Category: Jeremiah

Jeremiah changes voice abruptly and skips around a lot. In many cases that change in voice is not indicated; we simply have to discern from the clues that a change of speaker has taken place – and then go back and read that part again from where the speaker changed. This book is not easy reading! So if you are struggling to follow it, there is a good reason. I encourage you to go back and read passages whenever you grasp the fact that there is a change of speaker halfway through it, and who that speaker is.

Since Jeremiah ministered during the last forty years of Judah’s existence as a nation, he obviously has much to say about upcoming judgment and God’s reasons for it. Jeremiah seems caught in the middle between God and his people. He’s sometimes appalled at the people’s sin and sometimes appalled at God’s harsh judgment. He is the perfect person to be the intercessor. What will an intercessor ask for? Mercy! Help! This is where we see Messiah in the book.

Look what Jeremiah has the nerve to ask in chapter 14: “Although our sins testify against us, O Lord, do something for the sake of your name. For our backsliding is great; we have sinned against you. O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress….” Jeremiah is also a very emotional man. (Don’t think that he’s girly for that; people of that ancient Near Eastern culture didn’t hold back their emotions.) He felt Judah’s pain acutely, and his deeply-felt emotions made him cry out on their behalf. As grieved as he was, he understood that there was no justification for their behavior, and not nearly enough good in them to outweigh the bad. There was nothing to plead on their behalf but God’s mercy and help. That’s the place where any human being needs to be: helpless, hoping only in God.

Think about that and offer praise to God. In our hopelessly sinful state, God is approachable. He’s beyond approachable – He’s our hope, hope for salvation from sin and healing from sin’s wounds. Do you grasp how important hope is to us? We may have the luxury of taking that for granted, and thus don’t value it as we should. I encourage you to offer God thanks and praise now for His help for us and the hope He offers us.

God’s pronouncement of judgment on the sins of His Old Testament people continues from yesterday’s reading, and is specifically addressed to “all you men of Judah who enter these gates (of the Temple) to worship the Lord.” He complained about their trusting in “deceptive words.” Their trusting, their denials, would not save them from judgment. They were trusting in the idea that God would not forsake and destroy His Temple. They were trusting in their assertions that they were saved, even as they continued to sin. They were trusting in God’s promise to give Abraham’s descendants that land forever, which translated to them that they would never lose it. God has not changed; do you suppose that He will accept our deceptive assertions any more than He accepted theirs?

Continue to take a close look and give thoughtful, inquiring consideration to the sins of God’s Old Testament people. In what ways do they sound like what is going on in the church? In your own heart and life? God doesn’t want us going through the motions any more than He wanted it from His Old Testament people.

Jeremiah wasn’t being overly dramatic when he wrote, “Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the agony of my heart!” in chapter 4. He was genuinely anguished by what he saw would happen. Let’s not forget that the judgment of God on Judah was horrible. Think about what it would be like to have a fearsome army march on your home, topple buildings, set the city on fire, and leave it a flattened ruin. That is what happened to God’s Old Testament people. Jeremiah gets pretty emotional throughout this book. Whenever you are tempted to feel exasperated by his drama, think about how traumatic his visions would be.

A just God would not impose judgment more harsh than the sin deserves. As horrible as the judgment was, it indicated how awful the sin of the people was. Consider as you read, of what were they guilty? They felt no pain when struck by God in correction; how often do you claim, “I’m okay,” when you really are cold spiritually? They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent; how readily, how frequently, do you repent? They complacently chose to believe that God would not do anything in correction or judgement – they didn’t honor Him as the all-powerful, holy God He is; how big is God in your eyes? They didn’t acknowledge God’s good provision; how thankful are you? They grew fat and sleek yet failed to take care of the needs of the poor and helpless. They didn’t want to hear the truth; do you give the Holy Spirit quiet in which to speak to you? They were greedy for gain. They were not ashamed of their conduct; do you make excuses or shift blame rather than acknowledge shameful conduct? They brought lavish sacrifices to God, of things that He had no interest in, and refused to give Him what He wanted from them; what do you give to God? These are sins that could be prevalent in our churches, even perhaps in our own lives; they aren’t the biggies we think are worthy of the harsh justice God dealt His Old Testament people. So we either have to believe that God is not just, or we have to rethink our estimation of these sins. Today’s reading challenges us to consider how closely our thoughts align with God’s.

Jeremiah had a rough assignment: he would be preaching an unpopular message and would be unpopular with the people to whom he ministered. They would terrorize him and fight against him, and he would need rescued by God. His life shows that God doesn’t always send His servants into easy places. Are you prepared to be sent into difficult places to be God’s hands and feet and voice in fulfillment of His purpose for you?

Recall the historical context of the prophet: Josiah commanded the people to worship and obey God, and they did during his lifetime. Jeremiah ministered during the last eighteen years of Josiah’s reign, and for 22 years beyond that, through the reigns of kings who did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. These were the last forty years of Judah’s existence as an independent nation.

The people to whom Jeremiah ministered were not fully devoted to God, loving Him with all of their hearts, all of their souls, all of their minds, and all of their strength. They called God, “My Father, my friend,” and claimed that they were “doing okay,” but their worthless idols were more important to them than God was. Their devotion waned until they didn’t even bother seeking Him; they forsook God in favor of following after what they had constructed. In times of trouble they sought the Lord, and that was enough for them to believe that they were following Him and worshiping Him. They didn’t perceive the truth of their ways’ revealing that they had forgotten God; if they had, they would have wept and been appalled.

Does this description of God’s Old Testament people make you wonder whether we have dull perception as well? Are we any different than those people, drifting away from God while claiming we’re okay? What is the remedy for mankind’s tendency toward faithlessness? God said He would cure them of backsliding. That means that we are helpless to cure it ourselves; we need to look to God for our cure! Since the days in which Jeremiah prophesied, God has provided the cure for sin; it is up to us to accept it and put it to use to be cured.

God didn’t want to judge them; He wanted to treat them like sons and enjoy intimacy with them like a father and son. Again He points out that it was not His choice to judge them, but rather, their choice. These are important truths for us to remember so that we are not deceived by the enemy into despising God. Instead we should be drawn to Him in love for His love for us.