Their land was parched, and their pastures withered because of their adulteries with other gods. Their prophets committed adultery and lived a lie. Their prophets strengthened the hands of evildoers, so that no evildoer turned from doing evil. Their leaders were like Sodom, and the people themselves were like Gomorrah to God. Cities that He destroyed for their wickedness! Their leaders said to those who despised God, “The Lord says: You will have peace.” They said to all who followed the stubbornness of their own hearts, “No harm will come to you.” [1]
God told Jeremiah that if these leaders had stood in His council, they would have proclaimed His words to His people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds. This is what good shepherds do. [2]
The good news is that God had a plan to save His people. He promised to raise-up for His people a righteous Branch. A King, who would reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land! The name this king shall be called by is “The Lord Our Righteous Savior.” [3]
The Righteous Branch is Jesus Christ. He is the Good Shepherd. He is the most powerful king. He calls people to turn from evil and gives those who turn from evil His Holy Spirit. By His indwelling Holy Spirit people obey God, the nation changes, and God gives His blessing.
[1] Jeremiah 23:10, 14, 17,
[2] Jeremiah 23:22
[3] Jeremiah 23:5-6
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Saturday, October 17, 2015
The Tradition of the Prophets
His nation was under siege by a mighty army. Jeremiah’s king sent two priests to him. They wanted him to inquire of the Lord so that God would intervene and save their nation. I am sure these priests were shocked when Jeremiah told them to tell the king that God was for their enemies. God would not have mercy on Jerusalem. [1]
Jeremiah told the priests to tell the people, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and defects to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be as a prize to him. For I have set My face against this city for adversity and not for good, it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’” [2]
Jeremiah’s advice to his king was this: “Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it.” [3]
After that, Jeremiah took his message directly to the palace. He told his king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.’” [4] In other words, if you want God to intervene and save you, you need to reform your ways and protect the most vulnerable people among you. Foreigners, widows, orphans! Don’t shed innocent blood means to stop killing babies. Life will be well for you if you change but a disaster if you do not. [5]
Jeremiah told his king, “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor.” [6] The king and his cohorts were exploiting the working class. God would not intervene to save them as long as they continued this policy.
He asked his king, “Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar wood? Did your father not have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” [7]
The tradition of the prophets is to confront those who are enjoying wealth at the expense of others to repent or to suffer losses on many levels. The good news is that God does offer a way out from the pending disaster. The way out is to humble oneself and to start protecting vulnerable people, start paying the workers their wages, and stop killing the babies.
[1] Jeremiah 21:1-6
[2] Jeremiah 21:8-10
[3] Jeremiah 21:12
[4] Jeremiah 22:3
[5] Jeremiah 22:4-5
[6] Jeremiah 22:13
[7] Jeremiah 22:15-16
Jeremiah told the priests to tell the people, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and defects to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be as a prize to him. For I have set My face against this city for adversity and not for good, it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’” [2]
Jeremiah’s advice to his king was this: “Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it.” [3]
After that, Jeremiah took his message directly to the palace. He told his king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.’” [4] In other words, if you want God to intervene and save you, you need to reform your ways and protect the most vulnerable people among you. Foreigners, widows, orphans! Don’t shed innocent blood means to stop killing babies. Life will be well for you if you change but a disaster if you do not. [5]
Jeremiah told his king, “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor.” [6] The king and his cohorts were exploiting the working class. God would not intervene to save them as long as they continued this policy.
He asked his king, “Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar wood? Did your father not have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” [7]
The tradition of the prophets is to confront those who are enjoying wealth at the expense of others to repent or to suffer losses on many levels. The good news is that God does offer a way out from the pending disaster. The way out is to humble oneself and to start protecting vulnerable people, start paying the workers their wages, and stop killing the babies.
[1] Jeremiah 21:1-6
[2] Jeremiah 21:8-10
[3] Jeremiah 21:12
[4] Jeremiah 22:3
[5] Jeremiah 22:4-5
[6] Jeremiah 22:13
[7] Jeremiah 22:15-16
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Prophecy To The Religious Community
The Lord urged the religious community of Jerusalem not to trust in the religious building they had built. He wanted to see inward changes in them. To treat one another justly! To stop oppressing foreigners, the fatherless, and widows! To stop from shedding innocent blood (killing babies)! To forsake false gods! If they obeyed Him, He would save them from becoming refugees. [1]
The problem was that they were stealing, murdering, committing adultery, lying, worshiping false gods, coming into God’s house, and saying that He saved them so that they could keep on sinning. The Lord asked them, “Is this house, which is called by My Name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? [2] They were using God’s house as a safe house. They assumed that they could keep committing crimes as long as they attended religious gatherings.
The Lord told them to go to Shiloh where His presence once dwelt and see what happened to it. If they continued to do evil, their land would be destroyed just as Shiloh was. [3]
The Lord’s message to the religious community of Jeremiah’s day was to obey His voice, and He would be their God, and they would be His people. He commanded them to walk in His ways and it would be well with them. [4]
The Lord lamented over them, saying, “The stork in the heaven knows her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but My people know not the judgment of the Lord.” [5] Birds recognize and take action when seasons change, but His people were too blind to notice that it was time to change.
Their prophets and priest said “Peace… peace” when there was no peace. [6] They did not want to be bothered with social injustice. The people said. “We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health and behold trouble!” [7] The messages of their false prophets and backslidden priests sounded good but did not add up in the real world.
The people concluded, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” [8] The Lord’s response was, “For the hurt of the daughter of My people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment has taken hold on Me.” [9] God wept over the religious people’s futile ways. He knew that they would suffer dearly if they did not change directions, and they did.
[1] Jeremiah 7:4-7
[2] Jeremiah 7:9-11
[3] Jeremiah 7:12-14
[4] Jeremiah 7:23
[5] Jeremiah 8:7
[6] Jeremiah 8:10-11
[7] Jeremiah 8:15
[8] Jeremiah 8:20
[9] Jeremiah 8:21
The problem was that they were stealing, murdering, committing adultery, lying, worshiping false gods, coming into God’s house, and saying that He saved them so that they could keep on sinning. The Lord asked them, “Is this house, which is called by My Name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? [2] They were using God’s house as a safe house. They assumed that they could keep committing crimes as long as they attended religious gatherings.
The Lord told them to go to Shiloh where His presence once dwelt and see what happened to it. If they continued to do evil, their land would be destroyed just as Shiloh was. [3]
The Lord’s message to the religious community of Jeremiah’s day was to obey His voice, and He would be their God, and they would be His people. He commanded them to walk in His ways and it would be well with them. [4]
The Lord lamented over them, saying, “The stork in the heaven knows her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but My people know not the judgment of the Lord.” [5] Birds recognize and take action when seasons change, but His people were too blind to notice that it was time to change.
Their prophets and priest said “Peace… peace” when there was no peace. [6] They did not want to be bothered with social injustice. The people said. “We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health and behold trouble!” [7] The messages of their false prophets and backslidden priests sounded good but did not add up in the real world.
The people concluded, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” [8] The Lord’s response was, “For the hurt of the daughter of My people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment has taken hold on Me.” [9] God wept over the religious people’s futile ways. He knew that they would suffer dearly if they did not change directions, and they did.
[1] Jeremiah 7:4-7
[2] Jeremiah 7:9-11
[3] Jeremiah 7:12-14
[4] Jeremiah 7:23
[5] Jeremiah 8:7
[6] Jeremiah 8:10-11
[7] Jeremiah 8:15
[8] Jeremiah 8:20
[9] Jeremiah 8:21
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Renewing Marriage Vows With God
Memories! Memories of the days when the Jews walked with Him as a bride walks with her bridegroom! They had strolled together. The Jews were the first fruits of His human harvest. He held anyone who touched them accountable. He struck down their enemies with disaster [1] Now, they were rejecting Him.
Why did His people stop loving Him? He asked them, “What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me, and have walked after worthless vanity, and have become worthless?” [2] He had delivered them from slavers. They flourished under His faithful love. He brought them into a land of abundant food. They corrupted it. No gratitude! No love! No one asked, “Where is the Lord?”
When two people love each other, they want to be together. God wanted to be close with His people. They wanted to be far from Him. In fact, they wanted to live as though He did not exist. Can you imagine God’s embarrassment? They claimed to be His people and yet, they lived antagonistically towards Him. They lavished the adoration that was due to Him on others.
The Lord asked them to travel far and wide to see if there was ever a nation like theirs who exchanged the true God for worthless idols. He told the heavens, “Be astonished, heavens, at this and be horribly afraid. Be very desolate.” [3]
God lamented: “My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the spring of living waters, and cut out cisterns for themselves: broken cisterns that can’t hold water.” [4] God wanted to fill their cups until overflowing. [5] They betrayed Him for “husbands” who had nothing to give but pain and abuse.
God had a covenant relationship with the Jerusalemites. They made vows to be faithful to one another. At first, Jerusalem loved God as a bride loves her husband, but later betrayed Him.
God questioned her decision. He asked her, “What unrighteousness have your fathers found in Me.” [6] He was gracious to her. She was cruel to Him. She took His gifts and ran. She gave herself to those who did not love her. Why did she choose worthless idols? The idolaters of Egypt had abused her. Why did she spurn the living God for false gods?
The Lord said to her, “I remember for you the kindness of your youth, the love of your weddings; how you went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.” [7] She may have forgotten the love they once shared, but He did not.
Jeremiah pleaded with his people to return to God. Like Isaiah, Jeremiah was saying, “Hey! Come, everyone who thirsts, to the waters!” [8] The Lord quenches the thirst of souls.
Like Jeremiah, the Apostle Paul urged people to turn from idols to God. He pointed out that God made everything. He gives everyone life. He is not made of gold, silver, or stone. He is not the product of human design. God commands people to repent of such false notions. God has set a day on which He will judge the world with justice by His Son Jesus Christ. His truth-proof is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. [9]
Jesus Christ is the chain breaker. He casts out defiling spirits. He puts to death the old man of sin and resurrects the new creation. He creates a hunger for holiness where once there was only an appetite for sin.
God deserves our first love. Jesus told the Christians in Ephesus, “I have this against you, that you left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I am coming to you swiftly and will remove your lamp stand out of its place, unless you repent.” [10]
“Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us so much! Thank You for coming after us when we have departed in our hearts from You. Please fill us with Your Spirit of love that we may be able to love as You love. Help us to be faithful to our marriage vows to You. Thank You for helping us in this relationship to remain faithful and adoring to You. We look forward to marriage feast of the Lamb and His Bride. And we say, ‘Come Lord Jesus, come!’ In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.”
[1] Jeremiah 2:1-3 Reference
[2] Jeremiah 2:5
[3] Jeremiah 2:12
[4] Jeremiah 2:13
[5] Psalm 23:5 Reference
[6] Jeremiah 2:5
[7] Jeremiah 2:2
[8] Isaiah 55:1
[9] Acts 17:24-25, 29-31 Reference
[10] Revelation 2:4-5
Why did His people stop loving Him? He asked them, “What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me, and have walked after worthless vanity, and have become worthless?” [2] He had delivered them from slavers. They flourished under His faithful love. He brought them into a land of abundant food. They corrupted it. No gratitude! No love! No one asked, “Where is the Lord?”
When two people love each other, they want to be together. God wanted to be close with His people. They wanted to be far from Him. In fact, they wanted to live as though He did not exist. Can you imagine God’s embarrassment? They claimed to be His people and yet, they lived antagonistically towards Him. They lavished the adoration that was due to Him on others.
The Lord asked them to travel far and wide to see if there was ever a nation like theirs who exchanged the true God for worthless idols. He told the heavens, “Be astonished, heavens, at this and be horribly afraid. Be very desolate.” [3]
God lamented: “My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the spring of living waters, and cut out cisterns for themselves: broken cisterns that can’t hold water.” [4] God wanted to fill their cups until overflowing. [5] They betrayed Him for “husbands” who had nothing to give but pain and abuse.
God had a covenant relationship with the Jerusalemites. They made vows to be faithful to one another. At first, Jerusalem loved God as a bride loves her husband, but later betrayed Him.
God questioned her decision. He asked her, “What unrighteousness have your fathers found in Me.” [6] He was gracious to her. She was cruel to Him. She took His gifts and ran. She gave herself to those who did not love her. Why did she choose worthless idols? The idolaters of Egypt had abused her. Why did she spurn the living God for false gods?
The Lord said to her, “I remember for you the kindness of your youth, the love of your weddings; how you went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.” [7] She may have forgotten the love they once shared, but He did not.
Jeremiah pleaded with his people to return to God. Like Isaiah, Jeremiah was saying, “Hey! Come, everyone who thirsts, to the waters!” [8] The Lord quenches the thirst of souls.
Like Jeremiah, the Apostle Paul urged people to turn from idols to God. He pointed out that God made everything. He gives everyone life. He is not made of gold, silver, or stone. He is not the product of human design. God commands people to repent of such false notions. God has set a day on which He will judge the world with justice by His Son Jesus Christ. His truth-proof is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. [9]
Jesus Christ is the chain breaker. He casts out defiling spirits. He puts to death the old man of sin and resurrects the new creation. He creates a hunger for holiness where once there was only an appetite for sin.
God deserves our first love. Jesus told the Christians in Ephesus, “I have this against you, that you left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I am coming to you swiftly and will remove your lamp stand out of its place, unless you repent.” [10]
“Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us so much! Thank You for coming after us when we have departed in our hearts from You. Please fill us with Your Spirit of love that we may be able to love as You love. Help us to be faithful to our marriage vows to You. Thank You for helping us in this relationship to remain faithful and adoring to You. We look forward to marriage feast of the Lamb and His Bride. And we say, ‘Come Lord Jesus, come!’ In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.”
[1] Jeremiah 2:1-3 Reference
[2] Jeremiah 2:5
[3] Jeremiah 2:12
[4] Jeremiah 2:13
[5] Psalm 23:5 Reference
[6] Jeremiah 2:5
[7] Jeremiah 2:2
[8] Isaiah 55:1
[9] Acts 17:24-25, 29-31 Reference
[10] Revelation 2:4-5
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