Jer 4:14-18
14 Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem,
That you may be saved.
How long will your wicked thoughts
Lodge within you?
15 For a voice declares from Dan,
And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.
16 “Report it to the nations, now!
Proclaim over Jerusalem,
‘Besiegers come from a far country,
And lift their voices against the cities of Judah.
17 ‘Like watchmen of a field they are against her round about,
Because she has rebelled against Me,’ declares the Lord.
18 “Your ways and your deeds
Have brought these things to you.
This is your evil. How bitter!
How it has touched your heart!”
NASB
We might have a tendency to look at all that Jeremiah was prophesying against Israel and see it as a decision that God had come to on His own. But look at who God thinks is responsible for what is happening to Israel. Verse 18 tells us “your ways” and “your deeds” is the reason this is happening. It was Israel’s choices to ignore the Lord. It was their evil that has brought about these events. It is not God who is acting willy nilly on the basis of what He wills. All of what is happening to Israel is their responsibility and it falls back on them. The lesson is clear for us to see. Choosing to honor God with our lives brings about certain results. Choosing not to honor God with our lives brings about a different set of circumstances and opens up the potential for evil. Each and every day we make that decision. Do I live for God today, or do I live for myself?
Jeremiah 4:9-12
9″It shall come about in that day,” declares the LORD, “that the (U)heart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be appalled and the (V)prophets will be astounded.”
10Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have utterly (W)deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘(X)You will have peace’; whereas a sword touches the throat.”
11In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A (Y)scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness in the direction of the daughter of My people–not to winnow and not to cleanse,
12a wind too strong for this–will come at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.
There is one thing that stands out to me in this passage more than anything else does. In the midst of Kings and princes failing (it means to come to their knees because of what has happened) and the strong winds blowing (judgements on Israel) Jeremiah makes a unique and profound confession. “Ah, Lord God!” What he is doing as he watches God bring about His purposes is to declare God’s Sovereignty over all. He does not complain. He does not try to figure it all out. He simply acknowledges that God is in control. That’s something we can rest in each and every day and through each and every event we face. God has a direction he is taking our lives. Be glad it is not in the direction He was taking Israel at this time. But don’t forget, whatever direction that is, He is Sovereign and in control. He has a plan!
The Failure of the Pharisees - Part 9
Matthew 23:29-39
7-27-08
Jer 4:5-8
5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,
” Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry aloud and say,
‘ Assemble yourselves, and let us go
Into the fortified cities.’
6 “Lift up a standard toward Zion!
Seek refuge, do not stand still,
For I am bringing evil from the north,
And great destruction.
7 “A lion has gone up from his thicket,
And a destroyer of nations has set out;
He has gone out from his place
To make your land a waste.
Your cities will be ruins
Without inhabitant.
8 “For this, put on sackcloth,
Lament and wail;
For the fierce anger of the Lord
Has not turned back from us.”
There comes a day when even repentance will mean nothing before the Lord. In that day His great patience is spent. His great mercy is turned aside and His judgement will indeed fall. For those in Israel in the time of Jeremiah, the day had come. God had done everything He could to call Israel back to Himself. He sent His prophets and they were murdered. He sent many a calamity but once they were passed over, the people ignored the warnings. Reading the Old Testament can scare your heart when you realize there comes a day when it is to late to repent. That day could be approaching the world we are a part of today. I am not a prophet, but what I learn from passages like this moves me to do what I can before it is too late. God’s mercy is available still today. His grace is still being poured out amongst the nations. Will you make the effort to blow the trumpet, to warn the people:
Jer 4:3-4
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,
“Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns.
4 “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord
And remove the foreskins of your heart,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Lest My wrath go forth like fire
And burn with none to quench it,
Because of the evil of your deeds.”
NASB
We make choices everyday. Choices that effect what we look like, where we go, what we get done and who we spend time with doing things. The most important choice we make everyday is whether or not we will live our lives for God’s glory or whether we will live our lives for our own desires and pleasure. Jeremiah was a spokesman for the Lord calling Israel to that place of making a choice to follow God. He calls for Israel to choose to have a changed heart and a changed mind. Is that what you want? The consequences of choosing something other than the Lord will eventually lead to an out pouring of His wrath. Is that what you want? I choose the Lord and call upon Him to change my heart and mind, to remove the hardness in me so that I would automatically choose Him in every situation life throws my way. We do have choices and those choices do have consequences. Choose God’s way at work in you!
Jer 4:1-2
4 “If you will return, O Israel,” declares the Lord,
“Then you should return to Me.
And if you will put away your detested things from My presence,
And will not waver,
2 And you will swear,’As the Lord lives,’
In truth, in justice, and in righteousness;
Then the nations will bless themselves in Him,
And in Him they will glory.”
Do you realize that how we live will determine if the nations will be blessed by God? The Lord calls Israel back to Himself and in this prophecy tells them their coming back in truth and justice and righteousness will actually bless all the nations. It goes along with what we talked about a few days ago. People are looking for truth and they are looking for what really works in life. A lot of people have rejected Christianity because of Christians who do not reflect the truth, justice and righteousness of God. As we begin this week, let’s surrender our days to being effectively reflecting who God really is and that we truly belong to Him. That does not mean work harder at being more Christian. It means humbling ourselves before our God and letting Him make the heart changes and the transformation of the mind we need to live for Him. God bless you this week!
Jer 3:19-25
19 “Then I said,
‘How I would set you among My sons,And give you a pleasant land,The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’And I said, ‘You shall call Me, My Father,And not turn away from following Me.’ 20 “Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her lover,So you have dealt treacherously with Me,O house of Israel,” declares the Lord.
21 A voice is heard on the bare heights,The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel;Because they have perverted their way,They have forgotten the Lord their God. 22 “Return, O faithless sons,I will heal your faithlessness.”"Behold, we come to Thee;For Thou art the Lord our God. 23 “Surely, the hills are a deception,A tumult on the mountains.Surely, in the Lord our GodIs the salvation of Israel.
24 “But the shameful thing has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 “Let us lie down in our shame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, since our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
There is no question that Israel and Judah had abandoned their God. But what I want you to notice in these verses is the corporate confession. There is a place in the scriptures for reflecting on the sins of those who have been before us and the culture of the day. The confession is not just about personal sin, but seeing and identifying our involvement with the sin of the culture. Pay attention to verse 24 and 25 where the pronoun “we”
is used to confess corporate sin. Look at what has taken place in our culture today. Do you pray and ask God’s forgiveness because “WE” have abandoned His ways? Do you take ownership for the sins of your family? Nehemiah did! Daniel did! Isaiah did! Corporate confession sees my own sin nature as a part of the problem between God and man and includes ourselves in the prayer of repentence for the culture. The people of God cry out to Him as a people and fall before Him as a people. Perhaps we are so caught up in our own struggle that we do not realize the importance of being a part of the body of Christ. Think about it as you call out to God in prayer this weekend. God be with you all as you pursue Him daily!
Jer 3:15-18
15 “Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. 16 “And it shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land,” declares the Lord, “they shall say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ And it shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they miss it, nor shall it be made again. 17 “At that time they shall call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the Lord,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord; nor shall they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18 “In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.
God extends Grace to His people and then gives them the promise of restoration. There is hope in repentance. Not only does it bring the grace of God to bear on our sin, but it opens the door for restoration. God promised His people the results of their repentance would be a restored nation and a restored relationship with Him. It’s not just about coming to grips with our own sin, but it is about being restored to the God we sinned against. When we embrace repentance God embraces us and grants to us a restored place in His presence. A place that is lost when we sin against Him. Repentance brings hope and life! If sin stands between you and God I suggest you take the route of repentance and restoration!
Jer 3:11-14
11 And the Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 “Go, and proclaim these words toward the north and say,
‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord;
‘I will not look upon you in anger.
For I am gracious,’ declares the Lord;
‘I will not be angry forever.
13 ‘Only acknowledge your iniquity,
That you have transgressed against the Lord your God
And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the Lord.
14 ‘Return, O faithless sons,’ declares the Lord;’
For I am a master to you,
And I will take you one from a city and two from a family,
And I will bring you to Zion.’
God is gracious! Even though Israel had abandon God for other Gods. Even though they had sinned grieviously against the Lord. Still, God calls them back. He calls them to repentance and forgiveness and is willing to forgive their sin if they would “only acknowledge your iniquity.” Why is it so hard to turn away from sin and back to God? Why is it so difficult to admit our failure and seek His grace? It is available to those who would acknowledge their sin and turn back to the Lord. It is not free forgiveness or a short memory on God’s part. It is a willingness (because of the cross) to extend grace when we admit to God our need. If you have fallen short or have grown apathetic in your relationship with Him, simply turn back and agree with God that you need His grace and it is yours!
