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.

Jeremiah 5:1

 Jeremiah 5:1 says. Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.  God challenged the people of Israel to look everywhere in Jerusalem and see if they could find anyone who executed judgment fairly.  The implication was that there wasn't even one who did, and God said if they found one, then He would pardon Jerusalem.  These were God's chosen people, but they had abandoned Him.  Verse two states, And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.  God said that although they professed to follow God with their words, that they did so falsely.  It is not enough to pay lip service to God.  Verse three says, O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.  Then, Jeremiah asked if God had not already been bringing His judgment on them and they were not listening.  When we as followers of Christ stray away from God we should not be surprised if we lose His protection today.  Verse four declares, Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God.  Jeremiah said the people of Israel were poor and foolish and asked God if they had not suffered enough.  Yet, if they were this way, it was because of their refusal to follow God, and therefore it did not excuse them.  Even if we are poor and foolish, we are not excused from being obedient to God as Christians.  Verse five says, I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.  Then Jeremiah said that the rich were insolent and haughty according to Matthew Henry.  Our material success does not excuse us from following God.  Verse six declares, Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.  God said because of their turning away from Him that He was going to allow an enemy to come upon them like a lion out of the forest, and that they would be slain and they would be torn to pieces because their transgressions were many and their backslidings were only increasing.  Verse seven asks, How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.  God asked how He could forgive them when they had abandoned Him, even though He had blessed them, and had gone chasing after other gods.  Verse eight adds, They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour’s wife.  I believe this means that even though God had blessed the people, they were not content with what they had but wanted what their neighbor had as well.  Verse nine continues, Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?  God asked Jeremiah if He was not justified in His actions toward the people of Israel because of their actions toward Him.  God never acts capriciously toward us, but He has offered everyone a way to salvation.  It is up to each individual to accept this salvation, and if we do, then God expects us to be faithful to Him, whether we are rich or poor.  Verse ten concludes, Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD’s.   God said that He would allow the people of Israel to be defeated because they were no longer relying on His protection.  If we fail to be obedient to God as Christians, we should not be surprised if He allows us to be defeated by the world today.

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.