Jeremiah 13:12

Jeremiah 13:12 says, Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?  Jeremiah told the people that their bottles would be full of wine, and the people answered that they knew that, but basically said so what.  Matthew Henry said that they were sure that Jeremiah meant something more than just the physical act their having bottles full of wine.  When God speaks to us, we must look beyond just the words and see the message that He has for us.  Verse thirteen declares, Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David’s throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.  God told Jeremiah that he was to fill all the inhabitants of the land with drunkenness,  I don't believe that this means that God was going to cause them to be drunk, but that it means He was going to allow them to go on in their drunkenness.  Verse fourteen adds, And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.  God said He was no longer going to pity or have mercy on the people of Judah but was going to destroy them.  Without God's protection and mercy, we can only be destroyed spiritually, even if we are prospering materially.  Verse fifteen proclaims, Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.  God told Jeremiah to hear what He had to say and to not let self pride get in the way.  Some people are so full of self pride that they never allow themselves to believe in the word of God.  Verse sixteen adds, Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.  God told the people to look to the light of God before He allowed the world to turn into total darkness.  If we do not listen to the word of God, we will always stagger around in the darkness of sin.  Verse seventeen continues, But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD’s flock is carried away captive.  God said that if the people of Judah would not listen to His word that He would be heartbroken, because they would be carried away captive.  God does not want anyone to be lost from His flock, but even if He is heartbroken when they are, He still allows people to refuse to follow Him if they choose to do so.  Verse eighteen states, Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.  God called on the leaders of the nation to humble themselves, and we need that same humility before God in our leaders today, and not just lip service to the word of God.  Of course, this applies not just to the leaders but to all who are called by God's name.  Verse nineteen declares, The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive.  God said that all of Judah was to be carried away captive, and anyone who does not put their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord today will be carried away in the captivity of sin.  Verse twenty declares, Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?  The people of Judah were warned to look to the coming destruction and then to realize that when it came that they would have lost everything.  Verse twenty-one adds, What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?  God asked what could the people say since they had brought His judgment on themselves.  We will be without excuse if we face God in the judgment without Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse twenty=two continues, And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare.  God said that the people of Judah would ask why this judgment had come on them, because they were blind to their own sins.  Verse twenty-three states, Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.  God said that just as people and animals were unable to change their appearance, so were the people of Judah unable to change their sinful nature because they refused to listen to and obey God's word.  We likewise cannot change our sinful nature by our own ability, but can only do so by putting our faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse twenty-four declares, Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.  God said that He was going to scatter the people of Judah like stubble before the wind.  Verse twenty-five adds, This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.  God said this was what the people of Judah had earned because they had turned away from Him and trusted in falsehoods.  We either believe in the truth of God and accept His salvation or we too will be sent away from Him into everlasting punishment.  Verse twenty-six continues, Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear.  Verse twenty-seven concludes, I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?  God said that the sins of Judah were not hidden to Him, and asked why thy would not be made clean.  God today knows the sins of each individual, and He asks why each one would not be made clean.  God has given the great gift of salvation to everyone who will accept it, so the question is why will we not be made clean by putting our faith in Jesus Christ.