Jeremiah 9:7-9 – Be careful to only speak the truth

Continuing with Jeremiah, God knew that the people were living a life of lies and deceit. Hence for their refusal to take the easier path of being truthful, God will have to refine and assess them. There would be a shifting process so say God in Jeremiah 9:7.  In other words, for their refusal to walk with God, Judgment would be their inevitable experience. Yet judgment would not be so much a destruction as it would be a purification. Despite their defiance, God should exercise mercy in the midst of judgment seems hard to imagine. It baffles us to think that people should still persist to live ungratefully in sin, despite having such a gracious and merciful God.   

In Jeremiah 9:8-9 God assured them that there would be purging. A radical process of refining would have to be for them.  They had turned their tongues into deadly weapons, like poisonous arrows. Deceitfully, they would assure their neighbors that there would be peace, only to have them waylaid on the way. Everyone who weaponized their mouth that way would be dealt with. God was sure that what judgment int stalled for them would be justified. He would punish those people who chose to live in such a way that blurred the line between truth and lies.

 

Didn’t Jesus our Lord tell us to be careful with our speech in Matthew 12:36-37? He said that “…every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” The Lord Jesus' summation of the people that He was dealing with at that time was  “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” If we can discern a person from the content of their words, so can God. So be careful what we say, the actual state of our heart will be made known by our speech.  One quick piece of advice from James the brother of our Lord is worth taking note of.  He said, “But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger…” (James 1:19).

   

   

Jeremiah 9:2-6 – Living life truthfully

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet began in these verses (Jeremiah 9:2-9) with wishful thinking. He wished he could find a place where he could live like a hermit. A place where he could get away from the treacherous people of Judah. The words of verse 2 were exactly exclamation:  

“Oh that I had in the desert
A wayfarers’ lodging place;
That I might leave my people
And go from them!  

That I might leave my people and go from them.”

 

Jeremiah had reasons why he wished he could be as far away from these people as possible. So he stated his reasons in from the last two lines of verses 2 right through verse 6. Hear how he artfully described them. They were adulterers and a group of treacherous men.  People who were deceitful. Not a single truth would come out of the mouths. They would seek every opportunity to spread falsehood filling and polluting the land with their lies. Deplorably evil, these people would go one from one evil act to another. Jeremiah concluded that this was an obvious sign that they did not know God. They were a whole company of deceitful people. So in verse 4, he warned everyone to be on guard against his neighbors and even against his brothers. No one could be trusted to be truthful. They just wore themselves out slandering and lying. See how God concurred with Jeremiah in verse 6. God saw the land as a place full of deceit. Being deceived, they refused to know God, i.e. they refused to walk with Him. How true is the saying that none can be so blind as one who refuses to see!  

 

What is the remedy to a deceitful life? This is what the Apostle Peter tells us to do with deceit in 1 Peter 2:1-3. He said, “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” Growing in the Word deepens our relationship with God. We need to develop a passion for God's Word. Do find time to dig and mine the rich nutritious resources of God’s Word. As our lives are consumed by the Word of God, we will definitely grow in Him and hate a deceitful life.

 

 

 

Jeremiah 9:1 – Crying that makes sense

Thinking of the senseless suffering, the bloodshed, and the lost lives brought about by their stubborn rebelliousness, Jeremiah was overwhelmed with grief. He cried a bucket of tears. He literally bawled his eyes out.

 Reading Jeremiah 9:1 alone will justify the title of the weeping prophet he had been given. Here he said,

“Oh that my head were waters
And my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For the slain of the daughter of my people!”

This verse tells us that Jeremiah literally cried his eyes out. He cried unendingly yet he wished he could weep more. What he wanted to do was to arouse the people to their folly with his tears. His one desire was that his tears would awaken the people to their right senses.

And we are thankful to God who said that He will turn our mourning into joy. And that there will come a time for us believers where there will be no tear for He will wipe away every tear. Meanwhile, let us follow the instruction of Psalm 126:6. The Psalmist said, “He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”

Here we are reminded of what Hebrews 5:7 said about the Lord Jesus. It said, “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.” Like Jesus, let us not be afraid to cry as we supplicate for our dying world. God will surely see our tears and hear our cries.

 

Jeremiah 8:18-22 - Don’t wait for a tragedy to start looking for a remedy

These verses in Jeremiah 8:18-22 show the prophet in anguish and could not be comforted. It was as if he was listening to a conversation between God and the people of Judah in captivity. Jeremiah saw the people’s deep disappointment and was lamenting. In their bewilderment, they questioned and wondered how could  Zion where the Lord was present was in such a condition? Jeremiah could almost hear God retorting “Why have they provoked Me with their graven images, with foreign idols?” Though they were God people and would have known the consequences of worshipping images and foreign idols, yet they did it anyhow. How could the calamity be averted with such a blatant disregard for their covenant God?

 

In verse 20, Jeremiah saw the people lamenting their condition and saw hope for them disappearing. They were still anticipating God could come to their rescue. They had waited through the harvest and summer yet their anticipated rescue did not happen. This was a cry of hopelessness. There was no repentance but only impending judgment. So in verse 21, Jeremiah lamented and was heartbroken and grief had taken a hold of him. He saw that there was nothing, neither physician nor medicine, that could soothe their sorrow and heal their wound.  Although Gilead was known for her healing balm none was available for the rebellious people of God what awaits them was deplorable exile.

All Jeremiah could see was gloom and destruction. All because the people did not cherish their God and the blessing they had. Their experience is a lesson for us never to test God to a point that he had to deal with them so severely. We have a choice in life. We can choose to be blessed beyond measure or face the discipline of God beyond measure. If we want to experience the former don’t test God beyond measure. Keep short accounts, repent, and realign immediately when the Holy Spirit alerts us to a flaw. Don’t wait for a tragedy then start looking for a remedy!    

Jeremiah 8:13-17 – Defiance causes despair

Jeremiah had shown that the calamitous outcome of the ancient people of Judah was a result of the kind of leaders they chose to listen to. What they became was shaped and influenced by what they heard from those false leaders. Unlike Jeremiah, many of the prophets and priests were carnal-minded and greedy for personal gain. Whereas Jeremiah’s message was in tune with God’s plan for His rebellious people. That’s the reason Jeremiah’s message was largely unpopular, and he had only very few friends.

In Jeremiah 8:13-17, we see a blend of the declaration of the judgment of God and the anguished lament of the people of Judah. Since they refused to heed Jeremiah’s message, only one thing awaited them - impending doom. In verse 13 God declared his judgment on them. They would be snatched away meaning they would be exiled. And their once fertile land would become unfruitful. There would be no grape on the vine, no fig on the fig tree, and the leaves of those trees would wither. Whatever fruitfulness of the past would fade away.

Then the anguish of the people was described in verses 14-17. Though they were forced to flee to the cities to seek refuge, they knew that only horror would be experienced. For God was sending his judgment and there was no way of escape. Because of their sin against Him, the judgment would be like drinking poisoned water. They had chosen to listen to the false prophets and waited for peace that did not come; for healing but only received terror. They even had to endure the horror of the enemies’ cavalry advancing from Dan. The sound of the thundering hoofs rumbling ever nearer like an earthquake would destroy the cities, the whole land, and all its inhabitants. And like the fiery serpent God had released on the people of Israel during Moses’ time, venomous serpents, and adders, that could not be charmed into harmlessness, would be released to bite them. In other words, there would be no escape from the judgment of these rebellious people.

Defiance is built by tolerating lies. It is usually a slow boil that perniciously and subtly influences us. It is said that a lie spoken a thousand times can seem like the truth. There is a need for us to be discerning so that we can distinguish between lies and truths. If not, we will be brought to a point where defiance will be cultivated to deny the truth leading to a despairing life. Choose obedience over defiance!

 

Jeremiah 8:11-12 - Be pliable in God’s hand

In the earlier verses of Jeremiah 8, the people of Judah were described as wilfully ignorant, arrogant, and proud.  Unknowingly, they were deceiving themselves. They had the false idea that they were wise and that they had the word of the law, hence they need not consider the warning of God through Jeremiah.

On top of that, their prophets and priests were out for greedy gain. So here in Jeremiah 8:11, we are told that they would deceitfully proclaim the message of peace when it was nowhere to be found. Verse 12 tells us that they were so callous that they did not even feel ashamed for giving the people a sense of false hope. They had the audacity to give the people a false message of hope when their future would be nothing but bleak. What an abominable act. So hardened and unfeeling that they did know how to blush despite misleading the people. Only one end awaited them, they would all be brought down.  

There is a need in our walk with God to ensure that our hearts are even tender before Him.  We must not come to a pointing our walk where we become over-familiar with God’s favor and blessing till we have scan regard for what God is doing. Remember what David said in Psalm 51:17 shows us “…sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” God wants us to keep our hearts ever pliable and soft before Him.

 

Jeremiah 8:8-10 – Don’t be blinded by pride and arrogance

From Jeremiah 8:4-7, we learned that the people of Judah chose foolishly to remain wilfully ignorant. The choice of being in that condition had invited needless calamitous trouble from God. As if that was not enough,  Jeremiah 8:8-10 pointed out that they were not only ignorant but also arrogant, boastful, and proud. In verse 8, Jeremiah showed that they had mistakenly claimed that they were wise people and that they had the Law of the LORD on their side.

Because of their false notion, they seemed to have rejected the message that Jeremiah was proclaiming to them. So in verse 8, the prophet debunked that belief by asking rhetorically how wise they could be when they had deliberately chosen to reject the true prophetic words of God. Besides the law of the LORD, they trusted in were invalidated by “the lying pen of the scribes.” In other words, the scribes had altered and subtly nullified the written law.  

 

Besides those leaders who claimed to be wise and rejected the word of God had fallen into the hand of their adversaries and were caught in dismay. So how wise could they be? Because of their failure to discern the truth from the spurious, the disastrous consequence would be their portion.  They would lose all their possession, and their wives and field would be dispossessed and taken over to new owners. Every one of them from prophets to priests was greedy and resorted to deceit. These mentioned spiritual leaders had been unobjective in the counsel they offered.    

 

Pride has a way to derail us. God’s word is clear that He resists the proud but will give grace to the humble. When a person is proud, he or she tends to be arrogant and will unreasonably insist that his/her own way is right, even when all facts point otherwise. That will make that person unsusceptible to the truth. This was what happened to the Judean in Jeremiah’s time.  But we must never be such people. We must accurately divide the word of truth and cut a straight path for ourselves to always walk in the ways of God.      

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeremiah 8:4-7 – Nothing is more critical than choosing God’s way

In speaking to Nicodemus in john 3:6, Jesus hinted that the fallen man has another nature known as the flesh. And in Romans 8:7-8, we are told by Paul that “…the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” If we do not have a heart for God and are not fully connected to Him, we tend to choose to be willfully ignorant. Although we have the capacity to make choices, our fallen nature often causes us to choose according to our carnal desires. Jeremiah 8:4-7 show us precisely what the people of Judah had become. Their choice to remain wilfully ignorant had caused them their calamitous hardship.

Asking a series of rhetorical questions, Jeremiah sought to show them how foolish the people of Judah were. They had stubbornly refused to choose God’s way. In verse 4, he asked “when a man had fallen or gone the wrong direction, the natural response should be to pick himself up and move in the right direction. But this was not the case for Judah. They turned away from God and chose to remain in that condition and refused to return to God. None of them would take a pause to reconsider and align their ways. They would persist in their waywardness irresponsibly pursuing their personal interest.

Comparing them to his others creature, God reckoned His people in Judah as senseless horses charging into the thick of the battle without considering the danger. Unlike the stork, Judah could not recognize the season. Even migratory birds know when to move but not God’s people in Judah. God was saying that they had less sense than his other creatures.

Sin is a result of abusing our God-given will. It is choosing to go against God. Every one of us has a freewill. However, it must be noted that having a freewill is not an indication that we can do as we please. Like a train, we are free to move but only on the railway track. Can you imagine the disaster when a train is allowed to move freely in the streets and not on the railway track? God’s word is like the railway tracks to our lives. As we allow it to guide us then can we travel safely through life. If we choose to go off course from God’s Word, we choose a disastrous end. Our choices always determine our destiny.

 

Jeremiah 8:1-3 – Be sure to worship God alone

Jeremiah 8:1-3 gave the climax of the judgment God would be poured out on Judah. Even the tomb of the kings, princes, priests, prophets, and inhabitants of Jerusalem would be desecrated.  Their buried bones would be dug out and spread in the open. The sun, moon, and the starry hosts of heaven which they venerated, served, worshipped, and honored would be staring at those desecrated remains helplessly.  What a grisly sight that would be. Even in death, there would be no honor for them. They would be left as fifth and excrement on the face of the ground. The remnant of these wicked people, no matter where God had scattered them, would be so severely persecuted that they would prefer death to stay alive.  

Notice how they venerated the sun, moon, and starry hosts of heaven. Verse 2 said they not only loved, but also served, and sought, walked, and worshipped them. If only they had been as diligent in putting their efforts to seek, serve and worship the true God. If they had been more focused the catastrophic judgment would have been averted.  

In these verses, we are once again challenged to observe the commandment to love God and worship and serve only Him. We must love, serve, seek, walk, and worship only Him. This is a primary commitment every believer must make. Let’s never forget what God said in the commandments. If we are to develop a God-pleasing life, we must keep our focus on God. We make it our business to serve Him committedly and not pivot to serve or worship other gods.

 

Jeremiah 7:29-34 –Unimaginable consequences for undealt sins

In 2 Kings 21:1-9, we learn that Manasseh ascended to the throne in Jerusalem at age 12 and reigned for 52 years. When he first started, he co-reigned with his father Hezekiah. It was not until age 22 that he ruled Judah all by himself. The passage highlighted a few things that marked his wicked reign. Firstly, he led the nation back into the abominable idolatrous worship of the foreign nations which God had Israel gotten rid of.  Secondly, he allowed the high places which his father had removed to thrive again. Thirdly, he adopted Baal and Asherah worship like King Ahab of Israel. Fourthly, he indulged in the worship of the starry hosts. Fifthly, according to 2 Kings 21:5,“…he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.” He had violated God’s plan for establishing His own name in Jerusalem. Sixthly, he made his son pass through the fire, and seventhly, he practiced all sorts of witchcraft by consulting mediums and spiritists.

Against the backdrop of what Manasseh did, we can understand why Jeremiah called for the people of Judah to mourn and lament in Jeremiah 7:29-34.  They had done so many detestable things to warrant the judgment of God. Death would overtake them shortly. Hence Jeremiah called on them to mourn and lament. He words to them in verse 29 words were: 

‘Cut off your hair and cast it away,
And take up a lamentation on the bare heights;
For the Lord has rejected and forsaken
The generation of His wrath.’

 

Jeremiah 7:31 said that they had even built a high place at Tophet in the valley of Hinnom and emulated the worship of Molech by offering their sons and daughters as burnt sacrifices. In so doing, they were setting themselves up for unwarranted slaughter. Ben Hinnom, the place in the south of Jerusalem where they carried out their abominable act would be known as the valley of slaughter. It would become a dumpling place for their corpses. And their dead bodies would not be left to rot in the sun for they would be freely consumed by the birds and the beasts with no one to drive them away. In other words, God’s unhindered wrath would be poured out to make Judah a total ruin. And it would be a place of joyless gloom totally devoid of gladness.

 

Sin undealt with always go from bad to worst. Wisdom dictates that we deal with it as soon as the Spirit of God alerts us. We must not become so accustomed to sin till we become oblivious that we are offending God.  The first instant our conscience alerts us to sin, we must confess and repent from it before things get from bad to worst.      

Jeremiah 7:21-28 – God wants our total obedience.

These verses in Jeremiah 7:21-28 underscores the importance of obedience. God through Jeremiah was telling the people that He would rather have their obedience than their sacrifices. Recalling the past, God highlighted that when He led their forefathers out of Egypt, the first thing he demanded of them was their obedience and not the offering of  sacrifices. Verse 23 was what God expected of their forefathers. He said to them ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’  They were stiff-necked and stubborn people that would not listen. Instead of obeying they would go choose their own way. Hence rather than progressing, they were regressing. God was pointing out that His people had a history of being presumptuous, stubborn, and rebellious. They failed to see that sacrifice could never save them, but obedience would. And this current generation was even more wicked than their fathers.

Despite their disobedience and obstinacy, God wanted Jeremiah to persist in proclaiming God’s Word to them. He was told to let them know forthrightly that they were “a nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God or accept correction.”   They had no inclination for God’s truth. Hence the truth had disappeared from their conversation and they could not speak the truth.  

Obedience is of prime importance to God and not sacrifices. There is no point in offering a multitude of sacrifices when there is no willingness to obey Him. Today God still wants our obedience more than our service. There is no point in going to worship service, serving in a  ministry, or attending prayer meetings and cell group meetings if we are not obeying Him. They would all be just mere exercises in futility. Without obedience, everything we do is mere pretension. By being obedient to God, we are indicating that we’ll rather trust in His unlimited wisdom.  It is the pathway to God’s unlimited resources. Obeying God and His word is a demonstration of our love for Him. This is what Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me (Jesus), you will keep My commandments.”   Obedience is one vital key to unlocking God’s blessings in life. 

Jeremiah 7:16-20 – God is patient, but don’t test Him neeldlessly

God is undeniably patient. Psalm 103:14 tells us He knows our frame that is mindful that we are made of dust. There are many promises in the Bible where God assures us that He will hear and answer the prayer of His people. And it is true that He delights in answering our prayer.  That is what makes reading a passage like Jeremiah 7:16-20 so depressing. To hear God Himself discouraging the prophet from interceding for the people of Judah because He would not answer His prayer on their behalf was dreadful. If we are not to reach the point of what these verses describe we must not test God to the limit. This passage shows us precisely what we must not do.

We must never test God to the limit. How did the people of Judah test God to the point where He would no longer postpone judgment? They broke the one thing that would distinguish them from all the people of Canaan. They were told never to worship any other gods or bow down to them, for God is a jealous God. Yet they would violate this very important instruction. According to verse 18, their children were made to gather wood, “…and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to spite Me.” Everyone in the family from father to mother to sons was pandering to idolatry. It is difficult to think that these people would want to provoke God, yet they did. Foolishly they were only hurting themselves by being so involved in idolatry.

Since they did not see fit to only honor God and stay true to Him, they must now be prepared to face His wrath. God in verse 20 then guaranteed a fiery judgment. He said, “Behold, My anger, and My wrath  will be poured out on this place, on man and on the beast and on the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and  not be quenched.”

It is sobering to read a passage like this, isn’t it? To test God would be bad enough but to test Him to this point is insane. Verses like this tell us that we must never be influenced by the pagan world to such a point where it’s impossible for God not to deal with us. Having said that we are thankful for Calvary.  Had it not been for Jesus and what He did on our behalf, we forever would be lost!  While God is limitless in patience, He cannot condone of perpetual refusal to repent.  The lesson: don’t take God for granted and test Him needlessly.

 

Jeremiah 7:12-15 – Live responsibly because of our privilege

The people of Judah falsely believed that just because the temple was in Jerusalem God would not destroy it. In Jeremiah 7:12-14 the prophet debunked that notion. Firstly, God told them to consider Shiloh. Though it was considered a sacred place and was the center of worship for Israel for well over 300 years after Joshua had conquered and possessed the promised land. Yet during Samuel and Eli’s time the place was destroyed by the Philistines.   All because of the wickedness of Israel His people.  Now Judah was following in their wicked footstep and had refused to respond to God’s call to repentance.  Hence what God had done to Shiloh, He would also do to Jerusalem. Just because they were His chosen people, they would not be immune.

In Jeremiah 7:15, God pointed to the Northern Kingdom of Israel as another reason why  they should not presume on their false security. Ephraim is a reference to the Northern Kingdom. Though they were God’s  people and descendants of Abraham yet that did not prevent them from falling into the hand of their enemies because of their wickedness. Due to their wickedness they too were cast out of land for God also did not spare them.  It would be foolhardy for Judah to think that just because the temple was Jerusalem and that they were His covenant people, God would not judge and punish them. Nothing could prevent God from dealing with wickedness.

Privilege always comes with responsibility. The greater the privilege, the greater will be one’s accountability. When it comes to dealing with wickedness, no one can use privilege to claim immunity. This is especially so for God’s children. If there is anything to go by, God’s children, who have the privilege of the knowledge of God, will be judged with greater severity for their evil acts. Remember, without a cause, there will be no effect. From this passage, we sense God’s call to live before Him circumspectly. Ephesians 5:15-17 tell us, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

Jeremiah 7:8-11 – Living life for the audience of one

Here in Jeremiah 7:8-11, the prophet Jeremiah told the people of Judah how deluded they were to think that God would save them despite their treacherous acts. Deluded, they believed the messages of the false prophets that did not benefit them. This was evident in their behaviors. Their whole host of immoral acts included stealing, murdering,  committing adultery, swearing falsely, offering sacrifices of Baal, and pursuing unknown gods. Despite all these duplicitous behaviors they had the audacity to stand in God’s temple and believed that they were safe. Unwittingly, they had corrupted the house of God making it into a den of thieves. Nothing in their hypocritical lifestyle escaped the eyes of God who noticed everything they were doing.

To act contrary to what God had stipulated and yet feel safe is nothing short of being schizophrenic. The people of Judah were delusional. That’s what happens when a person is deceived. In these verses, we sense God’s call to live a life of congruence before Him. The obvious question to ask then would be how can I live congruently? 

There is a Latin phrase that can help us to live congruously before God. The  phrase is “Coram Deo.” It means “before the face of God” or “in the presence of God.”  know it or not, we all live in a world of heightened sense.  The motto for most people is: what makes you feel good and pleasurable just go for it. It’s hedonistic. But for us, Jesus reminds us that while we are in the world, we are not of this world. This world is not our home, we are just passing through.  If we are to live congruously before God in this sensory world we must learn to live “Coram Deo.”  

David in Psalm 139:1-4 tells us that God knows our character, our contemplation, our conduct, as well as our conversation. He said:

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.      

Beloved, we are ever in His presence. Let us live life “Coram Deo.” 

Jeremiah 7:1-7 – Offer God only sincere worship

In Jeremiah 7, God highlights how wrong the worship of the people of Judah was. The first seven verses show how presumptuous they were in their worship. Guided by God Jeremiah was directed to stand at the gate of the temple to address the people. He was to tell them to amend their ways and not live presumptuously. Those conceited believers deceptively presumed that they would be immune from any destruction since the temple was in Jerusalem. God made it known in no uncertain terms that unless they amend, He would not let them remain in Jerusalem. He admonished them to stop being deluded by the false prophets. Provided they changed in their attitude and repent, their repeated proclamation of “the temple of the Lord” being in Jerusalem would still not cause it to be spared from judgment.

In verses 5-7, God highlighted three things that they needed to change if they wanted to remain in the land. Firstly, we for them to practice justice between themselves and their neighbors. Secondly, they must not oppress foreigners, orphans, and widows. And thirdly, they must stop shedding innocent blood to offer to the false gods as the pagan did.  In other words, God was showing them that the length they could dwell in the land was conditional on how they conducted themselves. They were expected to live righteously as He had prescribed.

 

Worship is a critical part of a believer’s life. And it is important who we worship. We will take on the character of the person we worship. Besides, our attitudes, characters, and how he would relate to others are often shaped by our worship. It is therefore vital that our worship of God be genuine. Sadly, the worship that the people of Judah offered to God was far from sincere. Hence God decried the way they behave. What’s more important as we meditate on a passage like this is to ask ourselves “how’s my worship? Jesus in John 4 tells us that God is looking for worshippers who would worship God in spirit and in truth i.e. in sincerity, honesty, and in integrity. Are we offering God sincere and honest worship? 

Jeremiah 6:27-30 - Being God's purified people

In these verses in Jeremiah 6:27-30, God was telling the Prophet Jeremiah his role in this whole saga alerting him of the difficulty that it would entail. He was encouraged to continue boldly assessing the people through his fiery proclamation to very rebellious and stubborn people.  Like a refiner of silver, he was tasked to refine God’s people and remove the dross so that they could be pure silver. But their sins were so ingrained and hard like iron and bronze. So corrupt were they that it was difficult for them to become “pure silver.” Unless they are tried under a hot smelting fire, it would be difficult to remove their impurities. But they had refused to rid themselves of the evil. Hence, they were worthless and ready to be cast aside.   

The point of Jeremiah here is that God wants us to be His purified people. He is in the process of removing the impurities from our lives. Like a smelter, He is removing the dross from our life so that we can be pure silver in His eye. Every experience we have in life is God’s refining process for us. In the blessed time, do we remain faithful to Him, or will we take Him for granted as if we are entitled to the blessing? In difficult times do we trust that He is working all, things out for our good or will we murmur, grumble, complain, and nit-pick?  

Remember the story that Jesus told contrasting two persons who had different foundations of their houses. One built His house upon the rock and the other built his house on sand. One listens to His word and acts upon it. Whereas the other listens but did nothing about it. They both face the same testing from the storms and floods of life. The one with the foundation of rock stood through the storms but the other on sand collapsed like a pack of cards.  In essence, the story tells us that our ability to weather testing from the storms of life will depend on the depth of our relationship with God. The deeper we are planted in Him the harder it will be for us to be derailed by tough circumstances. Be sure to build our house on the rock of God’s Word.   

Jeremiah 6:22-26 – We are accountable for all our actions

God had been telling the people of Judah that He would be dealing with them because of their disobedience. Now In Jeremiah 6:22-26, He described the people He would use to punish them. Without namely them, He said that these terrifying people would be from the far north. They would also be armed to the hilt. As a cruel horde, this army would invade the people of God ruthlessly and mercilessly. Their approach would sound like a mighty roar of the ocean relentlessly sweeping the people of God, referred to as “daughters of Zion”    

As the enemy approached, the people of Jerusalem would be greatly petrified. They would be seized by horrendous terror and left in an unspeakable panic. They would be inflicted with such unbearable pain like that of a woman travailing in her birth pangs. The enemy would be found guarding every side of the city preventing the people from leaving their homes to go out into the field or walk on the street. In other words, terror would surround them everywhere. In such a horrific state, Jeremiah in verse 26 felt the need to call on the people to mourn their bitter and horrifying predicament. For this northern enemy would descend on them suddenly.

None of us should allow ourselves to come to a point of being emboldened by a feeling of entitlement. For when we reach that state, we will be tempted to think that we have reached a point where we can do anything without impunity. We can never come to that point where we can do no wrong. Sadly, this was how the Judean felt. And we cannot afford to emulate them. While God has promised that there will be no condemnation for us who are in Christ Jesus, there will still be consequences for our every action. We must never take God for granted and act as if there we are immune from being accountable for our actions. We are all accountable to God for everything we do.      

 

Jeremiah 6:16-21 – God prefers obedience to empty sacrifices.

The people of Judah had shown themselves to be obstinate and stiff-necked people. Since they would not listen to God’s urging, they must poise themselves for punishment. So in Jeremiah 6:16-21, God announced before the nations of the whole earth what would be coming upon His disobedient people. He was making known the folly of a hardened and unreceptive heart. They did not listen to God's warning and ignored and rejected His law altogether.

God also wanted the Judean to know it was pointless for them to continue to offer their incense and sacrifices. What they had done could never please God. Remember 1 Samuel 15:22? The Prophet Samuel asked Saul a very poignant question before telling him what God prefers. He asked “Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” 

God would never be pleased with such sacrifices. Religious exercises without sincere obedience to His Word are exercises in futility. They are like sitting on a rocking chair, full of movements but going nowhere. In verse 21, God warned them that He would lay unavoidable stumbling blocks before them. Everyone, fathers as well as sons, would be stumbled by the enemy’s invasions in which many of them would perish. 

There is no denying that God prefers our obedience to our meaningless sacrifices. For Christians being obedient is more than just a duty. It is an expression of our love for God. However, we need to know that the spirit of obedience is just as important as the act. God has no delight in the superficial expression of love when we are not taking Him or His word seriously. Jesus said in John 14:15 said, “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments.” The substance is always more important than mere form. True love for God is always demonstrated through obedience. Hear what Psalm 95:7-8a have to say:

“For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you would hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts….”

Jeremiah 6:16-17 – Our destiny lies in the choice we make.

Imagine a scenario where you are caught in a maze and at a loss as to what you ought to do next. You have lost all direction and are totally disoriented. Bewildered, you kept going around and round helplessly, wondering how to get out of the maze. Every turn you make seems to lead to another dead end. It would not be wrong to say that at this point what you need is an indicator or a marker to help you get back in the right direction. The people of Judah were in such a predicament. They were at a crossroads and wondering how to get out of the predicament. They needed a landmark to move out of their predicament. So Jeremiah in chapter 6 verses 16-17, gave them one.  He said to them:

Thus says the Lord,
“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths,
Where the good way is, and walk in it;
And you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
“And I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

Jeremiah was literally calling on them to return to the known and proven paths of the past. The only way to get out of the maze of problems was to return and be faithful to God. The people had adamantly chosen not to follow the ways prescribed in God’s commandments and law. In Jeremiah’s urging, we get a sense of how far they had stayed and drifted away from God's prescribed way for them. He was calling on them to review what God had prescribed for them, to align and return to that path of obedience. For they had been ignoring the warning of God’s sent watchmen refusing to listen to them.

In Jeremiah’s call we sense the call of God is for us to walk the straight and narrow way, the ancient path. But we are living in an enticing world. It is difficult to resist the temptation to want to keep up with the Jones. There are so many offers in the world for a better life. We are spoiled for choice. And we can choose the road to glory or the fool’s highway. Where we will end is determined by our choices. Our destiny lies in the choice we make. Choose wisely!

 

 

Jeremiah 6:13-15 – We need discernment

In Jeremiah 6:13-15 God pointed out the shameless corruption of the people, including the religious leaders who should have known better. Everyone was involved in the corruption. None was excluded. From the common people to the people in position, everyone was taken up with greed showing how shamelessly corrupt they each were.

The religious leaders, the prophets, and the priests were particularly singled out. They were the people who should have led the misguided people back to embrace God’s way but they were deceiving them. Falsely and treacherously they deceitfully gave false hope to the people. Showing no purpose and compassion they superficially dealt with the people’s brokenness. Their work did not get deep enough to help the people deal with the root of their problems. Instead of calling the people to repentance, they were giving them false hope. They were proclaiming and assuring the people of peace when peace was nowhere near.  The whole nation was doomed.

 

So depleted of moral compass, these so-called leaders had no personal shame. Hence, they had no conscience of engaging in such shameless conduct.  They did not even know how to blush. However, when the judgment of God fell, they together with those that they had misled would be punished and swept up in the humiliation.   

 

One clear problem Jeremiah had to deal with was the deeply entrenched deception the people were caught in. Everyone was so deceived that they could not distinguish what was true and what was false. This is a warning for us too. We must seek to be discerning so that we will not fall prey to deception. Of all forms of deception, self-deception is perhaps the worst. It will prevent people, even leaders from diagnosing the real issue and accurately appraising the situation. In the end, all will be deceived, leaders as well as followers.

 

A passage like this calls for us to develop discernment. We need to be able to perceive and distinguish what God is saying and doing. We can only grow in knowledge and understanding of the ways of the Lord and towards maturity with discernment.  Thankfully, by connecting with God we can cultivate discernment.  This we must seek to do and be enabled to navigate through this fallen and deceptive world. 

Jeremiah 6:9-12 – Be watchful and sensitive to God’s leading

Jeremiah 6:9 depicts the invasion of the Babylonians. Like harvesters picking grapes in the vineyard, they came collecting the remnant of those who remained in Jerusalem. The picture here is that they would thoroughly clean the place just as the previous verses had indicated. Verse 8 said that the land would be desolate and devoid of inhabitants.

Jeremiah felt he was warning divine judgment to a nonchalant people. His earnest message of warning was falling on deaf ears. Yet he sounded the warning with the hope that some who would listen could be spared. But the people were totally uninterested to hear what he had to say. So they closed their ears. None would give any attention to his message and treat the message from LORD with reproach.

Jeremiah apparently tried to withhold the damning message of doom. But he could not, for he was filled with the wrath of the Lord and was wearied from holding it back. So he could not help but announce the judgment. So extensive would be the judgment that none would be spared. From children to young men to the married, both husbands and wives, to the aged and even the very old none would be exempted from what was coming. Yes, even their properties, houses, fields, and wives would be plundered and turned over to the attackers.

As we read the passage, we cannot help but feel that the people of Judah had reached a point when they couldn’t care less. Despite God’s repeated warnings, they would not do a thing to correct their nonchalant. These verses are a call to stay sensitive to His correction. We must never come to a point when we take the message of God for granted. Don’t let apathy slip into our lives. God will not say something just to humor us. He wants our attention every moment of our lives. He will provide ample means to get us in the right direction. Don’t be so comfortable with the world till we slip into a spiritual stupor. Be watchful over our lives seek to know God and be sensitive to the leading of His Spirit.   

 

 

Jeremiah 6:6-8 – Disobedience will dull our conscience

In this portion of Scriptures from Jeremiah 6:6-8, the prophet was referring to the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. God is seen to be the one who had ordered the siege. This is by way of saying that He was the one who had instigated the move. While God was the one who had caused this to happen, it was Judah’s wickedness that made His move justified and necessary.  

Verse 6 speaks of trees being cut down and used to build a mound to lay siege on Jerusalem. The reason God was punishing her was because of her widespread oppression. Like fresh water that kept bubbling up from a well, Jerusalem's wickedness had been kept current and bubbling by her moral corruption. God warned them that the wounded and sick suffering from their mistreatments were ever before Him.

 

In verse 8, God warned that her wickedness was building up quickly. It had come to  the point where the whole city was setting itself up for destruction. The deterioration had reached the point of totally alienating God. Jerusalem would soon be left desolate and devoid of inhabitants.

 

Here’s the takeaway. Like what happened to Jerusalem, discipline will not come instantly to a person because of one sin. It will come because of persistent and continuous sins. God will act when one refuses to heed His repeated warnings. It is also true that a recalcitrant cannot heed God’s warning because through repeated disobedience his or her conscience becomes hardened, insensitive, and dull to God’s voice.  Be careful that we are not rendered incapable to respond to God’s loving overture because of a hardened and insensitive conscience.     

    

 

Jeremiah 6:1-5 – Do not test God’s patience

In Jeremiah 5, giving six reasons Jeremiah showed why God’s judgment on Judah was inevitable. As we come to chapter 6, Jeremiah proceeded to describe the coming judgment. In verses 1-5, he began by detailing the advancement of the enemy forces from the north.  The people of Benjamin were called to flee Jerusalem. Why were the sons of Benjamin specifically mentioned?” It’s because the main dwellers of Jerusalem were from the tribe of Benjamin. Besides, the Prophet Jeremiah himself was a Benjamite, hence he would have a bit more compassion for them. Hence, they were told to flee the city because the wicked enemy forces would be coming down from the north.

They were told to sound warning from Tekoa, and Beth-haccerem, both were cities in the south of Jerusalem. But why was warning needful to be sounded in the south of Jerusalem?  The point is that when the enemy forces invade, they would not stop at the north but would extend their invasion all the way to the south.  

 

In verse 2, Jerusalem had been described as a comely and dainty woman and not accustomed to lack. But she would soon become a helpless and deprived woman. Why? Because through the enemy forces, God would cut off all supplies to her. Furthermore, verse 3 said that Jerusalem would also become like pastureland to be grazed by sheep. Like shepherds, the invaders would pitch their tents around her, and like a flock of sheep, they would completely devour the pasture in the land. Verses 4-5 proceed to describe the relentless attack of the enemy. They would strike Jerusalem by day and night. There would not be a moment when the enemy would desist from their assaults. Not even wanting to wait for daylight to appear, the enemy would strike Jerusalem by night and destroy her palaces.  

 

God’s patience should not be taken as an invitation to test His endurance. In these verses, we return to the lesson of Galatians 6:7 where Paul warns us saying “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” Whatever we do there will always be an outcome. When we like the people of Judah persist in disobedience, we will be dealt with. Do not test the patience of God!

 

Jeremiah 5:30-31 – Being God's good role models

Bear in mind that while the ministry of Jeremiah was mainly to the people of Judah, he was also seen addressing the house of Israel as well. His messages were mainly directed to the house of Judah, but at times he also addressed the house of Israel. Although Israel and Judah became separate kingdoms after the reign of Solomon, they both share the same root. They were descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When God delivered them from their bondage of Egypt, they were made His covenant people. In Jeremiah 5:1-29, five reasons were given for the inevitability of God’s judgment on them. They were: morally corrupt (verses 1-6), spiritually and sexually impure (verses 7-10), callous in their unbelief (verses 11-18), religiously they had  apostatized (verses 19-24), and there was widespread social injustice (25-29).  

In Jeremiah 5:30-31, we are given the sixth reason why God’s judgment was inevitable on Judah. It was because of the failure of the prophets and priests. These people who were given the responsibility of pointing and guiding the people of God in the right direction were failing in their duties. The prophets were prophesying falsely while the priests were acting irresponsibly on their own authority.  However, what they were doing was not helped by the people encouraging and goading them on. Though the prophets and priests were acting out of line, the people loved what they were doing. They reveled in the false prophecies and the irresponsible actions of the priest. Everyone was contributing to the eventual outcome of the nation. The prophets, the priests, and the people were all liable. They were setting themselves up to face God and His unavoidable judgment.

 

The sixth reason why God had to judge Judah shows us that it is needful for believers endowed with God’s gift to build the community must act responsibly. Failure to act responsibly only contributes to the deterioration of God’s community. False messages and actions not in line with God’s word will encourage reckless and foolish behaviors. Hence whether we are leaders or members we must act responsibly. Second Timothy 2:15 must be a guide to our service to God. Paul said that we must do our best to present ourselves as approved workmen of God, that need not be ashamed but rightly dividing the word of truth. We need to cultivate a passion for the Lord, a passion for excellence, and a passion for the Word.           

Jeremiah 5:25-29 – The call to treat everyone justly

Jeremiah 5:25 began by saying that because of the people's iniquities and sins, blessings and good things were being kept from them. Having said that, Verses 26-29 then went on to show the sins and iniquities. Social injustice was widespread. The wicked rich and wealthy were exploiting the less fortunate people to advance themselves. These were malicious, cunning, conniving, and oppressive cheats who would lay traps to obtain their ill-gotten power and wealth.

They would do anything to prosper themselves for they had no qualms about how the poor and needy would suffer. The cause of the orphans was disregarded, and the poor were treated unfairly and unjustly. No one would come to the assistance of the poor. Because of all these social injustices, Jeremiah said that they were setting themselves up for the inevitable judgment of God.  What they had done was offensive to the Lord and He would act swiftly to deal with them.

 

Throughout the Bible, we see God’s concerns for social justice. We are all created equal in standing before God. Hence James in his letter reminds believers not to show partiality. James 2:6 admonished believers not to dishonor or oppress the poor. According to James, loving our neighbors as ourselves is the royal law, and being partial would violate the law of love to our fellowmen.  God expects believers to treat the rich or the poor equally. Let us not exploit one another, especially the less fortunate instead let us love them as we would love ourselves. 

Jeremiah 5:20-24 – The danger of ingratitude

Addressing the house of Judah, Jeremiah 5:20-24 show how senseless and foolish the people were. They had ears but could not hear and eyes but could not see. Hence, they were totally nonchalant, callous, and inconsiderate total God. There had no fear of the Lord and no longer had any reverential fear for Him. They had become so accustomed to being insensitive to God that they would take His presence for granted. That prompted God to ask the rhetorical question, “Do you not tremble in My Presence?

So callous toward the Lord that they ignored that He was the One who had set the limit to how His creative order should work. He had set a boundary to the sea. The water and the wave could come so far to the shore and no more. The wave would turn and toss but it could not prevail over the shore. The mighty tide could even roar viciously but it could come so far and not overrun the land. Know it or not, everything in creation points to this great God. That is what Paul confidently said in Romans 1:20. He asserted that “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made….” What a mighty God.

 

In these verses, God was drawing a comparison between His people in Judah and the movement of the sea. As mighty as the ocean was, it would obey and observe the limit God had set for it, but Judah His people would not. They had become stubborn and rebellious.  So callous was their hearts that they would transgress the boundaries God had set for them. They would not even honor the Lord, the one who had supplied them the former and latter rain for their harvest and scheduled their harvest.

 

It is frightening to forget that our God is the Sovereign Lord. This was what happened to the house of Judah. As a result, they became insensitive, callous, and indifferent toward Him. So blind and deaf toward Him that they could not recognize how blessed they were. Showing careless disregard for His Sovereignty they took his presence and blessings for granted. They would not take a moment to pause and consider His goodness. This is what we must never become. Never take the goodness of God for granted.  It can lead us to live a life of indifference toward Him. We must be thankful people. Practise Paul’s admonition in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 daily. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.   

   

Jeremiah 5:14-19 – God’s word never fails.

Jeremiah 5:10-13 tell us that God’s people in Judah acted treacherously in unbelief. They would not believe the word of God. They treated His message as mere wind. But here in Jeremiah 5 verses 15-18, God told Jeremiah that the message he spoke would come to pass.  The prophet’s words would not be idle words.  As proclaimed, his word would be the fire of judgment and the people as wood would be burned. Their skepticism would be debunked when God brings all that the prophet had aid to pass.  

 Verses 15 -17 then proceed to describe how the judgment would come. God would bring a God mighty nation from afar against Israel. A strong and enduring nation whose language Israel neither knew nor understood. The fighting men of that nation were described as mighty men. In saying that their quiver is an open grave,” God was warning of the devastating death they would cause the nation. Their arrows would rain down upon Israel resulting in countless deaths.

 

This formidable enemy, God asserted, would literally destroy the land. Verse 17 said that their land would be overtaken. Everything from their harvest to their food, sons, and daughters, flocks, herds, vines, and fig trees would be devoured and ravaged, including their fortified cities. Yet God here promised that there would not be a complete dealing.

 

God's assurance was that despite the destruction, there would be a remnant that would survive the scathing judgment and be left wondering and asking, “Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?” Then it would be told that just as they had chosen to forsake God to serve foreign gods in their land, they would be sent to serve strangers in a foreign land.  Here God was saying that they would be exiled to a foreign land. And it came to pass.    

 

The tragedy of Judah and Israel was their failure to take God at His word. Their experience tells us that none of us needs a tragedy to know that God’s words never fail. He says what He means and means what He says. We need to hear His word and we also need to understand what He is saying. But more importantly, we need to trust what He says and that will result in change and transformation. Remember the rod of the budding almond tree that Jeremiah saw? God is watching over His Word to perform it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeremiah 5:10-13 – Taking God at His Word

The judgment that would come upon Judah would be certain. In Jeremiah 5:1-9, we see two reasons why God’s judgment would fall on her. She had been morally corrupt and spiritually impure. Now in verses 10-13, we see another reason why the judgment was needful. Judah refused to believe in what God said He would do. That itself was a treacherous act of unbelief.

Judah was God’s vineyard and for her unbelief, God directed the enemies like pruners into the vineyard to remove all the worthless branches. While the judgment would be ruthless, the destruction would not be total. God would place a limit on what the enemy could do.   

Judah and Israel were alike. They both had acted treacherously with their covenant Lord. Acting in unbelief they refused to take God at His word. They turned a deaf ear to the prophets and refused to believe the words God had sent through them. Refusing to believe the prophets, they unwittingly were deceiving themselves. Acting in self-denial, they treated the messages of the prophets as mere winds that blow past. They refused to believe that God would bring judgment upon them.  

 

In Ezekiel 12:25, God makes no bones about the certainty of His words. He said to His people, “For I the Lord will speak, and whatever word I speak will be performed. It will no longer be delayed…, I will speak the word and perform it.” However, Pride and unbelief are two things that could stumble believers. Like Judah, pride and unbelief can also prevent us from taking God at His word. We must watch out for these harmful elements in our journey with God. When He warns, they are for the purpose of having us evaluate our actions and make the needful alignment. Be careful that we are not derailed by pride and unbelief. Learn to live a life of congruence. Tread gingerly before God in our spiritual journey. Discern every moment and trust the Word of God absolutely.