Category: Jeremiah–BibleTrekToday
Sunday rest and reflection: Jerusalem!
Dear Friends and fellow citizens of Heaven,
Greetings on this day of rest! The beauty of the Christian faith is the rest we have because of God’s grace through the finished work of Jesus Christ! We have been adopted into God’s family and made heirs and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We have been declared righteous and have been justified in God’s sight. We can only rest in what Jesus Christ has provided and dare not add another thing.
As I reflected on the readings this week, I immediately thought of Zechariah’s final discourse on Jerusalem and the importance of this city in the plans and purposes of God. Jerusalem was known as the city of David, the beloved king of Israel, who took the city from the Jebusites. It was there that David made plans to build a house for God and purchased the threshing floor of Araunah for a place of sacrifice. (1st Chronicles 21:18-30) Solomon, David’s son, actually built the temple and Israel enjoyed a time of peace for 40 years during his tenure. (2nd Chronicles 7:1-3) As he dedicated the temple, the glory of the Lord filled the house so that the priests could not enter!
Several hundred years later, God’s people had slipped into idolatry and a shallow religion that brought about their captivity. The beautiful temple of Solomon was destroyed by the Babylonian invaders and God’s people went into captivity. After seventy years, Daniel the prophet read the prophecy of Jeremiah and saw that the time was nearly over and began to pray and fast. (Jeremiah 25:11-12) Jerusalem would be rebuilt and the temple again would stand. Nehemiah and Zerubbabel led the rebuilding efforts and the work went forward. God moved miraculously on the heart of King Cyrus and he supplied the authority and finances.
Prophets Haggai and Zechariah both urged the workers to rebuild the city and temple. God had plans for a greater purpose and glory yet to come! (Haggai 2:9) ( Zechariah 8:1-3) According to Zechariah, Jerusalem would be pivotal for God’s end-time program of judging the nations. (Zechariah 12:1-3) The nations would gather around Jerusalem to seek to destroy it in a final battle. Jesus Christ would come back to Jerusalem and again place His feet on the Mt. of Olives, causing it to split and form a way of escape for God’s people. (Zechariah 14:4-5) Following this great battle, the Lord would be King over all the earth and rule from Jerusalem! (Zechariah 14:9)
“Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, His holy mountain. It is beautiful in loftiness, the joy of the whole earth!” Psalm 48:1-2 In His Love, Pastor John
The Day of the Lord is near!
Scripture reading for August 24: Ezekiel 29-32
Whenever they got into trouble, Israel would often seek to go back to Egypt. After Moses led them out with a mighty deliverance, they talked of stoning him and choosing a new leader who would take them back. They easily forgot that that was a land of idolatry and slavery. Even after Babylon had conquered the nation of Israel and left a remnant there in the land of Israel, that group went down to Egypt for protection, against the advice of Jeremiah the prophet. (Jeremiah 42:19-22) (Jeremiah 43:7) In Ezekiel 29 was a prophesy given to Ezekiel concerning Egypt and Pharaoh. God warned them that their pride would bring judgment and defeat. God was bringing a sword against them that would leave the land of Egypt desolate for forty years. (Ezekiel 29:8-12) After forty years, God would bring a remnant of Egyptians back and they would be a lowly kingdom. Israel was to learn not to rely on Egypt and that the Lord was sovereign. (Ezekiel 29:16)
The prophet Ezekiel was to then announce that the day of the Lord was near. That day was to be a day of clouds and darkness. It would be a day of doom for the nations that Ezekiel had spoken about. A sword would arise from Babylon that would bring destruction on Egypt and her surrounding friends. (Ezekiel 30:1-4) This “day of the Lord” came to these people during the lifetime of Ezekiel. His Word from the Lord came to pass and Egypt went into captivity; Israel, Cush, and Tyre were destroyed as well.
We often hear the messages of the “day of the Lord” and “the end” and tend to think that they are a long way off. We feel that this could possibly be thousands of years away, or at least, not in our lifetime. I want to encourage you that this day could be today! We are told to live in readiness for Christ’s return. (Matthew 22:42-44) We are told that no one will know the day or hour, but that we should be watchful and prepared. (Matthew 24:36) For those who are ready by faith in Jesus Christ, it will be a day of joy and gladness. For those who experience this day outside of God’s mercy, it will be darkness, trouble and doom. We don’t know when that day might come, but we do know that it is nearer today than yesterday!
Lament over Jerusalem!
Scripture reading for August 16: Lamentations 1-5
Jeremiah composed a series of five funeral songs about the death of Jerusalem and the captivity of God’s people. As a pastor, this book is helpful to gain insight into the process of grief and helping families and individuals deal with death and loss. Grief takes time and energy to process. Mourning people go through stages ranging from disbelief and shock, to mourning and wailing, blaming others or God, to quiet acceptance and finally readiness to move on. God understands our grief and sorrows for His Son, Jesus, was a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. (Isaiah 53:3)
Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet because he had a tender heart of compassion for God’s people. (Lamentations 1:16) He had warned them faithfully of the coming judgment and destruction of Jerusalem. He had witnessed the destruction and now wrote to chronicle the grief process. Jeremiah was a lot like Jesus Christ, Who also wept over the city of Jerusalem as He saw prophetically the destruction that was to come upon it for their rejection of Him as their Messiah. (Matthew 23:37-39) God values tears so much that the Psalmist said He gathers them up in a bottle and records them on a scroll. (Psalm 56:8) Tears are a sign of compassion and were cried by Jesus at Lazarus’ tomb and again over Jerusalem.
In Lamentations 3, the prophet is recounting his misery and described it with images that bring Isaiah 53 and the crucifixion to mind. In the middle of his rant, he turned his thoughts to hope! (Lamentation 3:20-21) He remembered God’s steadfast love and great compassion. Jeremiah declared that His mercy is “new every morning” and that “great is God’s faithfulness”. (Lamentations 3:22-23) Because God was Jeremiah’s portion, he chose to wait for the Lord, Who is good to those who wait for Him and put their hope in Him! It is truly God’s mercy that gives us hope and leads us to repentance! (Romans 2:4)
This funeral lament ends with words of faith and hope and a prayer. God is sovereign and reigns forever. In His compassion, He would restore them as they prayed. Take a moment and offer a prayer of thanksgiving and trust in the Lord for His loving compassion today. His Son Jesus Christ wept over us and bore our sorrows and tears that we might live in His love and receive new mercies every morning!
“You, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation. Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long? Restore us to Yourself, O Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old unless You have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.” Lamentations 5:19-22
“Flee from Babylon!”
Scripture reading for August 15: Jeremiah 46-52
“Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins. It is time for the Lord’s vengeance; He will pay her what she deserves. Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad. Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken. Wail over her.” Jeremiah 51:6-8a
God has promised to watch over His Word to perform it. Jeremiah ended his book with the story of God’s dealing with Babylon because of her treatment of the people of God. Babylon was to be destroyed suddenly and the people who would do it are named by Jeremiah seventy years before it happens. The Medes and Persians would carry out God’s purposes and be His war club! (Jeremiah 51:11, 20) Jeremiah had earlier told the people that the captivity would last seventy years! (Jeremiah 25:11-12)
Through Jeremiah God called to His people to flee from Babylon. Although they would live there for seventy years, they must be ready to return to Jerusalem. The end of Babylon would come suddenly. Jeremiah foretold how Babylon would fall. In Jeremiah 51:36-40, he stated that God would dry up the sea or springs. The officials of Babylon would be aroused and drunk at a feast. They would be shouting with drunken laughter and suddenly they would die! This Word was known by Daniel and likely helped him interpret the handwriting on the wall the night that Babylon fell! The Babylonian officials were drinking from the golden goblets from God’s House in Jerusalem when the handwriting of God appeared on the wall. (Daniel 5) Daniel was called to interpret and God’s judgment fell before morning! (Daniel 5:30) It is said that the Medes damned up the river and came in under the wall, taking the city from within!
This prophecy about the destruction of Babylon was to be read aloud to the captives in Babylon by Seraiah, an aid to King Zedekiah. When he was finished, he was to tie a rock on it and throw it into the Euphrates River. It would sink to the bottom as a symbol of how Babylon would sink at the appointed time! (Jeremiah 51:59-64) For a real rush of adrenaline, turn to Revelation 18 and read the whole chapter in light of Jeremiah’s prophecy.
“Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. . . .Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her; death, mourning, and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.” ” Revelation 18:4-5,8
“Is there any Word from the Lord?” (Part 2)
Scripture reading for August 14: Jeremiah 40-45
“Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, “Please hear our petition and pray to the Lord your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left. Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.” Jeremiah 42:1-3
The Jews feared the wrath of Babylon because their Babylonian appointed leader, Gedaliah, had been assassinated. They were thinking about fleeing to Egypt but sought a Word from the Lord. They approached Jeremiah to pray for them to “your God”. It showed a lack of personal relationship with God.
After this group promised Jeremiah to abide faithfully by what the Lord would say, he agreed to seek the Lord. They promised to do whatever was asked that it might go well with them. (Jeremiah 42:5-6) As Jeremiah prayed over their request, ten days passed before the answer came. He called the Jews together to hear the Lord’s directions. If they would stay in the land, God would plant them and build them up. He would protect them from the King of Babylon and show them great compassion. (Jeremiah 42:10-12) However, if they did not obey and chose to go down to Egypt, what they feared would overtake them and they would surely die by the sword, famine and plague! (Jeremiah 42:13-18) Jeremiah emphasized to them, “Do not go to Egypt.” (Jeremiah 42:19)
It’s logical that a people who wanted God’s Word and promised to obey would quickly obey. However, their words were not sincere because their hearts were not right with the Lord. They had no fear of the Lord or His Word. They accused the prophet of lying. (Jeremiah 43:2-7) They proceeded to gather up everyone and head for Egypt! This is the mystery of iniquity in the heart of sinful man. Why would a people who knew God’s Word and the penalty for disobedience choose to disobey and die?
As you think about this story today, examine your own life and check out your heart. Have you sought the Lord for something you know is not God’s will? When a man or woman of God gives you truth that you disagree with do you go ahead and do your own thing? Is the Lord “your God” or does He belong to others?
“Is there any Word from the Lord?”
Scripture reading for August 13: Jeremiah 37-39
“Jeremiah was put in a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained for a long time. Then King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there any Word from the Lord?” “Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be handed over to the king of Babylon.” Jeremiah 37:16-17
When times are tough, many people are curious about what the Lord might be saying. When we haven’t listened to His Word for a long time and have tried to silence the voice of God, it is not easy to hear properly again. God knows the motives behind our questions. Such was this question from King Zedekiah. He sounded sincere–like he wanted to know and understand what the Lord was saying–but really did not believe God’s Word of judgment through Jeremiah.
We sometimes hope that God has changed His mind or given a new Word. None of the last kings of Judah wanted to hear Jeremiah’s Word from the Lord. He was in prison because of preaching that Word of coming judgment. Some pandering kings officials hatched a plot to kill Jeremiah and King Zedekiah did nothing to stop them. He really did not want to hear the word of coming judgment.
Today, people are running around looking for a “Word from the Lord”. They go to conferences and seek out those with prophetic gifts. They want to hear the latest prophetic predictions. They want guidance and direction. We each must check our motives and ask ourselves if we are obeying what has already been spoken and written from the Lord. In the last days there will be a famine, not for bread or water, but for hearing the Word of the Lord! (Amos 8:11-12)
Jesus Christ Himself is the last Word from God for the world. He offers grace and forgiveness of sins to all who will repent and believe. Have you responded to this Word? “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word. After He had provided purification of sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:1-3
Slash and burn theology!
Scripture reading for August 12: Jeremiah 34-36
Jeremiah 36 gives us a record of the process of recording scripture in written form. Jeremiah the prophet dictated to his secretary, Baruch, what God had revealed to him concerning the judgment coming on Jerusalem. Baruch took a pen and ink and wrote the words down on a papyrus scroll. (Jeremiah 36:18) He was told by Jeremiah to go and read the words to the people in the temple of the Lord. (Jeremiah 36:8) As he read the words of coming destruction and God’s wrath against the people because of their sins, officials of the king heard the message. They had him read it again to them and they decided that the king must be notified. They warned Baruch to tell Jeremiah to go and hide both of them.
The king was sitting by a fire and had a scribe’s knife in his hand as the scroll was being read. As he heard the words of a portion of the scroll, the king cut it off, threw it into the fire and burned it up. (Jeremiah 36:23-24) He showed no fear or respect for what the Lord had said or for the written word of God. In fact, the king gave orders to arrest Jeremiah and Baruch, but the Lord had hidden them! God knows how to protect his people!
As I read this account, I could not help but wonder if God’s people are still doing this same thing today. When some who claim to be Christians read the command “you shall not murder”, they don’t believe that it applies to them or their politics and simply ‘slash and burn’ the word of God! They vote to keep murder legal by supporting abortion. When some who claim the name of Christ hear that no homosexual offender will inherit the kingdom of God, they ‘slash and burn’ and sanction gay marriages and ordain gay pastors and priests. Still others cut out the verses concerning salvation by grace through faith and continue to teach a righteousness based on good works.
The ‘slash and burn’ mentality is bad theology and yield’s God’s wrath and judgment. King Jehoiakim lost his future place in the messianic line as well as a decent and honorable burial. (Jeremiah 36:30-31) All that was written by Jeremiah and Baruch would come to pass because God watches over His word to perform it! (Jeremiah 1:12) No word of God is void of power. It is a fire and a hammer that will burn and smash those who try to oppose it! (Jeremiah 23:29) Take time today to reflect on your treatment of God’s word. Make a fresh commitment to read, believe, and obey the word of God. Good theology puts the fire in your bones!
Sunday rest: a fire in our bones!
Dear Friends,
God called His people to regularly gather and study His Word and hear it declared. In the Old Testament, It was read to them out loud because there were few copies. God’s Word is our necessary food and brings revelation and vision. His Word was likened by Jeremiah to a “fire in my bones.” That “Fire” is available to all believers who will receive the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to dwell in their hearts by faith.
Jeremiah was called to preach the ‘Word of the Lord’ to God’s people. (Jeremiah 1:4-5) On one occasion, he stood outside the temple and spoke that Word to those who were entering to worship. On other occasions, he would use an object lessons. The Word of God would bring light to the people who heard it, but the same Word would harden hearts of those rejecting it. Jeremiah preached to a back-slidden people who rejected his ministry and God’s Word, even seeking to kill him.
Jeremiah got tired of the rejection, plots of murder, and reproach. He wanted to quit preaching the Word of God. But as he tried to do that, he found that the Word was like a fire in his bones! (Jeremiah 20:9) That fire is the power of God to produce what God desires from His Word! (Isaiah 55:10-11) No Word of God is void of power! Jeremiah went on to state that the Lord was with him like a mighty warrior! (Jeremiah 20:11) He knew through the Word of God that all his enemies would stumble and be defeated. God would give him the victory!
Today, take His Fire into your bones by allowing God’s Word to reside in your heart. God’s Word brings faith to accomplish all that is written! It will move you forward in discouraging situations and overcome opposition! It will empower you to love those in opposition. Love never fails!
In the Fire of His love, Pastor John
Ask and Receive!
Scripture reading for August 10: Jeremiah 30-33
“The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3
“While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the Word of the Lord came to him a second time: “This is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it–The Lord is His name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ “ Jeremiah 33:2-3
God loves His people! He always has and always will love them! He draws His people to enter into a love relationship with Him by cords of loving-kindness. He knows that love must be freely given by His people and that they must be drawn back to Him from the world and it’s enticements. God’s love will ransom them from the hand of the enemy. (Jeremiah 31:11) He will cause them to take up the tambourine and dance with the joyful! (Jeremiah 31:4, 13)
God declared to Jeremiah a time that was coming when He would make a new covenant with Israel and Judah. This covenant would include God writing His law on the human heart and mind. God would personally be their God and each person would personally know God. His forgiveness of sin would be experienced by all and God Himself would remember it no more. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
These visions of restoration came to Jeremiah at a most unlikely time in the history of the nation. The nation was surrounded by the Babylonians and Jeremiah was confined to the courtyard of the guard under house arrest. In the natural, it did not look good. But in the midst of the troubling time, God’s Word brought hope and encouragement to Jeremiah and His people. God would allow the destruction of the temple and send His people into captivity. He promised restoration and the coming of the New Covenant.
The amazing promises of great things given to Jeremiah included the promise of the righteous “Branch” that would sprout from David’s line. (Jeremiah 33:14-16) This “Branch” would bring salvation to Judah and peace and safety to Jerusalem. His Name would be “The Lord our Righteousness”. This “Branch” is none other than Jesus Christ! He brought the “New Covenant” in His own blood that would enable eternal forgiveness of sins and the law written on hearts. He was the embodiment of the everlasting love of God in human flesh and draws us with His loving-kindness! These are great and unsearchable things revealed to those who call on Him!
Truth!–or consequences?
Scripture reading for August 9: Jeremiah 26-29
It takes discernment to hear the voice of God. What sounds good is not always truth and only the truth will make us free! In Jeremiah 28 we have a story that always makes me stop and consider what I might have done as I listened to these two prophets. One had a message of victory and hope, and the other a message of judgment and captivity. One message was true and the other was false. God allowed them to give their messages in the temple of the Lord in front of the priests and the people. After the messages were given, the priests and people had to decide which one to believe.
In the fifth month of the fourth year of King Zedekiah, all the people were gathered with the priests in the temple. Hananiah, a prophet from Gibeon spoke to Jeremiah in front of all the people. Jeremiah had been wearing a wooden yoke around his neck for a long time telling the people of their coming captivity. Hananiah declared that within two years, God would remove the yoke of the Babylonians and Judah would be free. To illustrate that message, he took the yoke off Jeremiah and broke it in front of the people. (Jeremiah 28:1-4,10-11)
Jeremiah responded initially with an ‘amen’ to the message. But he added some prophetic insight. Most prophets were sent to warn of coming disaster and turn the people back to God. This prophecy of peace would only be from the Lord if it actually happened. (Jeremiah 28:6-9)
As Jeremiah went his way, the Lord told him to go back with a Word for Hananiah. He was to tell Hananiah that he was not sent by the Lord and that his prophecy was not true. God was going to remove the wooden yoke and place an iron yoke on His rebellious people. Last, God declared that Hananiah would die because he preached rebellion against the Lord.
Who would you want to believe? Wouldn’t it have been tempting to hate Jeremiah and his message? How would you decide which was true? In the seventh month Hananiah died! God’s Word is always validated because it comes to pass! Please take time today to thank God for His Word and the blessing of knowing the truth. Ask Him for discernment in these last days that you will not be deceived by messages that simply make you feel good but are not of God!