Jeremiah 4:23

Jeremiah 4:23 says, I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.  God spoke of the coming destruction making the earth seem as it had during the creation.  There would be no cities left standing, and the smoke of the destruction would make it seem that there was no sun.  Verse twenty-four adds, I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.  God said that the mountains that they had worshipped other gods on would tremble.  Verse twenty-five states, I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.  God said that all the people of Israel and even the birds of the air would flee before the coming army.  The destruction was going to be massive, because the people were no longer worshipping God and no longer had His protection.  Verse twenty-six adds, I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.  The fields would be as wilderness and the cities would be broken down in the presence of the LORD.  Even though it was a foreign army that was going to defeat the people of Israel, it was because of God no longer protecting them that it was allowed to happen.  Verse twenty-seven declares, For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.  God told the people of Israel that even though the destruction would be great that it would not be a complete destruction of God's people.  God would preserve a remnant that were still true to Him.  Verse twenty-eight adds, For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.  God said that this was going to happen because He had said it would and He would not change His mind.  God has told us that one day the world is going to face His judgment, and of this we can be certain.  Verse twenty-nine continues, The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.  God said the people of Israel would flee from the cities and attempt to hide in the woods, leaving the cities desolate.  Verse thirty asks, And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.  God asked what they would do after they were spoiled or defeated.  He said they would attempt to make themselves look desirable by the enemy, but the enemy would still look to kill them.  The Chaldeans would not be impressed by attempts by the people of Israel to make themselves look desirable.  Verse thirty-one declares, For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.  God said the people of Israel would cry out like a woman in travail during child birth and would pronounce themselves to be full of woe.  Any time we as followers of Christ stray away from Him and move away from His protective hand, we are full of woe whether we acknowledge it or not. 

Jeremiah 4:10

 Jeremiah 4:10 says, Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.  Jeremiah basically accused God of deceiving the people of Israel by promising them peace and now having them come under the sword.  Jeremiah forgot the God's promise required the faithfulness of the people of Israel.  What God promises us as followers of Christ is spiritual peace if we are obedient to His word.  Verse eleven states, At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,  This was not to be a refreshing wind, but a painful one.  Verse fourteen adds, Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.  There would be no place where the people could escape this coming wind, the Chaldean army, which was a judgment from God.  When God's judgment comes, there will be no place to escape from it.  Verse thirteen declares, Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.  When this destruction came, the people could only cry out in woe.  When God's chosen people turned their backs on Him, He removed His protective hand from them and they had no one to turn to for protection.  If we as followers of Christ turn our back on our faith in Him, we will have no one to protect us.  Verse fourteen adds, O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?  God called on the people of Israel to wash their hearts of wickedness and asked how long vain thoughts would guide them.  If we are focusing on the world instead of on God, then all that we think and do amounts to nothing.  Verse fifteen states, For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.  Verse sixteen adds, Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.  The news of this coming destruction would first come from Dan, the city farthest north in Israel, of the coming of this destructive army.  The word would spread to the people throughout Israel.  Verse seventeen asks, As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.  Matthew Henry says this refers to people surrounding a field to keep people out, but instead the people of Israel would be surrounded by the invading army to keep them in.  Without the protection of God, we are surrounded by the forces of evil to keep us from doing what God would have us do.  Verse eighteen adds, Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.  God said that it was the fault of the people of Israel because of what they had done and thought that this evil was coming on them.  We can never blame God if we suffer in this world, but must always recognize that any spiritual defeat comes from our lack of faith in Him.  Verse nineteen declares, My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.  Verse twenty adds, Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.  It will always pain God when His people refuse to listen to Him, and He will never want to send destruction on them.  Verse twenty-one asks, How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?  God asked how long it would take for the people of Israel to hear the sound of the trumpet, the coming of the army to defeat them.  Verse twenty-two concludes, For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.  God said that they would not hear because they were not listening to Him.  When we begin to stray away from the leadership of the Holy Spirit as Christians, I believe that God asks us the same thing today, and we cannot afford to allow ourselves to become wise to do evil and lacking in the knowledge of God in our lives.

Jeremiah 4:1

Jeremiah 4:1 says, If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.  God called on the people of Israel to return to Him and to put away their abominations.  If we allow the things of this world, the abominations to God, to come between Him and us, the first we must do is repent and return to God.  We cannot return to God and still allow the things of this world to come between Him and us.  We have to choose one or the other.  Verse two adds, And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.  God told the people of Israel that when they returned to Him, then they had to swear that God lived in truth, judgment, and righteousness and that if a nation was to be blessed that it was through God.  We need to swear our allegiance to God and tell the world about Him.  We can never hope to be successful spiritually if we do not.  Verse three declares, For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.  God was not speaking about physically sowing, but was telling them to once again break up their spiritual fallow ground, since it had laid dormant for too long.  If we have been out of communion with God, we are spiritually fallow, since our relationship with God remains dormant.  Verse four adds, Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.  Circumcision was a physical act that identified the people of Israel as God's people, and they were still going through the motions, but God called them to circumcise their hearts, which would be a spiritual action.  We may go through the motions of worshipping God, but until we make our heart right with Him, it is of no value.  Verse five continues, Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.  God told the people of Israel to assemble together and declare His name in the defensed cities.  They were to be ready for war under God's leadership, just as we must in the world today.  Verse six states, Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.  God then warned His people to be ready for the coming war.  If we turn away from God, we should not be surprised if He allows us to be defeated by the world.  Verse seven adds, The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.  God told the people of Israel that the nation that overpowered the Gentiles around them was going to destroy them as well.  If we follow Christ in name only and do not allow the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us, we should not feel superior to the lost people of the world.  Of course, we should never feel that way at anytime, since we are but sinners saved by grace,  Verse eight says, For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.  God called the people of Israel to a sincere repentance, and so must we sincerely repent if we having fallen away from God.  Verse nine adds,  And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.  God warned His people that they would be astonished at the coming destruction, and we today as followers of Christ know that one day He is going to return, and the world will be astonished at the destruction that will come. 

Jeremiah 3:20

 Jeremiah 3:20 says, Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.  Again God compared Israel to an unfaithful wife.  When a man and a woman marry, they take vows to remain faithful to each other, just as the people of Israel had taken a vow to remain faithful to God, as do we today as followers of Christ.  There are no days when a marriage is not in effect, and there are no days when our vow to be faithful to God is not in effect.  Verse twenty-one states, A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God.  Jeremiah said that here was weeping heard in the high places. where people should be worshipping, because the children of Israel had forgotten the LORD their God.  Not all of God's people had forgotten Him, and they were making supplication for the rest of Israel because they had.  There is never a time when there is no one who does not believe in God, though at times it may be a small remnant.  Verse twenty-two declares, Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.  There was a call for the backslidden people of Israel to return to the LORD, Whom they called their God, and to be healed.  If we stray away from God, we must first be one of His children to begin with, and then if we stray, we must first return to Him in order to be spiritually healed.  Verse twenty-three adds, Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.  God said that people were looking in vain for salvation anywhere except in Him, and what was true then has always been and always will be true.  By faith in God alone can we find salvation.  Verse twenty-four continues, For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.  Like the people of Israel, if we labor outside the will of God, it will only bring us shame before God, and our labor will be in vain.  Verse twenty-five concludes, We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.  God said that the people of Israel, His chosen people, laid down in shame because they had sinned against Him.  If we are unfaithful to our relationship with God through our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, it can only bring us shame. 

Jeremiah 3:11

 Jeremiah 3:11 says, And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.  God's people were divided into two nations at this time, and God called Israel backslidden, and yet said they tried to justify themselves more than Judah, which He called treacherous.  It doesn't matter how many divisions there are in those who call themselves God's people but who have never allowed Jesus Christ to be their Savior and Lord.  They are either backslidden or are dealing treacherously with God.  Verse twelve declares, Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.  God told Jeremiah to go to the backsliding people of people of Israel and call on them to return to Him.  To have been backslidden implies that the people of Israel at one time had a relationship with God, but had forgotten it.  God told Jeremiah that if they would return to Him that His anger would not come on them, and reminded them that He was a merciful and patient God.  This has not changed.  God stands ready to forgive us if we backslide today, and it is because of His great mercy that we have hope to begin with.  Verse thirteen adds, Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.  God told Jeremiah to tell the people that in order to know His mercy they had to first acknowledge their sins, which were widespread.  In order to know God's mercy, we must first acknowledge our sins.  Verse fourteen declares, Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:  Verse fifteen adds, And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.  God said that those who would return to Him, even if it was only one of a city or two of a family, that He would give them pastors according to His own heart who would feed them with knowledge and understanding of God.  God still gives us pastors today to do the same thing, if they listen to Him and put their faith in Him.  Verse sixteen continues, And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.  God said that when the people were restored to Him and multiplied and increased in the land that they would no longer remember the things that guided them in the wilderness, because they would have a personal relationship with God that did not depend on going through priests or anything else.  Verse seventeen states, At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.  This refers to the church according to Matthew Henry, after Jesus came to restore people to God.  Verse eighteen adds, In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.  The people of God are united through Jesus Christ.  Though this was a prophesy concerning a physical reuniting of the people of Israel and Judah, it is also a prophesy concerning all who come to God by faith in Christ.  Verse nineteen concludes, But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.  God said when the people asked how this was possible that it was so because of the people once again recognizing Him as their heavenly Father,  The same is true today.

Jeremiah 3:1

 Jeremiah 3:1 says, They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.  God once again compared the people of Israel and their relationship with Him to a man and his wife.  God said if a man put away his wife and she married another man and then returned to him, would not the land be polluted because of this, and yet God said Israel had played the harlot with may other gods and then professed to return to Him again.  We cannot just jump in and out of a relationship with God at our own desire.  Verse two declares, Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.  God called on the people of Israel to look to the high places and show Him where they had not been unfaithful to Him.  If we have been unfaithful in our relationship with God, He will make us aware of it.  Verse three adds, Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.  God said because of the people of Israel's unfaithfulness that He was no longer blessing them materially, and they refused to be ashamed of their actions.  Verse four asks, Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?  God then asked if they would not once again call out to Him, the God and Guide of their youth.  When we find ourselves allowing the things of this world to come between God and us, we need to cry out to Him for forgiveness once again.  Verse five adds, Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.  The people of Israel might attempt to blame God for being angry with them, but they were not accepting the fact that the responsibility for God's anger with them was because of their actions.  We can never blame God if He has withdrawn His protection from us, but must look at our own actions instead.  Verse six declares, The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.  God asked Jeremiah if he had seen what the people of Israel had done, playing the harlot with false gods on all the high places.  They were not just failing to follow and worship God, but were actively worshipping false gods for all the world to see.  We, as followers of Christ, need to make sure that we never in any way chase after false gods, whatever they may be, and we certainly better never do so for all the world to see.  Verse seven adds, And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.  God said even after the people of Israel did these things that He called on them to return to Him, but they would not, and the people of Judah, the rest of God's chosen people were the same.  God will always call on people to repent, and He will especially call on His people to repent if they have strayed away from Him.  Verse eight continues, And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.  God said when He put away the people of Israel that the people of Judah did not learn from this, but that they turned their backs on Him as well.  We should learn from others who have strayed away from God and not make the same mistakes that thy have made.  Verse nine says, And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.  God told Jeremiah that by worshipping false gods that His chosen people had defiled the land.  Verse ten adds, And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.  God again told Jeremiah that the people of Israel and Judah had turned away from Him with all their heart.   

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.