(304) October 31: Jeremiah 29-30 & Titus 1

Ask God to open your mind, heart and will to understand, delight in and obey what you read.

Read Jeremiah 29-30 & Titus 1

To discover:­

As you read consider what wisdom we have for how we should await the return of Christ.

To ponder:

Chapter 29 records the letter Jeremiah sent to the elders, priests, prophets and people amongst the exiles in Babylon, after Jehoiachin was deported and before the later destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. It was entrusted to two of king Zedekiah’s envoys that he was sending to Nebuchadnezzar (29v1-3, see 2 Kgs 24v12-17). In it Jeremiah records God’s word, telling the exiles to build, settle, plant, marry, have children, and pray for and seek the peace and prosperity of Babylon, because that will mean prosperity for them. As before, it’s a model for how the church should be within the world as it awaits the return of Christ. We are not to withdraw from culture or give up work or marriage, but seek the good of our society and settle in for what might be a significant time.

            Again, Jeremiah urges the people not to listen to the dreams and lies of the false prophets and future tellers, which they themselves encouraged these “prophets” to have – no doubt because they wanted to hear that God would immediately destroy Babylon (29v4-9). On the contrary, God declares that only after 70 years will he come and fulfil his gracious promise to bring them home. Similarly, Christ will return only when God has determined, and we cannot hurry that. 29v11 is often quoted out of context. In it God states that he plans a prosperous future for the people in their land. They will call on him for help, seeking him with their whole heart, and he will listen, bringing them out of captivity from all the nations they have been banished to (29v10-14). It’s a promise partially fulfilled after the 70 years, but only ultimately fulfilled as Jews come to repentance, call on Christ for deliverance, and are restored as a kingdom in the new creation. The letter ends with God speaking against two specific prophets, stating they will be handed over to Nebuchadnezzar and burned before the eyes of the exiles, so that their names then become a curse. Their indictment is that they committed adultery and spoke lies God did not command (29v20-23).

            29v24-28 records a subsequent charge against a third prophet for responding to Jeremiah’s letter by sending a letter to the people and priests in Jerusalem, and specifically to Zephaniah. It stated God had appointed Zephaniah to be in charge of the temple, and so he should put any who act like a prophet into the stocks and neck irons. It then asked why he had not therefore reprimanded Jeremiah for his letter to the exiles. Zephaniah, however, showed this letter to Jeremiah, whom God then told to send a further message to the exiles: Because the false prophet had not been sent by God and had led the people to believe a lie, he and his descendents would be wiped out and he would see none of the good things God would do (29v29-32).

            30v1-2 records God instructing Jeremiah to write down all his oracles – sanctioning the idea of inscripturation. It begins a new section of the book, dealing with renewal and restoration. So God immediately declares days are coming when he will bring from captivity not just the people of Judah, but those of Israel too, and restore them to the land given their forefathers. This is a promise of the reunification of God’s people beyond the return from Babylon of those from Judah (30v3). Of these two groups, God notes their cries of fear and not peace as men experience pains like those of labour. Of that day, God says it will be more aweful than any other, but Jacob (ie. the whole nation descended from him) will be saved out of it. The yoke on their necks will be broken as they are released from their slavery to foreigners, and serve the LORD and David as their king, who God will raise up for them (30v4-9). This should rightly be seen as a promise of God raising to power the long awaited Davidic descendent who was to reign forever (see 30v21, 2 Sam 7v10-16). It’s a picture of a righteous kingdom flourishing under God’s rule mediated through his chosen ruler.

            In the light of this God urges Jacob (his servant) not to fear or be dismayed in exile, as his descendents (ie. the people descended from those in both the northern and southern kingdoms) will be saved from their captivity and then known peace, security and freedom from fear, under his rule and protection. Although God will utterly destroy the nations he won’t therefore totally destroy Jacob – although he will justly discipline and punish him (30v10-11). Here he declares Jacob’s wound (the exiles of Ephraim and then Judah) is incurable from a human perspective, as all Jacob’s allies have forgotten him and God has struck him as a cruel enemy would because of his sin and guilt. But God also declares that those who, under God’s sovereign hand, so devoured and plundered Jacob, will receive just what they did to him. Moreover, God will heal Jacob’s wounds, in context, by compassionately re-establishing him in the land, with people’s homes restored and thriving, and Jerusalem and the palace rebuilt. From these places there will be song and thanksgiving, the people will increase and be honoured as they are established before God in security as they always should have been, with those who oppress them being punished (30v12-20). It is now that we hear more of their leader or king. He is not said to be David, but one who will “arise” from amongst the people – ie. not be expected to be king. God will bring him close, so that he enjoys an intimate relationship with him. And the king will enjoy this relationship because he is prepared to devote himself wholly to God, and so be the righteous king the people always needed (30v21). One cannot but think of Jesus coming from ordinary Nazareth, devoting himself even to death for his Father, and so rising and ascending to be as close as his right hand from where he now reigns.

            30v22 quotes the phrase that sums up God’s covenant relationship with his people. The point is that having restored the people to their land and given them this leader, they will belong to God in the way always intended. It is in this context that God also promises a storm of wrath on the wicked as his means of accomplishing these purposes, which are of his “heart” and so precious to him. He states this will be understood in the future, and in hindsight we do understand. His wrath on Babylon was his means of bringing an empire to power which would decree the return of the Judean exiles, and no doubt some from the northern tribes that were exiled by Assyria too. And this is a paradigm of his final wrath, which will remove all evil so his people can forever thrive in the new creation.

           

Praying it home:

Praise God that he acts through wrath to save in Christ. Pray that Christians suffering oppression would take comfort in these truths.

Thinking further:

None today.

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(303) October 30: Jeremiah 27-28 & 2 Timothy 4

Ask God to open your mind, heart and will to understand, delight in and obey what you read.

Read Jeremiah 27-28 & 2 Timothy 4

To discover:­

As you read consider what God was asking of the nations.

To ponder:

Now we come to the reign of Zedekiah, Jehoiachin’s uncle and successor (27v1, 28v1, see 2 Kgs 24v15-20). God instructs Jeremiah to make and wear a yoke, and then send God’s word to the nations around Judah through their envoys (perhaps this is how he passed previous oracles to nations). God said he is the LORD God Almighty of Israel, who made the earth and all peoples and animals, and who gives it to who he pleases. He stated that he will cause these various countries and even their wild animals to be subject to his “servant” Nebuchadnezzar, until the time of his son and grandson, when many nations and great kings will subjugate him (see Dan 5v30-31). He continued, that if any nation refuses to bear Nebuchanezzar’s yoke and serve him, they will be destroyed by him. So they should not listen to their own prophets or future tellers, as they speak lies that will only serve to cause their nation to be banished and perish. By contrast, if they serve under Nebuchadnezzar’s yoke, God will enable them to keep their land (27v1-11). By bringing all this to pass in accordance with Jeremiah’s word, God would of course display to the nations that he is the true God. Jeremiah adds that he gave the same message to Zedekiah, urging him to submit to Babylon’s yoke, asking why he would choose for him and his people to die for not doing so, and saying the prophets are not sent from God but prophesying lies (27v1-15). Christians don’t have a holy land as such on earth, and so are called to serve the rulers of this world as good citizens (so far as it doesn’t dishonour God), just as the Jews were to Nebuchadnezzar, until the day God comes in Christ to bring them to their heavenly Jerusalem. And we should note that refusing to do this in rebelliousness, will ultimately be to our harm (see Rom 13v1-5).

            Jeremiah also told the priests not to listen to the prophets who were saying that soon the articles take to Babylon during Jehoiachin’s reign would be returned (see 2 Kgs 24v13). Instead, he urged them to serve Nebucadnezzar so that they live and Jerusalem is not destroyed. Indeed, he said that if they truly had the word of the LORD then they should pray that the remaining furnishings would not be taken from the temple to Babylon. But he added that God had said that these things would actually be taken to Babylon, and remain there until the day God himself would come for them and bring them back to Jerusalem (27v16-22). We should recognize the shock of losing these items. It signified the end of worship at the temple, and of the special presence of God himself in protecting Israel. Rather than preaching peace and freedom from judgement irrespective of repentance, false teachers today would also do better to pray for the maintenance of true and godly worship.

            Chapter 28 begins with a record how the “prophet” Hananiah spoke to Jeremiah in the temple and in front of the priests and people that God. He declared that God had said he would break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar within two years and bring back the articles of the temple, all who had so far been exiled, and king Jehoiachin himself. With some sarcasm, Jeremiah replied “Amen,” may God do it, but added that from early times prophets had prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries, but the one who prophesies peace will be recognised only if his prediction is fulfilled (28v1-9). The point is probably that because there is nothing to be gained in negative prophesies, and because messages of judgement have historically been the primary (although not total) message of true prophets, those speaking them are much more likely to be genuine. But it is easy, often beneficial to oneself, and against the grain of God’s previous messages to preach peace. The key issue for those who do is therefore whether they are from the LORD, and so whether their message comes to pass. It’s another reminder to be particularly cautious of those whose message is always encouraging.

            It seems Jeremiah was still wearing the yoke he had made, so Hananiah took it off him and broke it to symbolise his message that God will break the yoke of Babylon from the neck of the nations within two years. Jeremiah went on his way, but sought Hananiah out shortly afterwards, with a personal message from God to him: It was that in place of the yoke of wood, he would put a yoke of iron on the necks of the nations so they serve Nebuchadnezzar. And because Hananiah persuaded Judah to trust lies and rebel against God’s word to serve Nebuchadnezzar, that very year he would die – as he did just two months later (28v10-17, 28v1). This is the seriousness with which the LORD views those who give people false hope.

           

Praying it home:

Praise God that he restrains evil so that believers can often live peacefully under unbelieving rulers. Pray that Christians would be good citizens, setting their hope firmly on the return of Christ.

Thinking further:

None today.

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(302) October 29: Jeremiah 25-26 & 2 Timothy 3

Ask God to open your mind, heart and will to understand, delight in and obey what you read.

Read Jeremiah 25-26 & 2 Timothy 3

To discover:­

As you read note the words of hope Jeremiah declares.

To ponder:

Now we’re in the year of Jehoiachin’s reign that Nebuchadnezzar ascended to the Babylonian throne. Jeremiah noted that he had been prophesying for 23 years, but the people hadn’t listened to him or to other prophets sent to turn them from evil and idolatry with the promise of remaining in the land. God declared that this was actually not to listen to him, and that it had provoked him to anger meaning that they would experience harm. He therefore promised to summon the peoples of the north with Nebuchadnezzar, who he described as his “servant,” to destroy the land and its surrounding nations – banishing, joy, festivity, industry, and life itself; and leaving the land desolate, with the nations serving the king of Babylon for 70 years (25v1-11). Yet he also promised that he would then punish the king of Babylon and Babylon itself, making it desolate forever, bringing on it the things Jeremiah had spoken against other nations, so Babylon itself is enslaved and repaid for its deeds (25v12-14). It’s another example of how God’s sovereign use of the evil acts of others to achieve his just ends doesn’t condone their evil, for which he will hold them accountable.

            With God’s wrath against the nations in mind, God tells Jeremiah to pour it out like a cup of wine that he presumably saw in a vision. He declares it will cause the nations to stagger in madness like drunkards, because of the sword he is sending against them. In making the nations drink, Jeremiah must have acted this out in a symbolic way, or seen it somehow in the vision. The point is that the nations must drink down God’s judgement – whether Judah, with her kings and officials, the king if Egypt and his, with his people, or the kings and peoples of the entire known world, near and far (25v15-26). The final king mentioned is that of Babylon (see footnote and 51v41). The relationship we’ve seen throughout between ruin, scorn and cursing, reflects the fact that a ruined nation implies weakness in them and their god that might be mocked, but also leads to that nation being referred to in curses that wish others would become as it is. So with destruction also comes humiliation.

            God commands the nations through Jeremiah to drink until they vomit and fall like drunkards, to rise no more. And he adds that if they refuse to drink, he says they must. In other words, his judgement is not optional. For if he is beginning to punish his own special city, could they really think they could avoid punishment themselves? This is God’s commitment to justice. It is not biased. It exempts no-one. So Jeremiah is to declare that God will roar, thunder and shout against all humanity, bringing charges and judgement on every nation, pictured by a storm rising from the ends of the earth and spreading nation to nation, until the whole world is engulfed. We’re told the slain will then be like refuse lying everywhere, un-mourned and unburied – no doubt because there will be so many (25v27-33). This universal judgement in the time of Babylon is a paradigm for the final judgement of all (Rev 18-20).

            Turning again to Judah’s leaders (shepherds), Jeremiah tells them to mourn in the dust because they will be slaughtered and shattered, and have no-where to flee to as the land itself will be destroyed by God’s fierce lion-like anger (25v34-38). We have seen this image before. It pictures the nobility, majesty and fierce nature of God’s right anger and justice, and is picked up as a description of Christ (see Rev 5v5).

            Chapter 26 takes us to an earlier time in Jehoiachin’s father Jehoiakin’s reign. God instructed Jeremiah to stand in the temple courtyard and speak everything he commanded to the people coming for worship. As earlier in the book, the LORD suggested “perhaps” they might turn from the evil so he could relent, knowing, of course, that they wouldn’t. Once more the message was that if they didn’t listen to the prophets and follow his law, then the temple would be like the destroyed high place in the northern kingdom (Shiloh), and the city an object of cursing. In response, the priests, prophets and people seized Jeremiah, saying he must die for saying such things. The officials then went from the palace to the temple, the two key buildings of God’s kingdom, and at the temple’s new gate, heard the prophets and priests lay their charges against Jeremiah (26v1-11). Surely this all prefigures the shock at Jesus’ words by the leaders in his day, that led them to seek his death and put him through his mock trial (Matt 23v63-68, Jn 10v31-36). 

            With Spirit-given Christ-like courage, Jeremiah didn’t flinch. He told them God had sent him and urged them to repent, promising God would relent from bringing disaster if they did, and challenging them to do to him as they see fit, but stressing that if they kill him they will bring guilt on themselves and the city (26v12-15). We see the same boldness in Peter, John and Stephen (Acts 4v8-12, and Acts 7). The officials and people respond to the priests and prophets that Jeremiah shouldn’t die as he spoke in God’s name. Some elders also refer them to when king Hezekiah feared God and sought his favour after Micah prophesied similar disaster (see Mic 3v8-12), which then led God to relent. They therefore warn that continuing their current course would bring disaster. Finally, Jeremiah was supported by the son of the influential scribe who penned King Josiah’s reforms (26v24, see 2 Kgs 22v3), and so was not handed over to death. But we see this was the only reason, as the case of the prophet Uriah is also told. He fled Jehoiakim after preaching similar things, only to be pursued, captured in Egypt and executed (26v20-23). Here we might compare the book of Acts telling how Paul survived the plots against him, whilst Stephen and James didn’t. The point is that God is well able to protect his servants, as he promised Jeremiah he would (1v19). But he doesn’t always make that promise. Moreover, we also see how violently and irrationally hostile even those amongst God’s people can be when his word is spoken against them, just as Judah’s king was.

Praying it home:

Praise God that no-one can hinder his word, as he is well able to ensure his spokesmen remain free and alive to preach. Pray that he would protect those who are persecuted, and turn the hearts of their persecutors to himself.

Thinking further:

None today.

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(301) October 28: Jeremiah 23-24 & 2 Timothy 2

Ask God to open your mind, heart and will to understand, delight in and obey what you read.

Read Jeremiah 23-24 & 2 Timothy 2

To discover:­

As you read consider why God is opposed to the prophets.

To ponder:

Jeremiah now speaks woe against Judah’s religious leaders, or shepherds. They are destroying and scattering (perhaps because provoking the exile) God’s people (sheep) of his land (pasture). Because they have not cared for God’s sheep, God will punish them. He will then gather a remnant of his people from the nations they are exiled to, and bring them back to the land where his intent from creation will be fulfilled – they will be fruitful and increase in number (23v1-3, see Gen 1v28). At that time he will put caring shepherds over them so that none are afraid or lost, and he will raise up a righteous king from David’s house who will reign wisely and justly, saving Judah from her enemies so the people live in safety. His name will be “the LORD our righteousness” (23v4-6). So after so many oracles of judgement, finally we have hope. It is of God giving the people the leaders and king they need to be kept faithful and secure. Although the king’s name could just be a way of honouring the LORD, it hints that although the king will be from David, he could also be the LORD himself. As previously, it is then said that the people will confess the LORD is God not by reference to the Exodus, but this return from exile (23v7-8). Obviously this is all fulfilled in Christ, and the apostles and ministers he commissions to shepherd his flock. His work should therefore be seen as the ultimate end of exile and the restoration of Israel (see Acts 1v6-8).

            An oracle is now spoken against the false prophets. Jeremiah is broken and overcome because of God’s words against them. The land is said to be full of adulterers, presumably because people are giving their devotion to false gods. So, under the curse promised in the covenant (Deut 30) the land is dry and unfruitful. Moreover, both prophets and priests do evil and use their power for injustice. They even act wickedly in the temple itself. So they will slip and be banished into darkness under God’s punishment (23v9-12). Jeremiah notes that the prophets in the north (at this point destroyed) prophesied by the false god Baal and led the people astray, and now those in Jerusalem are doing similarly in their spiritual adultery and deception of the people, which only strengthens evildoers and fails to turn people from wickedness, as prophets should. So the people are like those of the pagan and immoral Sodom and Gomorrah (23v13-14). This is the most serious of indictments, as Sodom and Gomorrah were the archetype of a sinful city. And so God declares in now familiar language that the prophets will eat bitter food and drink poisoned water (metaphors for suffering). Moreover, he tells the people not to listen to the false hope they give, for their visions are from their own minds and don’t reflect God’s word. They tell those who despise God and are stubborn that they will have peace and not harm. But none has stood (as the prophet should) in the council of the LORD (ie. in his communicating presence), seeing or hearing his word in a true vision (23v15-18). This all seems so contemporary, for in our day too, preachers proclaim a God who accepts all without repentance, and who would never judge; whilst even everyday Christians are quick to declare “the LORD says” when imparting what often proves to be false hope, and that stems from nothing more that their own thoughts and wishful thinking.

            Instead of peace, Jeremiah promises a storm of wrath on the wicked, that will not be turned back. He tells the people they will one day understand this, no doubt as it occurs. And he reiterates that God did not send the prophets. Indeed, if they had stood in his council they would have spoken his words and turned the people to repentance (23v19-22). God declares that he is both near and far, filling heaven and earth, which means none can hide from him. So he has heard the lies of the prophets, who say they’ve had dreams. They prophesy the delusions of their own minds, thinking this will cause the people to forget God, presumably to turn to the gods they now represent, as their fathers’ had done with Baal. God declares they should tell their dreams, but the one who has his word should speak it faithfully. He likens this to comparing useful grain with worthless straw. Indeed, he describes his word like fire and a hammer, in that it has devastating effects as it comes to pass – as with the coming judgement. It seems that because these false prophets lacked God’s word, they could only repeat what each other said. And God is clear that he is against them because they just wag their tongues whilst saying “the LORD declares.” He states that they are prophesying false dreams, leading the people astray - and he did not send them (23v23-32). It’s a reminder to seek out only preachers and minister who teach God’s word in scripture accurately. Anything else is powerless and pointless (see 1 Cor 3v11-15).

             God then tells Jeremiah that when these people ask him for an oracle from God, he is to tell them God declares that he will forsake them, and punish any prophet or priest who says they have an oracle from the LORD. It seems this is because of a flippancy in seeking God’s word from just anyone, rather than his appointed spokesmen - so that every man’s own word becomes an oracle from God, distorting what God actually says. Again, this resonates with similar flippancy in the church. And to those in Jeremiah’s day, God promised these people would be cast from his presence into exile, and into everlasting disgrace without remembrance (23v33-40).

            In chapter 24 Jeremiah describes a vision of two fig baskets he saw in-front of the temple after Jehoiachin and his officials and craftsmen were exiled. God declared the basket of good figs represented the exiles who he would watch over for good, replant in the land, and give new hearts to, so they return to and know him, and are re-establish as his covenant people, with him as their God. The basket of bad figs that couldn’t be eaten represented Zedekiah (Jehoiachin’s uncle and successor), his officials and the survivors – whether in Judah or having fled to Egypt. God stated they would become offensive to all the kingdoms of the earth, being an object of ridicule and cursing wherever they were banished, suffering sword, famine and plague until utterly destroyed (24v1-10). The point is that the people are so rejected that being in the land no longer ensures God’s blessing, but his curse.     

Praying it home:

Praise God for revealing truth through Christ and the scriptures. Pray for a reverent submission to scripture within the church, and a rejection of flippantly claiming God has spoken when he hasn’t.

Thinking further:

None today.

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(300) October 27: Jeremiah 20-22 & 2 Timothy 1

Ask God to open your mind, heart and will to understand, delight in and obey what you read.

Read Jeremiah 20-22 & 2 Timothy 1

To discover:­

As you read consider the sings of Judah’s kings.

To ponder:

Chapter 20 begins with a priest having Jeremiah beaten up and put in stocks for his prophesying. Jeremiah’s God-given courage is seen in speaking as soon as released, telling the priest God has given him a name meaning “terror on every side,” as he will witness his friends being handed over to the king of Babylon who will take them away and execute them. And he and his whole household will die in exile too, because he prophesied lies (presumably as one of those mentioned in 14v13). Again, Jeremiah adds that the city will be plundered (20v1-6).

            Jeremiah is then surprisingly frank. He wrongly charges God with deceiving him. Perhaps he feels he was drawn into being a prophet on false pretences, overpowered in the sense that God ensured he took up the task (20v7). And Jeremiah feels aggrieved, because he is ridiculed and insulted whenever he speaks, as he always has to speak violence and destruction. But he cannot stop himself, as God’s word is like a burning fire that tires him if he holds it in. He therefore has to live surrounded by people who whisper against him, want to report him to those who might do him harm, or who are just waiting until he can be tricked into doing something wrong so they can get their revenge (20v8-10). It’s a fascinating insight into the psychology of faithful preachers, who by the Spirit just cannot do anything but speak the truth, no matter how hard - and into the various means by which they might be opposed.

            In all this, Jeremiah is confident that God is with him, so his persecutors will stumble and be disgraced, with their dishonour remembered – at least by God, and, of course, in this book too. Noting God sees his own heart and mind, he asks him to take up his cause and bring vengeance against his persecutors. After a sudden outburst of praise that God rescues the needy from the wicked, Jeremiah then speaks as Job did, cursing his birth with the most vivid poetry, and wishing God had killed him in the womb so he wouldn’t see such trouble (20v11-18). This wavering from one emotion to the next reflects the realities of struggling with one’s hardships in prayer.

            Chapter 21 begins with king Zedekiah sending another priest and a man with the same first name as 20v1, to get Jeremiah to ask God if he would deliver Jerusalem from Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kgs 25) as he had from Sennacherib a hundred years previously (21v1-2, see 2 Kgs 19v35-36). It is uncertain whether God responded by saying Judah’s army would be herded back into the city, or that the enemy army would come in (21v4). What is clear is that whilst being besieged, shockingly, God himself would fight against his own people in anger, by sending a plague to kill both men and animals. He would then hand the king, officials and other survivors to Nebuchadnezzar who would mercilessly put them to death (20v1-7). Echoing Moses’ covenant sermon appeal (Deut 30v19), God then says he is putting life or death before the people. Those who stay in the city will die by these means, whilst those who surrender will live, as God has determined to do Jerusalem harm (20v8-10). The LORD adds a particular word to the royal household. He restates his abiding warning that unless Judah’s kings administered justice, God’s wrath would break out with unquenchable fire. And so in line with this, he reiterates that he is against Jerusalem, which thinks itself impenetrable, punishing her as her deeds deserve (21v11-14). Those who assume God is for them but do not display true faith in godly living will find in the end that God is against them, and that they therefore face his burning anger too.

            What follows seems to be a number of oracles against Judah’s previous kings (see 2 Kgs 23-25), spoken earlier and included here to demonstrate the truth of 21v11-12, and so the appropriateness of God’s impending judgement. He had sent Jeremiah to preach at the palace itself, declaring to the king, officials and people that they should do what is just and right, aiding rather than oppressing the needy. He promised that if they were careful to do his commands, then kings, officials and the people would come through Jerusalem’s gates in victory. But if they didn’t, the palace would become a ruin, for although it had the greatness and grandeur of the forests in Gilead and Lebanon from which its wood came, God would make it like a desert, with its cedar beams burnt (22v1-7). So passing foreigners would ask why the LORD had done this, and the answer would be that the people forsook his covenant and worshipped idols (22v8-9).

22v10-12 urges the people not to mourn the death of the righteous king Josiah (see 2 Kgs 23v29-30) as he will never return, nor will his son (Shallum, or Jehoahaz) who will die in exile. Jeremiah then declares woe against Jehoiakim (Jehoahaz’s brother and successor) for building his palace through unrighteousness and oppression of workers, despite seeing that his father (Josiah) had all he needed by doing what was right and just. It is this, God declares, that sums what it is to know him (22v13-17). And so he says Jehoiakim will not be mourned either, but experience a humiliating death outside of Jerusalem. And he is urged to cry out because his allies are crushed. And because he would not listen to or obey God, his shepherds (ie. Jerusalem’s leaders) will be driven away and he will be ashamed and disgraced, and know pain like in labour (22v18-23).

Next, God speaks against Jehoiachin (Jehoaikim’s son), saying that even if he were as precious as a personalized signet ring through which God’s authority was exercised, he would still discard him to Nebuchadnezzar. He therefore states Jehoiachin and his mother will both die in exile too. He will be unwanted like a broken pot, and cast into Babylon with his children. God therefore states that he should be recorded as if childless as none of his children will ascend to David’s throne. Astonishingly and tragically, David’s line will therefore seem ended (22v24-30)! It all shows how desperately the people needed a truly righteous king, if they were to survive.

                                                                                                    

Praying it home:

Praise God for providing the perfect king in Christ. Pray that you would seek through faith to do what is just and right.

Thinking further:

None today.

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(299) October 26: Jeremiah 17-19 & 1 Timothy 6

Ask God to open your mind, heart and will to understand, delight in and obey what you read.

Read Jeremiah 17-19 & 1 Timothy 6

To discover:­

As you read consider how the seriousness of the coming judgement is stressed.

To ponder:

Judah’s sin is said to be permanently engraved on their hearts. This is their key problem. In their inner being they cannot but sin. For it to be on the horns of their altars too, shows how ingrained their idolatry was. Indeed, even their children are implicated (17v1-2). So God declares he will give away mount Zion (his mountain), their wealth and high places of false worship, enslaving them to their enemies in his anger (17v3-4). God continues in saying that those who trust in man for his strength and turns from God is cursed to wither without prosperity, but those who trust God are blessed, and thrives even when trouble comes, like a tree in water even in heart (17v5-8, see also Ps 1). Yet God can declare how deceitful, beyond (human) cure, incomprehensible the heart is. Yet God searches the heart and mind to reward people according to their deeds. And so those who unjustly gain riches will find them desert him, proving him a fool. Moreover, those who forsake God will be dust because they turn from living water and God’s glorious rule (17v9-13). Here Jeremiah, prays for healing and salvation, certain God will give it. And where people mockingly ask where the fulfilment of God’s word is, Jeremiah can affirm God knows he did not run from his role as shepherd, nor delight in what was coming. And on this basis he again asks that his persecutors be shamed and destroyed, but he himself kept from terror (17v14-18).

            The LORD then instructs him to stand at Jerusalem’s gates, commanding the kings, people and city to keep the Sabbath, reminding them that their fathers stubbornly refused to respond to his discipline, but promising that if they do obey kings, officials and people will come through the gates victoriously, and the city be inhabited forever. Indeed, people would come from the whole area around Judah and Benjamin bringing offerings of true worship to the temple. But if the people don’t keep the Sabbath by working or carrying loads through the gates, then Jerusalem will face unquenchable (so irreversible) fire (17v19-27). It all brings home the importance of true repentance whilst we have time.

            God then sent Jeremiah to the potters house. God’s message was that he can reshape Israel like clay, as he sees fit. He stresses that with all nations, if he has warns to uproot or destroy them and they repent of their evil, then he will relent. And if he announces that a nation is t be built up and it does not obey him, he will reconsider that intended good. So Jeremiah must say, God is devising disaster for Judah so the people must reform their ways. Yet God tells him the people will refuse, saying they want to continue in their stubbornness (18v1-12). Paul reminds us that similarly, our destiny is in God’s hands to do with as he sees fit, just like clay in that of the potter (Rom 9v21).

The LORD then declares that it should be enquired of amongst the nations whether anything has been heard of as bad as is being done to Virgin (ie. vulnerable) Israel. For whereas snow and water in Lebanon is constant, the people aren’t. They’ve forgotten him, burned incense to idols, causing them to stumble in their ways, so their land will be laid waste in a way that will appal onlookers. They will be scattered by their enemies and experience the LORD turn away form them (18v13-17).

Here the people determine to verbally attack Jeremiah, confident that they don’t need him as the various means of God’s word being passed on would continue (18v18). Jeremiah asks God to hear them and see the injustice of the good he is doing being repaid with evil. Reminding God of how he interceded for these very people, he now prays their children, wives and young men would suffer under famine, bereavement and the sword respectively, by the coming invaders. Acknowledging God knows their plots, Jeremiah prays God would not forgive them, but deal with them in his anger (18v19-23). Again, this seems far from Jesus’ superior sentiments on the cross. But it is nevertheless a prayer for justice not injustice, and permitted amongst God’s people as they pass their sense of aggrievement to the LORD rather than taking vengeance themselves.

Next God tells Jeremiah to buy a clay jar from the potter, take some elders and priests, and then proclaim to the kings and people the coming disaster and the sin of idolatry and bloodshed that provoked it. It’s seriousness is stressed by the fact it will make all ears tingle, and the fact that Jeremiah is to say the place he proclaims this will be renamed the valley of slaughter. The nature of the slaughter is outlined as previously, but what is added is that the siege will lead the people to cannibalism (19v1-9). Jeremiah is then instructed to break the jar and say this is how the LORD will smash the nation and city, so that it is beyond repair, and that the dead will be buried in the valley until there is no more room. Topheth was a place pagan worship was conducted, leading God to say Jerusalem will become defiled like Topheth, because people engaged in idolatry there too (19v10-13). Jeremiah then returned to the temple, where he reiterated that God would bring the disaster he pronounce because of the people’s refusal to listen to his words (19v14-15). What we are seeing, is just how certain and terrible God’s judgement is. And that on Judah pictures that of the last day.

Praying it home:

Praise God for providing rescue through Christ from such terrible judgement. Pray that we would display true faith in obedience.

Thinking further:

None today.

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(298) October 25: Jeremiah 14-16 & 1 Timothy 5

Ask God to open your mind, heart and will to understand, delight in and obey what you read.

Read Jeremiah 14-16 & 1 Timothy 5

To discover:­

As you read consider why God refuses to turn from what he is doing.

To ponder:

As God speaks to Jeremiah about a drought, the implication is that it had come because of the people’s sins. Judah mourns for the land and city, with servants weeping as they can’t find water for their masters, farmers dismayed because of cracked land, and animals impacted too (14v1-6). Jeremiah acknowledges the people’s sins, but prays God would act for the sake of his name, glorifying himself as the one who saves those in distress. He acknowledges God is amongst the people who bear his name, yet asks why he is like those who lack the desire, disposition or power to act (14v7-9). God responds that he will not accept the people because of their sinful wandering, commanding Jeremiah not to pray for their well-being, and stating that he will not respond to their fasts or offerings, but destroy them with sword, famine and plague (14v10-12). Here Jeremiah says that other prophets are nevertheless saying that this will not happen and the people will have peace. God is clear: He has not sent them, and so they are prophesying lies, whether through false visions, divination practices, or simply the delusions of their own minds. They will therefore perish by sword or famine themselves, as will the people of Jerusalem, who will end up with none to bury them (14v13-6). It’s a strong indictment of any who claim to speak in God’s name but who speak their own ideas. We should also ask whether drawing conclusions from circumstances or coincidences that are then boldly claimed to be God’s word is rather like the process of divination.

            The description of the people as “my virgin daughter” suggests 14v17-18 may describe God expressing his own mourning over the destruction that he is bringing, resulting in Judah’s spiritual leaders being in exile. However, in context it is most likely Jeremiah weeping as he witnesses the destruction, probably in a vision. So the people are as precious to him as a young woman under the protection of her father. He asks God whether he has totally rejected Judah, as they hoped for peace only to receive terror. Again, he acknowledges the people’s sin and asks God to act for the sake of his name – ie. to show he is king and not dishonour his throne, and to remember his covenant and so display his faithfulness. He acknowledges the people’s hope can only be in the LORD as he, not the idols, is the creator who brings rain (14v19-22). So there is no-where else for any of us to turn when in need, but to God. And we too can pray he would act for the sake of his glory.

            Once again, the irreversible nature of this judgement is stressed, as God responds to Jeremiah’s request by saying that even Moses or Samuel would not be able to move him to compassion. He therefore commands the people be sent away from him to whatever he has destined for them, whether death, sword, starvation or captivity (15v1-2). His four destroyers (15v3) stress the absolute destruction and humiliation of the bodies, who will be abhorrent to the nations in the sense that they will look down on them in their ruin or captivity. Here we see this is due to the sin they were led into by Manasseh (15v4, see 2 Kgs 21v9-16). What follows implies none will pity Jerusalem. And God reiterates the destruction God he bring, bringing the sword not just against the men (as in war) but their mothers too (15v5-9).

This seems to move Jeremiah to think of his mother, despairing of his birth, because, although he acts righteously, the whole land contends with and curses him. God responds by promising to deliver him and cause his enemies to plead with him in the end. He then promises that no strength that is present in Judah will break that coming in this army from the north. He adds that his anger will cause the people to be plundered and enslaved. To this Jeremiah states how God understands him – presumably his grief in 15v10. He prays God would remember, care for and avenge him in his patience, because Jeremiah is suffering for his sake. Indeed, he finds God’s word palatable, rejoicing in it; and he experiences the loneliness of being apart from revellers, because God constantly fills him with his anger at the people. And so Jeremiah expresses the unending pain of being God’s prophet, asking whether God will refresh him or fail him like a brook that dries up (15v10-18). All this displays the cost that can be felt by those who stand against the compromises of the church.

God’s love for the likes of Jeremiah doesn’t keep him from confrontation where it is necessary. So (as with Elijah) he calls Jeremiah to repent – presumably of his despair and reluctance with respect to his calling. He promises to restore him to service if he will speak worthy rather than worthless words. Here the role of the prophet or preacher is put so succinctly: God’s spokesperson must not turn to the people, by saying what they want to hear or following their ways. Rather, he must be unmoveable in declaring the truth, so the people turn to him, accepting his words and ways. In this, God promises to save and rescue Jeremiah, making him like a fortified wall so the people will not overcome him (15v19-21).

Next God tells Jeremiah not to marry and have children because of the horrors that will come on families. Nor should he attend funerals, because God has withdrawn his pity for the people, and in what is coming no-one will be buried or mourned – no doubt because there will be so much death. Jeremiah is also not to join any feast because during his lifetime God will bring an end to the sort of joy found in wedding celebrations. The point is that Jeremiah’s actions are to symbolically preach what is coming. And when the people ask why God is bringing such a disaster, he is to point out that in their idolatry and breach of God’s law they have acted even more wickedly than their fathers. Yet he adds that one day people will speak of God’s reality displayed not in the Exodus but in restoring his people from exile – a new Exodus. However, God’s present purpose is to bring “fishermen” and “hunters” to catch and weed out his people - because their sin is not concealed from him. This is to repay them double (ie. to excess) because they defiled the land with their idolatry (16v1-18).

At this point, Jeremiah affirms God as his strength, and how the nations will eventually come to him confessing the worthlessness of their gods. God responds that he himself will teach the nations of his power and might so they know that he, the God of Israel, is “the LORD” - I AM, the one true God (16v19-21, as in 1 Thess 1v9). And so God teaches the nations through the church as his gospel is preached and the Spirit brings it home.

Praying it home:

Praise God for supplying the church with those who like Jeremiah will not flinch from proclaiming his word. Pray that they would not despair or turn to the ways of the world.

Thinking further: The Word of the LORD came

Throughout we see something of what it means when the Word of the LORD came to a prophet. It is often visual, but always audible, and of such clarity that it can be recorded word for word (see 30v2). It is also often in the context of a dialogue, seen in Jeremiah conversing with God: He hears God speak. He then responds, sometimes saying things that reflect his human fallibility, as when he vocalizes his despair, or when he continues to pray for the people despite being commanded by God not to. We must be careful to recognize that only God’s words in these oracles are entirely righteous and true. Much that Jeremiah says is, but God’s own response to him (as with Job) reveals that not all is. So we need discernment with what we read. And when Jeremiah is showing his sinful weakness, we can learn about God’s grace in using him nevertheless, and the traits he displays that we should guard against.

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(297) October 24: Jeremiah 11-13 & 1 Timothy 4

Ask God to open your mind, heart and will to understand, delight in and obey what you read.

Read Jeremiah 11-13 & 1 Timothy 4

To discover:­

As you read consider how the people’s sin has been expressed.

To ponder:

God’s next word is for Jeremiah to hear and recount the terms of his covenant in the towns of Judah, telling them that according to those terms those who do not obey are cursed, and that the promise of the land was for those would do everything God commanded (11v1-5). He is also to say how this has been worked out since Israel left Egypt, as those who refused to listen to God experienced the covenant curses (11v6-8). Likewise, if we continue to rebel against God we cannot say we have not been warned by his interactions with Israel.

            God goes on to say that those in Judah and Jerusalem have conspired in following their fathers’ sin and idolatry in breaking the covenant, which is why God will bring the coming disaster on them and not listen to their cries. Indeed, the people will cry out to their many false gods, who will, of course, be no more able to help than the gods of today’s world religions, or those of materialism, science or democracy (11v9-13). Once more God tells Jeremiah not to pray for the people as their sin has reached such an extent that God will not now listen even if they did seek help – perhaps because he knows their cries would be insincere anyway. So 11v15 asks what the people are doing engaging in the rituals of the temple whilst continuing and rejoicing in evil. In the light of this, the nation, that God planted as a beautiful olive tree, will be destroyed (11v14-17).

11v18-23 relates to a plot against Jeremiah’s life, that God revealed to him. It seems he was totally unaware like a lamb going to slaughter. He was a fruitful tree in the sense that he obeyed God and ministered his word. Yet his enemies wanted to destroy him and so his fruit, that so challenged them. Indeed, they said that unless he stopped prophesying they would kill him. Yet knowing God judges rightly, Jeremiah doesn’t stop prophesying, but prays for God to act in vengeance against these opponents and uphold his cause. And it seems there were a lot of them – the whole town of Anathoth (Jeremiah’s own village, 1v1). Yet God declared in the year of punishment (probably when Babylon attacked), they and their children would die by sword and famine (that would inevitably follow) so that there would not even be a remnant left. Obviously, this wouldn’t rid Jeremiah of the immediate threat. But it would reassure him that justice would be done, just as persecuted believers today can be reassured (Rev 6v10-11).

            At this point Jeremiah asks God the age old question over his justice: Why do the wicked prosper? In bringing this as a case before God, Jeremiah speaks because he feels hard done by. God plants and establishes people who honour him with their lips but not their hearts, and they seem to benefit; whilst Jeremiah, who God knows is righteous, suffers. Jeremiah therefore asks God to drag the wicked off for slaughter out of concern that whilst they remain in the land, the land will suffer and not thrive because of God’s covenant promises (12v1-4). Jesus would affirm the importance of praying for one’s enemies to be blessed and come to repentance. But Jeremiah’s desire that God would judge the wicked so that his people and their place could thrive is not wrong. 

In 12v5 God seems to be saying that if Jeremiah can’t cope under his present difficulty, how is he going to cope when things soon get far worse? God’s ministers must be ready through faith to cope with any hardship that might come because of their ministry. Here, God acknowledges that Jeremiah has been betrayed even by family, and he should not trust them even if they speak well of him. He then describes how he will forsake Judah as his inheritance, because she roars at him. He therefore calls metaphorical predators and foreign shepherds (leaders) to ruin this “pleasant field” with the “sword of the LORD” so the people cannot even gain a good harvest (12v5-13). But he also states that the neighbouring nations who had previously sought to plunder the land will also be uprooted, presumably by Babylon. He then promises to compassionately restore them to their own lands, which he had given them as their inheritances. Moreover, if they learn from God’s people how to honour him, they will be established with them – but if not, be destroyed (12v14-17). As with Isaiah, this looks to the church age and the final judgement.

13v1-11 describes how Jeremiah was instructed to buy a brand new linen belt that he hid in rocks until it was ruined and useless. It was to be a prophetic symbol of how through their exile (the rocks) God would ruin the pride of Judah and Jerusalem, because of the people’s stubbornness and idolatry. That pride was to have been chosen to be bound to the LORD as his own and for his honour. But, now, like the belt, they will be discarded and ruined. More than that, they are like wineskins, useful only for being filled with the wine of God’s wrath, so they smash into one-another like drunkards. And once more, God says he will allow no mercy in him to keep him from carrying this out (13v12-14). It’s a stark warning to those who are given the dignity of being members of the church, but who turn from God.

Despite the fact God won’t relent, Jeremiah still calls the people not to be arrogant, but to honour the LORD before he brings the coming darkness. He adds that if they don’t listen, he himself will weep in secret because God’s flock will be taken away. The king and his mother may already be in exile at this point (2 Kgs 24v8-12), but it seems Jeremiah is anticipating that, urging them to humble themselves before their crowns are removed. Here Jeremiah looks Judah and Jerusalem to the north from where Babylon will come, asking where the flock God entrusted to them is. He explains that when they are ruled by those they sought as allies, they will be in pain like a woman in labour. And if they ask why, Jeremiah declares it is because of their (their people’s) inability to do anything other than sin (13v15-23). So he has decreed that they are scattered and have the shame of their unfaithfulness to God exposed (13v24-27). On the final day of judgement, the deeds of all will somehow be exposed and God’s justice seen to be right.

Praying it home:

Praise God for his righteous justice. Pray that any Christians you know tempted to give themselves to sin would turn from it.

Thinking further:

None today.

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(296) October 23: Jeremiah 9-10 & 1 Timothy 3

Ask God to open your mind, heart and will to understand, delight in and obey what you read.

Read Jeremiah 9-10 & 1 Timothy 3

To discover:­

As you read consider what we learn about God’s judgement.

To ponder:

Jeremiah vividly describes the tension within him: He would weep desperately over the slain of his people whilst desiring to be separated from them because of their spiritual unfaithfulness, sin and deception even of friends (9v1-6). God declares that he will refine, test and punish them for this. The sense is that through their trials they will become purer (9v7-9). Here God himself states he will weep over the devastation on the land, but lay waste Judah and Jerusalem (9v10-11). Asking who is wise enough to understand, he then explains this is because the people forsook his law, stubbornly following their fathers in worshipping Baals (the Canaanite gods). So God will bring hardship, scattering them and pursuing them with a sword (9v12-16). He therefore tells the people to call professional female mourners to wail over their tears, ruin, shame, death, and destruction even of children (9v17-22). In the light of all this, he also calls people to boast in nothing, no wisdom, strength or riches, but only in understanding and knowing him as the one who exercises and delights in kindness, justice and righteousness (9v23-24). This is the perspective judgement always brings. It ends all that human beings might esteem, showing that in an ultimate sense, all that really matters is knowing and imaging God. In the light of this, Jeremiah can say that without circumcised hearts (ie. hearts that have cut off sin in devotion to God), Israel are just like the uncircumcised pagan nations and so will be punished accordingly. This teaches that circumcision was always intended to signify the love and obedience towards God that makes someone truly one of his covenant people (see Deut 6v4-12, Rom 2v29).

            With this likeness to the nations in mind, God goes on to command Israel not to follow their ways by fearing astronomical occurrences. He declares their customs worthless as they make idols from wood and metal that can neither speak nor walk, and so are obviously no more to be feared than a scarecrow (10v1-5). Here Jeremiah declares God’s unique greatness and power, meaning that he alone should be revered by all and as king of the nations. He describes how none of the nations’ wise men are like God. Rather, they are fools, being taught by idols that craftsmen have made. By contrast, the LORD is the true and living God, the eternal king, whose wrath causes the earth to tremble and cannot be endured (10v6-10). This should breed discernment in a culture where intellectuals are revered who don’t know God, but let their atheistic presuppositions govern their views, just as these people would have let their idols govern theirs.

            Jeremiah states how such idols will perish because they did not creat the universe, whereas God did create in power – so he should be feared, and wisdom – so he should be listened to. Everyone is therefore said to be ignorant, under the influence of their idols. By contrast, God, as the portion (ie. inheritance) of Jacob (Israel), is the maker of all, including Israel, which is his inheritance. The point is that Israel should be looking to him not idols, as he is not only the creator, but is their God and they are his people (10v11-16). It is similarly tragic for Christians to turn from the true God who is committed to them, to the false beliefs of the world, that leave people so foolish in their thinking (as Rom 1v18-32).

            The prophet continues to call the people under siege to ready their belongings for exile because God has declared this is what he is bringing about. Jeremiah then utters a cry of “woe” that represents that of the nation: It is over an incurable wound or sickness, which is that his tent (dwelling) and sons (people) are destroyed. The shepherds (religious leaders) lack all sense in not enquiring of God, and so they don’t prosper and their flock (the people) are scattered, as the report of commotion from the north is heard – an army coming to desolate the land (10v17-22). It is when church leaders don’t heed God’s word, that a church and nation becomes more susceptible to God’s judgement.

            Perhaps as a last attempt to seek mercy, Jeremiah seems to acknowledge that the LORD’s purpose was behind Israel’s rebellion, as he ultimately governs how someone’s life spans out. He then prays for justice – which would account for these circumstances, rather than anger – which responds only to the deeds themselves. It reminds us that the final judgement will not excuse sin, but will account for differing circumstances that may have led to it. Jeremiah’s prayer is, however, that he might survive, and in representing Israel, that it might in some form too. Nevertheless, he also prays for God’s wrath against the nations for devouring Jacob and his homeland (10v23-25). 

Praying it home:

Praise God that in justice he accounts for all circumstances. Pray that we would not boast in or esteem anything but understanding and knowing God.

Thinking further:

None today.

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(295) October 22: Jeremiah 7-8 & 1 Timothy 2

Ask God to open your mind, heart and will to understand, delight in and obey what you read.

Read Jeremiah 7-8 & 1 Timothy 2

To discover:­

As you read consider the ways truth is distorted.

To ponder:

Jeremiah is instructed to proclaim a message, at the entrance to the temple, to those from Judah who come in. One can imagine the impact. He calls them to reform their ways if they are to continue living in the city or land, and by addressing worshippers he is affirming their worship is hypocritical. They are not to trust in the mantra that implies that because God’s temple is there, all will be well. Rather, they will remain only if they act justly, aid the needy, and reject violence and idolatry. They just cannot claim they are safe whilst they break the commandments, making God’s house a den of robbers because it contains such sinful worshippers (7v1-11). Jesus makes the same point, reminding us that worship without godliness is an affront to God (Matt 21v13).

            The LORD proves his point by telling the people to see what happened to Shiloh where the tabernacle was first pitched more permanently. As part of the northern kingdom of Israel, it was destroyed because of how wicked the people there were. So God says, because the people ignored his word through Jeremiah (and perhaps other prophets) whilst they sinned, he will now do the same to the temple that “bears his name” (ie. where he is present), thrusting Judah from his presence (7v12-15) as he did Ephraim (ie. the northern kingdom).

It seems this is now so certain that nothing will turn God from this. He therefore commands Jeremiah not to pray for the people, as things are so bad that whole families are baking gifts for the Queen of Heaven (a Babylonian god) and making offerings to other gods too, provoking him to anger and shaming themselves (7v16-19). God therefore says that his anger will be poured out on people, animals, and land – no doubt through the coming conquest. The note that God’s wrath will burn and not be quenched suggests not that it is literally everlasting, but that it cannot be put out and so avoided. But Jesus implies that at the final judgement it will endure (Matt 25v46).

God adds that the people can go ahead with their offerings and sacrifices to him, even if not done as prescribed. It makes no difference, as his concern from the time of Egypt had always been with obedience; and from that time on, the people had stubbornly followed evil and refused to listen to his prophets (7v20-26). The point is that God’s immense patience with what have always been a rebellious people has run out. And so God has Jeremiah declare to the people when they ignore him that the nation has disobeyed and truth (as to God’s will) has perished. He is also to lament that God has rejected his generation. Here, cutting his hair is a symbol of the people losing their pride or crown. And his lamenting on the “barren heights” (perhaps the desert outside the city) probably symbolises them lamenting in exile from their abundant land (7v27-29). The lesson for us, again, is to listen to those who warn us of God’s justice.

            What follows displays the extremity of Judah’s sin: They have set up idols in the temple, so defiling it, and built high places on which to burn their children as sacrifices. It’s even hinted they thought this might be acceptable to God as he has to stress it was not (7v30-31). Indeed, he declares that because of this, this place of great evil will become a place of slaughter, in which the people will die and be fed on by the birds. None will be left to frighten the birds away, all joy will have gone, and the land will be desolate. The bones of the people will also be removed from their graves as a humiliation by the enemy, and exposed to the very heavenly bodies they worshipped. Moreover, those who survive will wish they had died (7v32-8v3). It’s a picture of how the justice of God rightly fits the crime. Those who slaughter children are slaughtered, and those who worship stars exposed before them, showing their impotence. Likewise, Paul writes that those throughout the world who suppress God’s truth for sin are handed over to foolish thinking and sinful desire (Rom 1v18-32). And on the last day, those who have chosen to live apart from the Lord will experience just that by being shut out of his kingdom.

            Jeremiah is told to ask why the people refuse to turn back to God, clinging to the lie that they haven’t done wrong, and showing that they don’t know God’s requirements. The suggestion is that obedience should have been as instinctive and natural to them as migration is to birds. So this is a wilful decision to follow their own course (8v4-7). And if they are tempted to claim wisdom because they have God’s law, they should recognize that the scribes who apply it in their writings are handling it falsely – a warning to all authors of Christian books! So the so-called wise will end up trapped for rejecting God’s word, losing their wives and fields to the conquerors. Here God states that all are greedy for gain, but may mean all scribes, prophets and priests who, perhaps for the sake of financial support, unashamedly deceive by proclaiming Judah have not provoked God and so will know peace. He promises they will be punished (8v8-12). An this teaches us that wisdom is to accept what is true, not spin it to make it more palatable.

            8v13 probably refers to the LORD seeking or scuppering any spiritual harvest, so there is no fruit of righteousness amongst the people, and they therefore lose what he had given. Jeremiah therefore calls the people to flee with him to safety because God has doomed them to destruction and given them poisoned water (perhaps a reference to their unhealthy alliances, 2v13, 18) because of their sins. They hoped for peace and healing after past oppression, but face only terror as they hear battle horses coming from the north, and God promises to send metaphorical snakes (8v14-17). At this point Jeremiah cries to God as his comforter, faint with despair at his people crying in exile as they wonder if God still reigns in Zion. This may be a vision which looks ahead to that day. Whatever the case, God immediately responds, asking why they so provoked him with their idolatry. It clarifies that they are not exiled because God is no longer king, but because he is, and they sinned against him. Jeremiah then continues with an illustration that implies the opportunity for God finding the fruit of righteousness or saving the people from what is coming has passed. The prophet therefore expresses how crushed and horrified he is, in seeing no possibility of healing for the people (8v18-22). Now is the time for our own repentance. There will be a time when opportunity has passed.

Praying it home:

Praise God for delaying Christ’s return and so giving people time to repent. Pray for an awakening in our day as to the seriousness of sin and reality of judgement.

Thinking further:

None today.

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(294) October 21: Jeremiah 5-6 & 1 Timothy 1

Ask God to open your mind, heart and will to understand, delight in and obey what you read.

Read Jeremiah 5-6 & 1 Timothy 1

To discover:­

As you read consider how the people have treated God’s word.

To ponder:

God promises Jeremiah that if he can find one person who acts honestly and seeks the truth of God in Jerusalem, he will forgive the city. But he is adamant that they make oaths in his name that are false because they don’t intend to keep them (5v1-2). And so Jeremiah acknowledges how God seeks truth, yet the people refused to repent even after being disciplined – probably referring to their prior oppression by other nations or Assyria (5v3). Jeremiah put this down to the poor who don’t know God’s word, and so went to the leaders only to find that they too had rebelliously thrown off the yoke like an ox who should serve the farmer. In the light of this, Jeremiah predicts that they will be torn apart by wild animals, referring to Babylon (5v4-6).

God then asks why he should forgive, when Jerusalem’s children have forsaken him for idols, flocked to prostitutes, and committed adultery, despite God supplying their needs. So he declares they no longer belong to him. But in commanding their destruction, he still limits it so the people are not destroyed completely (5v7-11). Jeremiah notes how the people falsely declared no harm would really come to them and that the true prophets were not actually speaking God’s word. They even wished harm on them. In response, God says Jeremiah’s words will be fire, no doubt in the sense that they will result in judgement. And so he outlines the destruction he will bring through a “distant nation” (5v12-17). Yet again, he also declares that he will not destroy completely, whilst stating that Jeremiah will explain the people have nevertheless suffered because of their idolatry (5v18-19). The LORD then tells Jeremiah to announce to the people, who don’t see or hear, how they should fear God because he forms the boundaries of the creation, perhaps implying that proves he is able to protect them against the advancing hoards. But instead, he notes how stubborn and rebellious they e are, refusing to fear him as the one who provides the seasons and harvests, meaning that their harvests have suffered (5v20-25). He describes men amongst the people who are rich and powerful, and who seek to trap others with their deceit, and who do not uphold the rights of the poor. Again, he asks, “should I not punish” them for this. Indeed, even their prophets prophecy lies, the priests go along with them, and the people love it (5v26-31).

Throughout this section God is displaying how appropriate Judah’s punishment is, but also how merciful he is in limiting it. Likewise, on the last day none will be able to say that God acted unjustly, but only marvel at his mercy in saving a remnant through Christ.

In chapter 7 God again calls the people to flee Jerusalem as a way of stressing the coming disaster. Jerusalem is described like a beautiful meadow to which the kings and their armies come like shepherds with their flocks, so that their flocks can graze on their own portion of it (6v1-3). 6v4-5 stresses that daylight will not keep the destruction back. So God speaks to the attacking armies, telling them to build siege ramps because the city must be punished for her wickedness, which is described as being poured out like water, and as sickness and wounds. Once more God calls the people to turn so the land is not made desolate, even though he knows they will refuse to (6v6-8). 6v9 then seems to call both the armies and Jeremiah to glean fruit from Israel, and so gather a repentant remnant. But Jeremiah asks who he can warn as everyone’s ears are closed so they find offence in the word he speaks. This has always been the way with respect to those who proclaim God’s judgement. And in response, as God’s prophet, Jeremiah feels in himself God’s outrage at the people and cannot hold it in. God therefore instructs him to pour that wrath out, no doubt in his words, on everyone from children to the elderly – as they will all suffer when their homes, fields and even wives are handed over to the enemy by God’s hand (6v10-12). The reason is that everyone is greedy. And the prophets and priests in particular are deceitful, unashamedly declaring peace and so acceptance by God, when in reality God is bringing destruction (6v13-15). One cannot but think of ministers in today’s church who teach that God would never judge, but instead save all. Here God is clear: Such people will also be punished.

The LORD goes on to urge the people to seek out and walk in the ancient paths (ie. of faithful obedience) and find rest for their souls (6v16), just as Christ calls us to come to him for the same (Matt 11v29). They had refused to listen to the watchman (prophets) God had put over them and listen to the trumpet (their warnings). God therefore calls the nations to witness their destruction for rejecting his law, affirming that because of that he doesn’t care for their offerings of incense or sacrifices, and will cause the people to stumble. The cause of stumbling may be temptation to further sin or the coming armies. Either way, it will lead to all generations perishing (6v17-21). 6v22-26 describes the cruelty and fearfulness of the Babylonian army the LORD has stirred up, and how this should lead the people to deep anguish and mourning. God then says he has made Jeremiah a tester of Judah like a refining fire that is intended to purge impurities out of ore. But this testing has not caused Judah’s wickedness to be purged out because, as already stated, she refuses to listen. And so God has rejected the people like rejected silver that is unfit for use because of its impurity (6v27-30).

Throughout we are being urged to seek out and heed faithful Bible teachers, who will be honest about sin and its consequences. It is utter foolishness to look to those who are not honest about God’s word.

Praying it home:

Praise God for faithful Bible teachers within the church. Pray that he would raise up more to be honest about sin and judgement as well as grace and mercy.

Thinking further:

None today.

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(293) October 20: Jeremiah 3-4 & 2 Thessalonians 3

Ask God to open your mind, heart and will to understand, delight in and obey what you read.

Read Jeremiah 3-4 & 2 Thessalonians 3

To discover:­

As you read consider how the people’s sin was expressed.

To ponder:

3v1 refers to Deuteronomy 24v1-4 which forbids remarrying one’s wife if after divorce they remarry. So God is picturing his covenant with Judah (the southern kingdom) annulled, and her effectively divorced. But rather than being with just one new lover, she has been with many – ie. worshipped many false gods. And because the fruitfulness of the land was tied to Judah’s obedience (Deut 28-30), this had caused it to be defiled – ie. made unfit for God’s blessing (3v2-3). However, the key question is whether she would return to the LORD; and whether he would have her back. Indeed, she calls to God as he father and friend since youth (her time in Egypt), asking if he will be angry forever. But at the same time she continues in her evil (3v4-5)!

In the light of all this, God describes Israel’s (the northern kingdom’s) “adultery” to Jeremiah, and how he assumed she would return after it (3v6-7). Obviously this is using human language and ideas for impact, as God would always have known and even purposed Israel’s responses. The point is that she would not even repent. So God divorced her and sent her away – a reference to the northern kingdom being exiled by Assyria. Yet, whereas one would have thought her sister Judah would have learnt from this as she looked on, she showed no fear and did the same, only feigning repentance (3v7-10). Perhaps it is this refusal to learn that made Judah more unfaithful than Israel (3v11). And here God instructs Jeremiah to call the northern kingdom to return with an acknowledgement of her rebellion, and with the promise that he will be merciful (3v12-13). The northern kingdom no longer existed as nation, but this oracle would encourage all of Israelite descent amongst the nations to return to God. And so as Israel’s first husband, the LORD promises to choose and bring a remnant of survivors to Zion, from what were Israel’s towns and clans. He anticipates their numbers increasing in the land, and the Mosaic covenant (ie. her first marriage to God), in which the tablets of God’s law were kept in the ark, forgotten. At that time God will be enthroned in Jerusalem, where the nations will honour him without stubborn hearts, and those of Israel and Judah will come from their exile and join together again as one united nation (3v14-18). This is where Isaiah left off – the fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham, in which the whole earth is blessed with his descendents as they honour God with them (Gen 12v1-3).

In what follows God affirms how gladly he would have given the land as a beautiful inheritance to Israel like sons, if only the people had not turned away (3v19-20). Jeremiah then speaks of their cries under oppression away on barren heights (not the abundant land) because they forgot God (3v21). At this point he calls on the people of Judah to return, promising a cure for their backsliding. We will see this is the nature of the new covenant God will enter into. It will not be about the external law on stones in the ark, but an internal law written on the heart (see Jer 31v31-34). Nevertheless, in experiencing it the people must respond. An outline of what that should look like is given: a willingness to repent because the LORD is their God; a recognition that the idolatry conducted on hills is a deception and salvation is found in the LORD; a confession of the people’s history of idolatry, giving their harvests and children to false gods, and of their own persistent shame and disobedience (3v20-25). This is model of heartfelt repentance. And God promises the people of Judah and Jerusalem, that if it is sincere and results in no longer going astray, then God’s purpose for the nations being blessed will be fulfilled (4v1-2). He therefore calls them to sow new life within themselves, but not mixed with the thorns of evil and idolatry. They are to circumcised their hearts – ie. cut off sin at the level of inner desire and decision, and out of devotion to God. Otherwise they will face his burning wrath (4v3-4). This all looks to the inner work of the Holy Spirit in overcoming our tendency to sin (Rom 2v29).

The need for repentance in Jeremiah’s days was urgent. But the sense is that the people will not do so. Indeed, God calls the people to sound the alarm, flee to the cities, and repent in sackcloth, because in anger he is bringing a lion (Babylon) to destroy the land to the horror of Judah’s rulers (4v5-9). Jeremiah’s comment about God deceiving the people is probably at how he allowed false prophets to preach peace to them – perhaps so that they would not repent in time to avoid this threat (4v10, as 2 Thess 2v9-12). Whatever the case, God was now sending Jeremiah to speak the truth that judgement is coming not for cleansing but for punishment (4v11-12). So, as if a watchman seeing an army, Jeremiah declares the LORD coming as a divine warrior, and urges the people of Jerusalem to repent and so wash the evil from their hearts. From Dan and Ephraim in the north, a voice is then said to announce to the nations and Jerusalem the coming of a real army, to besiege Judah’s cities because of her rebellion against God. And it is stressed that only the people are to blame (4v13-18). Jeremiah then expresses his own anguish at the coming disaster, probably witnessed in a vision, and his despair at the foolishness of his people in not knowing him as a prophet. He describes a formless heavens and earth with quaking mountains, no people or birds, and the land ruined by under God’s anger (4v19-26).

The LORD then speaks, declaring the land will be ruined, but not entirely. And he explains Jeremiah’s vision. It is a picture of the creation mourning over the certainty of the horrors to come, and of the people absent because they’ve run and hidden from the enemy (4v27-29). So God asks Judah why she dresses herself a prostitute seeking lovers, when they seek her life. The inference is that Judah is seeking an agreement with Babylon, who will end up destroying her. Jerusalem (the daughter of Mount Zion) therefore cries out that he life is given over to murderers. But there is hope: She is likened to one giving birth. New life awaits (4v30-31).

Praying it home:

Praise God for graciously having folk call you to repentance. Pray that you would not feign it, but that it would be sincere.

Thinking further:

To read the NIV Study Bible introduction to Jeremiah, click here.

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