Month: October 2020

Today my reading was Jeremiah 24 and this was the verse that wow’d me – “And I will give them a heart to know (recognize, understand, and be acquainted with) Me, that I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.” Jeremiah 24:7 – God gives us a heart to know Him! Think about that. That dry spell you might have; pray that God gives you this heart that seeks to know Him, craves after a knowledge of Him. Oh God increase my heart to know You more!

Today my reading was Jeremiah 23 and these 2 verses caused me to pause and remember that I have an opportunity to glorify God where ever I am. “Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 23:23-24 [ESV] The Lord was saying this to all of the prophets that were preaching false prophesy and ‘dreaming dreams’. For me it is reminder that He is with me at all moments and in every place I find myself. A recognition that I should think about how I can please Him in EVERY instance.

I come upon these verses in Jeremiah reminding me of the execution of God’s plan through all of time as we know it…even at this point in the New Testament, God uses Jeremiah to prophesy about the coming of His Son – ““Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: The LORD is our righteousness.’” Jeremiah 23:5-6

I read Jeremiah 22. It is so awful…God, through Jeremiah, lays out the punishment and treatment of the Sons of Josiah – “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: “They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah, my brother!’ or ‘Ah, sister!’ They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah, lord!’ or ‘Ah, his majesty!’ With the burial of a donkey he shall be buried, dragged and dumped beyond the gates of Jerusalem.” Jeremiah 22:18-19. This is how God feels about leaders who lead His people into ungodliness. Makes me shudder!

“Inquire, I pray you, of the Lord for us, for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all His wonderful works, forcing him to withdraw from us.” Jeremiah 21:2 [AMP] This is Zedekiah asking Jeremiah to tell God to ignore all of the rebellion of Judah and yet pull out some of the miracles to shoo away the Babylonians. This sounds like a way that I can be with the Lord. This can be those times in my life where I am not following God closely and pursuing Him but then I stop and ask God to answer a prayer for something I want or need. Feels so foolish, just like the foolishness I see here in Zedekiah’s request. The result here with Judah is that God informs Zedekiah the way that He is going come into the gates of Jerusalem and inflict the inhabitants with a plague with His own hand to soften them up for the Babylonians to take them easily. Super scary…makes me think twice about being flippant with my Christian walk.

“But the LORD is with me as a dreaded warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me.  They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed.  Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.” Jeremiah 20:11 [ESV] -> me: Jeremiah is so overwhelmed with not only what God has asked of him , but also feeling like God put in a position of persecution, mockery, and shame.  He prays this lament to the Lord but then immediately follows it up with declaring Who God is by his side…a dreaded Warrior.  He knows that God will punish those who have scoffed Jeremiah and they will be put to shame when they see the Lord follow through with the destruction He is warning everyone about.  PERSONAL APPLICATION – Even in my lowest moments do I carry a trust of Who God is and what He has promised to do?  Do I reach out to Him with my concerns and sorrows but in the same breath praise Him for Who He is?  Is my faith deep enough to allow me to walk confidently in my conversation with One Who comforts AND defends?  I need to be bold and open in my heartache and petition for myself and others who are persecuted but at the same time have a deep trust that rests in a justice to come for those who are evil.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all its towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks, refusing to hear My words.” Jeremiah 19:15 [AMP] -> me: My reading today was the rest of Jeremiah 18 and all of 19.  This passage primarily consists of God telling Jeremiah to go buy a pot (probably a vessel to hold water) and then take several Priests and elders of the Judah and using the smashing of the pot as an example of what God is going to do to Judah if they don’t repent.  The pot broken so badly that it cannot be reassembled.  What stood out to me through these passages is that God warns and warns and warns…providing every opportunity for repentance; but Judah never responds in humility…they respond defiantly saying “It’s no use, we will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his own evil heart.”  WHAT?  It is so brazen and I can’t imagine the frustration of the Lord with everything He has promised them and delivered them out of.  So what do God do again, warns them….another time.  My takeaway is that this is the character of our God; His patience is unbelievable for the ones He loves.  What punishment one receives should never come as a surprise – all throughout God’s word He warns and the New Testament is no exception — ‘Accept the gift of Salvation through Christ or face God’s wrath’.  I am so thankful for God’s word that shows us not only His patience, but the destructive power of His punishment and wrath – you either accept the promise of his protection or accept His promise of coming judgement.

Today my reading was Jeremiah 18:1-11 and the 3 verses that stood out to me were – “And the vessel he [the Potter] was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the LORD came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.” Jeremiah 18:4-6 [ESV] Bottom line – God can mold us into what he wants at any time. When I am called by God to move in a certain direction, he will equip me for that work.

“And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy (set apart to the worship of God), as I commanded your fathers. Yet they would not listen and obey or incline their ears; but they stiffened their necks, that they might not hear and might not receive instruction.” Jeremiah 17:22-23 [AMP] -> me: Here the Lord is telling Jeremiah to go stand in the gates of the city of Jerusalem and warn everyone as they come and go, that they must honor the Sabbath by not carrying loads in and out of the city on that day; but to keep the Sabbath day holy….as I commanded your fathers.  What is crazy about this is that what is being said is that the people of Israel have never really kept the Sabbath holy.  The Lord is telling Jeremiah to go tell the people of Judah to start doing this now…think about the uphill battle this would be.  Generations before the current have never respected this day and now Jeremiah is being sent to tell this generation that if they don’t ‘an unquenchable fire will be sent to the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses’ Jer 17:27.  Doesn’t this feel relevant to today?  Application/Takeaway – just because you have not received swift consequences for disobedience, doesn’t mean the punishment won’t ever come.  Additionally, it is not too late to repent and turn away from something sinful you have been doing for even a long time.  Even though generation after generation has ‘stiffened’ its neck toward God’s commands, He is giving them a chance to change their hearts now.  Keeping the Sabbath as a day set apart for God is a sign of Israel’s commitment to the God who entered into a covenant with them. In the context of Jeremiah, it is not ‘just’ about keeping one commandment; it is about a whole lifestyle in which God is taken seriously. Those who trust in the LORD WILL follow his commandments.