People Get Ready

Our Lord Jesus Christ reveals to us in the Book of Revelation worse tragedies happening on the earth in the end times than happened in the days of Jeremiah. He reveals to us an antichrist who aims to eliminate all who will not bow to his authority. There will be famine, disease, good people (Christians) being martyred, earthquakes, celestial disturbances including a darkened sun, a blood-red moon, falling stars, hail and fire mixed with blood, a third of the earth’s trees and grass burned up, fresh water poisoned, and a massive battle in which many people die. Hailstones weighing 100 pounds each will fall from the sky. When Jesus returns, those whose names are not in written in His Book of Life will be cast into a lake of fire and brimstone along with the devil and the antichrist.

What are we doing with these revelations? Are we living circumspectly of them? Are we preparing people for them as the prophet Jeremiah did in his day?

What did the Lord instruct Jeremiah do with the revelations that He gave him? He instructed Jeremiah to share them with as many people as possible. There were no TV’s, no internet and no printing presses in Jeremiah’s day, so he speaks to them much like Jesus did when he was on earth, that is, in public places. Nowadays, many people receive their news via TV stations and the internet platforms. So, these venues have become our public square.

The Lord led Jeremiah to face the political and religious leaders who were against him. He led them to a location where crimes took place. That was bold! Only God could have caused them to follow him and to listen to him.

“Thus says the Lord: go and get a potter’s earthen flask and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests. And go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the Potsherd Gate; and proclaim there the words that I will tell you.” Jeremiah 19:1-2

Jeremiah brought them to the Potsherd Gate. This gate was also known as the Dung Gate. As they exited the gate, they saw shards of broken pottery.

“And say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle.’” Jeremiah 19:3

He recounts and reveals. He recounts what they did and reveals what the Lord will do.

“Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents (they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind).” Jeremiah 19:4-5

Jeremiah orated an ominous object lesson to them. They had filled the land with innocent blood. By “innocent blood” he referred to the sacrifices of infants. They burned their children in fire to Baal. Infanticide is inspired by Satan otherwise why would they do it? They convinced fathers and mothers to kill their babies. In the place they promoted death, they will perish.

“Therefore behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that this place shall no more be called Tophet or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.” Jeremiah 19:6

Tophet is a reference to the drums that they would play to drown out the cries of the babies as they burned them to death in the fires. The Valley of Slaughter is where their enemies, the Babylonians, set up camp before attacking and destroying the city.

“And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hands of those who seek their lives; their corpses I will give as meat for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth.” Jeremiah 19:7

The Lord was going to defeat their best plans for survival. He promised them swords, birds and beasts. Only God’s strong love for a nation could compel someone to speak such strong words against the sins that were destroying them. His call to forsake crimes and to turn to the Lord was a great service to God and to his country.

“I will make this city desolate and a hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues. And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and in the desperation with which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall drive them to despair.” Jeremiah 19:8-9

The holy city would soon be horror city. A hair-raising sight! Enemies would encircle them. A blockade would cut off their food supply! Soon, they would experience the gnawing pangs of starvation. They would eat their own children to ease the agony of deprivation.

“Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be made whole again; and they shall bury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury.” Jeremiah 19:10-11

As they treated babies as trash to be destroyed so they would be destroyed. As they broke the hearts of many, their hearts would be broken.

“Thus I will do to this place, says the Lord, and to its inhabitants, and make this city like Tophet. And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled like the place of Tophet, because of all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’” Jeremiah 19:12-13

The Lord’s Word to those elders and priests in Tophet is relevant for us today. As they burned others they would be burned. This burning is echoed in the ovens of the concentration camps of Germany during the 1940’s. But before we wave a finger at the Jews or the Germans, let us consider that another race is being slaughtered right under our noses during the 21st Century. The preborn race! About 3,700 per day or 1.37 million per year in the USA! About 115,000 per day or 42 million per year globally.

“Then Jeremiah came from Tophet, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the Lord’s house and said to all the people...” Jeremiah 19:14

Jeremiah now stands in the court, which was common to all people, where the most might hear.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.’” Jeremiah 19:15

They stiffened their necks means that they determined to completely reject God’s revelations to them. Deny them! Live as though God’s Word was misinformation.

During New Testament times, the Apostle Peter warned people that God spared not angels who sinned. He sent them to hell. God spared not the ancient world. He sent them the flood. God spared not Sodom and Gomorrah. He sent them the fire. (2 Peter 2:4-6, 9-10) In 2 Peter 3:9, he wrote, “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

When Jesus says in Revelation 22:12, “Behold, I come quickly!” The meaning in the original language is to come in a moment of time. As 1 Corinthians 15:52 says, “In the blink of an eye.” It will be too late to repent in that moment. Jesus told His disciples in Luke 17:24, “As the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.” It will be too late on that day to repent and be forgiven.

Once, I witnessed a court scene where the man on trial had managed to escape justice for many years. His victims hoped the judge would stop the man from abusing them. They were relieved when the judge's gavel fell and he ruled in their favor. They felt vindicated. Though their abuser refused to acknowledge his sin, a court of law had examined the evidence against him, listened to the testimonies of eye-witnesses, and declared him guilty.

One day, God will lower the gavel on the earth’s culture of death. Christ will usher in a new heaven and new earth wherein dwells righteousness. (2 Peter 3:13) People get ready!

The Lord says in Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the Law.” In John 16:8, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. He does so people have an opportunity to hear the truth and be saved. May the Lord Jesus by His Spirit grant us boldness to share His revelations so that he or she who has ears to hear might hear and be saved.

Seeking to Save a Dying Nation

“The Word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: ‘Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.’” Jeremiah 18:1-2

“Thank You Lord Jesus for bringing Your Word!”

The Lord led Jeremiah down from his preaching post at the temple area to where the common laborer does his work. This is where God would refuel him with more words for the people.

The Lord furnishes the time, place and means for His Word to go forth.

In the New Testament era, the Lord gave a Roman Centurion named Cornelius a vision of an angel speaking to him by his name (Cornelius) and telling him a place (Joppa), a man’s surname (Peter) and an address (Simon the tanner’s house by the sea). Cornelius sent two servants and a devout soldier to Joppa and they found Peter. God had also given Peter a vision and a message to explain what was about to happen and that he should go with the three men. (Acts 10:3-22)

The ministry of God’s Word is most effective when people are hearing from God in a personal way and following His instructions.

“Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so, he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the Word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter? says the Lord. Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!’” Jeremiah 18:5-6

Jeremiah arrived just in time to see a potter shaping clay with his hands on a wheel. The potter was a master craftsman. He transformed clay into ornate objects. But wait a moment! It did not meet his expectations! So, he smashed it. As Jeremiah watched the potter smash the clay into a lump to be remolded, the Lord spoke to him.

One of the truths that God needed Israel to hear was that being a descendant of Abraham did not yield His approval of them. If a potter has prerogative to throw away a marred vessel and make a better one, the Creator, can certainly do so as well. God chose Israel, and blessed Israel, to be His representatives, His light, to the world. They were marred beyond use in that regard.

In Matthew 3:9, John the Baptist told his Jewish listeners, “Do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.”

In Matthew 8:10-12, after a Roman centurion expressed great faith in Jesus, Jesus turned to the to the religious leaders of the Jews and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Everyone needs a personal relationship with the Lamb to be recorded in His Book of Life.

In Galatians 5:6, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.” Jesus is looking for faith in Him and love for Him. Not for biological pedigree (racism) and not for rituals that are no longer necessary (circumcision)! The purpose of the Law is to lead us to Messiah, not to be Messiah.

It is not enough to be a Christian in name only. Songwriter Keith Green said, “Parking yourself in a garage does not make you a car, and neither does going to church automatically to make you a Christian.” Having a parent or a grandparent who believes in Jesus, does not cover your need to have a personal relationship with Jesus yourself. Each person must be born of the Spirit. Each person must be the work of God (saved and filled by Him) to be an acceptable vessel to God.

“The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.” Jeremiah 18:7-10

The Lord compares nations and kingdoms to plants that can be uprooted or preserved by Him. The criteria for preservation is simple. Cooperation with the molding hands of the Potter!

According to Jonah 3:4, Nineveh was a very wicked pagan city, but when Jonah preached, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’” Jonah 3:5 says, “the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. And Jonah 3:10 says, “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.” In Matthew 12:41, Jesus used Nineveh’s testimony to prod the irreligious leaders of Jerusalem to repent. He said, “The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.”

“Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now everyone from his evil way and make your ways and your doings good.’” Jeremiah 18:11

As He with Jonah, the Lord gives Jeremiah a message of urgency, of urgency to return to the Lord and change their ways lest they suffer His wrath.

In the days of Noah, the Lord gave the people 120 years of advance notice about the flood. But only Noah, his wife, his three sons, and his sons’ three wives entered the ark and were saved. The ark was a type of Christ. We need to be in Christ to be saved from the wrath to come.

God’s Word via Jeremiah to the people of Jerusalem was that He could do to His people what the potter did to the clay. He could give them a fresh start. He did not want them to be unacceptable. The problem was that they would not yield themselves to God.

“And they said, “That is hopeless! So, we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.” Jeremiah 18:12

In His covenant with Israel during the days of Moses the Lord warned them to beware of a heart that turns away from Him to serve other gods. He specifically warned against touting, “I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart.” In such a case, the Lord promised that every curse that is written in this book would settle on such a person, and the Lord would blot out his name from under heaven. The whole land would burn with brimstone like unto Sodom and Gomorrah. (Deuteronomy 29:14-23)

It is good to be mindful of what the Lord said to the last king of Babylon before his nation was conquered by Persia. In Daniel 5:23, the Lord said to the king, “The God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.” Are we glorifying the Lord?

“Therefore thus says the Lord: “Ask now among the Gentiles, who has heard such things? The virgin of Israel has done a very horrible thing. Will a man leave the snow water of Lebanon, which comes from the rock of the field? Will the cold flowing waters be forsaken for strange waters?” Jeremiah 18:13-14

God offered them cool refreshing streams of mountain water, but they preferred strange waters. Israel abandoned high quality waters for lower quality waters because they had become happy to talk about other gods and ashamed to talk about Him.

“Because My people have forgotten Me, they have burned incense to worthless idols. And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways, from the ancient paths, to walk in pathways and not on a highway, to make their land desolate and a perpetual hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and shake his head.” Jeremiah 18:15-16

“Because My people have forgotten Me.”

They serve worthless idols

They stumble

Walk on paths not highways

Increase their shame

“I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them the back and not the face in the day of their calamity.” Jeremiah 18:17

This is the imagery of being winnowed. In Matthew 3:10, John the Baptist said of Jesus, “His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” During winnowing, moving air is used to separate heavier, desirable material (like wheat) from lighter, unwanted material (such as chaff). A common method involves tossing the threshed or dried crop into the air, allowing the wind to blow the lighter husks away, while the heavier grain falls back down to be collected. This process improves the purity of the harvested product.

The Lord will neither gloss over nor turn a blind eye to the fact the people of Jerusalem are chaff. They preferred false gods to Him. Some dishonest sellers might try to mix chaff in with the wheat, but not the Lord. He will harvest only the wheat and drive away the chaff.

“Then they said, ‘Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; for the Law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue and let us not give heed to any of his words.’” Jeremiah 18:18

Jeremiah’s fellow priests, wisemen and prophets looked at the same Book of the Law as Jeremiah did, that is, if they were looking at God’s Law, but they saw things completely differently than he did. It is likely, that they were scamming God’s people so they could live comfortably. His truth-telling had the potential to ruin their criminal enterprise.

The chief priests and scribes also devised a plan against Jesus in His day to destroy Him. They said of Jesus in Matthew 12:24, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” As irreligious leaders attacked Jesus, so they attacked Jeremiah, saying, “Come and let us attack him with the tongue and let us not give heed to any of his words.”

St. Augustine wrote, “Jesus fled from stones, but woe to those from whose stony hearts God has fled!”

“Give heed to me, O Lord, and listen to the voice of those who contend with me!” Jeremiah 18:19

Jeremiah’s prayer to God, “Give heed” contrasts with what his enemies plan to do against him. They say, “let us not give heed to any of his words.” Jeremiah wants God to listen to what they are saying and take righteous action upon them.

What are imprecatory Psalms?

Imprecatory means to call down a curse. Imprecatory Psalms are cries for divine judgment upon enemies. They are pleas for God to vindicate His own righteous cause against sabotages.

Westminster Larger Catechism, Q. 191, says, “Pray that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be destroyed, the Gospel promulgated throughout the world.”

When King Hezekiah’s nation was surrounded by an enemy army, he prayed an imprecatory prayer to the Lord, saying, “Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God.” The Lord answered his prayer. “And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out and killed in the camp of the Assyrians 185,000; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead.” (2 Kings 19:16, 35)

“Shall evil be repaid for good? For they have dug a pit for my life. Remember that I stood before You to speak good for them, to turn away Your wrath from them.” Jeremiah 18:20

Turning away God’s wrath on sinners is what Christ did. Romans 5:9 says, “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” Since I am in Christ, God looks at me just-if-I’d never sinned. Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath against sin so that I would not have to drink it.

The cup of divine wrath is difficult to drink. Jesus asked the Father three times if the cup could be taken from Him, but each time, finished that prayer, by saying, “Not My will be done but Yours be done.” There was no other sinless human that could be a perfect sacrifice for our sin. So, Jesus drank it. Now, we can drink from His cup of salvation. (Matthew 26:27-28, 39-44)

Jeremiah sought to turn God’s wrath from his fellow Jerusalemites by leading them back to the one true God. His words were passionate. He was bold to stand in the public square amidst mockers and speak the truth. At first, he asked God to have mercy on the people because he believed the leaders were to blame for their errors, but when God asked him to find one man that did justice and spoke the truth, he could not find even one. (Jeremiah 5:1) It was almost as though he took a straw poll, thinking, “Surely, I can find a certain percentage of Jerusalemites who do justice and speak the truth.” But he found none, no not one. What’s more, he found out just how evil they were.

“Therefore deliver up their children to the famine and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; let their wives become widows and bereaved of their children. Let their men be put to death, their young men be slain by the sword in battle.” Jeremiah 18:21

Jeremiah found out that God was right about his fellow Jerusalemites. They did horrible things to their children. They sacrificed them to idols by destroying them in fiery rituals. There was no faithfulness in their marriages. They were murderers. They were thieves. Conniving! So, he joined with God in desiring wrathful judgments on them.

“Let a cry be heard from their houses, when You bring a troop suddenly upon them; for they have dug a pit to take me, and hidden snares for my feet.” Jeremiah 18:22

He was trying to save them. They were trying to capture and kill him.

Revelation 6:9-10 has an imprecatory prayer in it. “Those who had been slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held... cried with a loud voice, saying ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’”

“Yet, Lord, You know all their counsel which is against me, to slay me. Provide no atonement for their iniquity, nor blot out their sin from Your sight; but let them be overthrown before You. Deal thus with them in the time of Your anger.” Jeremiah 18:23

Psalm 37:32 says, “The wicked spies upon the righteous and seeks to kill him.” These were the kind of irreligious leaders that Jeremiah was dealing with. He did not want God to regard any of their sacrifices or religious practices. “Let them be overthrown!” These were the kind of leaders who stir up mobs to destroy the best of a nation’s leaders. Leaders who are Christlike!

The last thing a man or woman of God wants to do is to hurt people, but when people treat God’s servants as the people of Jerusalem treated Jeremiah, it is difficult not to feel this way about them. Thankfully, God saved Jeremiah from them. They fell. Jeremiah stood.

When it comes to imprecatory prayers, it is important to remember the context of these prayers. King David, King Hezekiah and Jeremiah were trying to save their nations from being destroyed. The entire population of their nation was hanging in the balance.

When it comes to personal abuse, both Jesus and Stephen chose the route of forgiveness and prayer for their enemies. In Luke 23:34, Jesus prayed for His crucifiers, saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” In Acts 7:60, Stephen prayed for those who were in the process of stoning him to death, saying, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” In Matthew 6:15, in the context of teaching His disciples how to pray, Jesus said, “If you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Jesus set the example for us by forgiving those who flogged Him, spit on Him, insulted Him and pierced His hands and feet with spikes. Forgiving enemies is vital to our well-being. We do not want to be bound with bitterness.

The Lord helped Jeremiah to forgive what others did to him. The Lord helped him to press on to do what was best for his nation. In the latter portion of his book, the Lord gave Jeremiah a promise a new day. In Hebrews 8:10-11, the writer quotes Jeremiah 31:34, saying, “None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” This is all Jeremiah ever wanted... that people would know the Lord.

One Way

“The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with the point of a diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of your altars.” Jeremiah 17:1

Iron pen: unyielding nature of Judah's sin

Diamond point: lasting impact of their sin

Tablet of the heart: not superficial but ingrained

Horns of the altars: religious practices tainted by sin

Engraved: Not easily erased - a constant reminder

Sin was engraved in their hearts like chiseled letters in a stone. They were cold and insensitive to God and to one another. What did abandonment of God do for them? Prodigal behavior brought prodigal pain. They lost family, friends and provisions. They exchanged fullness and favor for hunger and insult.

They should have done as Proverbs 7:2-3 says, “Keep My commands and live, and My Law as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.”

2 Corinthians 3:3 says, “You are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

“While their children remember their altars and their wooden images by the green trees on the high hills.” Jeremiah 17:2

The Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary says, “Instead of forsaking the idols of their fathers, the children kept them up. Proof their sin is graven in their hearts.” “The Hebrew word for ‘grove’ is Asherah. Groves refer to “images of Astarte” the goddess of the heavenly hosts, represented as a sacred tree. Astarte is the Hellenized (Greek) form of the goddess’s name, while Ashtaroth is the Hebrew plural form used in the Bible. The singular Hebrew form is Ashtoreth. Astarte is linked to the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar, with shared associations with fertility, sexual love, and war. During the Hellenistic period, the Phoenician goddess ʿAštart (Astarte), a variant of the Ishtar figure, was identified with the Egyptian Isis. How crazy is it that as recent as the twenty-first century, people who identified as Isis were killing people who believe in the God of the Bible.

“O My mountain in the field, I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, and your high places of sin within all your borders.” Jeremiah 17:3

The Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary says, “As Jerusalem was surrounded by mountains, the sense probably is, ‘You rely on your mountainous position, but I will make my mountain to become as if it were in a plain (field).” In other words, all their defenses will fail them.

Once, Jesus cursed a fig tree. It dried up. In this context, He said to His disciples, “Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:20-23) The mountain that Jesus was dealing with at that time was the false teachers in Jerusalem who lead the people to crucify Him. Those leaders would eventually be removed and destroyed.

“And you, even yourself, shall let go of your heritage which I gave you; and I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land which you do not know; for you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.” Jeremiah 17:4

They will not be able to hold onto their heritage no matter how hard they try to do so. The fire of the Lord’s anger would refine them as a smelter’s fire removes dross from gold. What no caring prophet could do with words, God would do with pain.

“Thus says the Lord: cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited.” Jeremiah 17:5-6

When people depart from God, curses follow. Rebellion against the Creator is the devil’s enterprise. He wants us to think that the whole concept of God is below our dignity.

The Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary says that unbelievers “shall not see when good comes” because they wither in the heat of the unbelief while the believers draw life from a hidden source (the Lord) as a tree’s hidden roots draw water from a river.

Psalm 118:8 says, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.” Psalm 146:3 says, “Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.” Hebrews 3:12 says, “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

Psalm 1 uses a tree planted by water as a metaphor a for a person who meditates on the Law of the Lord day and night. In John 15:5, Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:9-10

Hitler’s heart told him that only the strong should survive. His heart led him to massacre over 15,000 handicapped people. He influenced others to embrace eugenics, euthanasia, infanticide, abortion, and racial extermination. Richard Weikart, in his book entitled, “From Darwinism to Hitler,” concluded that Hitler built his view of ethics on Darwinian principles.

Margaret Sanger’s heart told her that certain people were unfit for life. In a 1920 public statement, Sanger said birth control was “nothing more or less than the facilitation of the process of weeding out the unfit [and] of preventing the birth of defectives.” Sanger primarily linked the concept of “unfit” with conditions she believed were inherited, such as insanity, syphilis, poverty, and “feeble-mindedness.” She collaborated with figures like Lothrop Stoddard, a Ku Klux Klan member and Nazi sympathizer. In 1939, Sanger and other advocates launched the “Negro Project” to bring birth control to impoverished Black communities in the American South. Sanger suggested using Black ministers to prevent rumors that the birth control movement was trying to “exterminate the Negro population.” She is considered by many to be the mother of the modern abortion movement. [2]

Dr. James Waller, a specialist on genocidal studies, stated at a ministerial conference that prior to genocidal events, one group of people begins to dehumanize another group. For example, in Rwanda, the Tutsis started calling the Hutus cockroaches. After the Tutsis were fully convinced that the Hutu’s were inhuman, they proceeded to slaughter them. The Tutsis massacred 800,000 Hutus in 30 days. Abortionists have dehumanized preborn people. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 73 million abortions occur globally each year. This figure is based on data from 2015 to 2019 and is subject to variation.

“The Lord searches the heart and tests the mind.” These free examinations are His grace to us. He helps us to discern our successes and failures so we get better. Hebrews 4:12 says that “the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Someone once said, “We tend to look at the sins of others with a microscope (close up) and our own sins with a telescope (from afar). We need the Lord to reward our deeds as they deserve. Otherwise, we may not catch the difference between our rudeness and our goodness.

Have you had a heart and mind checkup with the Lord recently?

“The heart is deceitful.” The Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary says that the word here for ‘deceitful’ stems from the Hebrew word ‘to supplant.’ Israel descended from Jacob who supplanted his brother Esau. They had the deceit of their forefather but not his faith. They supplanted “trust in God” with “trust in man” but God was not fooled.

“The Art of War” is a book attributed to a Chinese man named Sun Tzu (544-496 BC). He taught that all warfare is based on deception. Some deceptions that he used to win wars included:

Misinforming and misleading his enemy

Posturing as weak where he was strong

Posturing as strong where he was weak

Appearing to retreat when he was attacking

Always masking his true intentions

Satan’s deception is that sin yields pleasure and God is too loving to punish it. God’s truth is that the wages of sin is death and God is too righteous not to punish it.

Jesus warned about the last days, saying: “Watch out that no one deceives you.” Matthew 24:4

Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The only way to be with God after we die is to believe in His Son Jesus Christ.

“Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay are those who gain riches by unjust means. When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them, and in the end they will prove to be fools.” Jeremiah 17:11

Those who think they are getting ahead by serving themselves and defrauding God are foolish. At the end of their life, they will regret what they did. In Luke 12:20-21, spoke of man who laid up treasure for himself, but was not rich toward God. God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?”

“A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.” Jeremiah 17:12

Those who take sanctuary under the shadow of the Lord’s wing will eventually come to see Him on His glorious throne. Revelation 3:21 says, “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

“O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake You shall be ashamed. ‘Those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.’” Jeremiah 17:13

Names written in the earth are blown away by the wind. Names written in heaven are eternal.

In Luke 10:20, the disciples of Jesus rejoiced when they were able to cast out demons in His Name. Jesus said, “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise.” Jeremiah 17:14

Heal me! Jeremiah had been wounded by those he tried to save! They plotted to destroy him, he continued to praise the Lord.

In Acts 16:25-26, Paul and Silas praised God while in prison and God broke their chains. “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”

Psalm 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

“Indeed they say to me, ‘Where is the Word of the Lord? Let it come now!’” Jeremiah 17:15

Mockers mocked Jeremiah. They did want to face reality. 2 Peter 3:3-4 says, “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’”

“As for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows You, nor have I desired the woeful day; You know what came out of my lips; it was right there before You.” Jeremiah 17:16

The Lord by His Spirit helped Jeremiah with two miracles. One, to not behave as a hireling when the proverbial wolves attacked him. Two, not to desire woes upon ungrateful sheep.

In Acts 20:20, 27, the Lord gave Paul a similar ability. He testified, “I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you publicly and from house to house.” “I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.”

“Do not be a terror to me; You are my hope in the day of doom.” Jeremiah 17:17

The Lord gave Jeremiah vivid details of what was to come for his nation. He knew that he too was a sinner in need of Savior. So, he prayed to be spared from harm on dooms day.

Concerning the end times, Jesus said in Luke 21:35-37, “For it [the tribulation] will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

It’s okay to pray to be delivered from doom. I used you to meet with disciples once per week in China. Concerning myself, I would pray one word, “Help!” The Lord knew my “help” meant that I did not want to be arrested by China’s Public Security Bureau (PSB) agents. “Help” also meant that if I were arrested, I wanted Him to be with me. As for the discipleship gatherings, they continued for eight years without being raided up by PSB. Praise the Lord!

“Let them be ashamed who persecute me, but do not let me be put to shame; let them be dismayed, but do not let me be dismayed. Bring on them the day of doom and destroy them with double destruction!” Jeremiah 17:18

Jeremiah asked the Lord to direct shame and dismay towards his persecutors. He asked God to destroy them with double destruction. John the apostle heard a voice from heaven say, “Pay her back even as she has paid and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.” (Revelation 18:6) It is Scriptural.

Our goal is to glorify God, but the adversary aims to arrest us! In Ephesians 6:12-13, Paul wrote, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day...” The armor of God includes the Gospel of peace, salvation, righteousness, truth, faith, God’s Word, prayer, watchfulness and perseverance according to Ephesians 6:14-18.

Many of David’s Psalms came to him during seasons of persecution, In Psalms 70:2, he prayed, “Let those be ashamed and humiliated who seek my life; let those be turned back and dishonored who delight in my hurt.” One day, after many fights, he was crowned king.

“Thus the Lord said to me: “Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; and say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates.” Jeremiah 17:19-20

The gate referred to above was on the main street of the city. Here, buyers and sellers heard the voice of God via Jeremiah. He addressed both leaders and workers, saying...

“Thus says the Lord: take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.” Jeremiah 17:21-22

Sabbath breaking was one of the chief causes of Judah’s captivity. Leviticus 26:34-35 and 2 Chronicles 36:21 speak of the Promised Land resting for the years that the Sabbath was not kept. God based the length of the exile on the 490 years of unkept Sabbath Years. To make up for every seventh-year (Sabbath-Year) they defied, God gave them a year in captivity.

The Babylonian exile lasted 70 years. “To fulfill the Word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate, she kept Sabbath, to fulfill 70 years.” (2 Chronicles 36:21)

How many times did Jesus tell Peter that he should forgive a brother who sinned against him? In Matthew 18:22, Jesus said to Peter, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’’ That is 490 times which is the number of years that God forgave the Israelites for not keeping the Sabbath year rest.

Jesus cleared the money changers out of the house of God and quoted Jeremiah 7:11 when He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” Jesus did not approve of buying and selling in His house, but He did do many healing miracles on the Sabbath Day. He walked from place to place on the Sabbath. He taught and preached on the Sabbath Day. In Mark 2:27, He explained to the Pharisees that “Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” In other words, rest days and rest years were meant to be a gift to people from God.

In Exodus 20:8-11, God promised Israel that He would provide for the rest day.

In Leviticus 25:1–7, God promised to provide for rest year. The Sabbath Day and the Sabbatical Year are reminders that one day this current cursed world will be no more, and we will return to paradise with God. In Revelation 14:13, a voice from heaven said to John, “Write: blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” Yes, in heaven, we will rest from our labors.

“They did not obey nor incline their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.” Jeremiah 17:23

In Proverbs 29:1, God says, “He, that being often reproved hardens his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” God’s people frustrated Him by insisting on doing things the hard way. They suffered greatly when He withdrew His hand from them.

“And it shall be, if you heed Me carefully, says the Lord, to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it, then shall enter the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, accompanied by the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever. And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the lowland, from the mountains and from the South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, bringing sacrifices of praise to the house of the Lord.” Jeremiah 17:24-26

God promised that they would enjoy international trade deals and royal visitations. Jerusalem would last forever. People from the countryside would enjoy abundant crops and bring their offerings and their praises to God into the city. The “carrying of no burdens” refers to not bringing merchandise into the city for selling on the Sabbath Day.

The Lord wants Christians to gather for fellowship. Christians gathering for fellowship in God’s Word and for prayer is mentioned throughout the Book of Acts. In Hebrews 10:24-25, the Lord said, “Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

“But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.” Jeremiah 17:27

To hallow is to honor something as holy. Genesis 2:2 says, “On the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” God set the example for us. We honor Him when we follow His example.

God promised to set Jerusalem’s gates on fire if they disobeyed Him. In other words, He would destroy the place that was defiled by their disobedience.

They didn’t listen or obey the Lord. 2 Kings 25:9 says, “He [King Nebuchadnezzar] burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire.” In fact, the city was turned into rubble. Nehemiah 1:3 says, “The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”

In Hebrews 12:25 and in Revelation 20:15, the Lord warns us today of more dire consequences than He warned the people in Jeremiah’s day. He warns us against being robbed of an eternity with Him in heaven. “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven.” “Anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

God does not want anyone to perish. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” He loves us. He gave to us. He wants us to enjoy everlasting life, but we must listen to His instructions and follow them.

There’s one way to heaven. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”


[1] From Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany was released in 2004 (paperback edition in 2006) with Palgrave Macmillan in New York, a major publisher of historical scholarship, from dustjacket
[2] Google AI resources

Knowing God and Making God Known

“The Word of the Lord also came to me, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.’” Jeremiah 16:1-2

In the previous chapter, Jeremiah asked the Lord for deliverance from persecution. He was concerned that the authorities would take him away to prison or execute him. They wanted to silence him for speaking prophetically about his nation’s demise. Here, the Lord wanting to spare Jeremiah from further sorrow, tells him not to marry and not to pursue having children.

“For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land: they shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.” Jeremiah 16:3-4

The Lord revealed to Jeremiah vivid details of what was to come. Gruesome deaths! No one left to bury or mourn them! Corpses like litter on the ground! Guant corpses from starvation! Horribly disfigured by swords! Nowadays, we have photographs and videos of the aftermath of war, but Jeremiah did not have access to such technology. People in his days received their news updates by word of mouth, and perhaps by pictures or written accounts.

“For thus says the Lord: do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people, says the Lord, lovingkindness and mercies. Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; neither shall men lament for them, cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them. Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mother.” Jeremiah 16:5-7

Like the receding ocean tide before a massive tsunami waves strikes, the Lord removed any sense of His peace, love and mercies from the people before tribulation broke out. Suddenly, it was upon them, and it was too late to thwart the tragedy.

The Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary explains that cutting oneself and cutting off the hair were Pagan customs, which God forbad His people to do. There is no mourning, no burials, no lamenting, no skin or hair cutting for the dead, and no meal or comforting drink after the funeral because no one will be available to make it happen.

“Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.” Jeremiah 16:8

God called Jeremiah to decline meal invitations. He was to remain distant from his people while they remained distant from God. The Lord wanted Jeremiah to use shock therapy to get their hearts beating once again for Him. Words were not enough.

1 Corinthians 5:11 says, “...You must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.” The idea here is to work in harmony with the Holy Spirit to convict the brother or sister of their sin, and to keep yourself and your fellowship from evil.

2 John 1:9-11 says, “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.” The Lord does not want us to greet or welcome false prophets or teachers to fellowship with us.

In Deuteronomy 13:1-5, God commanded Israel to worship Him alone and to be faithful to Him. He told them to execute false prophets. He commanded them to purge evil from their midst.

Jesus did not tell His disciples to put anyone to death, but He did urge them to discern who so-called prophets were by their fruits. Three of the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy and peace. If you have the Holy Spirit, you have His fruit. False prophets tend to want to control people for personal reasons. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11)

It is important to pray over any situation that arises in regard to the above matters. You have God’s Word, and you have God’s Holy Spirit if you are a believer. You have to assess each association with prayer and be led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will not give you peace to do something if it is not of God. In such a case, it is best to wait on the Lord until He gives a definite leading to you. You can also consult with and pray with other Christlike believers about what to do in such cases. Sometimes to minimize my personal feelings about a situation, I pray, “Lord, please do what is best for all involved. Please be glorified Lord.”

“For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: behold, I will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.” Jeremiah 16:9

When I lived and worked in China, some authorities spoke of freedom from religion as though they were more enlightened and less oppressed than me. In the USA, Hollywood has been promoting a lie since its inception, namely, that intimacy between couples without marriage is a wonderful freedom. I am very grateful to God that my parents brought me up in the Church and that they modeled for me marital faithfulness to one another. God, in His grace great mercy, blessed me with marriage. My wedding day was one of the best days of my life. I am glad that the devil did not scam my wife and me with his poison-laced false propaganda.

The breakdown of marriage and the family unit is actually a judgment of God. It is a sign that something is wrong with a society and that it needs God’s intervention.

Revelation 18:23 speaks of the absence of marriage ceremonies as a divine judgment. “The light of a lamp will never shine in you anymore. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you anymore...” It is a work of the devil to steal the marriage blessing from people.

“And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me, says the Lord; they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me. Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.’” Jeremiah 16:10-13

The people wanted to be gods unto themselves but were not designed to carry this burden. God did not bestow on people infinite knowledge, wisdom and understanding. For example, Israel is at its worse when as Judges 21:25 says, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” The Lord says in Psalm 84:11-12, “My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels.” The Good Shepherd is willing to lead us when we are ready to follow. But if we forsake Him... remember! We live in His universe, breathe His air, and drink His water. He can share or withhold these blessings from us.

“The Lord God of Israel says: those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.” (1 Samuel 2:30) God promised to cast them like a ball out of the Promised Land into a land where they would serve other gods day and night.

“Therefore behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.” Jeremiah 16:14-15

So severe shall be the Jews’ bondage in Babylon that their deliverance from it shall be a greater benefit than that when He delivered them from Egypt. The land of the north in the above passage is a reference to Babylon.

“Behold, I will send for many fishermen, says the Lord, and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.” Jeremiah 16:16

“Fishermen” is used in a bad sense. Babylon would catch them as fishermen catch fish. Hunters is used in a good sense. God would hunt, find and bring them back home.

“For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. And first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.” Jeremiah 16:17-18

Nothing escaped God’s attention. He saw every detestable act they did.

1 Corinthians 4:5 says, “The Lord will bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts.” Hebrews 4:13 says, “All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him.”

“O Lord, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, ‘Surely our fathers have inherited lies, worthlessness and unprofitable things.’” Jeremiah 16:19

The result of God’s judgments on Israel will be that both they and Gentiles shall acknowledge that they were wrong about God. This passage was fulfilled in part when they returned from Babylon. At that time, Israel renounced idols, and some Gentiles believed in the Lord.

In Revelation 7:4-14; 14:3-5, during the tribulation of the last days, 12,000 Israelites from each of the twelve tribes of Israel will be followers of Christ. 144,000 Israeli evangelists for Jesus Christ! John is shown an innumerable amount of people from every nation in heaven. They are glorifying God. An angel tells John that these people came out from the great tribulation.

Christ used twelve Israeli evangelists to start His Church movement. 144,000 of such will win many souls to Jesus. So even in regards to the tribulation events of the last days, the Lord works all things together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

“Will a man make gods for himself, which are not gods?” Jeremiah 16:20

A man creating his creator makes no sense on any level. The Vulgate translates this verse thus: “Shall man make gods, though men themselves are not gods?” Idol making and selling is a big industry. Even in America, manufacturers have made multimillions of dollar by selling superhero costumes at Halloween, and by selling Santa Claus and Easter Bunny images during the seasons of Christmas and Resurrection Day.

“Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; and they shall know that My Name is the Lord.” Jeremiah 16:21

The Lord provided great proof to people during the days of Jeremiah that He is God. He will also provide great proof during the end times that He is God. When He reveals His power to people, people tremble. Revelation 6:15-17 says, “The kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’”

Praise God for causing people to know that He is God. In Psalm 68:28, King David prayed, “Summon your power, God; show us Your strength, our God, as you have done before.” In Acts 4:29-30, the apostles prayed, “Lord... grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your Word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the Name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)

Do you know God? If not, now, is the time to ask Him as David did in Psalm 51:10-12...

“Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presence,

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”

Love Is Patient

“Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight and let them go forth.” Jeremiah 15:1

The merits of the prophets Moses and Samuel were great but not perfect. God listened to their prayers, but they were not great enough to outweigh the sins of Jeremiah’s listeners, nor are they great enough to offset the weight of even one sin. They needed a superior Deliverer than Moses and Samuel.

Only Jesus Christ lived a perfect life. The only perfect Mediator for people is Jesus Christ.

“For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” (Hebrews 9:24)

Jesus IS perfect and His perfection is imputed onto every person who believes in Him and professes His Name as their Lord and Savior.

Hebrews 7:28 says, “The Law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.” Hebrews 10:1 says, “The Law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.” Hebrews 10:11 says, “Every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. Hebrews 10:14 says,

“By one offering He [Jesus Christ] has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”

“And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord: such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.” Jeremiah 15:2

In Jeremiah’s day, Jerusalem’s nemesis is Nebuchadnezzar. In Revelation 13:5, 10, Jerusalem’s nemesis is an unnamed leader called the beast. “He was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for 42 months.” What is God’s Word at the on-start of the beast’s rule? It is, “He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” It appears that once this judgment begins, people will not change their position towards God. Unbelievers will continue to doubt God, and saints will continue to patiently trust in Christ.

“And I will appoint over them four forms of destruction, says the Lord: the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.” Jeremiah 15:3

The Lord appointed four forms of destruction in Jeremiah’s day, and He does this again during the end times. Before the new Jerusalem comes up, the old must come down. Revelation 6:8 speaks of a pale horse on which Death and Hades ride. “Power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.” And Revelation 19:17 speaks of the birds gathering together for the supper of the great God. The tribulation in days of Jeremiah is a type of the tribulation in the last days except that Jesus said that the trials of the last days will be worse.

“Then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” (Matthew 24:21-22)

Knowing these things in advance, we do well to learn how to speak of them from the prophets, from the apostles, and from Jesus Christ. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of judgment. Proclaiming God’s judgments is a work of the Holy Spirit and an important role of the church’s mission on earth. (John 16:8; Matthew 28:19-20)

“I will hand them over to trouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.” Jeremiah 15:4

2 Chronicles 33:9 says, “Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.” Manasseh seduced the people to forsake the Lord and they followed him. Manasseh was a type of the end times antichrist and those who followed were him a type of end times compromisers with evil.

“For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem? Or who will bemoan you? Or who will turn aside to ask how you are doing? You have forsaken Me, says the Lord, You have gone backward. Therefore, I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am weary of relenting!” Jeremiah 15:5-6

James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” Since they forsook their heavenly Father, why should He move anyone to have pity on them, or moan for them. He had given them so many opportunities to change their ways, but they never did, and they gave Him no indication that they were going to change now. God did not want to enable their ungodly behavior any longer.

Enabling ungodly behavior usually leads to compassion fatigue. Such people are like fire. Proverbs 30:16 says that “fire never says, ‘Enough!’”

“And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children; I will destroy My people, since they do not return from their ways.” Jeremiah 15:7

John the Baptist spoke of Jesus as a winnower. “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:12 ) A winnower separates bad from good.

“Their widows will be increased to Me more than the sand of the seas; I will bring against them, against the mother of the young men, a plunderer at noonday; I will cause anguish and terror to fall on them suddenly.” Jeremiah 15:8

The widows will be many because their husbands will be slain.

“She languishes who has borne seven; she has breathed her last; her sun has gone down while it was yet day; she has been ashamed and confounded. And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword before their enemies, says the Lord.” Jeremiah 15:9

She languishes because she had seven sons but not even one is left.

“Woe is me, my mother, that you have borne me, a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent for interest, nor have men lent to me for interest. Every one of them curses me.” Jeremiah 15:10

Jeremiah spoke to please God. Though he wanted friendships, he did not compromise the truth. One of the themes of George Orwell’s books is, “The farther a nation gets from the truth the more it will hate those who speak it.” Lies are spoken by thieves and deceivers to defraud people of money. Jeremiah did not lend for interest, nor pay interest on loans. In other words, he was not focused on money-making or money spending. He was focused on speaking the truth. Our Jesus Christ understands such pain. “For we do not have a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)

“The Lord said: ‘Surely it will be well with your remnant; surely I will cause the enemy to intercede with you in the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.’” Jeremiah 15:11

Psalm 37:35-37 says, “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; indeed I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the blameless man and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace.” Those who persecuted Jeremiah eventually passed away, whereas Jeremiah’s life was preserved. The Lord moved the Babylonians to treat him well. And his remnant? Well, his book is still with us, and still producing good fruit today. The end of his life was peace, not regret.

Psalm 1:2, 4 says, “[Blessed is the man whose] delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” “The ungodly are not so but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.”

The house of the wicked is not built on the rock foundation of God’s Word. It is built on sand. It is just matter of time until their empire collapses. Proverbs 16:5 says, “Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; though they join forces, none will go unpunished.” Psalm 2:4 says, “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision [contempt].” God treats with contempt those who treated Him with contempt. The saints need to be patient.

“Can anyone break iron, the northern iron and the bronze? Your wealth and your treasures I will give as plunder without price, because of all your sins, throughout your territories.” Jeremiah 15:12-13

The Lord made it clear to the leaders in Jerusalem that they would be defeated by the Babylonians. The Babylonians had superior weapons. God promised to give their wealth to their enemies due to their sins. With God and a mighty army against them, how could they win?

“And I will make you cross over with your enemies into a land which you do not know; for a fire is kindled in My anger, which shall burn upon you.” Jeremiah 15:14

Jeremiah warned his listeners to turn to the Lord. The outcome? Repentance? No, persecution!

“O Lord, You know; remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In Your enduring patience, do not take me away. Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.” Jeremiah 15:15

Jeremiah had already suffered public humiliation. He did not want his persecutors to imprison, torture and kill him.

“Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your Name, O Lord God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16

Psalm 19:9-11 says, “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold. Yea, than much fine gold! Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb! Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.”

God judgments are desirable. When I am with Him, I experience great joy because I agree with His judgments. They are true and righteous. However, when I speak of them to people who love the darkness, they rebuke me. That is a bitter experience.

In Revelation 10:9-11, an angel handed the apostle John a book of prophecy and told him to eat it. It tasted sweet in his mouth but felt bitter in his stomach. Then, the angel said to him, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.” The bitter part is when people treat what is so precious to you, as detestable.

“I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, for You have filled me with indignation.” Jeremiah 15:17

Jeremiah did not eat with mockers. He sat alone because they wanted nothing to do with God. Mockers despise do-gooders. Jeremiah preached to such at the temple’s gate, but did not sit and eat with them in fellowship. 1 John 1:3-4 says, “Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.”

“Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, as waters that fail?” Jeremiah 15:18

Jeremiah was the son of Hilkiah the high priest. He grew up in the priestly town of Anathoth. His two brothers rallied people against him. His peers mocked and threatened him. They wounded him deeply. Thus, he wanted the Lord to be a reliable stream and waters that do not fail him. He needed healing waters from the Lord to flow over him.

Psalm 42:1-3 says, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, ‘Where is your God?’”

Jeremiah wanted God to quench his thirst for fellowship and he wanted his listeners to see God.

We enjoy an advantage over Jeremiah. Jesus Messiah has come into the world and preserved His story for us. He is an example for us of perseverance during suffering. Hebrews 12:3 says, “For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.”

Christ on the cross!

Hurt! Betrayed! Hated! Crucified!

Deeply wounded to the core of His being!

What salve heals such a wound?

What drink conquers such a deprivation?

God Himself must fill the void!

“Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘If you return, then I will bring you back; you shall stand before Me; if you take out the precious from the vile, you shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, but you must not return to them.’” Jeremiah 15:19

Jeremiah needed the poison removed from him that the human vipers injected into him. We need to be so careful that after we have ministered to others that we do not fall. Paul wrote, “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27)

In regards to false teachers, Paul wrote, “We did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the Gospel would remain with you.” (Galatians 2:5)

In regards to demands from religious leaders to stop speaking in the Name of Jesus, “Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’” (Acts 5:29)

“And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; and they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you to save you and deliver you, says the Lord.” Jeremiah 15:20

The Lord reminded Jeremiah of his original calling. God made him a fortified bronze wall for people to fight against but not overcome. Why? Because the Lord made him a survivor.

Sometimes, God sends His servants into enemy territory to proclaim His Word there. Paul wrote of Alexander a coppersmith. Alexander harmed Paul. Everyone forsook Paul except the Lord. Paul testified to Timothy, “I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom.” (2 Timothy 4:15-18)

The Lord told Jeremiah, “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.” Jeremiah 15:21

Praise God for delivering His servants out of the hands of horribly evil people.

However, since the Lord is patient with lost souls, we too must be patient with them. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord… is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” The Lord rewards us for suffering on behalf of others. Hebrews 6:10 says, “God is not unrighteous, so as to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed toward His Name.”

While serving the Lord in Hong Kong, one of my co-laborers shared something with me that helped me greatly. She said, “We are all amazed at the trials that you have been going through for us and we appreciate that.” Wow! I assumed that my trials were sabotaging my witness for Christ. Not so, those trials and the grace and love that God gave me to power through them was a very bright witness for Christ.

While I was holding discipleship gatherings in Guangzhou City, one of the disciples, a doctor, was warned by her hospital administrators not to share with her dying cancer patients. She did not stop. So, they sent her to a reeducation camp for two years. I felt so bad about her sufferings, but after she was released, she reported back to group that her father was now a believer in Christ. She said that her joy in Jesus throughout her time at the camp convinced him that Jesus Christ is real and He is Lord. Praise the Lord!

Praise God for Jeremiah! He suffered much for daring to speak to a dying nation about their need for God. His faithful witness for God is relevant for us who live in these last days.

Send the Rain

“The Word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts. Judah mourns, and her gates languish; they mourn for the land, and the cry of Jerusalem has gone up. Their nobles have sent their lads for water; they went to the cisterns and found no water. They returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded and covered their heads. Because the ground is parched, for there was no rain in the land, the plowmen were ashamed; they covered their heads. Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field but left because there was no grass. And the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights; they sniffed at the wind like jackals; their eyes failed because there was no grass.” Jeremiah 14:1-6

God paints a vivid picture of Jerusalem’s demise. There is no food sold at her gates. People are crying. A nobleman’s lad returns from a well with an empty bucket. Rich soil has become a poor powder. No rain! The plowmen have no produce. A mother deer forsakes her newborn because she has nothing to feed it. Donkeys grow faint due to the lack of vegetation. Sin has cursed the climate.

Deuteronomy 11:16-17 says, “Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest the Lord’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain.”

After King Ahab and Queen Jezebel halted the spiritual rain of God’s Word upon Hus people, the Lord delegated authority to Elijah to stop the physical rain. Elijah said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” The Lord delegates this authority to His two witnesses in the last days. “These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.” (1 Kings 17:1, Revelation 11:6)

Colossians 1:16-17 declares that Jesus Christ created and sustains the universe. He has power over the wind and waves, and over the rain. “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, dominions, principalities, or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

“O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do it for Your Name’s sake; for our backslidings are many, we have sinned against You.” Jeremiah 14:7

The people could not ask God to help them based on their merits because they sinned against Him and turned their backs on Him. So, they asked Him to help them for His Name’s sake. David prayed like that, saying, “For Your Name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.” (Psalm 25:11)

We should never trust in our own merits. Isaiah wrote, “We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.” The Gospel is, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” We do well to trust in the merits of Christ alone for our salvation. This is why when we pray, we pray in the Name of Jesus. He taught us, “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (Isaiah 64:6; Titus 3:5; John 14:13)

“O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble, why should You be like a stranger in the land, and like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night? Why should You be like a man astonished, like a mighty one who cannot save? Yet You, O Lord, are in our midst, and we are called by Your Name; do not leave us. Thus says the Lord to this people: thus they have loved to wander; they have not restrained their feet. Therefore, the Lord does not accept them; He will remember their iniquity now and punish their sins.’” Jeremiah 14:8-10

The Lord was a like stranger in the land, but not due to a lack of effort on His part. For many years, He had been talking with them but they gave Him their backs and not their faces. They blamed God for the communication breakdown whereas it was the other way around. Now, they did not want God to leave them.

“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not pray for this people, for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.’” Jeremiah 14:11-12

Fastings and food offerings without love amounted to manipulation. God wanted their love not their things without endearing thoughts. He created all things and sustains them.

God does not need our things. He wants our love. God is love. His first commandment is to love Him. How is it that we tend to speak so much about not breaking the other commandments and fail to mention this one? If we get this one right, the others will follow.

The Lord disdained their hypocritical fasting and offerings. They needed bitter medicine to cure their addiction to waywardness. He prescribed three medicines: sword, famine, and pestilence.

Proverbs 15:8 says, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.” Proverbs 28:9 says, “He who turns away his ear from listening to the Law, even his prayer is an abomination.”

Pride blinds us to our lack of love for God and others. Pride would have us to only think about what makes us feel superior to others. Humility reminds to think more about God and others.

Romans 8:28 says, “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” The Lord explained to Paul why He did not remove an affliction from him. Paul wrote, “Lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

“Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” Jeremiah 14:13

Those with power, prestige and platform recognition were directly contradicting the Lord. Jeremiah’s voice was like a lone voice crying out in the wilderness. He was sounding the alarm.

Jeremiah brought the leadership problem to the Lord in prayer. The Lord affirmed his observation.

“And the Lord said to me, ‘The prophets prophesy lies in My Name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart. Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in My Name, whom I did not send, and who say, sword and famine shall not be in this land—by sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed!’” Jeremiah 14:14-15

We must be very careful in these last days. Jesus said that false prophets and false messiahs will appear and deceive many. They will tell people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. Paul warned his listeners against leaders who “do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.” (Matthew 24:4-5, 11; Romans 16:18)

“And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.” Jeremiah 14:16

The people in this case were not innocent either. The Lord previously told Jeremiah, “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; and My people love to have it so.” (Jeremiah 5:31)

This is happening in our days as well. Paul wrote, “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. But what will you do in the end?” (2 Timothy 2:3-4)

There was a man named Edgar Cayce who grew up in church. It was said that he read his Bible through every year. But Edgar Cayce used hypnotic trances to supposedly heal and help people. Cotton farmers asked him to predict how their crops would do. Gamblers asked him to predict which horses would win races. Edgar scammed his followers with a “how to” that removed their focus away from Jesus Christ who died and resurrected for their salvation.

No one should look to tarot cards, hypnosis, palm reading, Ouija boards, or black magic for guidance. The Lord is our shepherd. He is our guide. Edgar Cayce is an example of a false prophet. He supposedly read God’s Word but added to it the poison of occult practices.

Jerusalem’s false prophets were destined to die in the streets of famine and sword. Their wives and children would have no one to bury them. Their foolish gambling with lies would yield calamities not cash.

Beware! In 1978, a so-called Reverend Jim Jones led over 900 people to drink cyanide-laced fruit punch and they died. People perish who follow false prophets.

“Therefore, you shall say this word to them: ‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.” Jeremiah 14:17

In 1971, an ad premiered on TV featuring a crying Indian. It was an anti-littering public service announcement promoted by the “Keep America Beautiful” movement. The commercial featured American Indian actor Iron Eyes Cody dressed as a Native American shedding a tear after litter was thrown from a car and landed at his feet. The ad helped to stem the tide of littering in the USA.

Tears are sometimes more effective than words, but let’s have tears flow for lost souls. Years ago, I heard a pro-life song composed for children in which whales (an endangered species) were singing, “Save the baby humans.” Where are the tears for human souls that are perishing without knowing Christ?

Psalm 126:5-6 says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” We want to reap the sheaves of human souls coming to Christ.

“If I go out to the field, then behold, those slain with the sword! And if I enter the city, then behold, those sick from famine! Yes, both prophet and priest go about in a land they do not know.” Jeremiah 14:18

Dire consequences eventually come to those who believe and act on lies.

“Have You utterly rejected Judah? Has Your soul loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but there was no good; and for the time of healing, and there was trouble. We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against You. Do not abhor us, for Your Name’s sake; do not disgrace the throne of Your glory. Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.” Jeremiah 14:19-21

The false prophets prophesied peace, but peace was absent. Instead of growth there was decline. They needed God but refused to turn to Him. Jeremiah confessed their sin before God. He repented on behalf of those who would not.

Jeremiah asked God not to abhor them for His Name’s sake. He wanted God to turn the tide in human behavior so that God’s throne of grace would not be disgraced. He asked God to keep His end of the covenant with His people even though they had repeatedly broken their end of the covenant with Him. He asked the Just One to die for the sake of unjust ones.

God answered Jeremiah’s prayer. 1 Peter 3:18 says, “Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” Romans 5:6-10 says, “When we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Praise the Lord!

“Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are You not He, O Lord our God? Therefore, we will wait for You since You have made all these.” Jeremiah 14:22

“Yes, Heavenly Father, all else has failed us. Please send the rain on our spiritually droughted souls! We need the spiritual rain of Your blessed Holy Spirit to flood our thirsty souls with You. As Your Word says, ‘The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.’ We do not deserve You. We cannot earn You. We ask for Your grace. For Your Name’s sake! For the glory of Your throne of grace! Please rain on us. In the Name of Jesus Christ Your Son, I pray. Amen.” (Romans 4:17)

The Prophetic Ministry of Judgment

“Thus the Lord said to me: ‘Go and get yourself a linen sash, and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water. So I got a sash according to the Word of the Lord and put it around my waist.” Jeremiah 13:1-2

The linen sash represents the people of Jerusalem. Jeremiah is not to put the sash in water because the people refused to be cleansed by the Word of God. Jeremiah is to wear the sash to demonstrate that God’s representation in the world is tied to their behavior.

“And the Word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, ‘Take the sash that you acquired, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole in the rock.’ So, I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.” Jeremiah 13:3-5

The Euphrates River flowed through Babylon. Jeremiah’s trip to the Euphrates River, a distance of about 400-500 miles from Jerusalem, was symbolic of the future exile of his people. The “hole in the rock” was like a prison in reference to captivity. It also symbolizes a tomb. Israel’s exile from the Promised Land was like a death, and there return to it was like a resurrection.

“Now it came to pass after many days that the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the sash which I commanded you to hide there.’” Jeremiah 13:6

The gap of many days between the sashes placement in the hole and its retrieval was sufficient for it to deteriorate. The sash became unfit for use. Its demise symbolized God’s people’s demise as they blended pagan practices with God’s Word. It was like poison in bait that was more deadly than other forms of false religions because the lies were more difficult to discern.

“Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the sash from the place where I had hidden it; and there was the sash, ruined. It was profitable for nothing. Then the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: in this manner I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.’” Jeremiah 13:7-9

Ruined and profitable for nothing! That’s what happens when proud people assume that they can take liberty with God’s Word and change it. I am very troubled by films that pose as Bible based films but they take great liberty with adding and subtracting from God’s Word. Apart from Christ, there is no message about the soul’s need for divine conversion.

Human pride says, “I’m alright. You’re alright. And with a few brief mention of God, things will be a little better.”

Jesus exhorted the Church in Laodicea, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire...” [1]

There’s catastrophic future at hand for the person who does not realize and acknowledge their desperate need of Christ for salvation. Only He has the words of eternal life!

Each of us needs gold refined by fire... “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether, more to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold.” God’s judgments are the gold refined by fire. “The Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” God says, “If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.” It is better to let God’s Word judge us daily and make corrections accordingly than to wait until we stand before His judgment throne condemned. [2]

The Lord promises to raise us up if we humble ourselves before Him. “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” [3]

What kind of sash are we? One that brings glory to God or shame?

“This evil people, who refuse to hear My Words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing. For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me, says the Lord, that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.” Jeremiah 13:10-11

God wanted to wear His people like a sash of honor, but they did not want to be His disciples. How could they represent Him well if they were not listening to Him? We were created in God’s image and designed to make His Name renowned in the earth. To make His praise glorious! If only each of us could have a minute in heaven to see how glorious and wonderful He is, I hope that we would all to be like a sash of honor around His waste.

“Therefore, you shall speak to them this Word: ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: every bottle shall be filled with wine.’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not certainly know that every bottle will be filled with wine?’ Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land—even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness! And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, says the Lord. I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy but will destroy them.” Jeremiah 13:12-14

When Jeremiah announces by the Word of the Lord that every bottle will be filled with wine, this is not good news. His listeners mocked God’s Word to them, saying, “Do we not certainly now that every bottle will be filled with wine?” But the wine and drunkenness that God referred to is a wine of wrath that causes people to destroy one another.

The Lord repeats this prophecy in Jeremiah 25:15-16 but adds to the list many nations. “For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

God uses wine-drunkenness as a metaphor for a spirit of warfare against one another in the Book of Revelation as well. “And another angel followed, saying, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’” “And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.” “The inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” [4]

“Hear and give ear: do not be proud, for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God before He causes darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and while you are looking for light, He turns it into the shadow of death and makes it dense darkness.” Jeremiah 13:15-16

Give glory to the Lord your God! Psalm 34:5 says, “They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.” Daniel 12:3 says, “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.” What happens when people do not glorify the Lord? Romans 1:21 says, “Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” What happens in the spiritual realm impacts the physical realm. Pharoah of Egypt would not give glory to God, Jeremiah’s listeners would not give glory to God, and the people in the end times will not give glory to God, and all experience an unnatural darkness over their land. [5]

“But if you will not hear it, My soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.” Jeremiah 13:17

Bad choices have bad conclusions. The Lord has delightful purposes for people’s lives, but when they pursue evil, they reap horrible consequences such as a destructive captivity. It could be a captivity to a foreign nation or to a destructive addiction like alcohol, drugs or porn.

Jeremiah was in good company as he mourned for sinners who needed to turn to God for deliverance. King David wept for sinners, “My eyes shed streams of water, because they do not keep Your law.” Jesus wept for sinners, “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it.” The Apostle Paul wept for sinners, “I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.” [6]

“Say to the king and to the queen mother, ‘Humble yourselves; sit down, for your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory.’” Jeremiah 13:18

Jeremiah’s king at this time was Jehoiachin and his queenly mother’s name was Nehushta. Jehoiachin “did evil in the sight of the Lord.” “At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.” “He carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.” The king and the queen mother should have humbled themselves before the Lord in repentance and prayer, then, they would not have been deposed from their thrones and humiliated before their enemies. [7]

Once, “Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” [8]

“The cities of the South shall be shut up, and no one shall open them; Judah shall be carried away captive, all of it; it shall be wholly carried away captive.” Jeremiah 13:19

The cities of the south were farthest from the enemy. Babylon’s army advanced to them from the north. The Lord warned them in advance that the entire nation was going down. Their cities will be shut up due to a lack of people left behind to keep them operational.

“Lift up your eyes and see those who come from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful sheep?” Jeremiah 13:20

Jeremiah, amazed at the depopulation caused by Nebuchadnezzar’s forces, asks, “Where is the flock?” The answer is, “under new management” namely Babylon’s. They did not want God to reign over them, so God gave them into the hands of a pagan king. The pagan king is symbolic of Satan. Paul urged the Christians in Corinth to give an unrepentant sexual offender among them over “to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” The goal being to create a painful crisis that will save the erring child from a much more catastrophic crisis, namely, eternity in hell. [9]

“What will you say when He punishes you? For you have taught them to be chieftains, to be head over you. Will not pangs seize you, like a woman in labor?” Jeremiah 13:21

Prior to the Babylonian attack, the people who called themselves God’s people had become less like God and more like pagans, in fact, they taught the Babylonians how to be chieftains and heads over them in this regard. They could not say that God punished them unjustly because they brought this disaster on themselves.

The metaphor of a woman’s pain during childbirth is used in the Bible to describe the level of pain experienced during seasons of divine judgment. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 says, “For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape.”

“And if you say in your heart, ‘Why have these things come upon me?’ For the greatness of your iniquity your skirts have been uncovered, your heels made bare.” Jeremiah 13:22

Ecclesiastes 12:14 says, “God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” “Skirts uncovered” and “heels made bare” is the imagery of an adulteress being exposed to open shame.

“Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.” Jeremiah 13:23

A sinner cannot change himself. Conversion is a divine miracle. Jesus told a religious leader named Nicodemus that he must be born again to see the kingdom of God. This is true for every sinner. We must be reborn. We are born into the world with a sinful nature. The only way to shed the sinful nature and to gain a Christlike nature is to receive Jesus Christ.

“As many as received Him [Jesus Christ], to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” “Jesus answered, ‘Verily, verily, I say to you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” We must admit our inability to change ourselves and ask God to do it. [10]

“Therefore, I will scatter them like stubble that passes away by the wind of the wilderness.” Jeremiah 13:24

God uses a familiar imagery, the winnowing of wheat, to characterize His judgment. God is separating the inedible stubble from the wheat. John the Baptist prophesied of Jesus, saying,

“His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” [11]

God’s judgment separates right from wrong, and that which is useful from that which is of no use. In this case, those who did not desire God and are not desired by Him.

“This is your lot, the portion of your measures from Me, says the Lord, because you have forgotten Me and trusted in falsehood.” Jeremiah 13:25

When we forget the Lord by not reading our Bibles, by not praying, by not worshipping Him with songs of praise in harmony with other Christians, we do succumb to falsehoods by default. God’s Word says that people “perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” [12]

“Therefore I will uncover your skirts over your face, that your shame may appear.” Jeremiah 13:26

Skirts over their faces so their shame appears describes to them what Babylonian captivity will feel like. They will fell so ashamed of themselves. So, dirty! Sexual sin feels good until it gets exposed for all to see. Then, it is so embarrassing and humiliating. It is better to be humble before the Lord in repentance and in desperate plea for His deliverance from sexual sin, then, to keep doing it, be caught, and experience public disgrace.

“I have seen your adulteries and your lustful neighings, the lewdness of your harlotry, your abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! Will you still not be made clean?” Jeremiah 13:27

The Lord sees what goes on in the dark. He sees everything. He does not want to condemn us. He wants to save us from it. When hypocritical religious leaders brought to Jesus a woman caught in the act of adultery, He did not condemn her. He first exposed, the hypocrisy of her accusers, saying to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” They all left her alone. Then, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin to save us not condemn us. The Lord wanted the people of Jerusalem to stop behaving like sex-crazed wild stallions and turn to Him that they might be saved from horrific consequences of sin. [13]

2 Corinthians 7:1 says, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

Good judgment is a gift of the Holy Spirit. He opens spiritually blind eyes so we can see the reality of heaven or hell, God or the devil. Which do we want? How can we choose wisely without good intel?

King Solomon wrote, “Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend to your herds; for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to all generations.” The prophetic ministry is about knowing the state of the flocks in your sphere of influence and about being more focused on their well-being than on making money. God will supply our needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus, as we serve His flocks. [14]

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” This is an exhortation from Jesus that He repeats seven times in the Book of Revelation. Are we listening? The Holy Spirit is speaking. Yes, the mission before us is greater than us, but the Lord is with us and will help us step by step. [15]

[1] Revelation 3:17-18
[2] Psalm 19:9-10; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Corinthians 11:31
[3] 1 Peter 5:6-7
[4] Revelation 14:8; 16:19, 17:2
[5] Exodus 14:20; Revelation 16:9-10
[6] Psalm 119:136; Luke 19:41; Romans 9:2
[7] 2 Kings 24:8-10, 15
[8] Matthew 18:2-4
[9] 2 Corinthians 5:1-5
[10] John 1:12-13; 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17
[11] Matthew 3:12
[12] 2 Thessalonians 2:10
[13] John 8:4, 7-11
[14] Proverbs 15:23-24; Philippians 4:19; Matthew 6:33
[15] Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22