Jeremiah 14-15

Though our iniquities testify against us,
act, O LORD, for your name’s sake;
for our backslidings are many;
we have sinned against you.

Jeremiah 14:7

Thus begins a seemingly good and proper prayer of confession and contrition in Jeremiah 14:7-9, looking for relief from the LORD. We see another such prayer in Jeremiah 14:19-22. Yet the LORD’s response is a firm rejection of each of these prayers in Jeremiah 14:10-11 and Jeremiah 15:1-4, respectively. My sense here is that Jeremiah is “putting words into the mouths of” the people of Judah, that he sets them an example, hoping that they would turn to the LORD this way. But even if the people were to say these words themselves, the LORD knows better, because He sees the heart. He knows that such a prayer from the people would be fake and not backed by any true repentance.

Have you ever prayed such a fake prayer? Perhaps more pointedly, is fake prayer your habit? Do you come to church and go through the liturgy mouthing the prayers while harboring sin in your heart? Have you come to confession to acknowledge your sin and look for forgiveness, but with no real intention of turning away from that same sin? It’s one thing to confess sin from which you earnestly desire to be set free; it’s quite another to confess sin with the full intention of continuing in it. The latter is a sham, and the LORD knows it full well. Deep down, so do we.

---

See also: July 11 (2023) / Jeremiah 14:1-15:9; 16-17.

Jeremiah 13

Hear and give ear; be not proud,
for the LORD has spoken.

Jeremiah 13:15

Well? Are we listening? Or are we too proud to heed what the LORD says? Are we so proud that we think of ourselves as superior to ancient Israel and Judah? Are we so proud that we don’t even see our own sin? Are we too proud to confess our sin? Are we so proud that we think we can reform ourselves on our own? Are we too proud to admit that we need a Savior?

Hear and give ear; be not proud,
for the LORD has spoken.

Jeremiah 13:15

---

See also: July 9 (2023) / Jeremiah 47; 46:1-12; 13:1-14; 18:1-17.

Jeremiah 11-12

Sometimes (rather often, actually) I hear that God’s patience is infinite. You might even find such statements in comments here at RTB. It is a pleasant thought. But is it biblical? I think we can all readily agree that God is very patient, exceedingly patient, supremely patient, definitely far, far more patient than anyone else we know. If the LORD weren’t so patient, Jeremiah would have no audience at all, because God would have wiped out Israel and Judah (and all mankind) centuries earlier. So yes, to us impatient folk, His patience appears to be “infinite,” and we most certainly should be grateful for all that overwhelming patience.

But our reading today would suggest that the LORD’s patience is not, in fact, infinite. It has a limit. At some point, the LORD says, “Enough! I’ve had it!” Just listen to what He says:

Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to Me, I will not listen to them.

Jeremiah 11:11

And again:

Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to Me in the time of their trouble.

Jeremiah 11:14 (cf., Jeremiah 7:16; 14:11; 15:1)

The problem with thinking of the LORD’s patience as infinite, is that our fleshly, devious hearts have a tremendous propensity to presume upon that patience. We think that we can put off repenting until tomorrow, or next week, or next year, or even indefinitely because, well, the LORD is infinitely patient. We need not listen to Him today. We can wait. We can procrastinate. We can cling to our sin. We tell ourselves that it’s OK, because God is so patient.

Think again.

Let’s not presume upon the LORD’s patience, or His mercy, or His grace. The time to repent is not next year or next week or tomorrow. Any future time is too late. The time to repent is now.

---

See also: July 8 (2023) / Jeremiah 26:7-24; 11-12. (That post focuses more on Jeremiah 26, it but ties in here with the threats against Jeremiah’s life as indicated in Jeremiah 11:19,21.)

Jeremiah 9:23-10:25

The LORD vs. the works of men’s hands. That’s a pretty easy call, right?

Idols can’t do diddly. They can’t talk. They can’t walk. They can’t do evil. Neither can they do good. (Jer. 10:5) Idols are stupid and foolish. (Jer. 10:8) They might be shiny and all dressed up (Jer. 10:9), but they are worthless, a work of delusion. (Jer. 10:15) They are no match for the LORD God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. (Jer. 10:6-7,10-13,16)

Yet here we are with lives that may still be filled with idols. Sure, our idols may not be quite so blatantly obvious as a chunk of wood or stone that we cover with gold or silver. We might not prostrate ourselves in worship to such graven images. But we may well have idols nonetheless: wealth, family, success, status, comfort, hobbies, security, sports, sex, entertainment, politics, leisure, art, food — you name it. We can make an idol out of it. If anything even remotely approaches standing in God’s place in our lives, our affections, our devotion, our trust, then it’s an idol that needs to be dethroned and destroyed.

So what might your idols be? What do you cling to? Or what clings to you?

Why are you keeping such things around?

---

See also: July 12 (2023) / Jeremiah 8:4-10:16.

Jeremiah 8:4-9:22

Therefore I will give their wives to others
and their fields to conquerors,
because from the least to the greatest
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
from prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace.
Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among the fallen;
when I punish them, they shall be overthrown,
says the LORD.

Jeremiah 8:10-12 (cf., Jeremiah 6:13-15)

You may notice that the above verses from today’s reading are very nearly identical to Jeremiah 6:13-15, which we read just two days ago. Repetition in Scripture is a pretty good indicator that it is important, so maybe we should pay attention, especially when we, too, are so used to sin that we are are not at all ashamed and do not know how to blush.

So how do you picture Jeremiah himself as he proclaims his message of coming disaster to the unrepentant people of Judah? Do you think of him as looking down his nose at them, smugly sneering at all those who are greedy for unjust gain, all those adulterers and idolaters? Do you imagine him saying, “Boy, it sure will be great to see them get theirs!”? Does he take pleasure in pointing the finger, gloating over how much better he is than everyone around him? If that is your idea of Jeremiah, think again:

My joy is gone; grief is upon me;
my heart is sick within me.

Jeremiah 8:18

Oh that my head were waters,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
for the slain of the daughter of my people!

Jeremiah 9:1

No, Jeremiah doesn’t gloat. He grieves. Do we?

Jeremiah 7:1-8:3

The people of Judah have this notion in their heads that since the Temple of the LORD sits in Jerusalem, they will be fine, that the LORD would not possibly let any harm come to His Temple or to His holy city. But the LORD sends Jeremiah to preach in the gates of the Temple, to let everyone know that they are gravely mistaken and deluded in their thinking. It is only by repentance, by doing what is right and just in the eyes of the LORD, that disaster is to be averted. But no one is listening to Jeremiah.

So how about us? We may not have the Temple, but do we nonetheless delude ourselves? Do we think that if do a few good things we can get away with not so good things? Do we think that popping into church on Sunday means that we can do “whatever” the rest of the week? Do we look for forgiveness from God while refusing to forgive another? Do we think that saying “in Jesus’ name” makes whatever we do OK, when our hearts are far from Him? Hmmm. See Matthew 7:21-23.

Are we listening?

---

See also: July 7 (2023) / Jeremiah 26:1-6; 7:1-8:3.

Jeremiah 5-6

Although we are only about a tenth of the way through this Book of Jeremiah, it should already be clear that the nation of Judah is headed for disaster, but that the people — rich, poor, weak, powerful, blue collar, white collar, cleric, lay — aren’t listening. They are not heeding Jeremiah’s warnings. If that isn’t clear yet, then it should become abundantly clear as we proceed. Jeremiah sounds the alarm of approaching disaster and gives plenty of indications as to why judgment is falling (e.g., Jer. 5:19), but there are plenty of false prophets who say otherwise, proclaiming a more welcome message of “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace. (Jer. 6:14)

It’s rather easy to observe all this from afar, looking back on ancient Israel and Judah. But what about observing what is more up close and personal? How are we doing in our own self-evaluation? Does anything that Jeremiah says make you squirm a bit? If not, is that because you truly are walking closely with the Lord, or is it because you are casually inattentive? Or are you, like Judah and Israel, refusing to look and listen?

Jeremiah ministers over a period of about 40 years. Today, Ash Wednesday, we enter into the season of Lent, 40 days of reflection and repentance. Let’s not squander the opportunity to listen well.

---

See also: July 3 (2023) / Jeremiah 4-6.

Jeremiah 3:6-4:31

In considering the first few chapters of Jeremiah three years ago, I concentrated on Jeremiah 3:6-11. You might want to read that post first. I’ll wait…

The questions I posed then are still very much worth considering now: Are we, in fact, devoted to the LORD with our whole heart? Or only in pretense?

If answering those questions makes us at all uncomfortable, then perhaps we need to pay that much closer attention to what Jeremiah has to say. We need to look and see how we might be like Israel and Judah, how we, too, might need to return to the LORD. For it is in the LORD alone that we have life. All else is illusory.

So listen today to how the LORD urges His people to return to Him. Listen to what He tells His people to do and consider what that means for you personally. Is there anything in you that needs to change? Have you wandered away from Him? Do you need to return?

---

See also: July 2 (2023) / Jeremiah 1-3.

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But My people have changed their Glory
for that which does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the LORD,
for My people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken Me,
the Fountain of Living Waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Jeremiah 2:11-13

This is just one of many rich images in today’s reading that the LORD uses to illustrate the utter insanity of Israel’s rejection of the LORD. For centuries Israel has had the LORD God Almighty, the Fountain of Living Waters, ready and willing to pour out His blessings of life, of loving kindness, of protection, and of welfare. Yet for centuries Israel has persistently turned away from the LORD, forsaking Him and going their own way, pursuing other gods and alliances with other nations, looking for love and life in all the wrong places — anywhere other than God — hewing out broken cisterns that can hold no water. Yes, the whole universe should be appalled at this.

But it is not only ancient Israel that behaves this way. Just look around. Just look within.

Perhaps it’s time to listen to Jeremiah and repent. Let’s abandon those broken cisterns and turn to the Fountain of Living Waters for a good long drink.

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

Revelation 22:17

Jeremiah 1

Knowing something of the historical context into which a prophet speaks can greatly enhance our understanding of the prophet’s message. For Jeremiah, that historical context is the waning years of the Kingdom of Judah (aka the Southern Kingdom) as indicated by Jeremiah 1:1-3. So for your own benefit, as we begin to delve into the Book of Jeremiah, take some extra time to review that history, which can be found in II Kings 22-25 and II Chronicles 34-36. Similarly, read the introductory material in Search the Scriptures and in your study Bible or even this Wikipedia article. These are not happy years for Judah, and it is not a happy — or easy — ministry for Jeremiah, the “weeping prophet.”

---

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”

Jeremiah 1:4–6

Today we have Jeremiah’s call as a prophet, ordained by the LORD to speak His word, not only to Judah and Israel, but to the nations. We should note that this calling is not the result of any spectacular deeds or talents of Jeremiah’s own making, for God sets him apart before he is even born. Nor is this a job that Jeremiah is seeking, for he protests (like Moses before him — Ex. 4:10) that he does not know how to speak.

Indeed it is a daunting task that the LORD sets before a young Jeremiah, but the LORD promises to be with him to deliver him:

But the LORD said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the LORD.”

Jeremiah 1:7-8

And again:

And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.

Jeremiah 1:18–19

As we shall see, the LORD’s promise to deliver Jeremiah does not mean that Jeremiah is to have an easy time of it or that he will not suffer greatly at the hands of others, and Jeremiah must wrestle with that reality.

Although we may not be called in quite the same way as Jeremiah or bear the burden of prophesying to the nations, the LORD has a purpose for each of us and calls us to walk faithfully with Him. Do we perceive that call? Do we submit to His call? Or do we resist? Do we trust Him for our deliverance, despite the difficulty of our circumstances and the suffering we may face?

Let’s learn from Jeremiah. Let’s listen to the LORD. Let’s answer His call, follow Him, and trust in His faithfulness.