Jeremiah 7:21

 Jeremiah 7:21 says, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.  I believe that God was telling the people of Judah that their burnt offerings were just as unacceptable as their sacrifices.  Burnt offerings were supposed to be completely consumed, but God told them that they might as well leave some to eat for all the good they were doing.  Verse twenty-two states, For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:  Verse twenty-three adds, But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.  God said that the sacrifices were never about the ritual, but about the covenant relationship between the people of Israel and Him.  They were a sign of obedience.  Our service to God today is still about obedience to our relationship with Him and not about any particular ritual that we may go through claiming to worship Him.  Verse twenty-four declares, But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.  God said that the people would not listen to Him but walked in their own council.  As followers of Christ, we need to make sure that we are listening to Him and not just claiming that whatever we decide to do is His will.  Verse twenty-five continues, Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:  God said that ever since He led the people of Israel out of Egypt that He had sent prophets that rose up early to proclaim His word, but that the people would not listen to them.  We have preachers today to proclaim God's word, but we have One even greater, the Holy Spirit, to guide us, from the time we get up to the time we go to bed, and even through the night, but the question is do we listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Verse twenty-six concludes, Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.  God said that His chosen people did not listen to Him.  We must never reach the point that as Christians we have stopped listening to God when He speaks to us, and He will speak to us.  Verse twenty-seven declares, Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.  God told Jeremiah that he was to speak all of God's message to the people, but they would not listen.  If we were given the same task today, being told by God to witness to people who would not listen, would be faithfully do so?  It is only our responsibility to witness, and it is God's responsibility to bring about fruit from our witness.  We are not excused by saying that nobody listens anyway.  Verse twenty-eight adds, But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.  God told Jeremiah that he was to tell the people of Judah that they did not listen to God.  This was not going to be a popular message, because the people wanted to claim that they were still God's people.  Verse twenty-nine says, Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.  Jeremiah was to call the people to true repentance. even if they would not obey.  We are to call people to true repentance today through faith in Jesus Christ, even if they will not listen.  Verse thirty adds, For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.  God said His judgment was coming because the people of Judah had polluted His house.  Since as followers of Christ our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, we need to insure that we do not pollute it.  Verse thirty-one continues, And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.  God said the people of Judah were even offering child sacrifices, which He neither commanded nor would never have even thought of.  We need to be careful that we do not attempt to claim that things that we do are acts of worship to God if they are not in accordance with His word.  Verse thirty-two states, Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.  God said that the place where these child sacrifices were being done would be destroyed and completely forgotten.  Verse thirty-three adds,  And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.  The people who had been carrying out these sacrifices were to become food for the birds.  They wouldn't even have a proper burial.  Verse thirty-four concludes, Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.  God told Jeremiah that there was going to be no happiness left in the cities of Judah.  If we are outside the will of God today, there  can be no real happiness in our lives.  No matter the situation, true happiness comes only from God.

Jeremiah 7:21 says,

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Jeremiah 7:1

 Jeremiah 7:1 says, The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Verse two adds, Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.  God told Jeremiah to stand in the gates of the LORD's house and proclaim His word, telling all who entered to hear what He said.  We should always go to God's house expecting to hear what He has to say, even if it is not what we want to hear, and what is preached there should always be God's word.  Verse three declares, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.  God called on the people of Israel to amend their ways.  They had turned away from following Him, and needed to return to Him.  God said if they did that He would cause them to dwell in this place.  Verse four adds, Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.  God called on the people of Israel to not trust in lying words that proclaimed His temple to be something other than what it was.  Today, the church should be a place where we gather and worship God and learn about Him, and if we make it anything else, we are promoting a lie.  Verse five proclaims, For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;   Verse six adds, If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:  God then pointed out several things that the people of Israel were doing that they should not have been doing, and called on them to thoroughly amend their ways.  They were not dealing justly with their neighbors and were oppressing strangers, the fatherless, and widows.  They were shedding innocent blood and were following after other gods.  When we begin to stray away from God as Christians, He will let us know and call us to repent and follow His guidance in our lives.  Verse seven states, Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.  God again gave them the promise that if they would return to Him, He would cause them to live in this land that He had promised to their fathers forever.  This promise was always based on the people of Israel being obedient to God.  Though we are saved through faith in Christ alone, after we are saved God expects us to be obedient to His word.  If we are not, we do not lose our salvation, but we lose the joy of our salvation.  God will always let us know when we are not being obedient to Him and will always call us to repentance.  Verse eight adds,  Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.  God said that the people of Israel trusted lying words, and if we put our trust in anything other than God's word today, we are doing the same thing.  Verse nine asks, Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;  This was another indictment against the people of Israel.  God asked if they would do these things because they were.  We need to make sure that God does not have a long list of sins that we are still committing as followers of Christ, His people, just as the people of Israel were supposed to be His people then.  If He does, then something is wrong with our obedience, and we need to change it.  Verse ten adds, And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?  God asked if they would come before Him in His house and claim that they were delivered to commit all these abominations.  The house was called by God's name, but the people were proclaiming the ways of the world to be God's way.  Verse eleven then asks, Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.  God said that His house had become a den of robbers, and that He had seen it.  We need to be certain that God knows what is going on in the world today, especially with those who are His people.

Jeremiah 6:18

 Jeremiah 6:18 says, Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Verse nineteen adds, Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.  God called on not just the people of Judah to hear what He said, but for the whole world to.  God was going to bring judgment on the people of Judah,  God never left any doubt when He was bringing judgment, and there will be no doubt when He does at the second coming of Christ.  Verse twenty asks, To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.  God asked why the people went through the motions of sacrificing to Him, when the sacrifices had no real meaning to the people who made them.  We can give the most expensive things we have to God, but if we have no real faith in Him, it will mean nothing.  Verse twenty-one declares, Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.  God would not allow His people to continue to fail to follow Him and still bless them.  The things that they followed instead of following God would become stumbling blocks to them, and they would all fall together.  Verse twenty-two states, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.  Verse twenty-three adds, They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.  God warned the people of Judah of the coming of the army of the Chaldeans.  God warns us today as followers of Christ of the coming of evil all around us.  The forces of evil are powerful, and it is only by faith in God and by following His leadership that we are able to overcome it.  Verse twenty-four says, We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.  The people of Judah said that they had heard of the power of the Chaldeans and it left them feeling weak and powerless, because they were looking at their own strength and not at the power of God.  If we start to feel weak and afraid today because of the power of evil in the world, we need to look to God for strength.  Verse twenty-five adds, Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.  God's chosen people warned each other to not go about every day life because of fear.  We, as Christians, can never allow fear of the world to keep us from living our normal lives, because God is with us no matter what happens.  Verse twenty-six says, O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.  The women were called to mourn as they would at the death of an only son, because the spoiler would come upon them suddenly.  Verse twenty-seven declares, I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.  God said that He had set Jeremiah over the people of Judah to be a tower and a fortress and for him to observe the people of Judah.  We. if we are God's people, are a fortress against evil today if we are being obedient to Him.  We can observe all the evil that is going on in the world, and when we do we must stand firm for God.  Verse twenty-eight adds, They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.  God told Jeremiah that when he observed the people of Judah that he would see how corrupt they had become.  We need to pray that those who profess to be followers of Christ today never reach the same point.  We cannot walk in slander and revolt against God and still be His people in spirit and truth.  Verse twenty-nine continues, The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.  God said that their actions were like metal being put through the forge, but without the impurities being burned away.  Their worship of God was in vain, because they really did not believe in Him.  Verse thirty concludes, Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.  God said the people of Judah would be called reprobate silver by the world, because He had rejected them.  We need to live by faith and follow the will of God in all that we do, or we will be called the same.

Jeremiah 6:9

 Jeremiah 6:9 says, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.  God said that Israel would be thoruoghly defeated. and that the remnant would be gleaned.  The Chaldeans would be in Judah and Jerusalem for a long time, and they would not be satisfied until everything was theirs.  Verse ten declares, To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.  God had told Jeremiah to give the warning to the people, but Jeremiah asked to whom should he speak, since the people refused to hear.  They had grown deaf to the word of God.  When God sends a warning to us today, we had better be ready to acknowledge it and not have grown so deaf to His word that we are unable to hear Him.  Jeremiah said that the word of God had simply become a reproach to the people of Judah, and therefore they did not want to hear it.  Verse eleven adds, Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.  Jeremiah said that he was full of fury of the LORD, and he was weary of holding in what God had for him to say to them.  Jeremiah was not wanting to pronounce this doom on the people, but it was God's word and to not speak it was very tiresome to him.  He then said he would pour out the word of God on them.  We may not want to speak what God tells us to speak today, but we cannot afford to hold in the word of God when He gives it to us.  Verse twelve says, And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD.  The word of God that Jeremiah was to proclaim was of coming destruction.  The word that we have for the lost people of the world today is of coming destruction if they do not hear and heed the word of God which calls them to salvation.  Verse thirteen adds, For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.  God said that all of those who were supposed to be His people had given in to covetousness, from the least to the greatest. and that the prophets and priests dealt falsely.  Neither financial nor religious status exempts us from being held accountable to God.  Verse fourteen states, They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.  God said that the prophets and priests declared peace when there was no peace.  Verse fifteen asks, Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.  God asked if the people were ashamed when they committed abominations, and then answered that they were not.  If we are out of God's will today, it should bring us shame if we are a follower of Christ, and if it doesn't, then something is wrong with our relationship with God, and we had better listen to Him and make it right.  Verse sixteen declares, Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.  God called on the people of Judah and Jerusalem too return to the old paths, the way that God guided them, and told them that they would find rest, but they refused.  If we stray away from God today, we need to return to the path of righteousness, and we can be certain that God will call on us to return.  Verse seventeen adds, Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.  God said that He had set watchmen over them and that they should listen to the sound of the trumpet warning them, but they would not.  God has given us a lot of warnings today about the coming judgment of Christ, and we need to heed them.

Jeremiah 6:1

 Jeremiah 6:1 says, O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.  Jeremiah gave the people of Benjamin a dire warning.  They were to flee before the army coming from the north.  Benjamin occupied a part of Jerusalem, and although everything appeared safe, God said that destruction was coming because of His judgment.  Even if they were to flee Jerusalem and attempt to set up defenses elsewhere, the outcome would be the same.  Verse two adds, I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.  God said that the people of Israel were like a delicate woman who knew no hardship and was ill prepared to handle it.  Matthew Henry says this points out that the more that we live in luxury the less able we are to handle problems when they come.  God had not really called the people of Israel to a life of luxury but to a life of service, and the same is true for us today as followers of Christ.  Verse three states, The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.  Those who were coming against Jerusalem and the people of Benjamin were compared to shepherds, who are used to hard work with very little comfort from the things of this world.  Matthew Henry says this can also mean that the land that the people of Israel occupied was desirable to the Chaldeans, and that they would easily take it.  Without God to protect them, the people of Israel were not an impressive force to be dealt with.  We need to realize that when we are out of God's will that we are easily defeated by the evil that is all around us.  Verse four declares, Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.  The Chaldeans resolved to prepare for war, even in the heat of the day.  We cannot choose to fight against evil only when it is convenient for us to do so, but must face it head on no matter the time of day.  Verse five adds, Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.  Again, the time of day did not matter.  The invading army was ready to fight at anytime day or night, and the enemies of God still are today.  Verse six states, For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.  We are given the reason for God allowing His chosen people to be defeated.  They had become wholly oppressive to God's will and calling.  The Chaldeans may have thought that they were being successful by their own power, but they were only successful because God had removed His protective hand from the people of Israel.  As long as we are obedient to God, we can never be defeated spiritually, even if we lose our life in this world, but if we begin to ignore God as His people, then we will see how easy it is for the world to lead us away from Him.  Verse seven continues, As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds.  God said that the wickedness of the people of Israel flowed like a fountain.  Verse eight declares, Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.  God called on the people of Jerusalem to listen to Him once more unless they wanted to be made a desolate land.  God will always call on His people to listen to Him, and He gives us a warning of the destruction that will come if we do not.

Jeremiah 5:20

 Jeremiah 5:20 says, Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,  Verse twenty-two adds, Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:  Jeremiah was to publish, or I believe proclaim more than write down, this warning to God's people.  God said that they had eyes but couldn't see and ears but couldn't hear.  This was not referring to physical sight and hearing, but to spiritual.  Verse twenty-two asks, Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?  God asked if His chosen people did not fear Him, or have respect for Him.  God said that His power was so great that He created the sand for a perpetual decree and that even the sea could not destroy it.  Verse twenty-three declares, But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.  God said that His people had a revolting and rebellious heart and were gone from Him.  Whenever we are out of God's will. it is because of our revolting and rebellious heart, and if we find our self in that situation, we need to repent and return to following God.  Verse twenty-four adds, Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.  God said that the people of Israel and Judah, since they were a divided nation at this time, neither one put their faith in Him, though He blessed them with the rain needed for growing crops.  If we have blessings from God today, do we thank and praise Him for them, or do we simply feel that we deserve them for some reason?  Verse twenty-five continues, Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.  God said that their sins caused them to not have His blessing and that the good things of God were withheld from them.  Verse twenty-six says, For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.  God said that His chosen people were now wicked men who set traps for others.  Being one of God's people in name only will never be worth much spiritually, and it doesn't matter who ones parents are, because we must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in order to be saved.  Verse twenty-seven states, As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.  God said that the people of Israel had become great and rich in the eyes of the world, but at the same time they had turned their backs on Him.  Their riches had trapped them like a cage full of birds are still trapped, no matter how many of them there may be.  Verse twenty-eight continues, They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.  God said that even though the people had grown fat that they did not care for those in need.  God does not call us to live in million dollar houses while those around us go hungry.  Verse twenty-nine asks, Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?  This was a rhetorical question asked by God.  He was basically asking if the people did not realize that He saw these things.  We need to realize that God not only sees all that we do but knows why we do it as well.  We will never fool God.  Verse thirty declares, A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;  Then verse thirty-one concludes, The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?  The wonderful and horrible thing that God spoke of was the fact that even the priests did not obey God, but prophesied by their own understanding and power.  We, as followers of Christ, cannot afford to begin to proclaim the things of this world as God's word.

Jeremiah 5:11

 Jeremiah 5:11 says, For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD.  God said that even though His people were divided into two nations, Israel and Judah, they were united in dealing treacherously with Him.  As God's people today as Christians, we must be united in working for God and not in working against Him.  Verse twelve adds, They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:  God's people said that it was not His word that said that they were going to be destroyed.  They refused to believe anything bad was going to happen to them.  Some today claim that God only wants what is good for us materially and refuse to believe that they are called to put their material desires behind standing firm for God even in adversity.  Verse thirteen states, And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.  God said even those who were supposed to be His prophets were basically full of hot air, claiming that what God had said was not true.  Matthew Henry says that this means that the people would not listen to the prophets, but I understand it to mean that the prophets themselves were not proclaiming the truth of God.  Verse fourteen declares, Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.  God said that the word of Jeremiah, who was speaking the truth of God, would be as a fire consuming those who did not believe him and were possibly even making fun of him.  We cannot follow Christ and follow the teachings of those who teach things that are contrary to His word, even if they are religious leaders, but at the same time, we must recognize the truth of God when it is spoken.  Verse fifteen adds, Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.  God said that the people of Israel were about to be destroyed by a nation that was a mighty nation and whose language they did not even understand.  Verse sixteen says, Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.  Then verse seventeen adds, And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.  Through Jeremiah, God warned the people of Israel and Judah that they were going to lose everything they had and that they would recognize the inability of their fenced cities to protect them.  When we begin to trust in the things of this world and ignore the word of God, we will ultimately lose everything that we have valued more than God.  Verse eighteen declares, Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you.  God said that He would not allow all of His people to be destroyed.  Even in their lowest point spiritually as God's people, there was still a remnant that were true to Him.  We must individually make sure that no matter what the rest of the world is doing that we remain true to God.  Verse nineteen adds, And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.  God said that when those who were supposed to be His people asked how God could allow these things to happen, that He would respond by reminding them that they had not been faithful to Him.  They had chased after other gods.  If we find ourselves to be suffering in the world today as followers of Christ, we need to make sure that it is because of our faith in God and not because we have been chasing after false gods.