God Is Not Done Yet.

2 Chronicles 36

This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: "The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are the Lord's people may go there for this task. And may the Lord your God be with you." ­– 2 Chronicles 36:23 NLT

All the prophecies of Jeremiah came true. Everything he had warned the people about actually took place. Judah had fallen and the people had been taken captive to Babylon. Those few who were left rebelled against the Babylonians, killing the governor appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar, and causing them to run away to Egypt for protection. The land was left desolate. "So the message of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said" (2 Chronicles 36:21 NLT). If the book of Chronicles ended here, it would be a sad story indeed. The people were captives in a pagan land. The land itself was empty and the cities were vacant shells, devoid of life. The Temple was destroyed and the sacrificial system had been abandoned. And this would go on for 70 long years. But all during this time, God kept communicating to His people through prophets like Daniel and Ezekiel. He would continue to call them to repentance. He would continue to assure them that He was not done with them. They would one day return to the land and He would reestablish His relationship with them. The Temple would be rebuilt and sacrifices would once again be made on behalf of the people. The book of 2 Chronicles ends with the words, "In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus…" (2 Chronicles 36:22 NLT).

In spite of man's failure, God was going to prove His faithfulness yet again. He was going to fulfill what He had promised. The seventy years of captivity was up, and it was time to restore the people to the land. So God, the sovereign God of the universe, stepped into time and moved the heart of a pagan king to make a proclamation on behalf of His people. King Cyrus, the ruler of Persia, was going to be used by God to restore the people of God to the land. God had already used Persia to destroy Babylon, now He was using Persia to accomplish His will for Judah. It is amazing to read the words of a pagan king speaking on behalf of the God of Israel:

"The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are his people may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you! Wherever this Jewish remnant is found, let their neighbors contribute toward their expenses by giving them silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock, as well as a voluntary offering for the Temple of God in Jerusalem." – Ezra 1:2-4 NLT

God was going to show grace and mercy to His people once again. He was graciously going to restore them to favor and reestablish their presence in the Land of Promise. He miraculously moved the heart of a pagan king to decree not only the return of the people, but the restoration of the Temple. Cyrus would even encourage his own people to help defray the cost of the reconstruction of the Temple, as well as the expenses associated with their return trip to the land. After years of rebellion, rejection, and stubborn refusal to follow the commands of God, the people were going to experience the unmerited favor of God in an amazing way.

What an incredible reminder of the character of the God we serve. His justice required that He deal justly and rightly with the sins of His people. He could not overlook their sin. But His unfailing love was expressed through His grace and mercy as He restored them to the land and to fellowship with Him. His faithfulness required that He keep His promises, in spite of all they had done to prove their own unfaithfulness. He had to rebuke, but He also restored. He had to punish, but He also pardoned. A new chapter is about to begin in the life of the people of God. They are being given a new opportunity to serve Him. He is once again setting them apart for His service and His glory. The story is not yet over. God's grace and mercy have not been exhausted. His patience has not run out. He remains committed to His promises and determined to complete His redemptive plan for mankind. And the same holds true today.

Father, You are not done yet. You are still at work in the world, renewing the lives of men and reestablishing a right relationship with those whom You choose. Thank You for restoring me to a right relationship with You almost 50 years ago. And thank You for the patience, mercy and grace You have shown to me over the years. You are not done with me yet, and for that I am eternally grateful. Amen

Full Circle.

2 Kings 24-25

Then all the people of Judah, from the least to the greatest, as well as the army commanders, fled in panic to Egypt, for they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do to them. ­– 2 Kings 25:26 NLT

Do you remember how this story all started? The descendants of Jacob had been living in the land of Egypt as slaves. They had grown and multiplied so greatly that the Egyptians had become fearful of their sheer numbers and were making their lives increasingly difficult. God heard their cries and sent Moses to them as a deliverer. God miraculously freed them from their slavery to Egypt and led them to a land He had promised them – the land of Canaan. On the way there, they whined and moaned about the difficulty of their journey, their lack of food and water, and the leadership of Moses and Aaron. They even expressed regret that they had ever left Egypt, begging Moses to take them back. But God continued to put up with their bickering and complaining, providing them with manna and quail to eat and water to drink. He even kept their sandals from wearing out as they walked across the wilderness. While the first generation were required to wander in the wilderness until they died off for refusing to obey God's command and occupy the land, the second generation actually made it in. They began to do what God had told them to do, and started amassing victories over the nations that lived in the land. But they never did obey God completely. They began to intermarry with the pagan nations and worship their gods. God gave them Judges to rule over them and rescue them when they got in trouble for their sinful lifestyles. He then gave them kings to act as His vice-regents, ruling on His behalf. But most of them turned out to be godless, rebelling against the very one who had placed them on the throne in the first place. Eventually, the kingdom split in two, dividing up the land and the people, and leaving the people of God in a constant state of civil war. And now we come to the end. The northern kingdom of Israel had been taken captive to Assyria years before, and now Judah was destroyed by the Babylonians. A remnant had been left in the land and been allowed to live off the produce of what was still a very productive land. Yet, they decided to rebel once again, killing Gedaliah, the governor the Babylonians had put over them. Then out of fear of retribution, they all fled to – of all places – Egypt. The story has come full circle. They are right back where they started from. Yes, some of them are in Assyria and some are in Babylon, but a small remnant find themselves in the land of Egypt, the very place God had delivered their forefathers from all those years ago.

Things had come full circle. For all intents and purposes, the land of promise was now empty again. The people of God were living in exile in Assyria, Babylon and Egypt. But God was not done with them. He continued to speak to them through His prophets like Ezekiel and Daniel, men who were living in exile along with the people. These men would continue to call the people to repentance and remind them that God was going to return them to the land one day. He would remain faithful to His covenant promises. A descendant of David would someday sit on the throne in Jerusalem. The city would be rebuilt and the land reoccupied.

But how sobering to think about these people returning to the very place where God had once delivered them. They had gone back instead of forward. They had reverted to their old way of life. God had delivered, but the digressed. He had released them from slavery, but they willingly returned. And isn't that what many of us do in our lives today? God delivers us from sinful habits and unhealthy lifestyles, only to watch us willingly return right back to where we started. We go back to the beginning and wallow in the same addictions and habits we once struggled with and He delivered us from. Rather than trust Him, we return to what was comfortable. We forget how miserable we were before. Somehow we convince ourselves to believe that the past is preferable to our present circumstances. Yet God is calling us to trust Him. He wants us to remain faithful to Him, regardless of what we see going on around us. He wants us to stop rebelling and start relying. Going back to Egypt is the easy way out. It appears to offer us a way of escape and a respite from the difficulties in our lives. But God wants us to trust Him with our present and our future. He wants us to rest in the fact that He has a plan for our lives and He knows what is best. Running away to Egypt is not the answer. Returning to our past is not the solution. Trusting Him is.

Father, it is so easy to run away to Egypt – to return to what we know best – our old habits, sins, addictions and hangups. But keep us trusting in You regardless of how things may look around us. Egypt will always be there, tempting us with apparent safety and security, but never let us forget that You set us from those things to which we are tempted to return to. You have a greater future planned for us. But we have to trust You. Amen

God's Remnant.

Jeremiah 40; Psalm 79

When the Judeans in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and the other nearby countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a few people in Judah and that Gedaliah was the governor, they began to return to Judah from the places to which they had fled. They stopped at Mizpah to meet with Gedaliah and then went into the Judean countryside to gather a great harvest of grapes and other crops. ­– Jeremiah 40:11-12 NLT

The land of Judah had fallen. Jerusalem had been sacked and destroyed by the Babylonians. The best and the brightest of the nation had been taken captive and deported to the land of Babylon, and only the old, the poor and the helpless had been left in the land. Things could not have looked any bleaker. Even Jeremiah, the despised prophet of God, chose to remain in Judah with the few who were left in the land. Asaph, the Psalmist, records just how bad things seemed to be in Psalm 79. "O God, pagan nations have conquered your land, your special possession. They have defiled your holy Temple and made Jerusalem a heap of ruins. They have left the bodies of your servants as food for the birds of heaven. The flesh of your godly ones has become food for the wild animals" (Psalm 79:1-2 NLT). From a human perspective, things did look desperate. It did appear as if God had completely abandoned His people. The unthinkable had happened. A pagan, godless nation had completely destroyed the nation God had set apart as His own. The land of promise lay desolate and ruined. Or did it?

Even in the aftermath of the destruction of Judah, God was still extending grace to His people. Slowly, those who had fled to the hills in anticipation of the coming judgment at the hands of the Babylonians, began to return. Yes, many of the cities lay in ruins and the land had been stripped bare by the invading army of Babylon. But Gedaliah, who had been appointed governor of Judah by the Babylonians, encouraged the people left in the land to "settle in the towns you have taken, and live off the land. Harvest the grapes and summer fruits and olives, and store them away" (Jeremiah 40:10b NLT). And as they made their way into the Judean countryside, they found "a great harvest of grapes and other crops" (Jeremiah 40:12b). The Land of Promise was still fruitful and abundant. God was still providing blessing in the midst of even the curse of destruction. His promise of a land of abundance and blessing was still true and He was still providing for His people. Once again, the people of God were going to harvest crops they didn't plant and drink wine from vineyards they didn't cultivate. God was going to provide for His own even in their need. Those who had been left behind or who had hidden themselves during the siege of Jerusalem, were not more deserving of God's blessing than those who had been taken captive. This was not about one group being more deserving than the other. This is a picture of the mercy and grace of God. He mercifully left a remnant in the land and graciously provided for them. He showed them His undeserved merit and favor, in spite of their rebellion and resistance to His will.

I am reminded of the words of Paul, when he tells us to consider just how fortunate we are as believers to have been chosen to be a part of God's redeemed remnant. "Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God" (1 Corinthians 30:26-29 NLT). We are like that remnant – a small, helpless and seemingly hopeless group of individuals, left behind after the fall. But God has graciously showed us favor and extended to us His grace through His Son Jesus Christ. As a result, we can experience blessing and spiritual abundance even while living in a world that is suffering as a result of their own sinfulness. We reap the rewards of a relationship with God that we didn't cultivate but that was provided by the word of Jesus Christ on the cross. We were weak, powerless, foolish, and despised, but God has chosen to reveal His power through us. God has always worked through a remnant. He has always kept His promises alive by keeping a remnant alive. We may be in the minority. The odds may seem overwhelming. But God will provide. And He will get all the glory.

Father, I am so grateful that You chose to make me a part of Your remnant. Thank You for choosing me in spite of my weakness and foolishness. Thank You for providing for me when I couldn't provide for myself. May I live for You because Your Son died for me. May I recognize each day that my presence here is because of You, and not because of anything I have done to deserve Your favor. Your blessings are undeserved by me, but certainly not unappreciated. Amen

Salvation By Grace Alone Through Faith Alone.

Jeremiah 38-39; Psalm 74

Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the Lord, have spoken! ­– Jeremiah 39:18 NLT

Ebed Melech. Not exactly a household name, and certainly not one that people have on their short list of names for their newborn sons. Yet Ebed Melech, this rather obscure character holds a very important place in the history of Israel and the plan of God. He is recognized for his faith and remembered for the risk he took to preserve the life of the prophet of God when everyone else was ready to see Jeremiah silenced for good. When Jeremiah had been arrested, thrown in an empty cistern, and left for dead, Ebed Melech came to his rescue. He reported Jeremiah's circumstances to the king and then formed a rescue party to extract the prophet from the cistern. And he did all this at great risk to his own life. As an official of King Zedekiah's court, Ebed Melech ran the risk of angering his boss and alienating his peers. He also risked being misunderstood for his compassion for the prophet and ending up in a similar of worse predicament. But Ebed Melech stepped out in faith and did what he believed to be right. He knew the prophet of God was not guilty or deserving of what had been done to him. He knew that Jeremiah had been speaking truth – even though he was an Ethiopian and not a Jew. As a Gentile, he better understood what God was going than the children of Israel who claimed to serve Yahweh. And God makes it clear that it was Ebed Melech's faith that saved him. God told him, "Yes, I'll most certainly save you. You won't be killed. You'll walk out of there safe and sound because you trusted me" (Jeremiah 39:18 MSG). Ebed Melech trusted the God of Jeremiah. The Hebrew word used here for trust is batach and it means "to put confidence in, to trust in." Ebed Melech was not trusting in King Zedekiah, or the military strength of Judah. He was not trusting in his ability to keep quiet and mind his own business. He was going to do the right thing and trust God for the outcome. He knew what he had to do and he did it. And his faith resulted in not only Jeremiah's salvation, but his own. God responded to his faith with grace. He extended to this Ethiopian, non-Hebrew official, His undeserved mercy and grace. God did not save Ebed Melech because of what he did, but because what Ebed Melech did was based on a confidence and trust in Him. His action was trust in action. Doing what he did required that he ignore common sense and reason, and step out in faith. Ebed Melech didn't know how any of this would turn out. He wasn't assured that the king would even listen to him when he appealed for Jeremiah's release. He didn't know how his fellow officials would react when he secured the release of the very one they had tried to get rid of. Ebed Melech was probably not going to be a popular figure for having rescued the prophet from death. He would not be hailed as a hero. But his actions were not based on a preferred outcome. They were based on faith. He did not do what he did because he knew it would all turn out for the best, but because he knew it was the right thing to do. He saw an innocent man being unjustly sentenced to death and he knew he could not stand by and just watch it happen. So he put his faith in God into action for Jeremiah, and he trusted God for the outcome.

Every day, you and I are faced with opportunities to put our faith into action. We are given occasion after occasion to take our trust in God and bring it to life through acts of love and service to others. We are given the chance to do the right thing, when we don't know how it will turn out if we do. We are prompted by the Holy Spirit to speak up, stand up, reach out, and rest in the power of God. Stepping out in faith is not a guarantee that all our problems will go away. Ebed Melech still had to go through the fall of Jerusalem. He would still have to witness God's punishment on the nation. But he would be spared. God would protect him through it all – all because he showed faith. When you compare Ebed Melech with Zedekiah, the king of Judah, you see a marked contrast. The king of Judah refused to trust God. He had placed his faith in Egypt. He had hoped for salvation from a different source than God. He had refused to trust God and leave the results up to Him. God had told him to simply trust and obey, and things would turn out for the better. "If you will turn yourself over to the generals of the king of Babylon, you will live, this city won't be burned down, and your family will live" (Jeremiah 38:17 MSG). All Zedekiah had to do was trust God. He had to give up his plan for God's. He had to exchange his will for God's. He had to quit trying to control the future and leave it in God's faithful hands. Ebed Melech did just that, and he enjoyed salvation at the hand of God. He was extended the grace of God as a result of his faith in God. And we can enjoy that same experience each and every day of our lives.

Father, thank You for the life of Ebed Melech. He is a picture of what it means to trust You in the midst of life's darkest moments. May I learn to trust You more with each passing day. May I learn to step out in faith, based solely on Your trustworthy character and grace-filled love for me. Amen

The Best-Laid Schemes of Mice and Men, Go Oft Awry.

Jeremiah 37

I, the GOD of Israel, want you to give this Message to the king of Judah, who has just sent you to me to find out what he should do. Tell him, "Get this: Pharaoh's army, which is on its way to help you, isn't going to stick it out. No sooner will they get here than they'll leave and go home to Egypt. And then the Babylonians will come back and resume their attack, capture this city and burn it to the ground." ­– Jeremiah 37:7-8 MSG

King Zekekiah had a plan. In spite of all the warnings and prophecies from the lips of Jeremiah about the fall of Jerusalem and the futility of trying to resist the coming invasion of Judah by the Babylonians, Zedekiah thought he could outsmart God. He owed his position as king to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the invading forces of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar had taken Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, captive back to Babylon and placed Zedekiah, Jehoicihin's uncle on the throne in his place. He had even given Zedekiah his name, changing it from Mattaniah. In return for his new name and position, Zedekiah had made an oath in God's name to Nebuchadnezzar to be a faithful servant to him. But in the book of Second Chronicles we read that Zedekiah was "a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to the Lord, the God of Israel" (2 Chronicles 36:13 NLT). He not only rebelled against God, he refused to submit to the authority of Babylon. He came up with the ingenious plan of forming an alliance with Egypt, and using them as a means of rejecting and rebelling against the rule of Babylon. Even though Jeremiah had made it painfully clear that nothing short of repentance could alter God's plans for Judah's destruction, Zedekiah had other ideas. He truly believed he could outsmart and out-maneuver God. He could escape the divine decree with a little planning and diplomacy. But God's plan always trumps ours.

But he rebelled and sent emissaries to Egypt to recruit horses and a big army. Do you think that's going to work? Are they going to get by with this? Does anyone break a covenant and get off scot-free? As sure as I am the living God, this king who broke his pledge of loyalty and his covenant will die in that country, in Babylon. Pharaoh with his big army--all those soldiers!--won't lift a finger to fight for him when Babylon sets siege to the city and kills everyone inside. Because he broke his word and broke the covenant, even though he gave his solemn promise, because he went ahead and did all these things anyway, he won't escape. Therefore, GOD, the Master, says, As sure as I am the living God, because the king despised my oath and broke my covenant, I'll bring the consequences crashing down on his head. – Ezekiel 17:15-19 MSG

What Zedekiah failed to understand was that God's plan for Judah went way beyond the siege of Jerusalem and the short-term exile of the people to Babylon. God had a long-term plan for His people that included their ultimate return and restoration to the land after a 70-year hiatus. It also included a future restoration to a right relationship with Him and the return of a descendant of David to the throne of Israel. That has yet to happen, but will when Jesus Christ returns and establishes His kingdom in the New Jerusalem. Zedekiah, like the rest of us, lived in the here and now. He was focused on his immediate context and could not see any good coming from a siege and possible exile to Babylon. He didn't like God's plan, so he came up with his own. He couldn't appreciate or understand that God's plan, while difficult to accept, was ultimately going to turn out for the better. Sometimes we find ourselves going through situations or circumstances we don't like, and we can't see any good coming from them, so we begin to scheme and plan a way of escape. Rather than ask God what He might be trying to teach us in the midst of our difficulty, we begin to figure out an alternative escape route. When we do, we are basically telling God that we doubt His love for us. We are rejecting His plan for us. We are denying His power and diminishing His sovereignty. In essence, we are saying that we are in control, not Him. We know what is best, not Him. Our plans can be trusted, not His. Our will is to be preferred over His. But God's plan can't be stopped, altered, derailed, and replaced with our own. Zedekiah would learn that his best-laid scheme was going to fail. Egypt would leave. Babylon would return. Jerusalem would fall. And he would end up in Babylon, blinded, humiliated and enslaved. Had Zedekiah listened to the word of God spoken by Jeremiah, the prophet of God, he could have saved himself a lot of trouble. That doesn't mean his life would have been easy, but it would have meant that he was living obediently within the will of God rather than striving to replace God's will with his own. We may not always understand what is going on when it comes to our circumstances, but we must believe that God is in control and He has a plan that is bigger and better than anything we might come up with. He is in control and He has a bigger-picture plan that we can't see. We can trust that He ultimately knows what is best for us, because He loves us.

Father, my plans rarely work, but I continue to come up with them. At the end of the day, it is because I don't trust Your plan. I doubt Your ability to take care of me, so I come up with ways to take care of myself. Please forgive me. Help me to see Your bigger plan as better than mine. Give me an eternal perspective, not a temporal one. Help me to view my situations through Your eyes, not mine. I want to learn to trust You more. Amen

Selective Hearing.

Jeremiah 35-36

Each time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king took a knife and cut off that section of the scroll. He then threw it into the fire, section by section, until the whole scroll was burned up. Neither the king nor his attendants showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard. Even when Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he wouldn’t listen. ­– Jeremiah 36:23-25 NLT

Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of our nation, believed that the ethical system of Jesus was the finest the world has ever seen. The only problem was that he did not believe in much of what was in the Bible. So he decided to create his own version, and called it "The Jefferson Bible." In it, he sought to separate the ethical teachings of Jesus from the religious dogma and other supernatural elements that were added to the account by the four Gospels. He presented these teachings, along with the essential events of the life of Jesus, in one continuous narrative. In essence, Jefferson cut out what he didn't like and left in those elements he agreed with. Which is exactly what we find King Jehoiakim doing in our passage in Jeremiah today. Jeremiah had been instructed by God to write down every single prophesy God had given him over the years on a single scroll. Then Jeremiah had his servant, Baruch, read the contents of that scroll in the hearing of all the people at the Temple. Eventually, the scroll made its way to the throne room of the king where it was read to Jehoiakim. His reaction? As each section was read, he would use a knife to cut it up and burn it on a fire, until the entire document was consumed. Jehoiakim, unlike Jefferson, found NOTHING he could agree with in the words of God. He refused them all. But he was going to find out that rejecting the words of God did not eliminate their power. God was still going to do what He said He would do. Jehoiakim's little show of rebellion did not remove the consequences for his sin.

It's amazing how easy it is for us to ignore or blatantly reject the words of God because we don't like what they have to say. There are probably certain books of the Bible that you shy away from because you find them convicting or difficult to read. You may even choose to read only those passages that you find encouraging or non-convicting. That's a big reason most people stay away from the Old Testament. It presents a God who is too harsh and demanding. There is too much talk about rules and obedience to commands. So we gravitate to the New Testament, and particularly the Gospels. Even the letters of Paul can be a bit intimidating, requiring way too much effort and energy for our tastes. So we develop selective reading, and therefore, selective obedience. Our Bible may be intact, but like Jefferson, we only read and respond to those parts we find agreeable.

God was looking for commitment. He even used the Recabites as an example. These were a group of Jews who had made a covenant with the patriarch of their family not to drink wine, buy land, plant crops, but to live in tents all the days of their lives. And for over 200 years they had faithfully kept their word. God had Jeremiah attempt to get them to break their vow by offering them wine. God knew they would refuse – and they did. He used them as an illustration of the kind of commitment He was looking for from His own people. The Recabites could have easily accepted Jeremiah's offer of the wine, justifying their actions by saying that they had been faithful for 200 years, so what would a little sip hurt now. They could have excused their actions by saying that they would continue to keep the other aspects of their covenant, refusing to buy land and plant crops, and they would keep on living in tents. They could have compromised. But they didn't. They knew that to break one aspect of their agreement was to violate it all. Jehoiakim could burn the scroll in an effort to do away with God's word, but it would not change a thing. He could have buried the scroll, refused to listen when it was read, or killed the one who wrote it. But none of that would have changed the outcome. God's Word stands. We can ignore it, refuse to read it, selectively obey it, or try to interpret according to our own standards, but none of that changes the content. God wants commitment and obedience. He wants repentance and dependence. Jefferson's Bible was just that – his Bible. It was no longer the Word of God, because Jefferson had removed the words of God. But God's Word remained unchanged. His commands and claims were undiminished. God's Word is unchanging.

Father, forgive me for the times in which I attempt to ignore Your Word or twist it to say what I want it to say. Give me the strength to obey it faithfully. May I read it all and obey it all. May I see it all as divinely inspired and applicable to my life today. Amen

When Will They Ever Learn?

Jeremiah 34

And now, [you] – what have you done? First you turned back to the right way and did the right thing, decreeing freedom for your brothers and sisters--and you made it official in a solemn covenant in my Temple. And then you turned right around and broke your word, making a mockery of both me and the covenant, and made them all slaves again, these men and women you'd just set free. You forced them back into slavery. ­– Jeremiah 34:15-16 MSG

King Nebuchadnezzar and the armies of Babylon have the city of Jerusalem under siege. Only three fortified cities remain undefeated and intact within the entire nation of Judah. King Zedekiah of Judah had made matters worse because he refused to surrender as God had told him to. Instead, he had made an alliance with Egypt, hoping to resist the inevitable, but he only made Nebuchadnezzar angrier. This was the third time the Babylonians had come up against Judah as they systematically swept their way across the nation, leaving the capital city of Jerusalem until last. All the prophesies of Jeremiah were taking place. The very judgment God had forewarned them about was about to happen. And yet the people of Judah remained as stubborn and unrepentant as ever.

At one point Zedekiah, sometime during the siege, the people had made a covenant, a solemn agreement with God, that they would release all their slaves who were Hebrews. They had obviously been violating God's law regarding the keeping of fellow Hebrews as slaves and had been refusing to keep His commands regarding the Year of Jubilee. God had given the people of Israel specific instructions about these matters. "If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and cannot support himself, support him as you would a foreigner or a temporary resident and allow him to live with you. Do not charge interest or make a profit at his expense. Instead, show your fear of God by letting him live with you as your relative. Remember, do not charge interest on money you lend him or make a profit on food you sell him. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God" (Leviticus 25:35-38 NLT).

But the people of Judah had not been obeying God's command. Under the pressure of siege and the threat of being taken captive as slaves themselves, they suddenly decide to set things right. They were probably trying to appease God in some way by their actions. So they make a covenant with God, ratifying it by sacrificing an animal and splitting the body into two pieces. They would then walk between the two pieces signifying that they were pledging to keep their part of the covenant or face the same kind of death the animal had just experienced. It was obedience or death. So the people set their slaves free. But something caused them to change their minds. Maybe there was a lull in the siege. Whatever it was, the people decided to go back on their word and force their former slaves back into slavery. God was not happy. He reminded them of His law. "I made a covenant with your ancestors when I delivered them out of their slavery in Egypt. At the time I made it clear: At the end of seven years, each of you must free any fellow Hebrew who has had to sell himself to you. After he has served six years, set him free. But your ancestors totally ignored me" (Jeremiah 34:13-14 MSG).

And they continued to ignore Him. They appeared to repent, but failed to remain repentant. They changed their minds. They reconsidered their decision. They thought better of it. They reneged on their promise to God. But what was it going to take to make them change? How bad were things going to have to get for them to truly repent and return to God? They were on the verge of total devastation, surrounded by the most powerful army in the world, and facing death or at least deportation and years of slavery. But they changed their minds. They un-repented. Totally unbelievable, isn't it? Or is it? How many times do we make promises to God in the heat of the moment, only to break those same promises when the heat subsides? When under pressure, we can appear repentant, but fail to remain repentant when the pressure is off. We think we can manipulate God by appearing to give Him what He wants, until we really get what WE want. Then all bets are off. We change our mind. We go back on our word. And think nothing of it. But God is not pleased or impressed with our feigned repentance and words of sorrow. He wants changed hearts that result in changed behavior.

Father, forgive me for the many times I act repentant and sorrowful for my actions when things don't seem to be going well in my world. I make promises to change, but then when circumstances improve, I simply change my mind. I go back on my word and continue to ignore Your Word. May my repentance always be real and lasting, not fake and fleeting. I want my repentance to be based on my relationship with You, not the predicament I find myself in. I want to learn to obey You out of love, not fear. Amen

A Sure-Fire Investment.

Jeremiah 32-33

And yet, O Sovereign Lord, you have told me to buy the field—paying good money for it before these witnesses—even though the city will soon be handed over to the Babylonians. ­– Jeremiah 32:15 NLT

We've all received bad investment advice at one time or another. Lately, if you have any investments at all, you've seen their value drop like a rock as the economy continues to struggle. But who in their right mind would buy a piece of property in a land that was about to become the property of another nation? Who would make an investment like that knowing good and well that for the next 70 years he would be living in exile in another land? Yet that is exactly the investment advice that God gave Jeremiah – who is sitting in jail when he receives the great news from God. The ironic thing is that God had Jeremiah buy a piece of property outside the city walls of Jerusalem where the troops of Babylon had taken up occupancy more than a year earlier when they began their seige of the city. Jeremiah was buying enemy-occupied land. Yet he did as God commanded and bought the land for 17 pieces of silver. Jeremiah knew that this was another object lesson God was giving him in order to make a point. "For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Someday people will again own property here in this land and will buy and sell houses and vineyards and fields'" (Jeremiah 32:15 NLT). God had assured Jeremiah that this was a good investment – but Jeremiah had his doubts – and he expressed them in a prayer.

While he believed that nothing was too hard for God to do, he began to have second thoughts about the wisdom of His investment strategy. Even if God returned them to the land, it would be seventy years later, and Jeremiah would not be around to use the land he had bought. His 17 pieces of silver would have been wasted. Even if Jeremiah's descendants were someday able to occupy the land he had bought, he would never have the pleasure of living on it himself. Yet God assures Jeremiah, "I will certainly bring my people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me." (Jeremiah 32:37-40 NLT). God promises Jeremiah that "fields will again be bought and sold in this land." Jeremiah would not live to see that day. And few, if any, of the people who were alive when Jeremiah was prophesying, would live to see that day either. After 70 years of captivity, only the youngest children would live long enough to make it back to the land. And not all those in captivity would be allowed to return. And when they did return, they would find the land devastated, the cities destroyed, Jerusalem in a shambles, and the Temple broken down and unusable. God also promised Jeremiah that He would "raise up a righteous descendant from King David's line" (Jeremiah 33:15 NLT). God is saying that there will be a new king to sit on the throne of David, and yet, the people of Israel have not had a king since the day Judah fell into the hands of the Babylonians. So what is God promising? When is all this good news going to take place? When will Jeremiah experience a return on his investment? In that day! There is a day yet future when God will fulfill all these promises. It will happen when His Son, Jesus Christ, returns to the earth at the end of the Great Tribulation and put an end to all sin. He will establish His kingdom in Jerusalem and the people of God will return to the land once and for all. It will be at that time that all of these promises are ultimately fulfilled. God will do everything He has promised to do. Jeremiah's investment will prove to have been a wise one. That land will be invaluable and its worth, incalculable. God can be trusted. His advice is worth listening to. "But this is what the Lord says: I would no more reject my people than I would change my laws that govern night and day, earth and sky. I will never abandon the descendants of Jacob or David, my servant, or change the plan that David’s descendants will rule the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Instead, I will restore them to their land and have mercy on them" (Jeremiah 33:25-26 NLT).

Father, Your Word is always true. Your counsel is always worth listening to. Even when it doesn't seem to make sense to me. Jeremiah had his doubts about the wisdom of what You asked him to do. I sometimes struggle with the things You are telling me to do. On an earthly level, it doesn't always make sense. But You are operating on a while other plane. You are seeing things from a much greater perspective than I can see. Help me to trust You more and obey You because nothing is too hard for you. You have a plan and I can trust it. Your strategy for future prosperity is perfect and worth investing in. Amen

A New Covenant.

Jeremiah 31

"But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins." ­– Jeremiah 31:33-34 NLT

Do you ever wonder just what kind of God it is that you worship? What is He really like? Is He angry, demanding, and unrealistic in His expectations of us as human beings? Are His standards too high and His punishment too severe? Or is He a God who turns a blind eye to our sins, lovingly overlooking our disobedience and compassionately tolerating our inability or unwillingness to keep His commands or follow His ways? The truth is, a lot of it seems to depend on the version of God we construct from reading the Scriptures. If you favor the New Testament of the Old, you probably have a view of God that is more loving, merciful, and forgiving. If you prefer the Old Testament, you might have a more hardline view of God – as a righteous deity who hates sin and deals with rebellion severely and unapologetically. Most of us, if we're honest, have somewhat one-dimensional perspectives of God. Depending on how we were raised and the kind of religious upbringing we have experienced, our view on God can vary greatly.

But the book of Jeremiah paints a well-rounded, comprehensive and complete picture of God. It presents a vision of God that appears at time contradictory, but in the end is complimentary. Jeremiah's God is holy and righteous, unwavering in His hatred for sin and unapologetic in His demand that His people live holy lives. He punishes, disciplines, and even destroys the disobedient. He brings judgment on those who refuse to play by His rules. But there is another view of God in the book of Jeremiah. He is also compassionate, loving, kind, extremely merciful and incredibly tolerant and forgiving. Even I read that history of the people of Israel and wonder how God could have put up with them for so long. I marvel at their stubbornness and stupidity. I cringe at their arrogance and pride. And I have no problem understanding why God finally seems to give up on them, choosing to send them into exile and out of His Promised Land. But amazingly, God never really gives up on them. He never stops loving them. Even His punishment of them is motivated by love. He says, "Is not Israel still my son, my darling child? I often have to punish him, but I still love Him" (Jeremiah 31:20 NLT). God's love for the people of Israel remains undiminished, even though they remain unresponsive to it. He continues to care for them, despite their callousness towards Him. And He has promised to one day restore them to the land and back into His favor. He tells the people of Israel, "In the past I deliberately uprooted and tore down this nation. I overthrew it, destroyed it, and brought disaster upon it. But in the future I will just as deliberately plant it and build it up. I, the Lord, have spoken!" (Jeremiah 31:28 NLT). There is a day coming, God says, when He will make a new covenant with the people of Israel. This won't be a conditional covenant like the one He made with Moses, that required the people of Israel to keep the Law and obey God's commands in order to remain in His favor. They broke that covenant. No, this new covenant will be unconditional and solely based on God alone. This time God is going to write His law on their hearts. It will not be external, based on their self-effort to try and keep God's commands, but it will be internal, flowing from changed hearts that have been transformed by God Himself. The day is coming when God will do for Israel what they could not do for themselves. He will provide them with the capability to live in faith and obedience. He will give them new hearts and a renewed relationship with Him – a relationship based not on works, but mercy and grace. The day is coming when God will restore His people and the city of Jerusalem. He will extend love, mercy, grace and forgiveness to the very people who had rejected not only His Law, but His own Son. In spite of all that they have done to reject and replace Him, He will show love. That is the kind of God we worship. He is holy, just, righteous, loving, kind, merciful, gracious and forgiving. He is patient and He is always right and righteous in how He deals with us. Our God is great!

Father, You are great and greatly to be praised. I am amazed at Your love and mercy. You put up with so much from us as human beings. You have every right to destroy us for our disobedience, but You continue to show us mercy and extend to us Your grace. You punish us, but still love us. And You are not done with us yet. Thank You! Amen

And Now the Good News.

Jeremiah 30

This is what the Lord says: "When I bring Israel home again from captivity and restore their fortunes, Jerusalem will be rebuilt on its ruins, and the palace reconstructed as before. There will be joy and songs of thanksgiving, and I will multiply my people, not diminish them; I will honor them, not despise them." ­– Jeremiah 30:18-19 NLT

Not everything Jeremiah had to say was bad news. Occasionally, he got the opportunity to tell the people something that would give them hope. God gave him a message to share spoke of future restoration. Yes, God was going to punish them for their sin, because He had to. God must deal with sin. He cannot overlook it or ignore it. He told them, "For I am with you and will save you, I will completely destroy the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you, but with justice; I cannot let you go unpunished" (Jeremiah 30:11 NLT). God was going to discipline the, but with justice, and He would not completely destroy them. In fact, He promised to return them to the land of Canaan again from captivity. And He did – after 70 years of exile in Babylon, the people of Judah did return to the land. But there are some aspects of God's promise that don't seem to have been fulfilled. For instance, He says that He will restore their fortunes and that Jerusalem will be rebuilt on its ruins, including the palace. It will be restored to its original splendor. This rebuilding would have to include the Temple, a central fixture in the holy city of Jerusalem. And the Temple would be destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. And while the city and the Temple would be rebuilt and restored under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah after the people were able to return from captivity, the city never regained its original splendor. Jerusalem would never be the showplace that Solomon had made it. It would be a shadow of its former glory.

And God also promises to prosper and multiply them. He says He will establish them as a nation and punish anyone who hurts them. He will give them their own king, one who would be a Hebrew and not a foreigner. Yet, has any of this taken place? Were the people of Judah ever to have a king again? From the time of their return until the time of Christ, they would live under constant control of another nation. Even after their return from exile, they were little more than vassals to the Babylonians. And eventually they would live under the iron fist of Rome, having no king of their own. No descendant of David would sit on their throne. And today, Jerusalem is far from the spectacular city that Solomon had constructed. The palace does not exist and the site of the Temple is occupied by a mosque. So what is Jeremiah telling the people? When will all this be fulfilled? The answer is: In the future. There are aspects of God's promise to the people that had a more immediate fulfillment. They did return from captivity. They did rebuild the city and the Temple under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah. They did occupy the land once again. But they would also be forced from the land again. Israel's history has been filled with the constant threat of annihilation at the hands of those who despise them. Even today, the nation of Israel is surrounded by nations who are determined to destroy them. Their enemies are many. And they have no king. Yet God promised that they would have their own ruler again and he would be one of their own. So that promise has to be in the future, and yet unfulfilled. It is a future promise of the millennial kingdom. The day is coming when Christ will return and He will come to rule in Jerusalem and sit on the throne of David. He will restore the nation of Jerusalem to its former glory and splendor. And He will reign in righteousness and truth over the people of Israel and the world. At that time, God says, "You will be my people, and I will be your God" (Jeremiah 30:22 NLT).

There are things yet to happen that God has promised. He is not done yet. Israel is a nation that no longer worships God. They worship their military and their scientific knowledge. They worship their ingenuity and their prosperity, but not God. When their Messiah came, they rejected Him, and they continue to do so to this day. But the day is coming when God will return them to the land, but more importantly, He will return their hearts to Him. He will restore them to a right relationship with Him, and the Messiah they rejected will reign as their King forever.

Father, don't let us lose sight of Your bigger redemptive plan. You have so much in store for this world and for Your people. You have promises that have yet to be fulfilled and You will see to it that they happen, just as You said they will. There is a day coming and when it comes, You will bring to completion Your divine plan for the redemption and restoration of this world. Thank You. Amen

A Word For Exiles.

Jeremiah 28-29

Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare. ­– Jeremiah 29:5-7 NLT

King Nebuchadnezzar had already invaded Judah once and had taken some of the people as captives back to Babylon. Jeremiah, living and prophesying in Jerusalem, wrote a letter to those Jews who were now living in exile. These people were experiencing exactly what Jeremiah had predicted would happen. They were experiencing the punishment God had warned them about. They were now living in a foreign land, no longer able to enjoy the comforts of home. Many had been separated from their friends and family members. They found themselves surrounded by a culture they knew nothing about and a people who spoke a language they did not understand. Can you imagine how they must have felt? It would have been easy to despair, give up, and lose all hope. But Jeremiah writes to encourage them to keep on keeping on. He wants them to know that their time there has an end. It will not last forever. A day is coming when God will restore them to their own land. Their days as aliens and strangers will come to an end, and they will get to return the Promised Land.

Jeremiah encourages them to settle down and make themselves at home. He doesn't encourage them to become like the Babylonian culture. He simply advises them to build houses, plant gardens, marry, have children, and to have a positive influence on the land in which they find themselves. He wants them to multiply and prosper as the people of God – even in the midst of a hostile and foreign environment. They don't belong there, but God wants them to prosper there. This was all part of His divine plan. He is the one who had sent them there and He wanted them to make the most of it. And while these words from Jeremiah were directed to the people of God living as exiles in Babylon, I find comfort and encouragement from them as a believer living in the "foreign" culture in which I find myself. I am reminded of the words of Peter who told the believers in his day, "Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls" (1 Peter 2:11 NLT). He saw them as temporary residents and foreigners living in this world. He calls them paroykos – one who lives on earth as a stranger. And he refers to them as parepidaymos – someone sojourning in a strange place, a foreigner. As the old hymn says, "This world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through." We are temporary residents living in this world. In essence, we don't belong here. Our home is elsewhere. The writer of Hebrews, when referring to the Old Testament saints, said, "All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth" (Hebrews 11:13 NLT). Even Abraham, Noah, Joseph, and Moses knew that they were living as exiles on this earth. Their real home was elsewhere. But they lived and prospered while here. They made the most out of their time here. But they always kept their hope on the future, when they would receive their real reward and be returned to their real home.

The words of Jeremiah encourage us to build home, marry, plant gardens and multiply while we're here, but to never forget that we don't really belong here. This is NOT our home. This is NOT our final destination. We are temporary residents here. And the other thing he encourages us to do is to care about and to influence the culture in which we live. We are to "work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile" (Jeremiah 29:7 NLT). We may not belong here, but we can make a difference here. We are not to be so heavenly minded that we end up being no earthly good. We are called to be salt and light, agents of change and influence in a dark and dying world. Living as exiles gives us a great opportunity to be instruments of change in the Redeemer's hands. God has us here for a reason. When He saved us He could have taken us, but instead, He left us here. He wants us to have an influence. He wants us to prosper and multiply. Like Daniel living in the land of Babylon, God wants us to live for Him and influence the pagan culture in which we live. God reminds the exiles living in Babylon, "For I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT). God had a plan for them and He has a plan for us. Part of that plan is for us to live in this land as aliens and strangers. We are to live with an understanding that this is not our home. We are on our way to somewhere else. One day He is going to send His Son to return for us. He has a place prepared for us. He has a plan for us – to give us a future and a hope. But until that day comes and His plan is fulfilled, let's make a difference where we are. Let's have an influence for good even as we live as strangers in a strange land.

Father, show us how to live as aliens, but to make a difference while we're here. This world is not our home, but never let us give up on it. We are here to live as salt and light. Give us an eternal perspective, but help us live with purpose here and now.. Amen

God's Word Stands.

Jeremiah 26-27

Yes, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says about the precious things still in the Temple and in the palace of Judah’s king: "They will all be carried away to Babylon and will stay there until I send for them," says the Lord. "Then I will bring them back to Jerusalem again." ­– Jeremiah 27:21-22 NLT

No one liked Jeremiah's message and who could blame them. Nobody likes to hear a steady flow of bad news and warnings of eminent destruction. So at one point they decide to put Jeremiah on trial. Their goal is to kill the messenger, and this would not have been the first time. An unknown prophet named Uriah was also delivering the same message as Jeremiah during the reign of Jehoiakim. He predicted the same terrible disaster against the city and the people as Jeremiah did, and as a result, Jehoiakim sent men to assassinate him. But Uriah found out about the plan and escaped to Egypt. King Jehoiakim sent men to capture him and when they returned to Judah with him, the king had him killed. So Jeremiah knew that his trial could end in his own death. But the wise men of the city persuaded the people to spare Jeremiah. They had killed Uriah, but it had not altered God's plan at all. Killing Jeremiah would not change anything either. Killing the messenger would not change the message.

Then a number of years later, word had gotten back to Judah that King Nebuchadnezzar was having some difficulties back in Babylon. At this point, the Babylonians had already invaded Judah and taken some of the people captive back to Babylon. They had spared Jerusalem, but the threat of their return was always there. Rumors had arrived in Judah that Babylon was being threatened with invasion by another country. The nations surrounding Judah had sent diplomats to King Zedekiah, who was reigning as a puppet king under the control of Babylon, to persuade him to join an alliance of nations against Babylon. There was a feeling of hope that they could stand up against the Babylonians if they joined forces. But God sent them word that His plan for the destruction of Jerusalem was in no way altered by rumors of the weakening of Babylonian power or the plans of nations to form alliances. What He had predicted was still going to take place. The only choice the people had was to submit to the yoke of Babylonian captivity or die. And as a visual reminder of this fact, God had Jeremiah construct a yoke, much like oxen would wear to plow the fields, and physically wear it as an object lesson for the people. He was to remind the kings of the nations who were plotting revolt against Babylon that they would not be able to stand up against King Nebuchadnezzar. Their best bet would be to submit to the yoke of slavery God was bringing on them. God gave them a very clear message: "With my great strength and powerful arm I made the earth and all its people and every animal. I can give these things of mine to anyone I choose. Now I will give your countries to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who is my servant. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control" (Jeremiah 27:5-6 NLT). They could not alter God's plan. Jeremiah told the same thing to King Zedekiah of Judah. "If you want to live, submit to the yoke of the king of Babylon and his people" (Jeremiah 27:12 NLT). He told the priest and the people, "Surrender to the king of Babylon, and you will live" (Jeremiah 27:17 NLT). King Jehoiachin had already been taken captive into Babylon years earlier. But the people took comfort in the fact that the Temple still stood. They falsely believed that everything was going to be okay. They had convinced themselves that God would not allow His Temple to be destroyed. But God let them know that it would only a matter of time before Nebuchadnezzar returned and destroyed the Temple, the city, and everyone who refused to surrender to His demands.

God's word was going to take place just as He had spoken it. Nothing was going to alter it. Destruction could not be avoided or averted. But there was as a second part of God's word that was also going to be fulfilled. There was good news to accompany all the bad news. Yes, the Babylonians would be returning and when they did, they would ransack the Temple and take everything in it back with them to Babylon. But chapter 27 ends with a promise from God that reminds the people, "Then I will bring them back to Jerusalem again" (Jeremiah 27:22b NLT). The day was coming when God would restore the people back to the land andthe treasures back to the Temple. You can read about it in Ezra 1:7-11. God's word was unstoppable and reliable. He was going to do what He said He was going to do. And we can rest in the knowledge that God is still going to do what He has said He is going to do. His Son IS going to return one day. He is going to judge all mankind one day. He is going to establish His kingdom on earth one day. He is going to send His Son to return for His church one day. God is going to do what He has said He is going to do. His Word stands.

Father, thank You that Your word is trustworthy and true. It can't be altered, changed, or stopped. Your promises and Your plan are unstoppable. May I find hope and comfort in that fact, even in the midst of all the uncertainty that seems to fill this life. Amen

The Bigger Picture.

Jeremiah 25

His cry of judgment will reach the ends of the earth, for the Lord will bring his case against all the nations. He will judge all the people of the earth, slaughtering the wicked with the sword. I, the Lord, have spoken! ­– Jeremiah 25:31 NLT

For 23 years, Jeremiah had been bringing his message of God's coming judgment to the people of Judah. Over and over again he called them to repent and return. He pleaded with them to turn away from their false gods and return to the one true God. But they continued to refuse Jeremiah's message and God's call. "Again and again the Lord has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention. Each time the message was this: 'Turn from the evil road you are traveling and from the evil things you are doing. Only then will I let you live in this land that the Lord gave to you and your ancestors forever. Do not provoke my anger by worshiping idols you made with your own hands. Then I will not harm you.’" (Jeremiah 25:4-6 NLT). The formula was simple: turn away from worshiping false gods and turn back to God, then they would escape destruction. But they refused His offer. The continued to live in open rebellion against God.

So God told them exactly what would happen – 20 years before it actually took place. He predicted the fall of Jerusalem and the 70 years of Babylonian captivity. He also predicted their return to the land after the 70 years of captivity. Then God went on to tell them what was going to take place beyond that point. He predicted the future destruction of the nations at the time of the second coming of Christ. God would be forced to deal with the growing sin and rebellion against Him by bringing one final round of punishment on them. This will all take place when Jesus returns the second time to the earth and judges the earth. "They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty. Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed. And the demonic spirits gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place with the Hebrew name Armageddon" (Revelation 16:14-16 NLT). The rebellion of mankind against God will continue. The destruction of Babylon was not going to stop nations from rising up against God. The restoration of Judah was not going to make the people of God return to Him. The nation of Israel continues in disobedience to God to this day. But there is a day coming when the Messiah will return to restore all things to the way they should be. He will bring an end to all wrong and restore righteousness to the land.

Then I saw heaven opened and here came a white horse! The one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice he judges and goes to war. His eyes are like a fiery flame and there are many diadem crowns on his head. He has a name written that no one knows except himself. He is dressed in clothing dipped in blood, and he is called the Word of God.  The armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen, were following him on white horses. From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod, and he stomps the winepress of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful. He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.” – Revelation 20:11-16 NET

God has a long-term plan for the world. He will not allow evil to win. He will make all things right. That is His promise to all mankind. And He has never failed to keep a single promise He has made.

Father, You are not done yet. You are still at work and You have a divine plan that You are working out in Your perfect timing. Your Son is going to return one day and restore all things. He will bring perfect righteousness to the land. Never let us lose sight of that fact. No matter how bad things may appear, You are still in control and working Your perfect plan to perfection. Amen

The Time Is Coming.

Jeremiah 23-24

"For the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. And this will be his name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’ In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety." ­– Jeremiah 23:5-6 NLT

"Trust me!" Those are words we hear a lot these days. They come from the lips of politicians, investment bankers, insurance salesmen, and even pastors. But the truth is, it's hard to know who to trust any more. Everybody seems to have their own version of the truth – one that tends to benefit them. The same was true in Jeremiah's day. There were all kinds of voices shouting their own version of the truth and trying to get the attention of the people. In fact, it appears Jeremiah had some serious competition. He wasn't the only prophet claiming to have a message from God, but he was the only prophet who was preaching a message of coming judgment. All the rest of them were busy telling the people just what they wanted to hear – that nothing was going to happen. Theirs was a message of hope, not judgment. According to them, God was not going to do any of the things Jeremiah was predicting. They were completely contradicting the words of Jeremiah. "They keep saying to those who despise my word, ‘Don’t worry! The Lord says you will have peace!’ And to those who stubbornly follow their own desires, they say, ‘No harm will come your way!’" (Jeremiah 23:17 NLT). So while Jeremiah was busy calling the people to repentance, they were telling them to relax. Everything was going to be all right. Not exactly the truth, but it was a lot easier on the ears.

These men were deceivers. They were making up everything they had to say and they weren't speaking on behalf of God. He didn't send them. He didn't commission them. God said, "I have not sent these prophets, yet they run around claiming to speak for me. I have given them no message, yet they go on prophesying" (Jeremiah 23:21 NLT). Their words were their own, not God's. They had not received a message from God – in spite of their claims to the contrary. So God warned, "Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word. There is a difference between straw and grain!" (Jeremiah 23:28 NLT). Their words had no nourishment. They couldn't feed anyone or sustain life. Only the words of God could do that. These men were false witnesses, spreading lies and giving the people false hope. They were pseudo-shepherds who had no love for the sheep under their care. While they claimed to speak for God, they were really driving people away from God. They were causing them to reject His will for their lives. "By telling these false dreams, they are trying to get my people to forget me" (Jeremiah 23:17 NLT). They didn't like what God had to say, so they simply said what they knew the people wanted to hear.

And false prophets are alive and well today. There are still those who claim to speak on behalf of God, but who are making up their message and telling people what they want to hear – because a message of false hope is a whole lot easier to sell than a message of repentance and heart change. But telling people what they want to hear is dangerous – for the messenger and the hearer. Paul warned Timothy, "You're going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food – catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They'll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages" (2 Timothy 4:3-4 MSG). And then, just as now, there were those who were more than happy to accommodate the whims of the people by telling them what they wanted to hear. But God wants faithful shepherds. He wants truth tellers. He needs more Jeremiahs.

But here's the good news. There's a day coming when God will provide His own shepherd. He will raise up a righteous ruler who will reign in truth. He will do what is just and right. He will be called, "The Lord is Our Righteousness." And this shepherd will provide salvation for the people of Israel. He will be the Messiah, returning at the end of the ages to restore His people Israel. He will bring a message of hope – at just the right time. He will do away with judgment and destruction once and for all. When He comes, He will bring truth and righteousness. He will restore things back to the way they were intended to be. For all time. No more lies. No more deception. No more false words of hope that fail to deliver. God's Son will return and restore righteousness to the earth. He will bring His people home. He will return the scattered remnant of His people Israel to the land He had promised to Abraham all those years ago. And then Christ will reign over them as David's heir – in righteousness and truth.

Father, we must speak Your words and not our own. We must be faithful shepherds who are willing to speak truth even when it is not well received. You have a plan and there is a day when Your Son will restore all things. May we wait faithfully for that day. And while we wait, may we be faithful shepherds and true messengers, telling people what Your Word says – even when it is not well received. Amen

Do The Right Thing.

Jeremiah 20-22

This is what the Lord says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent! ­– Jeremiah 22:3 NLT

True righteousness reveals itself in right living. A real relationship with God will make a real difference in the way we live our lives. God expects His people to live as if they really know Him. But when He looked at the people of Judah – His chosen people – He saw a dichotomy. Their lives did not exhibit an understanding of His ways or a knowledge of His character. God specifically called the leadership of the nation to account, exposing their flawed character and self-centered tendencies. He accuses the kings of Judah of practicing injustice, oppressing the people, and murdering the innocent. Their actions did not reflect a knowledge of God. They may have been the kings over the people of God, but they did not live as if they knew God. Over and over again in these three chapters God uses Jeremiah to bring a message of indictment on the kings of Judah. He calls them to "Give justice each morning to the people you judge! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Otherwise, my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins" (Jeremiah 21:12 NLT). He tells them to "Attend to matters of justice. Set things right between people. Rescue victims from their exploiters. Don't take advantage of the homeless, the orphans, the widows. Stop the murdering!" (Jeremiah 22:3 MSG). This wasn't just about the sins of commission such as idolatry. It was about the sins of omission – like failing to do what was right, neglecting to provide justice to the oppressed and protection to the poor and helpless. God recalls the reign of Josiah, the last good king Judah had seen. He said He had blessed Josiah because he "was just and right in all his dealings" (Jeremiah 22:15b NLT). "He upheld the cause of the poor and needy. So things went well for Judah" (Jeremiah 22:16a NET).

Then God asks a sobering and rhetorical question: "Isn’t that what it means to know me?" To know God is to live for God. It is to live a life that reveals a heart for the things of God – like justice, mercy, compassion, and righteousness. It is to love what He loves and hate what He hates. But the kings of Judah had become enamored with their power and corrupted by their positions. Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, had put more value on constructing his royal palace than building a reputation as a man after God's own heart. But God told him, "a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king!" (Jeremiah 22:15a NLT). Jehoiakim had all the outward trappings of success, but lacked a knowledge of God. He failed to do the right thing. He was not motivated by the things of God. His life was marked by greed and dishonesty, excess and self-centeredness.

We can claim to know God, but if our lives do not reflect a heart for the things of God, we end up living a lie. We can brag about having a relationship with God, but if it doesn't show up in our actions and attitudes, it ends up being a lie. The knowledge of God is not academic, but practical and personal. It makes a difference in the way we live. It changes our relationships. It determines our actions. It dictates our behavior. Because we know Him, we want to live in obedience to Him. His ways become our ways. His heart influences our hearts. His desires become our desires. His character influences our own character. We end up living what He loves: mercy, compassion, justice, righteousness – and hating what He hates: injustice, greed, dishonesty, hypocrisy, oppression. Isn't that what it really means to know Him?

Father, may our lives truly reflect that we know You – that we have a relationship with You. Don't let us say one thing and do another. May the way we live our lives reveal that we truly know You. Amen

Self-Righteous Indignation.

Jeremiah 18-19

Lord, you know all about their murderous plots against me. Don’t forgive their crimes and blot out their sins. Let them die before you. Deal with them in your anger. ­– Jeremiah 18:23 NLT

Jeremiah was angry. He was upset and ready to have God give the Israelites just what they deserved. In fact, he made it clear just what he wanted God to do to them. He told God to "let their children starve! Let them die by the sword! Let their wives become childless widows. Let their old men die in a plague, and let their young men be killed in battle! Let screaming be heard from their homes as warriors come suddenly upon them" (Jeremiah 18:21-22 NLT). Jeremiah was wishing the worst on these people – the same people he had interceded for on several occasions in the past. Why was he so upset? What had made him go from praying for God to spare them to praying that God would completely destroy them? Was it because they had offended God with their sinful practices or idolatrous ways? Was it because they stubbornly refused to obey God and keep His Law? Was it because they worshiped other gods and failed to give God the glory and honor He deserved? No, Jeremiah made it perfectly clear why he was so upset. He said, "For they have dug a pit for me and have hidden traps along my path" (Jeremiah 18:22b NLT). This was all about Jeremiah, not God. It seems that Jeremiah was more upset about their sins against HIM, than their sins against a holy God. When the people turned their attention toward Jeremiah and he started feeling the affects of their sinful ways, he suddenly became indignant.

What had happened? Basically, the people began to attack the messenger. Since they couldn't stop God, they decided to stop Jeremiah. They said, "Come on, let's cook up a plot against Jeremiah. We'll still have the priests to teach us the law, wise counselors to give us advice, and prophets to tell us what God has to say. Come on, let's discredit him so we don't have to put up with him any longer" (Jeremiah 18:18 MSG). They turned their attack on Jeremiah, and when they did, he became angry. But rather than righteous indignation, Jeremiah's was self-righteous. It was me-centered and self-focused. Jeremiah told God, "GOD, listen to me! Just listen to what my enemies are saying. Should I get paid evil for good? That's what they're doing. They've made plans to kill me! Remember all the times I stood up for them before you, speaking up for them, trying to soften your anger?" (Jeremiah 18:19-20 MSG). Suddenly, they were his enemies. He reminds God of all the good he had been doing, all the times he had stood up for these ungrateful wretches. It had become all about him, not God. Jeremiah's dander was up because he was beginning to feel the heat. But isn't that what we do? Isn't that how we react? We can tolerate the sins around us as long they don't sin against us. We can read about murder, rape, injustice, and greed – and tolerate it – until it comes home to roost. Just let something like that happen to us or to someone we know, then we can become angry and demand that God repay those who have harmed us. We can silently watch others suffer, but just let one thing happen to us, then we become highly vocal and vengeful. And worse yet, we can sit back and watch the world thumb its nose at a holy, righteous God who we say we believe in, but just let the world sin against us, then our self-righteous indignation explodes.

The sins of men are always against God. We may feel the impact of them, but they are direct against a holy God. The people were attacking Jeremiah because he was convenient. They couldn't get at God, so they chose to kill the messenger. Satan can't get at God, so he attacks us, and he uses those around us to do his dirty work. The Jews destroyed Jesus because they couldn't stand His message. But their sin was against God. And you don't see Jesus whining and complaining from the cross about how much He was having to suffer. He didn't call down wrath from heaven against those who were sneering and mocking Him. No, He said "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34 NLT). Two times before, Jesus had become angry when He walked into the Temple courtyard and saw how they had desecrated it and turned it into a carnival-like atmosphere where making money had become the focus instead of confessing sins. He practiced righteous indignation and cleared the place – because He saw their sins as an affront against a holy God. We should be angry when we see injustice and sin in the world. We should be upset when we see people destroy one another and snub their noses at a holy God. But we tend to tolerate a lot until it touches our lives. We can easily lose sight of the fact that the sins of man are always God-focused. That's what had happened to Jeremiah. But God made it clear to Jeremiah that their sins were against Him. He said, "This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will bring disaster upon this city and its surrounding towns as I promised, because you have stubbornly refused to listen to me.’” (Jeremiah 19:15 NLT). God was going to punish Judah for their sins against Him, not their sins against Jeremiah. It was about God, not Jeremiah. It is always about God. So the next time you are sinned against, remember that their sin is really directed at God. The next time you see sin taking place around you, examine your reaction to it. Does it bother you only if it directly impacts you? Does injustice in a place halfway around the world concern you? Do the sins being done every day in the face of the God you say you worship bother you? Are you indignant about a world that thumbs its nose in the face of your God? Or is your indignation more self-focused?

Father, it never ceases to amaze me how easy it is for us to make everything about US. Even the sins of others can become all about us. And we lose sight of the fact that the sins of all men are against You. But that doesn't seem to bother us. Open our eyes and let us become angry over mankind's sins against You. May our anger be at the flippant, flagrant sins committed against You every day. You are holy, righteous and just. You deserve better. Amen

Trust In The Lord.

Jeremiah 16-17

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. ­– Jeremiah 17:7-8 NLT

In who or what do you place your trust? This is an important question to God. And it's one He knows the answer to, even if we don't. God knew that the people of Judah were no longer trusting in Him. They were trusting in other gods, other nations, their own strength, their king, and the military might of their army. But they were NOT trusting in God. And God told them what would happen for failing to trust Him. "Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord." (Jeremiah 17:5 NLT). These individuals would be like stunted shrubs in the desert with no hope for the future. They would be barren, lifeless shrubs attempting to survive in harsh, drought conditions. No fruit. No life. Ho hope.

But God says that those who trust in Him – who put their hope and confidence in Him – will experience a completely different outcome. They will be like a tree that sits on the bank of a river flowing with life-giving water. They will grow and prosper. They will develop deep roots that reach down into the soil. So even if the times of drought come and the river dries up, they will still be able to survive and thrive because their roots will have access to an invisible source of nourishment. Their leaves will stay green and they will continue to produce fruit. This passage does not promise a lack of trouble or trials for those who trust in the Lord. It promises that those who place their trust in God will discover a source of strength and sustenance they didn't even know was there – even in the midst of struggles. They will find themselves producing fruit even in the most difficult of times. Because God is doing it in them and through them. He is the source of their fruitfulness. This is not a gut-it-up, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps message. This is not telling us to work up our confidence or muster up some trust. The Hebrew word for trust carries the idea of confidence in something or someone else. It is a dependence or security found in the trustworthiness of another. It is less about my ability to trust than the other person's trustworthiness. I rest in and place my confidence in God, because He is fully trustworthy. The tree in God's analogy does not work at trusting in the water source, it simply takes advantage of it. It rests in it. And grows accordingly.

This passage reminds me of one of the prayers of Paul found in his letter to the Colossian church. Listen to what he says. "We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy…" (Colossians 1:9-11 NLT). What does Paul say is the key to living fruitful lives? It is the spiritual wisdom and understanding that comes from knowing God's will. It is resting in and trusting in God's will for our lives as revealed in His Word and disclosed through the indwelling Holy Spirit. As I seek and obey God's will, I will see fruit produced in my life – not by me, but by the Spirit of God. I will find myself growing spiritually and I will know that only God could have produced that growth, not me. As a result, I will grow to know Him better and better. And I will find strength in His power that gives me the power to endure and the patience I need to continue to trust Him. And this will produce in me a joy that rejoices even in the midst of trials.

It all begins when I place my trust in the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Because of what He has done, I can do what God has called me to do. I can live the life He has called me to live. I can rest in His provision and not in my own strength. I don't have to rely on human strength. Because it will fail me every time. But God never fails. He never runs dry. He never leaves me high and dry. I can trust Him.

Father, I want to learn to trust You more and more. I want to have a growing knowledge of Your will. I want to have spiritual wisdom and understanding so that my life will always honor and please You. I want my life to produce every kind of good fruit. But I know that none of that is possible in my own flesh. It must all come from You. And it was all made possible by You through Your Son's death on the cross. May I learn to rest in that fact more and more every day. Amen

A People Of Influence.

Jeremiah 14-15

If you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me. If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be my spokesman. You must influence them; do not let them influence you! ­– Jeremiah 15:19 NLT

Like all prophets, Jeremiah had a difficult job. He was commanded by God to preach a message of coming destruction if the people did not repent of their sins and return to God. Every day he had to point out the sins of the people and remind them of what God was going to do to them if they didn't stop. He had to tell the religious and political leaders that they were also doomed because of their lousy leadership. As a result, Jeremiah was anything but popular. He wasn't invited to parties or greeted warmly when passed on the streets. As God's representative, he was blamed for anything bad that was going on. And as if his job was not hard enough, he had to face competition. There were other prophets walking around, but their messages were contradictory to Jeremiah's. They were telling the people that, "all is well – no war of famine will come. The Lord will surely send you peace" (Jeremiah 14:13 NLT). Who do you think the people listened to? Jeremiah was a lone voice crying in the wilderness. His messages went unheeded. Jeremiah was a social pariah, a reluctant loner who cared deeply for the people of Judah, wanted to remain faithful to God, but who longed to have a normal life. At one point, he got so low that he prayed, "Unlucky mother – that you had me as a son, given the unhappy job of indicting the whole country! I've never hurt or harmed a soul, and yet everyone is out to get me" (Jeremiah 15:10 MSG). Jeremiah let the Lord know just how he felt: "I never joined the party crowd in their laughter and their fun. Led by you, I went off by myself. You'd filled me with indignation. Their sin had me seething. But why, why this chronic pain, this ever worsening wound and no healing in sight? You're nothing, GOD, but a mirage, a lovely oasis in the distance – and then nothing!" (Jeremiah 15:17-18 MSG). Jeremiah was feeling the affects of his occupation. He was wearing down and feeling low. You might say he was having a pity party.

But in the midst of Jeremiah's moment of sorrow, God responds. He doesn't blast Jeremiah for the brutal honesty of his prayer, but instead He encourages him. God fully understood what Jeremiah was feeling. He knew the difficulty of Jeremiah's job. It was not easy. But God needed Jeremiah to stand strong. He needed Jeremiah to complete the job he had been given. So God tells Jeremiah, "Take back those words, and I'll take you back. Then you'll stand tall before me. Use words truly and well. Don't stoop to cheap whining. Then, but only then, you'll speak for me. Let your words change [them]. Don't change your words to suit them. I'll turn you into a steel wall, a thick steel wall, impregnable. They'll attack you but won't put a dent in you because I'm at your side, defending and delivering. GOD's Decree" (Jeremiah 15:19-20 MSG). God knew just how difficult Jeremiah's job was, and He knew just how tempting it would be to just simple tell the people what they wanted to hear. Just by changing his message, Jeremiah could change his condition. He could become popular. He could go from social outcast to social butterfly, well-liked, well-known and well-received in all the right social circles. But that was not God's call on his life.

God needed Jeremiah to stand firm and remain strong. He wanted Jeremiah to stick to the truth, and remain faithful to the message he had been given, no matter how difficult it might become. And the same stands true for us today. A message of sin and repentance is not popular today. No one wants to hear that their a sinner in need of a Savior. No one wants to think that they might be guilty and in need of punishment. So the message of the Gospel falls on deaf ears. People reject the truth and search for alternative messages. Paul warned Timothy about this. "You're going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food – catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They'll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But [you] – keep your eye on what you're doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God's servant." (2 Timothy 4:3-5 MSG). We are called to be a people of influence, telling the truth of God, even when falsehood might make things easier on us. We are to remain faithful to the message God has given us and the task He has assigned us. Paul told Timothy, "Preach the message, be ready whether it is convenient or not,reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and instruction" (2 Timothy 4:3 NET). Keep on keeping on. Remain strong. Be a people of influence.

Father, don't let me give up or grow weary. Your message of hope and salvation needs to be heard, even if no one wants to hear it. Keep me faithful to Your Word and Your calling. May I be a person of influence – but solely based on Your Word. Amen

God's Special Possession.

Jeremiah 12-13

I have abandoned my people, my special possession. I have surrendered my dearest ones to their enemies. My chosen people have roared at me like a lion of the forest, so I have treated them with contempt. ­– Jeremiah 12:7-8 NLT

Sometimes when we read a book like Jeremiah, we become calloused towards God as we read of His anger, wrath, and warnings of eminent destruction. We begin to see God as a vindictive and vengeful deity with a short temper and unrealistic expectations on His people. And it's easy to reach those conclusions when you read phrases like, "On all the bare hilltops, destroying armies can be seen. The sword of the Lord devours people from one end of the nation to the other. No one will escape!" (Jeremiah 12:12 NLT). Or how about, "I myself will strip you and expose you to shame"? (Jeremiah 13:26 NLT). It would be easy to build a case from those verses that God is uncaring and heartless, eager to bring destruction on the disobedient. But that would be a wrong conclusion and a dramatically false understanding of God.

Woven throughout all the messages of destruction are the clear indications of God's unfailing love. He repeatedly refers to the nation of Judah with phrases like my people, my special possession, my dearest ones, my chosen people, and my vineyard. These are not the words of a dispassionate, uncaring deity with destruction on His mind. They are expressions of love and affection. God cares for His people. He longs to bless them, but because He is holy and righteous, He must deal righteously and justly with their sin. He cannot overlook their sins. He must do what is right. He must punish those who break the Law. But He does not do so joyfully. Like a proud and loving father, He is having to punish His disobedient children. He chose them from among all the nations of the world. He grew them from nothing – from one man, Abraham, to a nation that numbered in the millions. He had rescued them out of captivity in Egypt. He had led them across the wilderness for 40 years, tolerating their disobedience and sin, then leading them into the very land He had promised to give them. He gave them victories over superior foes. He provided houses and cities to live in that they didn't have to build and vineyards they didn't have to plant. He gave them His Law to guide all their daily activities and the sacrificial system to provide forgiveness and restoration when they failed to keep the Law. He had given them judges and prophets to guide and redirect them when they strayed. All along the way God had proven His love for them. But enough was enough. Their sin had become too great to ignore. Their rebellion had become intolerable.

But God was not pleased with what He was having to do. To prove it God gave Jeremiah a visual illustration of what this meant to Him. He had Jeremiah buy a linen loincloth. This was an intimate undergarment that was worn close to the skin. Jeremiah would have had to have sacrificed financially to buy a linen one. Then God told Jeremiah to put it on. But before long, Jeremiah was instructed to take it off and hide it in a hole in the rocks down by the river. After a long time had passed, Jeremiah was told to go and retrieve the linen loincloth. But it was ruined. It was rotting and falling apart – it was good for nothing. Jeremiah could not wear it any longer. It was useless, wasted, and no longer able to function as it had been intended. And God says, "This shows how I will rot away the pride of Judah and Jerusalem" (Jeremiah 13:9 NLT). God compares Judah to the loincloth. Because they refuse to listen to Him and stubbornly follow after their own desires and worship other gods, God says, "they will become like this loincloth — good for nothing! As a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I created Judah and Israel to cling to me, says the Lord. They were to be my people, my pride, my glory — an honor to my name. But they would not listen to me" (Jeremiah 13:10-11 NLT). God had chosen the nation of Judah to have an intimate relationship with Him. They were to be His special possession. But instead of enjoying their place as His people, they turned against Him and turned to other gods instead. They spurned God's love and attention. They refused His affection. They rejected His gracious favor. And how do you think God felt? God, who is perfect love, was spurned and rejected. He was rejected. The one who was love, was unloved. But God was not punishing them because they refused to love Him. He was punishing them because of their sin. And yet, in spite of their sin, God was not washing His hands of them altogether. He would bring punishment, but He would also bring restoration. Not only to Judah, but to the nations as well. He promised, "afterward I will return and have compassion on all of them. I will bring them home to their own lands again, each nation to its own possession" (Jeremiah 12:15 NLT). He will punish, but He will also have compassion. He will rebuke, but He will also restore. He is a holy, righteous, just, and demanding God, but He is also a loving, merciful, gracious, patient and forgiving God. All He asks is that we return and repent. He always stands ready to forgive and restore. Because that is who He is.

Father, even in your anger, You are loving. Everything You do is bathed in love – even when I can't see it or understand it. You love us more than we could ever know. You discipline us in love. You restore us in love. Everything about You is love because You ARE love. Never let me lose sight of that fact. Amen

A Knowledge of the Truth.

Jeremiah 10-11

I know, GOD, that mere mortals can't run their own lives, That men and women don't have what it takes to take charge of life. So correct us, GOD, as you see best. Don't lose your temper. That would be the end of us. ­– Jeremiah 10:23-24 MSG

This prayer of Jeremiah sits right in the middle of two interesting sections of Scriptures. In one, Jeremiah compares the ubiquitous idols that had become so prevalent in Judah with the majesty of the one true God. He exposes the lunacy of worshiping something that you made with your own hands – a block of wood that can't speak, walk, or keep itself from falling over. He expresses the power of God reflected in His creation of all things, from the earth itself to the wind, rain, thunder and lightning – and even Israel itself. God is no idol! He is all-powerful creator of the universe.

In second section, God reminds the people of Judah about the covenant He had made with them all the way back to Mount Sinai. This was a conditional covenant – an if-then agreement that came with conditions and consequences. If they obeyed the terms of the covenant, they would receive blessings from God. If they disobeyed, they would experience curses. God had told them, "Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me" (Exodus 19:5 NLT). Their obedience to God's Law is what truly set them apart as His people. They were to belong to Him. They were to live their lives according to His terms, not their own. This is what would set them apart and prove their position as His special treasure. But the people of God refused to obey God, and the proliferation of idols were proof. And it had been going on for generations. God said, "but your ancestors did not listen or even pay attention. Instead, they stubbornly followed their own evil desires. And because they refused to obey, I brought upon them all the curses described in this covenant" (Jeremiah 11:8 NLT). And God accused the current generation of Israelites of doing the same thing their ancestors had done. "There's a conspiracy among the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. They've plotted to reenact the sins of their ancestors – the ones who disobeyed me and decided to go after other gods and worship them. Israel and Judah are in this together, mindlessly breaking the covenant I made with their ancestors" (Jeremiah 9-10 MSG). And according to the terms of the covenant, their disobedience warranted God's punishment.

But right in the middle of these two passages, Jeremiah prayers a short, but powerful prayer. In it He expresses a clear understanding of who God is and the reality of man's inability to control their own lives. He says, "I know, GOD, that mere mortals can't run their own lives, That men and women don't have what it takes to take charge of life. So correct us, GOD, as you see best. Don't lose your temper. That would be the end of us" (Jeremiah 10:23-24 MSG). Jeremiah knew the undeniable truth that men and women were incapable of making wise decisions, keeping their commitments, or living in obedience to God's Laws. They couldn't help from creating idols and worshiping them, even as idiotic as it might seem to bow down to a block of wood you carved and carried around with your own hands. Jeremiah also knew that mankind deserved to be corrected. The Hebrew word he uses for "correction" is yacar and it means "to chasten, chastise, correct, instruct, punish, reform, reprove, instruct, or teach." He confesses their inability to live the life God had called them to live and acknowledges that their actions warrant God's correction. But he seemed to understand that even God's punishment was constructive. He would not only reprove them, but reform them through His discipline. Jeremiah knew that God loved them in spite of their actions. So he calls on God to correct them, because he believed that God knew what was best for them. And if punishment from the hands of a loving God could turn their hearts back to Him, then so be it. But Jeremiah also asks that God not punish them in anger. He asks that God temper His rebuke with love. Because he knew that no man could stand against the unbridled wrath of an angry, righteous and holy God.

Jeremiah knew God. And he knew the truth about man. So he appealed to God for His mercy and grace. He trusted God to do the right thing. He knew that they were getting what they deserved, but he asked that God be gracious, loving and gentle with them. Because they were incapable of doing what was right. They needed God's correction, but mixed with mercy, compassion, patience and love.

Father, Jeremiah's prayer could be the prayer of every one of us today. We need to confess our inability to run our own lives. We can't keep all the balls in the air. We can't make it all work. We are incapable of living up to Your holy standards and so we fail You on a regular basis. But You love us and know our weaknesses. You stand ready to forgive us if we will just confess our sins to You. If we will admit our inability to live holy lives and come to You in weakness and dependence, You will give us what we need to live the lives You've called us to live. You are a great God. You are a loving and merciful God. You want to help us live lives that reflect our position as Your sons and daughters. We just have to admit that we can't do it without You. Amen