Author: Ben Bourland

“But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously, who tests the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause.” Jeremiah 11:20 -> me: Its not often that you hear someone in the bible (a prophet no less) call on God for vengeance.  So, I wanted to pull this apart a bit.  1) Jeremiah is not executing the vengeance himself.  He is calling on the Most Just to execute justice.  2) The people who were after him, trying to stop his preaching of God’s Words, were the people from his own home town (not unlike the people in Jesus’ home town persecuted Him).  3) Jeremiah is attempting to use the position he is in (God calling on him and his obedience to that call) to add weight to his ask.  Does this mean we can pray for revenge against our enemies? We are told in Romans 12:14, 19–20 to bless instead of curse, just as Jesus forgave his enemies (Luke 23:34). This is our primary task. But at the same time, we may commend our own or other cases of injustice to God, trusting that he is the righteous Judge who will bring righteousness and justice in the end.

“But the Lord is the true God and the God of truth (the God Who is Truth). He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, and the nations are not able to bear His indignation.” Jeremiah 10:10 [AMP] -> me:  This is the God I follow and love!  I really like how the amplified uses both ‘true God’ and ‘God of truth’.  In this chapter Jeremiah and the Lord are talking about how the idols that the Children of Israel worship are but carved wood adorned with jewels and yet have no power.  The skilled workers who make these are idols are said to be ‘senseless and foolish’.  Following on yesterday’s Quiet Time, we can be those skilled workers at generating and promoting useless and senseless idols that we believe will bring us happiness; money, things, family, friends, and even service can be well crafted and look pretty adorned with effort and accomplishment but it is still an idol in regard to the God Who is Truth, the Living God, God the King, and the God of Wrath.   I must constantly check my heart and motives when I strive for happiness and contentment from anything other than the God Who saved me from myself, from sin, and from death.  He is the only One deserving of my worship.

“Thus says the Lord: Let not the wise and skillful person glory and boast in his wisdom and skill; let not the mighty and powerful person glory and boast in his strength and power; let not the person who is rich [in physical gratification and earthly wealth] glory and boast in his [temporal satisfactions and earthly] riches; but let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows Me [personally and practically, directly discerning and recognizing My character], that I am the Lord, Who practices loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23-24 [AMP] -> me: The person who looks at their own achievements, boasts in their own wisdom, and marvels at their own strength and power are destined for a mindset that no longer sees God for Who He is.  When I see the people in my life who have fallen away, I can say that this set of attributes regularly defines them. Just like the children of Israel, we can become blind and deaf to the Lord because of our own pride and self-worth.  It is a viscous spiral that builds on itself if we allow these thoughts to take hold in our hearts.  I must stay vigilant; a watchman over not only my own heart but by being the accountability partner my bothers and sisters need.