Jeremiah 2:23

 Jeremiah 2:23 says, How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;  God asked the people of Israel how they could say that they had not chased after false gods.  If God accuses us today of chasing false gods, we  can be certain that we have and there really is no sense in denying it.  The Holy Spirit will convict us when we do.  Verse twenty-four adds, A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.  The people were compared to a wild ass seeking her own pleasure who could not very easily be turned from her desires.  When we are caught up in the lusts of the world, it is not easy to turn us away. without the power of God to overcome those lusts.  Verse twenty-five says, Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.  God called on the people to not give in to these lusts, but they said there  was no hope because they already had.  We need to realize that as long as we are alive that God will call us to repentance, and there is never a reason to feel hopeless.  Verse twenty-six declares, As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets,  God said that the house of Israel, from their governmental leaders to their spiritual leaders were found out in their idolatry, and should be ashamed just as a thief who is caught.  Of course, it is possible that a thief might avoid being caught, but when we sin against God we always will be and this should cause us to be ashamed when we do.  Verse twenty-seven adds, Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me and, not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.  God said the people of Israel had attempted to make gods of the things of this world, and then asked them in time of trouble when they called on these false gods if they could save them.  Salvation is only possible by accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and no matter what else we worship in the world it can never save us.  Verse twenty-eight asks, But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.  God again asked His people, who were His in name only, where the false gods that they made were in times of trouble.  God said they had made as many false gods as there were cities in Judah.  No matter how many things we put our faith in instead of God, they will never save us.  Verse twenty-nine adds, Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.  God asked why the people of Judah would plead with Him when they had transgressed against Him.  Too often we call out to God in times of trouble because we have not been true to Him in times of prosperity.  Verse thirty declares, In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.  God said that He had smitten the people of Judah in vain, because they refused to listen to His prophets, killing them instead.  God will let us know today when we are chasing after false gods, yet too often people would rather kill His prophets than to listen to them.  Verse thirty-one adds, O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?  God asked the people of Israel if He had become unknowable to them.  They may have been going through the motions of worshipping God still, but they did not have a real relationship with Him.  Verse thirty-two continues, Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.  I believe that God was basically saying that it should have been impossible for the people of Israel to forget Him because of all that He had done for them, but they had.  It should be impossible for us as followers of Christ to forget what He did for us, but we too often allow the things of the world to come between God and us.  Verse thirty-three asks, Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.  God said not only had the people of Israel turned away from Him, but they had encouraged others to do so as well.  It is bad enough for a person to turn away from God, especially those who call themselves His people, but it is even worse to lead others away from God.  Verse thirty-four adds, Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.  God said that the blood of others was on the people of Israel, and that it did not take a secret search to find this out.  They were open in their disobedience to God.  Verse thirty-five declares, Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.  The people of Israel professed their innocence, but God professed their guilt.  Verse thirty-six adds, Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.  Verse thirty-seven concludes, Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.  God said that the people were disappointed in their choice of gods, since they could put no confidence in them, and that since God had rejected them for their idolatry, they could not go forth with confidence in Him.  As long as we are faithful to God, we can put our confidence in Him, but if we go chasing after other gods, there is nothing to put our confidence in.

Jeremiah 2:13

 Jeremiah 2:13 says, For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.  God said that His people committed two evils.  The had forsaken Him, the source of living water, and had hewn out cisterns that could hold no water.  Through our faith in Christ, we are God's people and have a source of living water, and anytime we look to our own knowledge and ability to live life successfully, we are likewise committing two evils.  We can either put our faith in God or the world, but we cannot do both.  Verse fourteen asks, Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?  Like the people of Israel, we are children of God, and not servants of the world.  We are born again into the family of God, but do we allow ourselves to become spoiled feeling that we are better than everyone else and that God must bless us?  Verse fifteen states,  The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.  Other countries had come to power over the people of Israel because they weren't following God.  Having seen the power of God over all their foes, the people of Israel were once again afraid of the forces of the world.  Verse sixteen adds, Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.  God gave two examples of when the people of the world have defeated His people.  Verse seventeen declares, Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?  Through Jeremiah, God asked if the people of Israel had not brought this upon themselves by refusing to obey Him.  If we are being defeated by the world today as Christians, it can only be because we have failed to put our faith in God totally.  Verse eighteen says, And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?  God asked His people what they had to do with the practices of worship of other people.  We cannot obey God and allow any other false worship practices to come into our lives.   Verse nineteen declares, Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.  God said that the wickedness of His people would correct them and reprove their backslidings.  The fact that that people of Israel had turned their back on God had led to their being defeated.  If we as followers of Christ turn our back on God, then we should not be surprised that the world often defeats us.  Verse twenty adds, For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.  God reminded the people of Israel that He had set them free and that they had promised to be obedient to Him, but now they were worshipping false gods on every high hill.  Though our salvation is secured by God Himself, we cannot allow the things of this world to become more important to us than God is.  Verse twenty-one continues, Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?  God said that He had made Israel His people and asked how they could then follow after strange gods, becoming an unproductive vine to Him.  We may need to ask at times if we have become unproductive for God because we refuse to obey His word and follow after the world instead.  Verse twenty-two concludes, For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.  God told the people of Israel that no matter how much the went through physical cleansing rituals that they remained spiritually unclean.  All the religious practices in the world will not cleanse us spiritually if we are being disobedient to God.

Thanksgiving

 I will pause briefly from the book of Jeremiah for Thanksgiving Day.  This has been a really bad year in many respects, but if you are alive, you still have reason to be thankful I believe.  The first Thanksgiving Day had came at a time when life was really tough and people were divided between those coming to settle America and those who were already here, but they came together to celebrate.  We in America have had a rough and divisive year, but I believe that we need to pause, come together and celebrate our blessings.  Of course, I believe this is really true for Christians, those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  No matter how bad things are going here, God is still in charge and He expects His people to put their faith in Him and worship him even in the hard times.  This Thanksgiving, let us joyfully celebrate the blessings of God.

Jeremiah 2:1

 Jeremiah 2:1 says, Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,  Verse two adds, Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.  God's word once more came to Jeremiah and told Him to go and to remind the people of Jerusalem about their promises made to Him in the wilderness.  God had lead them out of Egypt, and sustained them in the wilderness, and they made a covenant with Him to obey His word.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, He leads us out of the wilderness of sin and commands us to go and share the gospel with all those that we can.  Verse three continues, Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.  God had Jeremiah to remind the people of Jerusalem that they were the first fruit of His people.  The people of Israel were not called so that they would be the only ones who were God's people, but to be the first of His people and to spread His word to all the world.  Verse four declares, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel:  God called for all His people to hear Him, even if they were divided as a nation.  All of God's people need to hear Him today, even if we a separated in some earthly way.  Verse five adds, Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?  God asked those who were supposed to be His chosen people what iniquity their fathers had found in Him that had caused them to become vain, or self centered.  We need to make sure that we never become vain about our relationship with God.  Verse six states, Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?  God said that His people, who He had delivered from Egypt and all the dangers they encountered afterward, no longer sought Him.  God has delivered us from the power of sin and death if we are followers of Christ, and we can never begin to be complacent in our faith if we are to be successful in our walk with God.  Verse seven adds, And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.  God said that He gave His people an abundant land, and that they made their heritage an abomination.  Verse eight adds, The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.  God said even the religious leaders had stopped following His word and had gone after false gods.  We can never afford to allow false gods to come between God and us.  Verse nine declares, Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children’s children will I plead.  God said that He would still plead with His people and their children to come back to Him.  God does not give up on people easily.  Verse ten continues, For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing.  God called on the people of Israel to look at the other nations around them.  Verse eleven concludes, Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.  God said these other nations who worshipped false gods had not changed them for other gods.  There are many nations around the world today who worship false gods, and they seem at times to be more devoted to their gods than we as Christians are to the One true and Living God.  Verse twelve declares, Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.  God said that even the heavens should be astonished at the fact that His people had turned away from Him.

Jeremiah 1:11

 Jeremiah 1:11 says, Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. God's word came to Jeremiah, asking him what he saw.  The first thing Jeremiah had to do was recognize the word of God when it came to him, and so must we.  What Jeremiah saw was nothing unusual.  Jeremiah said he saw the rod of an almond tree.  Verse twelve states, Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.  God told Jeremiah that he had seen well, and then God added He would hasten His word to perform it, which I believe meant to bring down the rod on His people,  Verse thirteen says, And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.  God's word came to Jeremiah a second time asking him what he saw.  This time Jeremiah saw a seething pot with the face to the north.  Verse fourteen declares, Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.  God then told Jeremiah what the seething pot represented.  God was going to allow a great evil from the north to come upon the people of Judah.  Verse fifteen adds, For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.  God said that he was going to allow Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah to be defeated.  We need to be aware of signs that we are falling out of God's will as His people today, and if we see such signs, we need to repent and return to following God's will.  Verse sixteen continues, And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.  God said that this was His judgment against His people who had abandoned Him and worshipped false gods.  We cannot allow ourselves to stray away from God's will and start to worship false gods as followers of Christ.  Verse seventeen says, Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.  God then told Jeremiah to get up and tell the people what God had told him and to not be dismayed by their faces.  If we are to be successful in presenting the gospel today, we cannot allow ourselves to be dismayed by the way the people of the world may look at us.  Verse eighteen  declares, For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.  God basically told Jeremiah that he didn't need to be afraid, because God would protect Him.  The same is true for us today as followers of Christ.  The world can never defeat us spiritually if we only remain true to God and proclaim His word as He leads and empowers us to do.  Verse nineteen adds, And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.  God told Jeremiah that the people of the world would fight against him, but that they would not prevail.  God make this same promise to us today.  We can be bold in our faith because God is with us to protect us, even through a physical death.

Jeremiah 1:1

Jeremiah 1:1 says, The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:  We first have Jeremiah identified as the son of Hilkiah, who was of the priests of Anathoth.  As a part of a priestly family, Jeremiah had been authorized and appointed to teach the people of Israel as Matthew Henry states it, but God added to that authority.  As followers of Christ, we are a part of the priesthood of believers and are appointed to share the gospel with everyone, but some are called for a more specific purpose in sharing the gospel, such as pastors and evangelists.  Verse two states, To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.  We are then told that the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, and when this was historically.  If we are going to proclaim God's word today as Christians, we must first make sure that what we proclaim has come from God, and if it is from God, it will be consistent with His written word, the Bible, and will point people to Christ and will glorify God.  Matthew Henry says that with Josiah, a young king and Jeremiah a young prophet working together that we would have expected the people of Israel to reform, but they didn't.  Verse three adds, It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.  Jeremiah continued to prophesy through the reigns of two more kings, unto the carrying away of Judah.  Matthew Henry points out that Jeremiah continued to prophesy after that, but at that point many of His prophesies were fulfilled.  Even if we see the prophesies of God being fulfilled today, we are still to witness for Christ.  Verse four declares, Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,  Then verse five adds, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.  God told Jeremiah that even before his conception that God had a purpose for him.  God said Jeremiah was sanctified and ordained a prophet even before he was born.  I believe that God has a purpose for each individual born today, but most will never fulfill His purpose because they refuse to accept His authority.  We can certainly attest to the sanctity of every child that is formed in the womb from what is said here.  Verse six proclaims, Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.  Having been commissioned by God, Jeremiah first offered an excuse as to why he could not do what God had called him to do.  When we know what God has called us to do today, do we begin to offer excuses as to why we cannot?  Verse seven declares, But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.  God basically told Jeremiah to not look at who he was but to look to Who God is.  We need to do the same today and go where God sends us and do what He calls us to do.  Verse eight adds, Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.  Just as Jeremiah was told to fear not the faces of the people because God was with him. so does He promise us today.  We need to boldly do what God calls us to do.  Verse nine continues, Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.  Jeremiah said that then the LORD put forth His hand, touched his mouth, and said that He had put His words in Jeremiah's mouth.  We as followers of Christ must put our faith in God to provide us with the ability to speak His word today.  Verse ten concludes, See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.  God then stated what Jeremiah was to do.  God said He set Jeremiah over the nations and kingdoms, to root out the evil in them and to plant the word of God.  We as Christians when we are following God's will for our lives have authority over all earthly rulers.  We must always put God's kingdom first.

Review 3

 After Jesus called his disciples and started his ministry, He performed many miracles for which the multitudes began to follow Him.  They were looking for an earthly leader who could meet their physical needs, as He did when He fed and healed them.  We need to look not for a Savior Who meets our physical needs and desires, but for One who meets our spiritual needs.  The only thing that Jesus ever promised us about physical or material things was that we are to take up our cross daily, or die to physical desires, and that He would meet all our needs.  Jesus never promised to give us everything that we saw and desired.  Jesus spent time alone to pray to His heavenly Father, and so must we if we are to be able to be successful in following the will of God.  Jesus taught us that we are not to worship simply for the praise of people.  No matter how much we give, if we are doing it so that we receive the praise instead of God receiving the praise, it is spiritually worthless.  Jesus had very little use for those who were supposed to be the religious leaders of the Jews, and they had no use for Him.  We need to be careful that we do not begin to follow the teachings of religious leaders today instead of following the will of God.  The disciples, who were the closest to Jesus physically still had ambitions based on physical results.  They wanted to be closest to Jesus in His kingdom, which they still thought would be an earthly kingdom then, but when the time came to prove their devotion, they could not even pray with Him for an hour and they abandoned Him after His trial.  Though Peter took up the sword to defend Jesus when He was being arrested, He did so for all the wrong reasons and denied even knowing Jesus after His arrest.  Some people throughout the ages have made strong professions of faith and followed after Jesus as long as everything was going their way, only to abandon Him when real times of trouble come.  We saw that given the choice between a bad sinner and Jesus that the world will often choose the bad sinner instead of Jesus.  Though there are many other things that the book of Matthew teaches us, the final thing that I will mention is the most important.  Jesus came to earth to live to show us how we are to live and He died to bring us salvation if we put our faith in Him as Savior and Lord.  Death could not defeat Him and the grave could not hold Him, and the same is true of us if we follow Jesus as our Savior and Lord.  We will next look at the book of Jeremiah.