Category: Jeremiah

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Jeremiah

While we’re still here

Jeremiah

I’ve been thinking a lot about life and death recently.

One of the pillars of my church here in Japan, a woman named Kathleen Benton, passed away last week due to cancer.

She wasn’t a pastor, but she touched many lives and made a difference in every life that she touched.

Maybe some people wouldn’t call her a pillar, but I think she was.

As I look at this passage, it really speaks to me as a person who is still here on earth.

God was talking to the exiles in Babylon. They had been taken from their homes and forced to live in a land that was not theirs. It was a land filled with idolatry and godlessness.

But God said to them,

Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters.

Increase in number there; do not decrease.

Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. (Jeremiah 29:5–7)

It seems to me that God says the same thing to us.

Like the Jews, we are in a world filled with idolatry and godlessness. And it would be easy to just say, “I just want to go to heaven already! I don’t want to deal with this world and its problems.”

But God says, “While you’re here on earth, enjoy the life I’ve given you. Settle down. Marry. Have children. Be productive.”

More than that, he said, “Seek the peace and prosperity of the place that you’re in. Pray for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

Sometimes Christians just isolate themselves from the world. They live in fear, making the church their fortress, and just praying that God would keep them safe there.

But God doesn’t want us to do that. He tells us to be active in our community. To make a difference in it. To be involved politically. To touch the lives around us. And most of all to pray for our community and our nation.

And instead of living in fear of the future, he wants us to know that there is a future and a hope for us, even here on earth. He told the Jews and he tells us today,

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you… (Jeremiah 29:11–14)

So while we’re still here, let us seek the Lord. Let us pray to him.

Let us not live in fear of the future or of what we see in our community today. Rather let us go out and enjoy this life he has given us. Let us be productive, using the gifts he has given us.

And let us touch the world around us, making a difference in people’s lives.

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Jeremiah

A word like a fire

Jeremiah

“Why don’t you just shut up? All this preaching and prophesying ever does is get you in trouble.”

Jeremiah’s own family probably asked him this question. Jeremiah himself asked this question.

God told him to take a pot and break it in front of some of the priests and elders of the people, using it as an illustration of the judgment that was coming on Judah.

Jeremiah then went to the temple courts and warned all the people there of the judgment that was coming.

When he did, one of the priests, Pashur, had him beaten and put in stocks.

And so Jeremiah complained to God,

O Lord, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.

Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. (Jeremiah 20:7–8)

But then he said,

But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. (Jeremiah 20:9)

Jeremiah’s feelings are completely jumbled as you look at this passage.

In one verse, he’s praising the Lord, believing he will be vindicated (20:11–13), the next he’s cursing the day he was born (20:14–16).

But one thing he could not do was shut up. The word of God burned too strongly in his heart and soul.

How about you? How strongly does the word of God burn in your heart and soul?

Is it but a spark that is quickly extinguished? Or is it a roaring fire that cannot be quenched?

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Jeremiah

Turn

Jeremiah

When I was in Hawaii, I often had Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons come to my door.

Even in Japan, I had Jehovah’s Witnesses come to my door, although since I’ve moved to my condo 6 years ago, I’ve had no such visits because of condo rules.

It’s too bad really. I had some very interesting conversations with them.

Anyway, one problem with these groups (among many others), is the number of false prophecies that their leaders have given in the past.

And one thing they often say in response is, “Well, sometimes Biblical prophets made mistakes too. Look at Jonah. He prophesied that Nineveh would fall, and it didn’t.”

What they fail to realize is that God’s purpose in Jonah’s message was that the people would repent. It wasn’t a false prophecy, it was a warning.

This is what God says of such warnings:

If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.

And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it. (Jeremiah 18:7–10)

The Ninevites were a perfect example of this. They repented and therefore God spared them.

On the other hand, God promised the Israelites that if they would follow his commands, he would bless them, and that they would be his people and he would be their God.

But the people turned their backs on him, and so although God planned good for them, he instead brought disaster against them.

Here at the end of this chapter, we see that they were so hardened against God’s message that they ignored Jeremiah and wanted to be rid of him.

The result? Exile.

What is the message for us? Turn. Turn from our sin. Turn from our selfish ways. And most of all, turn to God. For only in following him will we find true life.

So as we end this year, let us reflect on the sins in our lives that we need to turn from and also on the things that God would have us do in the coming year.

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Jeremiah

Marred

Jeremiah

It’s hard to believe another year is coming to a close. Mine is not exactly coming to an ideal end. I caught my third cold in the past month or so.

I suppose it doesn’t help to have a daughter who keeps spreading the germs she catches from nursery school. All part of a broken world, I suppose. And all of us are a part of it.

But here, we see that God can take something that is broken or marred and turn it into something beautiful.

God told Jeremiah to go to a potter’s house, and as Jeremiah observed, he saw a potter shaping a pot. When Jeremiah looked carefully however, he saw that the pot was marred.

But the potter didn’t throw it away. Rather, the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as he saw fit. Then God told Jeremiah,

“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord.

“Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.” (Jeremiah 18:6)

The house of Israel was marred by their sin. But God let them know that as badly marred as they were by their sin, they could still be shaped into something beautiful.

And he tells us the same.

Maybe you look at your life and think that you’re worthless. Maybe you look at your life and think that it’s so bad that even God couldn’t possibly love you.

But no matter how marred you are, God can take the scars of your life and heal them. He can take your brokenness and restore you.

It was for that purpose that Jesus himself was marred. As Isaiah 53:5 says,

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Do you feel you are damaged goods? God can forgive you and restore you. All you have to do is turn to him.

As the old song goes,

Something beautiful, something good.
All of my confusion, he understood.

All I had to offer him was brokenness and strife,
But he made something beautiful of my life.

— Bill Gaither

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Jeremiah

Honor, trust, and obedience

Jeremiah

I suppose it would be easy to just skip over this section in which God tells the Israelites to keep the Sabbath. Easy because Paul wrote to the Christians at Colosse not to let people judge them concerning the Sabbath.

I’ve written more on this here.

But I think there are some principles that we can take from this passage.

The keeping of the Sabbath was something that the Israelites did that showed three things.

It showed that they honored God as their creator. They remembered his creative work and how on the 7th day he rested from that work.

It also showed their trust in him. They took a day off from work, trusting that God would provide their needs, even if they did so.

And finally, it showed their obedience. Trust and obedience are very much linked. Without trust, it’s very difficult to obey God.

Unfortunately, the Israelites failed on all three counts.

God told them, “If you will only keep the Sabbath, you will find blessing. But if you don’t, judgment will come.”

Why? Because in violating the Sabbath, they failed to show honor towards God, they failed to trust him, and they failed to obey him, even in something that was pretty easy to do.

Their failure to keep the Sabbath was but a symptom of the overall problem the Israelites had in their relationship with God.

How about you?

Do you honor God with your life? Do you remember all that he has done for you, and praise him for it?

Do you trust him? Do you trust that his way is best and that he really does want the best for you? And do you obey him even in the little things?

That’s what God desired from his people. And that’s what he desires from us.

May we be a people that honors, trusts, and obeys him.

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Jeremiah

The need for a cure

Jeremiah

The human condition can probably be summed up in verse 9 of this chapter.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

If you think about all the problems in this world, it comes down to the hearts of people.

Our hearts are deceitful. Our hearts deceive others. Our hearts even deceive ourselves.

Jeremiah talks about people who deceive others in order to gain wealth. But in doing so, they deceive themselves into thinking that they have found the path to happiness.

Jeremiah says of them,

When his life is half gone, they will desert him, and in the end he will prove to be a fool. (Jeremiah 17:11)

Others turn away from God thinking that it will allow them to enjoy life more. That God is just trying to take away their fun.

But Jeremiah points out,

All who forsake you will be put to shame.

Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water. (13)

In other words, life is found only in God, and in walking away from him, people ultimately lose their lives because they’ve walked away from the source of life.

Others scoff at the words of God, thinking they’re meaningless babble. They say,

Where is the word of the Lord? Let it now be fulfilled! (15)

The Lord’s word will be fulfilled. And if these people don’t turn from their sin, when the day of judgment comes, their scoffing will turn into weeping and regret.

We may deceive others. We may even deceive ourselves. But we’re not fooling God.

And he warns us,

I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve. (10)

Our hearts are sick and stained with sin. And we don’t have the power to heal ourselves. We are beyond human remedy.

No matter how hard we try, we cannot make ourselves righteous in the eyes of God. Instead we continually fall into the same patterns of sin that lead to death.

Where is the hope then? Only in God. All we can do is pray as Jeremiah did,

Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. (14)

Through the blood of Jesus, our sins have been paid for at the cross. And through the work of the Spirit, he cleanses us from the inside out, washing away the stain of sin, and making us holy.

How about you? Do you see the need for a cure in your own life? Do you see the sin that seems to hold you captive?

Turn to Jesus, and he will heal you and set you free.

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Jeremiah

Remaining fruitful in difficult times

Jeremiah

Let’s be honest. Life can be difficult.

Sometimes, it’s through no fault of our own. Other times it’s directly related to bad decisions we make.

For the Israelites of Jeremiah’s time, they had brought trouble onto their own heads by turning their backs on God and going their own way.

God told them,

Through your own fault you will lose the inheritance I gave you.

I will enslave you to your enemies in a land you do not know, for you have kindled my anger, and it will burn forever. (Jeremiah 17:4)

Jeremiah, on the other hand, was suffering through no fault of his own. Rather, he was suffering for doing exactly what God told him to do, preaching the Word to a stubborn and rebellious people.

God gave this word to the Israelites, but I think it was just as much for Jeremiah’s encouragement, when God told him,

Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord.

He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes.

He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.

He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. (Jeremiah 17:4–8)

In saying this, God condemned the Israelites for trusting in themselves, but encouraged Jeremiah at the same time.

Basically, he said, “Jeremiah, I know things are tough. But if you will trust in me and put your confidence in me, you will be blessed. Even though your circumstances seem tough, you will always be fruitful for me. Even if everyone else around you falls to these hard times, you will prosper.”

And God was as good as his word. Though Jerusalem would eventually fall, God delivered Jeremiah. Nebuchadnezzar himself gave orders that Jeremiah was to be taken care of and not harmed. (Jeremiah 39:11–14)

This is not to say Jeremiah’s life was easy and that he lived a life of leisure. But he was a man that lived a life that was fruitful despite everything that happened around him.

As we face the coming year, what difficulties are you going through? Are they coming because you’ve turned your back on God?

Now’s a good time to turn back. To turn your back on your stubbornness and sin, and to start trusting God again.

Are things going wrong even though you’re following God? Keep trusting him. Don’t get discouraged.

And like Jeremiah, you will see a life that is fruitful and makes a difference in this world.

Isn’t that what we all want?

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Jeremiah

The One to whom all nations will come

Jeremiah

As Christmas approaches, our eyes turn to Jesus.

But which Jesus do our eyes turn to? Is it to that cute baby in the manger?

That’s a Jesus that people like. Why? Because it’s a picture that’s not threatening. It’s a Jesus that makes no demands on you. It’s a Jesus that just lays there resting comfortably.

But the day will come when “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10–11).

On that day,

The nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers possessed nothing but false gods, worthless idols that did them no good. Do men make their own gods? Yes, but they are not gods!” (Jeremiah 16:19–20)

Perhaps the people will say this with joy at finding the truth. But there may also be weeping and gnashing of teeth on that day.

Many people will look at their gods and see them for the worthless pieces of wood and stone that they are.

Others will look at the things they pursued in life. Money, sex, power, the things of this world. But all those things will be shown for the empty things that they are.

At that time they will know that Jesus is no longer a baby in a manger. They’ll know that he is both Lord and King.

God says at that time,

I will teach them – this time I will teach them my power and might. Then they will know that my name is the Lord. (Jeremiah 16:21)

How about you? How do you see Jesus? Do you see him as just the baby from Bethlehem? Or do you see him as your Lord and King?

When Jesus comes and you fall to your knees saying “Jesus is Lord,” will you say it in love and awe?

Or will you say it with the words literally being pulled out of your mouth through gritted teeth?

May you come to know this Jesus, not as a baby born 2000 years ago, but as your Lord and King today.

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Jeremiah

Deliverer and Redeemer

Jeremiah

As I write this, Christmas is drawing near. And as such, my thoughts turn even more than usual to the one who came 2000 years ago.

Why did he come? He came not to judge, but to deliver and redeem us from our captivity to sin and to set us free that we might have a relationship with him once again.

As usual, we see a lot of the judgment of God in this passage.

God told Jeremiah not to mourn with those who had lost loved ones, because there was no comfort to give. God had withdrawn his blessing from the people.

And soon, so many would die that there would be no one left who could bring comfort to others. All would be suffering from pain and loss.

Then he told him not to join in their feasting because all joy and gladness would soon be taken from them.

God told Jeremiah to make crystal clear to the people why judgment would come. That it would come because they had turned their backs on God and started serving other gods in the stubbornness of their own hearts.

But then the tone of the passage changes a bit in verses 14–15.

God asked Jeremiah, “Do you know how people always look back at how I saved the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians. That’ll be nothing compared to how I’ll bring all my people back from exile into the land I promised their forefathers.

“From that point on, people will no longer point back to the Exodus, but to their return from exile.”

And that’s exactly what God did. He brought them back from Persia into their own land.

And after Rome decimated Jerusalem during the time of the apostles and all the Jews were scattered, 2000 years later, in our very own time, he brought them back into their own land.

Why did he do so? To prove to them that he is their deliverer and redeemer, not the gods that they had been seeking.

The day will come when all Israel will acknowledge that. And God says concerning them,

“Therefore I will teach them — this time I will teach them my power and might. Then they will know that my name is the Lord.” (Jeremiah 16:21)

Today, there are many people lost in their sin. Who like the Israelites have turned their backs on God in the stubbornness of their own hearts.

But Jesus came to deliver and redeem them. To show them who God really is, that they might know him and have a relationship with him.

So as we look around at the people around us this Christmas, let us keep that in mind and share with them the good news that they can be delivered and redeemed as well.

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Jeremiah

Spiritual pitfalls: The trap of self-pity

Jeremiah

Sometimes when following God gets hard, it becomes easy to complain.

“Why is this happening to me? I don’t understand. I thought that if I followed you, all would go well. Why are you allowing this to happen?”

And that’s how Jeremiah felt. Once again, he felt the sting of rejection and persecution from his own people.

As a result, he started to face doubts about what he was doing for God, saying,

Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable?

Will you be to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails? (Jeremiah 15:18)

In other words, “I’m suffering here. Can’t you see? Are you truly going to help me? Or will you let me down like so many others have in the past?”

But once again, God doesn’t allow Jeremiah to wallow in his own self-pity. Rather, he challenges him, saying,

Therefore this is what the Lord says: “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman.

Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.

I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you,” declares the Lord.

“I will save you from the hands of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel.” (Jeremiah 15:19–21)

Put simply, “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Walk away from your pity party so that I can use you. Stop your complaining, and instead speak the words I give you.

“These people around you would have you become like them, but you must not. Instead, you must make them bend to you.

“They may fight against you and persecute you, but they will not overcome you. I will rescue you.

“So take your eyes off of yourself, and put them on me where they belong.”

How about you? Do you wallow about in self-pity when things get hard because you’re serving God?

Satan loves that, because it makes you utterly useless to God. Satan wants you to focus on yourself, because when you do, it’s impossible to focus on God or the people around you.

Let us not be people that focus on ourselves and our own troubles.

Rather, as the writer of Hebrews says,

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:2–3)

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Jeremiah

Feeding on the words of God

Jeremiah

Things were so bad in Judah, that God told Jeremiah he would not have heeded any intercession even from Moses or Samuel.

Basically, after Hezekiah died, Judah went on a downward slide. His son Manasseh had led the nation back into idol worship, and though he himself repented, the nation continued in their sin.

This despite the rise of Josiah, who like Hezekiah before him, truly sought the Lord from his heart.

The problem? The people refused to take in the words of God. They heard them all the time from Jeremiah and the other prophets. But they would not heed them.

Jeremiah, on the other hand, was different. He said,

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty. (Jeremiah 15:16)

When the people of Judah tasted the words of the Lord, they immediately spit it out.

But when Jeremiah tasted the words of the Lord, he savored them. He delighted in them. And he took them in and let them transform him.

How about you? What do you do with the words of God?

Some people are literally starving spiritually because they fail to take in the nutrients of the Word.

They think that the Sunday message is enough, though they would never consider having just one big meal to sustain them through the entire week.

Other people hear the word, and immediately forget what they read, making it of no use to them.

But if we want to see God work in our lives, we need to feed on his words, delight in them, and take them into our hearts. To let them renew our minds and transform our way of thinking and acting.

If we do, we will find not judgment, as the people of Judah received. Rather, we will find mercy as Jeremiah and the others who followed God received even in the midst of a troubled time.

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Jeremiah

Where our hope lies

Jeremiah

Here we see more warnings of judgment to come.

Jeremiah first warns the people that they will be taken captive and put to shame because of their sins. That while they would hope for light, God would cover them in the utter darkness of despair (Jeremiah 13:16).

Then he uses the drought Judah was going through to show them that this was just another warning for the people to turn from their sin before utter disaster hit. (Chapter 14)

In the midst of the drought, Jeremiah pleaded with God for mercy in spite of the people’s sins. But after he finished praying,

The Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people.

Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them.

Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.” (Jeremiah 14:11–12)

Still, Jeremiah pleaded with God for the people, and in the end said,

Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers?

No, it is you, O Lord our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this. (Jeremiah 14:22)

The thing that Jeremiah realized, which apparently none of the other people of Judah did, was that their only hope lay in God.

The people of Judah put their trust in themselves, in their alliances with other countries, and in their own wisdom and strength.

But that pride would end up destroying them. And the gods they stubbornly clung to wouldn’t be able to pull them out of the trouble they were in.

Where does your hope lie? Does it lie in God? Do you put your trust in him for everything in life? Do you do things his way?

Or are you like the people of Judah, trusting in yourself, and counting on the gods of this world to pull you through the troubles you are going through.

There is only one place we can truly find hope, and that’s in God. So let us turn to him and follow him before it’s too late.

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Jeremiah

Making ourselves useless

Jeremiah

What are we doing here on earth? What is God’s purpose for us?

Ultimately it comes down to two things:

First, to know him more.

And second, to touch the world around us for him.

God could take us straight to heaven and accomplish the first. But he would be quite limited in doing the second if he took us to heaven right here and now.

(I suppose he could use our writings or the inspiration people take from our lives to touch others even after our death, for example).

But it is possible to make ourselves useless. To be a person that God cannot use at all to touch this world. How can that happen?

God told the people of Judah,

I bound the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown and praise and honor.

But they have not listened.’ (Jeremiah 13:11)

In other words, God intended Israel and Judah to be a shining light to the nations around them. That the nations would see God in their midst and be drawn to him.

But Israel and Judah refused to listen to or obey him. So God made a graphic picture for them to realize what had happened to them.

He had Jeremiah buy a linen belt, wear it for a while, and then bury it in the ground for a time.

When Jeremiah finally brought it back out of the ground, it was ruined and completely useless. God then told Jeremiah,

In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.

These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt – completely useless! (Jeremiah 13:9–10)

When we in our pride turn from God, refuse to heed his voice and instead follow the stubbornness of our own hearts, following the gods of this world, whether it be idols, or money, or possessions, or whatever it may be, we become like the linen belt: buried in the ground, ruined, and useless to God.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be that way. As the old song goes,

My heart’s one desire
Is to be holy
Set apart for You, Lord

I choose to be holy
Set apart for You, my Master
Ready to do Your will.

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Jeremiah

Running out of steam

Jeremiah

Nobody ever said following the Lord would be easy. (At least I never have). And the life of a prophet is much tougher.

Jeremiah found that out when he learned that the people of his own hometown of Anathoth were plotting to kill him.

But despite God’s reassurance that their time of judgment was coming near, Jeremiah complained to God saying,

You are always righteous, O Lord, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice:

Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.

Yet you know me, O Lord; you see me and test my thoughts about you. (Jeremiah 12:1–3)

In other words, “Why are these evil people around me prospering? Look at me! I’m doing my best to follow you, and see what it’s getting me? Everyone hates me and they even want to kill me!”

One might think that God would give him a consoling pat on the shoulder and say, “Oh don’t worry Jeremiah. It’ll all be okay.”

But instead, God gives him a word of rebuke. A slap in the face, so to speak.

If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?

If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? (Jeremiah 12:5)

In short, “You’re tired already? This is only the beginning. Things are about to get much tougher. If you’re wilting now, how are you going to stand when the pressure really comes.”

God never promised us that the Christian life would be easy. And he warned Jeremiah, “Don’t even trust the members of your family, because they will betray you behind your back, while speaking pleasantly to your face.”

What am I saying? That we should be paranoid of everyone around us? Of course not. But on the other hand, don’t be surprised if you suffer for the sake of Christ.

Jesus himself said,

Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. (John 15:20)

Jeremiah was running out of steam because of the opposition he was facing.

And essentially God was telling him, “Welcome to the big leagues. This is but a taste of what it means to follow me. And if you’re going to not just survive but thrive, you need to get a lot stronger.”

How do we get stronger? Know what you’re facing and prepare. Know that there are forces around us that are out to get us, and I’m not talking about the people that make trouble for us in our lives.

Paul wrote,

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

How do we prepare in this spiritual fight? Paul tells us,

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. (Ephesians 6:10–11)

In other words, don’t rely on your own strength to fight. If you rely on your own strength, like Jeremiah, you will start to falter.

Root yourself in your relationship with God. That’s what Jesus did daily, spending much time in prayer with the Father, drawing his strength for the day from him.

Honestly, that’s something I need to do more of.

But not only that, put on the armor of God. Put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of faith, and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

Too many Christians run around naked and in their own strength, not even knowing there’s an enemy out there. That’s a good way to get killed.

How about you? Are you rooted in your relationship with God? Are you daily putting on his armor?

If not, you’ll find yourself running out of steam very quickly, and getting shot down by the enemy.

Let us not be that way. Rather, as Paul said, let us,

Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)

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Jeremiah

When God won’t listen

Jeremiah

“I’m already saved. So I’ll just sin and God will forgive me.”

That’s the unfortunate attitude of many people that say they are Christians, but continue to live their own way.

But God makes clear here that he doesn’t tolerate that kind of attitude.

He said of the people of Israel and Judah,

There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem.

They have returned to the sins of their forefathers, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them.

Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their forefathers. (Jeremiah 11:9–10)

So many people today are the same. They return to the sins that they had previously left behind.

Perhaps the people of Judah thought to themselves, “It’s okay. If we get into trouble, we’ll just make the sacrifices for sin, and God will forgive us.”

But they forgot the sacrifices were not for willful sins, that is, sins made in utter rebellion and disobedience towards God.

Sometimes we sin in the heat of the moment. Sometimes we sin before we even know it. It was for those sins that the sacrifices were for, not for defiant ones. See here for more on that.

Here, the people of Judah knew what they were doing was wrong, but insisted on sinning. So God said,

Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.’ (11)

And again,

Do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress. (14)

We are living in the age of grace. That’s true. God will forgive us if we’re truly repentant. But as I’ve mentioned before, that doesn’t mean we’ll escape the consequences of sin.

If you cheat on your wife, she may divorce you no matter how much you may plead with her or God.

If you blow your money on gambling or unwise use of credit cards, you can plead with God all you want, but most likely, he’ll let you suffer the consequences of your actions.

So let us not fool ourselves by saying, “God will forgive, so I’ll just sin.”

Let us instead do as Paul admonishes us.

Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22)

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Jeremiah

The God who is awesome

Jeremiah

In America, we don’t see many actual idols that people worship. Of course you have the “idols” of this world. Fame. Money. Power. Sex.

But in Japan, we see idols all over the place, mostly of one Buddha or another. Many people also worship in front of a Shinto altar.

And it’s really sad to me. Because at best, they are worshiping a piece of carved stone or metal. At worst, they’re worshiping a demon behind the stone. It’s hard for me to understand why people would do that.

Actually, for most Japanese, it’s more cultural practice than actual religious belief. But it doesn’t really change the fact of what they’re actually doing.

God puts it this way,

For the practices of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree out of the forest,
and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.

They adorn it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter.

Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
their idols cannot speak;
they must be carried
because they cannot walk.

Do not fear them;
they can do no harm
nor can they do any good. (Jeremiah 10:3–5)

And again,

The images he makes are a fraud;
they have no breath in them.

They are worthless, the objects of mockery;
when their judgment comes, they will perish. (14–15)

But God is quite different. Jeremiah says of him,

No one is like you, Lord;
you are great,
and your name is mighty in power.

Who should not fear you,
King of the nations?
This is your due.

Among all the wise leaders of the nations
and in all their kingdoms,
there is no one like you. (6–7)

And again,

The Lord is the true God;
he is the living God, the eternal King.

When he is angry, the earth trembles;
the nations cannot endure his wrath…

But God made the earth by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. (10–12)

I don’t say this to mock those who worship these false idols.

But my prayer is that they would turn from these false gods, these pieces of stone or metal, and worship the one true God. Because he alone is worthy of our worship.

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Jeremiah

Something to boast about

Jeremiah

This is what the LORD says:
“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,” (Jeremiah 9:23–24)

The people of Judah were boasting in their own wisdom and strength. Some even boasted that they were God’s people because they were circumcised.

But all these things were meaningless because they had turned their backs on God and were living their own way. And so judgment was about to fall on them.

What about you? What are you proud of? Your education? Your job? Your wealth? Your position? The things that you own?

They are all meaningless if you don’t know the Lord.

This doesn’t mean that we just know about God. Many people know about God. Satan knows more about God than probably any of us do. But do we truly know him?

Do we walk in close relationship with him, delighting in the things that he delights and despising the things he despises? Do we even know God well enough that we know what he delights in and despises?

To truly know God and what he’s like. Now that’s something to boast about.

And it’s a lifelong process. To not only know what he delights in and despises, but to have our minds transformed so that we delight in and despise the same things that he does.

How much time do we spend getting to know God? How much time do we spend with him every day? Is it a priority in our lives?

Paul wrote this,

I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.

I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:8–11)

To know Jesus was Paul’s passion. Is it yours?

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Jeremiah

Deceptive hearts, lying tongues

Jeremiah

If there’s one thing I try to be, it’s to be honest. I don’t even care to tell white lies very often.

If I don’t want to do something, I’ll just say so. Nicely, but honestly.

If I don’t like something, I’ll usually go by the maxim, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

If I do have to say something, I try (although I admittedly don’t always succeed) to do it gently.

There are two reasons for this:

One, I’m not a good liar anyway.

But secondly, and more importantly, God calls us to be honest. He hates deceptive hearts and lying tongues. And that’s what we see here.

He told Jeremiah,

They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me,” declares the Lord.

“Beware of your friends; do not trust your brothers. For every brother is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning.

You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,” declares the Lord.

Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “See, I will refine and test them, for what else can I do because of the sin of my people?

Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks with deceit. With his mouth each speaks cordially to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him. (Jeremiah 9:3–8)

That’s a pretty miserable picture God paints. A picture where you can’t even trust your own family or friends. Tongues as smooth as silk, but hearts filled with poison.

And God says of these kinds of people,

“Should I not punish them for this?” declares the Lord. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?” (Jeremiah 9:9)

What kind of person are you?

Do you teach your tongue how to lie? Or do you teach it how to speak the truth in love?

Is your mouth filled with deceit? Or is it full of integrity?

When you talk with your wife or your husband, do you hide things from them? Or are you completely open with them?

When you talk with your business clients, do you keep things from them in order to win the contract? Or are you completely honest and above board with them?

Do you speak soft words to people, while despising them in your heart? Or are you learning to love them as Jesus does, matching both your heart and words?

God says that people that live lives of deceit are failing to acknowledge him in their lives.

God is truth. And so he calls us to live truthful lives.

How truthful are you?

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Jeremiah

Weeping for the lost

Jeremiah

Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet and you see part of the reason why here.

So often, we look at the prophets and all the fire and brimstone they bring to the table and think that they almost delighted in doing so.

But I believe that most, if not all, were like Jeremiah, weeping for the people they were preaching to. Weeping because the people refused to listen and were headed for judgment.

After railing against the Israelites, Jeremiah said,

O my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me.

Listen to the cry of my people from a land far away: “Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King no longer there?”…

“The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.”

Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?

Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.

Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people. (Jeremiah 8:18–22, Jeremiah 9:1–2)

I’ve mentioned this before, but going through all the prophets in the Old Testament is kind of tough, basically because a lot of times I feel like I’m repeating myself, particularly concerning God’s judgment.

I probably am repeating myself, considering the fact that the prophets continually preached judgment on the people for their sin.

And it wasn’t as if the people were always making new mistakes. They kept repeating their sins of the past, constantly going in a downward spiral.

It might be easy for someone to look at a lot of what I write and think I’m kind of a fire and brimstone type of guy myself, which I don’t consider myself to be.

But one thing I always want to do as a writer and as a teacher is to tell it like it is. And I write these things for the same reasons that the prophets did. I want people to be saved.

To be honest, though, I still need much more of a heart for the lost. A heart that weeps for them as Jeremiah did. To see their needs, having a heart that breaks for them and reaches out to them.

If the church were filled with those kinds of people, how much of an impact do you think we could have on this world?

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Jeremiah

When the church is not a sanctuary

Jeremiah

We often call the church a sanctuary. And that’s what it is. It’s a place where we can find God and find safety in his presence.

But it is not a sanctuary for everyone. And that’s what God tells the people here.

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place.

Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!”

If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever.

But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.

Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things?

Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 7:3–11)

In short, you can’t just live your own way and claim sanctuary in the house of God.

David’s general Joab learned that to his sorrow. After years of living his own way and killing innocent men, he tried to escape to the sanctuary to avoid being put to death.

It didn’t work. Solomon had him struck down right there in the tabernacle. (1 Kings 2:28–34)

God told the people, “Look at Shiloh where my tabernacle used to be. It was wiped out because the people there turned their backs on me. And the same will happen to the temple in Jerusalem unless you repent. (12–15)

“I’m not so interested in your sacrifices or religious rituals. I’m much more interested in your obedience. If you’ll just obey, everything will go well with you. But instead you continually harden your hearts as your forefathers did.” (21–27)

Then he said,

This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips…

“The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes,” declares the Lord…

“So beware, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.” (28–30, 32)

Topheth, in the valley of Ben Hinnom in Jerusalem, was a place where the Israelites were doing child sacrifice. While they were performing their sacrifices to God at the temple, they were also performing these vile sacrifices to false gods.

And so God said, “I will bring judgment. Your going to the temple will not save you. Truth has perished to the point where you’re doing things that are evil in my eyes and you no longer respond to correction.”

How about you? Do you go to church thinking it absolves you from all the evil that you do during the week? It doesn’t. Going to church means nothing if you just live your own way the rest of the week.

So let us not live for God just for a few hours each week. But let us remember the words of Micah.

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

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Jeremiah

A crossroad

Crossroad Nishinomiya church

I belong to a church in Japan called Crossroad Bible Fellowship. It’s an appropriate name in more ways than one.

We’re located near a station that’s literally a junction point between several different cities. But as part of the church at large, we’re also called to be a crossroad to the community around us.

When people walk into our church, they should be forced to a point of decision, a crossroad as it were. To follow Christ or to not.

And that’s what Jeremiah was trying to force the people of Judah to do. Make a decision. Either follow God or not. He said,

This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16)

Basically God’s saying here, “You’re at a point of decision. You can go one way or the other. Ask for the ancient paths that people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the other people of faith followed. That’s the good way. If you walk in it, you’ll find peace.”

But the problem is found in the very next sentence.

But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ (16b)

Stubbornness. Hardness of heart.

However you want to put it, that’s how the people of Judah were. Though God sent people like Jeremiah to warn them and admonish them, the people responded,

‘We will not listen.’ (17)

Jeremiah said of the people,

To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me?

Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it. (10)

The result? Judgment.

It was very interesting yesterday as I posted this blog on Facebook.

I printed this quote from yesterday: “Everyone loves to hear about God’s love and mercy. No one likes to hear about God’s judgment.”

A few people “liked” the quote. But I wonder if they really understood what I was saying. It occurred to me this morning that it could be taken two ways.

When I wrote it, it was to make people realize that the love and mercy of God were only one side to the gospel. But there is another side to it as well: judgment.

I wonder if some people took it in the wrong way. That we should be preaching God’s love and mercy and completely leave behind the message of God’s judgment.

That’s what the priests and false prophets were doing.

They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace’ they say, when there is no peace. (14)

There was a missionary named Jim Elliot who wrote something that I’ve never forgotten. He prayed,

Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.

How about you? Are you simply a milepost on a single road? Or are you a fork? A crossroad?

I’m not saying we should bash a person on the head with the gospel and force them to make a decision right then and there (although a quick decision would be ideal).

But if a person is with us long enough, they should come to a point of decision. And if they’re not, then we’re probably not doing the job God has called us to do.

Are you? Some people, like the people of Judah, may reject the message we bring. But others will hear and be saved. And that’s what really matters.

May we all be a crossroad to the people around us, not just pointing the way to Christ, but also forcing people to a point of decision.

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Jeremiah

Deceiving ourselves

Jeremiah

Jeremiah continues to rip the people here in this passage. He starts with an allusion to Sodom and Gomorrah.

As you may recall, Abraham asked if God would spare them if he found just ten righteous people in the city, and while God agreed, ten righteous people were not to be found.

Here, God says that if he found just one righteous person, he would spare Jerusalem, but there was none.

Either none of the prophets lived in Jerusalem, or this is a bit of hyperbole. Jeremiah was certainly one man that sought God, and there were other prophets as well, such as Zephaniah and perhaps Nahum.

King Josiah had also started seeking the Lord as well, although perhaps he hadn’t started at the time this prophecy was written. But the point is that there were precious few who were seeking God, from the high on down to the low.

What was the problem? Nobody feared the Lord. Everyone took him lightly, and thought that even if he noticed what they were doing, that he wouldn’t do anything about it.

Jeremiah said of them,

They have lied about the Lord; they said, “He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine.

The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them; so let what they say be done to them. (Jeremiah 5:12–13)

So many people live that way today. They live their own way, believing that God will not ever bring judgment.

“God’s a God of love. Surely he wouldn’t bring judgment down on us, would he? All those people that talk about his judgment are just trying to scare us. Don’t pay any attention to what they say.”

And so instead of listening to those who bring God’s word and warnings of judgment, they listen only to those who make them feel good.

As Jeremiah said,

The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way.

But what will you do in the end? (31)

Everyone loves to hear about God’s love and mercy. No one likes to hear about God’s judgment. But if we refuse to listen to those warnings, we are deceiving ourselves because judgment is coming.

He judged the people of Judah through the Babylonians. And the day will come when Jesus will come back and judge each person both the living and the dead. All will stand before him and give an account to him.

How about you? Are you living your own way, deceiving yourself into thinking that judgment will never come?

God is patient, but judgment will come. You may like to only hear words of God’s love and mercy, but if you ignore his warnings of judgment and refuse to repent, what will you do when you stand before him?

There’s only one way to be ready for judgment day. To turn from your sins, and receive Jesus as your Lord.

As Paul wrote,

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9–10)

Let us not deceive ourselves. Judgment is coming. Let us get ready now before it’s too late.

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Jeremiah

Bringing evil upon ourselves

Jeremiah

Why is this happening to me? People often ask that question when bad things happen in their lives.

Sometimes, bad things happen because we are caught in a world corrupted by sin. But sometimes, we bring evil upon ourselves. That’s what the people of Judah did.

In this passage, God warns them of the coming judgment through Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. That he would come and besiege the land, and leave Judah in ruins (6–7).

And the people would have no one to blame but themselves. They had hardened their hearts against God’s message, from the king, to the priests and prophets, all the way down the people.

God said of them,

They (the Babylonian army) surround her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against me.

Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. This is your punishment.

How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart. (Jeremiah 4:17–18)

And again,

My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good. (22)

Even when disaster overtook them, they refused to repent, prostituting themselves to other gods. And so Jeremiah asked,

What are you doing, O devastated one?

Why dress yourself in scarlet and put on jewels of gold? Why shade your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life. (30)

It’s amazing how little changes over the centuries. People harden their hearts against God and suffer the consequences of their own sin. Yet instead of repenting, they continue to live a life that would destroy them.

How about you? Are you that way?

Are there things that you’re doing that are destroying your marriage, your relationships, your career, or your life?

Despite seeing what damage you’re doing, are you persisting in your attitudes and actions?

Or will you repent?

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Jeremiah

False repentance

Jeremiah

Every once in a while, my daughter will do something wrong, and we’ll tell her to apologize.  But when she does, she sometimes makes light of it, almost singing, “I’m sorrryyy.”

And that’s how Judah was.  God said of them,

You have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame.

Have you not just called to me: ‘My Father, my friend from my youth, will you always be angry?  Will your wrath continue forever?’

This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can. (Jeremiah 3:3-5)

With their lips, they said “I’m sorry,” but their actions showed they were not sorry at all.

God then compared them to the northern kingdom of Israel that had been exiled.  God said that he divorced them because of their adulteries (that is, he exiled them because of their idolatry).  But despite seeing this, the people of Judah didn’t repent.

Oh, they said the words of repentance, but did not truly repent in their hearts.  God said of them,

“In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the Lord.

The Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah.” (Jeremiah 3:10-11)

What does God mean by this?  “Either repent, or don’t.  I’d prefer outright rebellion than false piety.”

But of course, true repentance is what God truly wants.  And so he says,

“Return, faithless Israel,” declares the Lord, “I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,” declares the Lord, “I will not be angry forever.

Only acknowledge your guilt – you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,” declares the Lord.

“Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband…

Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.”  (Jeremiah 3:12-14,22)

How should we respond?

Yes, we will come to you, for you are the Lord our God.  (Jeremiah 3:22)

And as God says,

Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns.

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts.  (Jeremiah 4:3-4)

In other words, soften your heart towards God.  Break up the hardness of your heart.  Pull out the thorns of sin.  And cut out the things in your life that would keep you from him.

When we do this, our repentance will not only affect us, but the people around us.

As God says,

“If you will return, O Israel, return to me,” declares the Lord.

“If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ then the nations will be blessed by him and in him they will glory.”  (Jeremiah 4:1-2)

In short, when we return to the Lord in true repentance, and truly start living for him, all the people around us start to be blessed as he works through us to touch them.

May we all have hearts that are softened towards him that we may touch the world around us.

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Jeremiah

Where our worth comes from

Jeremiah

Self-esteem. Self-worth.

These words are often thrown around in society as people try to “find themselves.”

But there is only one place you’ll ever find yourself. And you won’t find it by looking at yourself.

That’s what God told the people of Israel. He compared them to a wife who left her husband for another lover. Despite God’s love for his people, despite all he had done for them, still they strayed away from him.

And God asked them,

What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me? (Jeremiah 2:5a)

And then he said,

They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. (5b)

So many people say, “I have to find myself.” And so they seek everywhere they can to “find themselves.” Everywhere, that is, except God.

They look to money, a career, a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife. They look to possessions. They look to all the things that this world offers.

And that’s what the Israelites did too. God told them,

They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt…’

The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’

Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me.

The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols. (6, 8)

But in seeking the worthless idols of the world, we don’t gain self-worth. We lose it. We don’t find life. We lose it.

God said,

My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. (13)

Two sins. Forsaking God, the true living water. And building our own broken cisterns that can’t support anything.

How many people have tried to build cisterns based on money, possessions, power, and even relationships, only to find that they’ve been left empty. And so they cry out even more, “I need to find myself.”

But God tells us that in the end,

Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you.

Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me. (19)

Why? Because we can’t find life when we’ve abandoned the source of life. Everything else will leave us disappointed.

Israel tried to “find themselves” by their alliances with Egypt and Assyria and the gods they served (18). But in the end, God said,

You will be disappointed by Egypt as you were by Assyria. You will also leave that place with your hands on your head, for the Lord has rejected those you trust; you will not be helped by them. (36–37)

Are you trying to find yourself? You won’t find it in yourself. You won’t find it in the things the world offers. You’ll only find it in God.

Pursue him. Everything else will leave you empty.

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Jeremiah

Something more

Jeremiah

And so we hit our second major prophet. This one’s a challenge, and I’m not sure how I want to tackle this yet.

For some reason, Jeremiah keeps switching the chronology of events. He’ll talk about Josiah, then Zedekiah (the last king of Judah), and then Jehoiakim (Josiah’s son), and then go back to Zedekiah.

Isaiah may have done a bit of skipping around too, but not to the extent Jeremiah does.

But anyway, God speaks to Jeremiah and says,

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5)

How old Jeremiah was when this call came is uncertain. What is certain is that Jeremiah was hardly brimming with confidence. He said,

“Ah, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” (6)

In other words, “Who me? I can’t do that. I’m too young. I don’t know anything. And I’m no orator either. I think you’ve got me confused with someone else.”

But God replies,

Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’

You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant. (7–10)

What was God saying?

He was saying to Jeremiah, “You’re something more than what you think of yourself. You’re something more because I’ve made you something more. I’ll put my words in your mouth and I’ll use you to make a difference in this world.”

So often, we are like Jeremiah. I know I am. I look at myself, and I still don’t think I’m much.

I may have a few years on me, but I still don’t feel particularly wise. Nor do I feel particularly capable to do all that God may be calling me to do.

But God says, “Don’t put yourself down. I am with you. What you are is not so important. What’s important is who I am. And I will use you to make a difference.”

What do we have to do? Just do whatever God asks. God won’t give us more than we can handle.

He started simple with Jeremiah as we see in verses 11–12.

The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.

The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”

God gave him a simple vision with a simple question. Jeremiah answered, and God said, “See, you can do it. And I’m watching to make sure the word I give to you is fulfilled.”

He even did a little wordplay in the process. The word for “watching” in Hebrew sounds similar to the word for “almond tree.”

It’s the same with us. God starts simple with us, and then he gives us more when we can handle it. But even more importantly, he promises to always stand with us.

He told Jeremiah,

Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.

Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand 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 will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. (17–19)

God tells us the same.

“Get ready. Stand up and do and say whatever I tell you. People will fight against you, but they will not overcome. Satan himself will fight you, but you will not be defeated, for I am with you and will rescue you.”

How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself as weak? Inadequate? Worthless?

You’re so much more in the sight of God. All you have to do is follow him.

Will you?