem of one’s character and of one’s final destiny for sin.
Despite the opportunity to minimize the destruction — Jeremiah 38:17, 18 “Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘If you will indeed go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will survive. ‘But if you will not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given over to the hand of the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and you yourself will not escape from their hand.’”” — Zedekiah still took a pass on God’s offer. The consequences of his inaction, his fear of the nobles who wanted to fight to the last man, his hope for salvation from the Egyptians was that when he was captured (after trying to flee the city at night), he had to watch as his own children were brutally executed and then his eyes were put out! The memories of this last sight had to have burned his heart, his conscience, and his memory to his dying day! How many alcoholics, stubborn spouses, negligent parents, or self-centered libertine have surveyed the wreckage and collateral damages of their life’s follies with sharp pangs of conscience and deep regret.
He was right and he had been right all along. But there was no triumph in Jeremiah’s vindication. No victory dance, no fist pumping, just broken-heartedness. There is no competition in Jeremiah’s heart, as in, “I was right and you were wrong!” And even here there is a lot for us to consider; discussing the Bible’s teachings isn’t a debate to be won or lost, it is a plea for men to save themselves. When and if they reject the Bible’s teachings, it’s not a defeat to us or a victory for them — it’s an eternal tragedy; it’s a lost soul.
See you tomorrow, Lord willing.
I hope you’re enjoying the tour through Jeremiah. There are so many excellent stories and lessons to draw for everyday life from these readings. For example…
Perhaps Zedekiah had hoped that the LORD might change his mind or perhaps even that God would at least allow Zedekiah himself to escape Nebuchadnezzar. But God’s plan for Zedekiah was different: Jeremiah 34:3 “‘You will not escape from his hand, for you will surely be captured and delivered into his hand; and you will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’” At least Zedekiah, because the LORD saw something good in him, would die in peace and would be mourned — unlike some Israelite kings who had died in disgrace. I think the lesson here is that some consequences for sin are inevitable, but if we submit to the LORD, we could be shown mercy even in our punishment.
Not only had God commanded that every Sabbath year (every seventh year) in the original covenant (the Mosaic covenant — Exodus 21:2), but in view of Israel’s disobedience to this command, some had made a new covenant with God (possibly in hopes of avoiding the prophesied punishment spoken of by Jeremiah and others). However, after initially releasing their slaves, they began reclaiming their former slaves! God wasn’t pleased and pretty incredulous that they had “cut the calf in two and passed between its parts” — but now were reneging on their covenant promise. Jeremiah 34:18 “‘I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts–” It’s a fairly gruesome explanation so I’ll keep it brief, but covenants were often enacted by literally cutting sacrificial animals in half and then walking between their parts. The idea behind the blood ritual was to say, as it were, “If I should go back on this promise, may I also be butchered like these animals.” Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 warns everyone, “Ecclesiastes 5:1 “Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.”
The Rechabites were a family within the family of the Kenites. The Kenites weren’t really Israelites, even though they had come into the Promised Land with the Israelites. They were technically Midianites, the family of Moses’ wife. They had been nomads, being from Midian anyway, and Jonadab the son of Rechab, their ancestor from Moses’ time, had charged his family to not adopt the ways of the Israelites and become farmers. They were never to drink wine, they were never to till a field, they were never build or live in a house. But God, for a visual aid sort of lesson, told Jeremiah to invite the Rechabites to a wine tasting party, as it were. The Rechabites refused and explained why they had to refuse. Why, God then asked, if the Rechabites have observed their father’s rules (traditions) for so many centuries, why couldn’t Judah have observed God’s commands? Jeremiah 35:16 “‘Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have observed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.’”’” And it remains a good question for us today, doesn’t it? We have traditions, even in America, a way of living and thinking — call it Americanism, patriotism, individualism or whatever you wish — but if you violate it, you’ll be looked at like you have three heads. So why is it so hard for us to obey God’s commands?
When people don’t like what God has to say, they would often like to do what Jehoiakim did — cut it up, burn it, and ignore it. The problem, however, is that God’s word is simply indestructible — it doesn’t go away so easily. In fact, it doesn’t go away at all. Jeremiah was commanded to rewrite all his previous prophecies and a few more: Jeremiah 36:32 “Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many similar words were added to them.” Closed Bibles won’t excuse us, burning it won’t exempt us, it simply won’t do to ignore it — whether it’s baptism, discipleship, love, forgiveness, our words, morality, or following God’s patterns for the church, Jehoiakim’s solution won’t do.
See you tomorrow, Lord willing.
Although Jeremiah had a lot of bad news to tell, he did get the chance to tell some good news, too. Today’s reading is an example of that good news — it’s just that it’s the good news on God’s terms. News that’s easy on the ears isn’t just the territory of false prophets or teachers. We must simply be aware that we can’t sculpt God’s good news to meet our personal tastes. The false prophets of Jeremiah’s day were calling for a return of the exiles, too, they were just giving the people false hope by promising it much too soon. God’s good news is God’s good news, and we can’t change it.
A remnant was going to return to Judah in God’s time. And though the punishment had already been and would continue to be severe, there was still hope. Jeremiah 31:15, 16 “Thus says the LORD, “A voice is heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; She refuses to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.” Thus says the LORD, “Restrain your voice from weeping And your eyes from tears; For your work will be rewarded,” declares the LORD, “And they will return from the land of the enemy.” Verse 15 is quoted later in Matthew 2:18 in connection with the slaughter of the innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod, but as you can see, the original context is about the heartache of Israel’s mothers whose children had been taken in captivity. But for the heartbroken mothers, there was the comfort of knowing that their children would be returning — “…your work will be rewarded.” Here’s comfort for today’s tough times: if we’ll be faithful to the Lord’s way, we find that things work out. The New Testament puts it this way, (Romans 8:28) “… God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
But there’s continued good news; a new covenant will be established. Jeremiah 31:33, 34 ““But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”” A section of this passage that I didn’t quote, because of its length, contrasted this new covenant with the Mosaic covenant. This covenant would be different mostly because instead of being written on tables of stone, they would be written on God’s people’s hearts. Instead of being an externally imposed law, it would be an internally compelling law (2 Cor. 5:14). Even better, this covenant would issue in real forgiveness and forgetfulness of sin. It was, of course, on the cross of Christ that the new covenant was initiated, the blood of the covenant was shed and forgiveness was purchased.
Moreover, the promise of the return was solid. The point of chapter 32’s story about Jeremiah redeeming property in Anathoth was that God’s people really would be coming back and reclaiming their farms and homes. What sounded improbable and maybe impossible was, in fact, going to happen: Jeremiah 32:17 “‘Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You,”
This clay seal, hardened by a fire of destruction, carries the name of Jeremiah's scribe, Baruch, son of Neriah
Lastly, there is the prophecy of the Messiah, the righteous Branch of David. He’ll be different from other kings that had seen and known; He would rule in justice and righteousness (Jeremiah 33: 15). This was Jesus, who brought us all justice and righteousness.
See you tomorrow, Lord willing.
Few things are harder to deliver than bad news. Few things are better to deliver than good news. Jeremiah had been the messenger that people had wanted to kill, and now that the bad news had happened, there were plenty of wannabe heroes wanting to bring good news and hope. The problem was that it was false prophecy and false hope.
Hanniah was a problem to Jeremiah. The first wave of exiles had been taken to Babylon, and Hanniah wanted to give Judah hope — nice sentiment but with the wrong method — so, he told the people that God was going to break the yoke of the king of Babylon within two years! It’s interesting — Jeremiah says is willing to “Amen” Hanniah’s prediction (v. 6), but he offers this counterpoint (Jeremiah 28:9): ““The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent.”” This directly parallels what Moses said about identifying a false prophet in Deuteronomy 18:22. Jeremiah goes on to contrast his own prophecy to Hanniah’s (one of us is wrong and it’s not me!) and tells Hanniah that God would be visiting punishment on him for his false hope (Jeremiah 28:16, 17): ““Therefore thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to die, because you have counseled rebellion against the LORD.’” So Hananiah the prophet died in the same year in the seventh month.” Hope when it is not God’s hope is false hope. When it is spoken in the name of the Lord, and doesn’t come to pass (and it won’t, if the Lord isn’t behind it), the faith of men in the LORD begins to fail. Then when real hope is spoken by the LORD, men pay it no attention.
Jeremiah’s hope (from God) was less sparkling than Hanniah’s. Instead of blowing hot air like a quick return of the exiles Jeremiah told the exiles (Jeremiah 29:5): “‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.” Get ready for a long stay, settle in. Others prophets in Babylon were, like Hanniah, full of false hopes and promises of a quick return of the exiles, but God wanted His people to know the reality: (Jeremiah 29:9, 10) “‘For [false prophets of Babylon] prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD. “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.” There was coming a time, when they would return, but it wouldn’t be soon, (Jeremiah 30:8, 9) “‘It shall come about on that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves. ‘But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.”
And when they did return it would be a different Judah. This double prophetic passage includes a reference to the Messiah and the church, (Jeremiah 30:21) “‘Their leader shall be one of them, And their ruler shall come forth from their midst; And I will bring him near and he shall approach Me; For who would dare to risk his life to approach Me?’ declares the LORD.” The Messiah would not only be the king, He would also be the priest “he shall approach Me” — Jesus. Now that’s REAL hope! A real reason to rejoice!
There are folks today that chafe at God’s bad news about sin and Hell. They don’t want to be Jeremiahs and would much prefer to be the bringers of hope and grace and peace. The problem is that it is often hope, grace, and peace on the basis of cheap discipleship and smooth-sounding theology, and popular religion. It is false hope. There is real hope found in the Scriptures, God’s hope; the rest of it isn’t worth a dime.
See you tomorrow, Lord willing.
What is there about human nature that is so cock-sure that adverse, negative consequences will ever come our way. We start this way as children, sometimes, pushing the limits with parents and somehow surprised when punishments or consequences come — “Don’t touch that hot stove, Park; it’ll burn you honey.” Oh, I know what I’m doing; I’ll never get burned. Ouch! Boo-hoo! And somehow, we never quite seem to completely outgrow it. So it was with Israel in Jeremiah’s day. Let’s see look into our reading today to see what stubborn Israel was doing with Jeremiah’s warnings from God.
Jeremiah 25:3 ““From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty-three years the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.” — There are plenty of you who can feel Jeremiah’s pain, parents, spouses, preachers, teachers, etc. Your situation isn’t unique; there are plenty of “brick walls” that are talked to daily. And for all of us who’ve ever felt like a Jeremiah here, my heart, prayers, and empathy go out to you. But for just a moment, I’d like to appeal to the “brick walls” out there. How much longer do you expect to be able to do what you’re doing? There really will be a day of reckoning and there’ll be no talking your way out, no negotiations possible, no charming your way out, no fighting your way out, no door to run away through. A spiritual “hard rain’s a-gonna fall” one of these days — and your won’t be able to handle it.
Jeremiah 25:9 “behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.” — This prophecy was uttered (25:1) the very first year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, and already the LORD is calling him His servant. Some of God’s servants bring good news, some bring calls to repentance, and others bring down the hammer. Nebuchadnezzar was in the latter category. God was going to pave the way for Nebuchadnezzar to rise to power, mow down his opponents in battle, and push his empire across the Fertile Crescent, down through Palestine, and on into Egypt. Was Nebuchadnezzar a good guy? No. He was a pagan who was brought to the point of recognizing God as the “Most high God” — but not the only one. And in punishment for his brutality, God punished Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon with loss of empire and a desolation of Babylon that has never been rebuilt. But he was nonetheless a servant of God. God can, will, and does use good guys and bad guys for His own purposes.
Jeremiah 25:11, 12 “‘This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. ‘Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the LORD, ‘for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation.” — This passage (and Jeremiah 29:10-14) was read and gave hope to Daniel and the other exiles in Babylon in Daniel 9:2. God still wasn’t done with Israel, after all; the exile’s intent was to bring His people, Israel, back to Himself. As it turned out, it helped a whole lot.
Jeremiah 25:28 ““And it will be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you will say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “You shall surely drink!” — Nebuchadnezzar was going to be God’s hammer to not only Israel, but the many corrupt nations around them. Jeremiah was to send out prophet messages to them all and tell them also that they must repent or perish, lest God’s justice, symbolized in a metaphor of the cup of God’s wrath, come their way. But like most of us, they thought they could handle whatever God might send their way; they could repel the invaders, they could save themselves, they could refuse the cup of the LORD. But God won’t be refused; no man or nation of men or world of men and demons combined can refuse or resist Him. It’s something good to know, lest we allow our arrogance to overcome our good sense.
Jeremiah 25:34 ““Wail, you shepherds, and cry; And wallow in ashes, you masters of the flock; For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions have come, And you will fall like a choice vessel.” — I just liked the simile of falling like a choice vessel in this verse. A choice vessel would be that really pretty vase (pronounced “vahz” — you know what I mean) that you keep out of the reach of children. Why? Because the “vahz”, no matter how pretty, will shatter into a million pieces just like (or maybe worse, because they are often more fragile) an ordinary clay vessel. The point to the “shepherds” of Israel (princes, rulers, etc.): don’t think that your position, your noble station in life, your nicer clothes, your crown, or your money will give you any advance, when the hammer falls. The “vahz” will shatter as easy or easier than the common pot.
Jeremiah 26:8 “When Jeremiah finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You must die!” — Fine! Kill the messenger! Why is always that way? As a preacher, I’ve been on the “business end” of contempt, hatred, and defensive reactions before. What they really hate is uncompromising truth, God’s justice, and perhaps God Himself. It’s important to keep this in mind, when the slings and arrows are pointed your way.
Jeremiah 27:12 “I spoke words like all these to Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live!” — Submission is hard for anybody, but if God has ordained an authority, His people should put their yoke on their neck (Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2:13ff). Jesus said, ““Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”” (Matthew 11:28-30).
See you tomorrow, Lord willing.
Well, if you’ve not heard — and you’d pretty much have to be living under a rock to not have heard — Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. died last night. There have been a lot of good words to say regarding his genius and disruptive technological innovations; good things which I’d agree with — I’ve been a Mac fan for probably 25 years now. But all the good things said about Mr. Jobs causes me to reflect just a bit about the footprint we may leave behind after this life is done. This isn’t to say that we all need to be a Steve Jobs, he was uniquely gifted and left behind a legacy of only technology — which is cool, but not everyone can do that. Leaving behind a spiritual, eternal legacy on the other hand, well, that’s even more substantial and longer lasting…
There’s lots to comment on today, so most of them will be brief.
Jeremiah 22:5 ““But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,” declares the LORD, “that this house will become a desolation.”’”” — Was it still possible for Israel to stop this runaway freight train of punishment? Yes, apparently so. The conditional nature of God’s promises good and bad were still in play; they still are today. But will we wait too late?
Jeremiah 22:21 ““I spoke to you in your prosperity; But you said, ‘I will not listen!’ This has been your practice from your youth, That you have not obeyed My voice.” — When we’re living high on the hog, we feel we have the world on a string; we often also think Who Needs God? It’s when we’re in trouble, that we often turn to Him and obey Him. The better time to turn is when things are good, to listen in our prosperity.
Jeremiah 23:5, 6 ““Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The LORD our righteousness.’” — Here’s a wonderful promise of the Messiah to come. He would be the righteous branch of David and reign wisely, righteously, and justly — contrasted to the kings of Jeremiah’s day. And here we see a prophecy (“He will be called, ‘The LORD our righteousness”) anticipating Paul’s teaching about our salvation: Romans 3:21, 22 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction.”
Jeremiah 23:21, 22 “I did not send these prophets, But they ran. I did not speak to them, But they prophesied. But if they had stood in My council, Then they would have announced My words to My people, And would have turned them back from their evil way And from the evil of their deeds.” — God seems to be saying, “Excuse Me?! You’re speaking on My behalf?! I don’t think so!! I’ve never spoken to you.” And so it is today, as well — so much theology spoken on behalf of God without inspiration, without Scripture, putting words in God’s mouth that were never there.
Jeremiah 23:28-30 ““The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? “Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who steal My words from each other.” — God’s word is so very different from false teaching! False teaching is like straw: no nourishment, no strength, and no health. Grain is like God’s word: nourishing, strengthening, and health providing. God’s word is also compared with fire and a hammer — things that change things. Modern false prophets are content to change nothing about their listeners. God’s word does.
Jeremiah 23:36 ““For you will no longer remember the oracle of the LORD, because every man’s own word will become the oracle, and you have perverted the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God.” — Could this not have been said about the current “post-modern” theologies all around us? There’s his truth, and her truth, and their truth, and my truth; and although they are all different, they’re all true and all good. Yeah, right. John 14:6 “Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Jeremiah 24:7 “‘I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.” — Gladly a time was coming in which God’s people would willingly listen to God and willingly change. Is this fulfilled in your life?
See you tomorrow, Lord willing.
parklinscomb 
Letting God take revenge — Jeremiah 49-52
Yesterday’s post was pretty short and sweet, talking about how certain the punishment of the sinful would happen. Today we’ll look at the other side of the coin for the righteous.
Chapters 49-51 prophecy the demise of Ammon, Edom, Damascus (Aram), Kedar, Hazor, Elam, and Babylon. But putting a different lens on these prophecies, what the Christian can see — especially since these nations were treacherous enemies of Israel — is that God will punish those who oppress God’s people. Most Christians realize this, though we occasionally forget: we need never seek our own revenge in word, deed, plotting, or fighting-fire-with-fire. God will repay and He is much, much better — and more just — than we will ever be about our own vengeance. The worst we can do is kill someone; God can do much more. Consider such prophecies about Israel’s enemies…
You need never feel alone in this world — the Lord is always with you.
The last chapter of the book tells a poignant story of the destruction of Jerusalem. Zedekiah, as we have mentioned before, attempted to escape, when Babylon was about to overrun the walls. He wasn’t able to run very far before the Babylonians caught up with him and as punishment for his resistance, killed his children (who couldn’t have been very old, since Zedekiah was only 31 years old) in front of him — then they gouged his eyes out. The chapter also talks about what happened to other players in this grand drama — how Jehoiachin — taken as an exile and put in prison — was taken out of exile and made a regular at the king’s table, quite possibly because of Daniel’s influence.
We can clearly understand why Jeremiah wept so much. I say this just to point out that God didn’t completely protect His prophet from sorrow, difficulty, trouble, threats, enemies, and “unfair” circumstances — you are not alone in your own unfair suffering. God doesn’t protect us completely from every bump and bruise. A terribly damaging hit to our faith can happen, if we were expecting a rose garden immediately after our baptism. Perhaps our unrealistic expectations come from seeing nice looking people at church who appear to be without problems, struggles, illnesses, and hurts. Let’s be clear: they all — ALL — have their own set of challenges and heartaches. Don’t be fooled.
See you tomorrow, Lord willing.