Jeremiah 9:17

Jeremiah 9:17 says, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come:  God called for the mourning women and the cunning women who knew how to write songs of mourning to be called for.  These were fake mourners, who knew how to go through the motions but who really felt no genuine sadness.  Verse eighteen adds, And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.  God called for them to come with haste so that they could cry tears without meaning.  The people of Judah were still enjoying life, and God said maybe the false mourners would point out their false happiness.  Verse nineteen declares, For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out.  God said the people would be confused when they were cast out of their homes and had to seek shelter.  They would ask how this had happened.  Matthew Henry says that they were more concerned with the loss of their possessions than they were with the sin that led to them losing them.  If we find ourselves in a bad situation, we need to be more concerned with our relationship with God than we are with any material things that we may lose.  Verse twenty adds, Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.  God told the women to teach their daughters and neighbors mourning. The time of mourning was going to last for awhile.  Matthew Henry says that it was the women who were to do this because the men would not listen.  God will work through the women of God today, especially if the men of God will not listen.  Verse twenty-one says, For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.  God said that there was a time for real mourning, because death had come to them.  The faith of the people of Judah had become false, but the mourning would be real.  When our faith in God becomes weak or false, then we set ourselves up for mourning, spiritually if not physically.  Verse twenty-two declares, Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.  What was to be spoken was God's word, and that is what we need to speak today, even if people do not want to hear it.  Death and destruction were coming, and yet God's people were still speaking of the good times and denying it.  Verse twenty-three says, Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:  God said that people were not to glory in their earthly status, and neither should we today.  Verse twenty-four adds, But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.  God said that if people wanted to delight in something that they should delight in Him, not because of what He might give them but because of Who He is.  We need to delight in the Lord always if we are followers of Christ, no matter how much or how little we may have in the world.  Verse twenty-five declares, Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;  God said the time was coming when He would punish both those who should have been His people, the circumcised, along with those who never were His people.  Going through the motions of being a follower of Christ means nothing if we have not truly accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse twenty-six adds, Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.  God said that the people of the other nations were uncircumcised, or had never entered into a covenant relationship with Him, and that even though the people of Judah were circumcised, or identified as God's people, that their hearts were not committed to Him.  If we are to be true Christians today, we must be circumcised in  the heart, or have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  When we do it should affect all that we think and do.

Jeremiah 9:09

 Jeremiah 9:09 says, Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?  God asked Jeremiah if He were not justified in bringing punishment on the people of Judah for their revolting against Him. God knew that He was, so I believe that the question was asked so that Jeremiah might look at what was going on and understand why God was allowing this to happen.  We need to acknowledge that if we are punished by God that it will not be because He wants to punish us, but because we deserve it.  Verse ten states, For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.  God said that the destruction was coming, and that He was deeply saddened by it.  God gives everyone and opportunity to repent and come to Him for salvation, and He weeps for those who do not.  Still, God cannot overlook sin, so if someone will not come to Him through the sacrifice of Christ, then God will allow them to go away into everlasting punishment.  Verse eleven adds, And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.  God said all the cities of Judah were going to be desolate and without inhabitants.  The sin of the people of Judah had become so great that their destruction was to be just as great.  Verse twelve asks, Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?  Jeremiah asked who the wise man was who would understand what was going to happen and why and declare it to the people of Judah.  Matthew Henry says that they were proud of their wise men and prophets who proclaimed only good things, but asked if there were any who really understood what was going on in Judah.  We do not need to be wise in our own understanding, but we need to be wise in the word of God.  Verse thirteen declares, And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;  God gave the indictment against the people of Israel.  They had forsaken His law, had not obeyed His voice, and did not walk in His ways.  The first step in being out of God's will is to not listen to His voice.  Verse fourteen adds, But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:  God said that instead of following Him that the people of Judah followed their own imagination and false gods.  If we begin to follow our own imagination, we should not be surprised if we are soon following after false gods.  Verse fifteen declares, Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.  God basically said that He was no longer going to bless Judah and provide the best for them but was going to let them eat and drink of the bitter things of the world.  No matter how successful we may believe that we are, if we are out of the will of God, then we are eating and drinking of the dregs of the world.  Verse sixteen adds, I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.  God said instead of gathering His people, who by now were His in name only, together and protecting them that He was going to scatter them and allow the forces of the world to defeat them.  As followers of Christ, if we allow the things of the world to come between God and us, we should not be surprised that the world defeats us.  

Jeremiah 9:1

Jeremiah 9:1 says, Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!  Jeremiah was very distraught by what was happening to the the people of Judah.  He said he would cry day and night if he could.  We should be just as upset that people will not come to God today.  Verse two adds, Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.  Jeremiah said that he wished that he had a place to live in the wilderness so that he would not have to be around the adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.  I believe that he was speaking more about their spiritual condition than their physical one.  At time, we may feel that we are surrounded by treacherous people and only want to get away from them all, but this is not what God called us to do.  Verse three states, And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.  Jeremiah said that he felt this way because God had revealed to him the true nature of the people.  He did not just make this determination on His own.  If we judge others to be guilty of sin. it must be because God has led us to that knowledge.  We are not called to judge others, but we are called to apply God's word to the way people live their lives.  Verse four declares, Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.  Jeremiah warned the people of Judah to beware of their neighbor, because they all walked in slander.  This was God's chosen people that Jeremiah was talking about.  We need to make sure that as followers of Christ that we do not deal falsely and speak in slander with other people.  Verse five adds, And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.  Jeremiah said that they had taught themselves to continually speak in lies.  There are many lies that are proclaimed as truth in the world today, but we as Christians cannot afford to be a part of those who spread the lies.  Verse six continues, Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.  God said that the people lived in deceit and refused to return to Him.  If we find that we have bought into the deceit of the world today, we need to return to God if we are Christians.  Verse seven declares, Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?  God said that He would test His people to see if they really were His people.  God is not going to destroy those who are truly His.  Verse eight adds, Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.  God said that even though the people spoke of peace with their neighbor that they were really lying.  It is one thing to declare that we want only peace and what is best for our neighbor, but it is another thing to really mean it.  Our words and our actions and thoughts must be consistent with our belief in God.

Jeremiah 8:12

 Jeremiah 8:12 says, Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.  God asked if the people of Judah were ashamed that they committed an abomination, and then answered that they were not.  It is not whether we claim to be ashamed if we commit a sin, but whether God knows that we are that matters.  God said because of the sin of the people of Judah and their refusal to even acknowledge it and be ashamed of it that they were going to fall.  Verse thirteen adds, I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.  God said that He was going to remove all the good things that He had blessed the people of Judah with from them.  We as followers of Christ need to acknowledge that all good things come from God, and if He removes His protective hand from us, then we are going to fall.  Verse fourteen asks, Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.  The people of Judah were falling into despair, and asked why they were sitting still instead of going into the defensed cities, where they could remain silent because there was no need to complain because God had put them to silence.  They were basically blaming God instead of repenting and returning to Him.  How often do we hear people say that they cannot believe that God is letting something happen to them, when they should be praising God for His love and mercy even when their life seems to be going terribly wrong.  Verse fifteen adds, We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!  The people of Judah said they were looking for peace, but none came.  If we look for peace outside of the will of God, it is never going to be found.  Verse sixteen says, The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein.  They had heard of the strength of the coming cavalry, still they did not return to God.  Verse seventeen declares, For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.  God said not only did the people of Judah have to worry about the coming army, but they had to worry about pestilences that He was going to send as well.  If we are out of God's will as Christians, the problems that the world can send our way are the least of our worries.  What God may do to cause us to repent and return to Him should be our basic concern.  Verse eighteen states, When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.  Jeremiah said he wished that he could find comfort in the situation, but he could not.  We can never find true comfort if we are out of God's will, and we should never find comfort in having to confront others who are, even if God directs us to.  Verse nineteen says,  Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?  God said that the people might cry out, but they didn't do so in repentance.  They continued to worship graven images.  Verse twenty adds, The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.  I believe that God was saying that the time for repentance was past, and the people had not repented and therefore were not saved.  Verse twenty-one states, For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. Jeremiah was very saddened by what was going to happen to the people of Judah, just as we should be saddened by what is going to happen to those who do not accept Jesus Crist as Savior and Lord.  Verse twenty-two asks, Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?  Jeremiah asked if there was no way for the people to be healed, and there was if they had accepted it.  God is the balm for all our ailments, but if we do not put our faith and trust in Him, then we will never be healed spiritually.

Jeremiah 8:1

Jeremiah 8:1 says, At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves:  God said that the bones of the the kings, princes, priests and prophets of Judah would be removed from their graves.  These were both the past  governmental and religious leaders of Israel.  Matthew Henry says that death was no longer a resting place, but that even in death the people of Israel would find no peace.  Verse two adds, And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.  God also told Jeremiah that the bones of people of Judah would be spread before the sun, moon and host of heaven, whom they had served, walked after, sought and worshipped.  Again, these were the government and religious leaders of Judah.  Had they been faithful to God, this would not have been happening.  Not that it really matters what happens to our bodies after we die, but it would be a terrible thing if this were our fate after death, in the eyes of those left alive.  Verse three continues, And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.  God told Jeremiah that even with this horrible situation after death that the people of Judah would still prefer death over the life that they were forced to live under the Chaldeans.  Many people today choose spiritual death with all the horrors that it brings over spiritual life through faith in Jesus Christ with all the joys that it brings.  Verse four states, Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?  God asked Jeremiah if a person fell, would they not get back up, or if they got off track would they not return to it.  Verse five adds, Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.  God then asked Jeremiah why the people of Judah, who were spiritually peretually backslidden, would not return to Him.  If we find ourselves out of the will of God today, do we refuse to return to Him?  There is a difference between backsliding and being perpetually backslidden.  We are all going to at times fail to live up to our calling as Christians, but to have it become a way of life with no thoughts of returning to God is something else.  Verse six adds, I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.  God told Jeremiah that He listened for the people to call out to Him in repentance, but they did not.  The people of Judah continued to go their own way outside the leadership of God.  As followers of Christ, if we are outside of the will of God today, He will be listening for us to repent and return to Him.  God never just periodically abandons His people, but if we find that God no longer seems to be in our life, we need to see where we went astray and return to Him.  Verse seven says, Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.  God said that the animals knew the way of the world better than His people knew the way of God.  The people of Judah refused to hear God's word.  No matter how many times we may read God's word, the Bible, or hear it preached, until we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord the words will have no meaning in our life.  Verse eight asks, How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.  God said that the people of Judah claimed to have the word of God, but it had no meaning to them.  Verse nine declares, The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?   God told Jeremiah that the wise men of Judah really had no wisdom, because they had rejected His word.  There are many people today who think themselves to be very wise, but they reject the word of God, so they have no real wisdom.  Wisdom comes from God, and not from the knowledge of the world.  Verse ten adds, Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.  God said because of the rebellion of the people of Judah that He was going to allow them to be destroyed.  When we fall out of the will of God,  we should not be surprised if we suffer defeat in this world.  Verse eleven declares, For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.  God said that the people of Judah were declaring peace when there was none.  If we today as Christians are out of God's will, there can be no peace.

Jeremiah 7:12

Jeremiah 7:12 says,  But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.  God told the people of Judah to go to Shiloh, where He first set His name, and see what He did to it for the wickedness of His people Israel.  Just being in a place where God has made Himself known is not enough if we turn to wickedness instead of following God.  Verse thirteen states, And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;  God said the people of Judah had done all these evil works and would not listen when He called them to repent.  We can be sure that God knows when we allow evil into our life, and He will always call us to repent.  Verse fourteen declares, Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.  God said that He was going to do to the people of Judah, who were called by His name, the same as He had done unto Shiloh.  God is not going to allow sin to go unpunished nor is He going to bless and protect those who are His in name only.  If we have truly accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we may still sin, but when God makes us aware of it we will confess it and ask His forgiveness I believe.  Verse fifteen adds, And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.  We had better hope that God never gets so tired of the people in America, who like to call themselves a Christian nation, that He casts us out of His sight.  Verse sixteen continues, Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.  God told Jeremiah to not even pray for the people of Judah, because it was too late.  There may come a point in time when our prayers no longer can change the outcome of a situation, because people or a person have already ignored God too long.  God's patience is not unlimited.  Verse seventeen asks, Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?  After God told Jeremiah not to pray for the people, He then told Him why.  God asked Jeremiah if he could not see the results of their sins in all that they did.  God was justified in His judgment, just as He always is.  Verse eighteen adds, The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.  God told Jeremiah that the people of Judah were actively worshipping other gods.  They were not even pretending to be true to God.  Verse nineteen asks, Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?  God asked Jeremiah if the people of Judah did not provoke Him to anger.  God said that their provocation of Him was to their own detriment.  We will never make God any less by our rebellion.  Verse twenty concludes, Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.  God said that His fury was to pour out on those who were called His people but were in total rebellion against Him.  If we do not accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, then one day we will have the fury of God poured out on us. 

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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