Tag: Jeremiah

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Israel is still relevant to God’s story.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

For in that day,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will break the yoke from their necks and snap their chains. Foreigners will no longer be their masters. For my people will serve the Lord their God and their king descended from David— the king I will raise up for them. “So do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel,” says the Lord. “For I will bring you home again from distant lands, and your children will return from their exile. Israel will return to a life of peace and quiet, and no one will terrorize them. For I am with you and will save you,” says the Lord. “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 ‭30‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I say it ALL THE TIME – God’s stories are very long!

Whether I read an ancient text like this one in Jeremiah, written almost 3000 years ago, or I read the promises made to Abraham close to 5000 years ago – it does not matter. God stories are long stories. Yet time has no bearing on His promises, they are always fulfilled.

When God, apocalyptically tells Jeremiah the future, it can have immediate results as well as future applications at the same time. God did bring them back then and God will bring them back again! Jeremiah was writing to a rebellious, yet broken nation. Today, Jeremiah still speaks to a stubborn, yet broken nation.

What is it about Israel that makes it so controversial, so complicated? Is it truly because God declare the country to be His? And Jerusalem to be the object lesson of God’s faithfulness? Israel is such a small country, with 8,630 sq. miles and a population of about 9 million people. On the topic of ownership, the Israeli state was declared in 1948. Not only did God gift Abraham the land, but also bought the portions of the land legally and legitimately. There are several ancient transactions recorded in Genesis 13:15-17, and David’s purchase of the temple mount in 2 Samuel 24:18-25. Plus, the entire area known now as Israel was barren and almost worthless when Israel took it over in 1948, It is no secret that the Jewish people turned the dessert into a paradise! The Jewish people even resurrected a dead language that hadn’t been spoken for 2,000 years – Hebrew!

Israel’s GDP was $522.03B in 2022. They are the top in the field of agriculture, health, science, medical advancement, military weaponry and technology. Many of the best and brightest minds in the world are Israelites! The very long story has still yet to be fulfilled.

The Jewish people will one day recognize Jesus as their messiah! And God promises, through passages just like this one, that He will bring all His people back their land. They have been scattered all over the world, but they will return. They have been reviled, tortured and killed, but God still has His eye on His people and the promises made to ancient desert fathers, like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be fulfilled in modern times. Israel is still in the news because Israel is still waiting for the completion of all things, the end of days!

Prayer

Dad,
It is so heartbreaking to see the violence of war perpetrated on the folks in Israel and the Palestinian people. It is gut wrenching to watch the innocent be caught up in the mayhem and destruction of life, homes, businesses, schools and hospitals. We are a violent people at heart, especially when we wander from you and seek our own way. The struggle and deep seated hatred and anger is too complex for me to even understand. But, I know in all of this terror, you are at work to fulfill your promises, even extending life and freedom to those who behave as enemies towards you, if they would turn their heart towards you.

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Pregnancy pain before delivery.

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“This is what the Lord says: “I hear cries of fear; there is terror and no peace. Now let me ask you a question: Do men give birth to babies? Then why do they stand there, ashen-faced, hands pressed against their sides like a woman in labor? In all history there has never been such a time of terror. It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel. Yet in the end they will be saved!” Jeremiah‬ ‭30‬:‭5‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God asks some strange questions! The state and condition of Israel will go through extraordinary painful experiences. So much so that men, strong Jewish men will take the stance and position of a woman in the final stages of giving birth. Standing, hands on hips, breathing, focusing, screaming through the pain. His face, like that of the woman in labor, pale and exhausted. This is the travail of misery just before life is delivered, and Israel is expelled from Babylon.

One of my favorite commentaries, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, writes, “Ask—Consult all the authorities, men or books, you can, you will not find an instance. Yet in that coming day men will be seen with their hands pressed on their loins, as women do to repress their pangs. God will drive men through pain to gestures more fitting a woman than a man (Jer 4:31; 6:24). The metaphor is often used to express the previous pain followed by the sudden deliverance of Israel, as in the case of a woman in childbirth (Isa 66:7-9).”

It’s the bluntness of the New Living Translation that gets me here – Have you ever seen an man deliver a baby? Ah, but God is not doing a gender comparison here. The answer is rhetorically clear – NO. It’s the comparison of pain, of which no man has nor desires to go through – birthing a child! Every husband who has been through the process of pregnancy with his wife knows what it’s like to watch this happen. Every wife who becomes a mother knows in body, soul and spirit what it’s like to GIVE BIRTH to a human! It’s extraordinarily painful. Yet, almost immediately after deliverance their is indescribable JOY!

No man knows the pain of childbirth. However, the pain of capture, captivity and humiliation is so great they may mimic the reaction of that pain like a woman about to give birth. The point God makes through Jeremiah’s words is the pain of captivity is great, but the Joy of deliverance is greater! Ah, there it is – the picture of all humankind waiting in labor to have new life delivered and that only comes through the messiah! We are at the precipice of that final moment of deliverance.

Prayer

Dad,
All humanity aches under the pain of what Israel had to go through. Their captor was Babylon, ours sin. We’ve only known life under the curse of sin. We’ve only known selfishness, strife and struggle. Yet, within this long saga of brokenness, we have seen glimpses of freedom. Through faith, we’ve also experienced love, mercy and forgiveness, for ourselves and for others. This miracle of life, even under the shroud of sin is extraordinary. I, like so many others, wait for the end. Not forebodingly, but eagerly anticipating life with you and with each other to be reset back to the original plan of perfection. How it will all work with the knowledge of good and evil along with eternal life – I honestly do not know or understand. But I know you will make it all work.

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God had had it with us

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“The Babylonians outside the walls will come in and set fire to the city. They will burn down all these houses where the people provoked my anger by burning incense to Baal on the rooftops and by pouring out liquid offerings to other gods. Israel and Judah have done nothing but wrong since their earliest days. They have infuriated me with all their evil deeds,” says the Lord. “From the time this city was built until now, it has done nothing but anger me, so I am determined to get rid of it.” Jeremiah‬ ‭32:29-31‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I always wondered what Israel did to really tick God off. Now I know. God tells Jeremiah exactly what has been going on in secret and in public. I am currently doing a deep dive in Nehemiah and it is a sad and slow process of rebuilding and revisioning a new future. Everything the people had known had been gone for 70 years. God mentions specific offensive sins the people did in their own homes, on the rooftops in plain, public site. They poured out drink offerings to other gods. Gods and images that were not real and could not answer any of the people’s prayers. Later in the passage God said their wickedness had no end they, “They have set up their abominable idols right in my own Temple, defiling it. They have built pagan shrines to Baal in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing. What an incredible evil, causing Judah to sin so greatly!” The nerve to set up idols in the temple built and dedicated to God. They put up idol shrines all over the countryside and actually sacrificed their own children to these false gods of Molech. As humans, we will stop at nothing to get our own way, yet not even give the creator of the universe the courtesy of obeying Him. We will and have for centuries, sacrificed our own children to have our own way and rebel. I don’t just see this in Israel’s sin, I see it in our own culture today! God had enough and allowed Babylon to come in, strip and burn everything to the ground. Then Babylon carried off the millions of Israelites into slavery and exile. Compared to cities, temples and buildings, which mean NOTHING to God – people however are eternal and worth saving. Our worth, our value is not in the things we build, the progress and advancements in technology or the fact that we can send a spacecraft to mars and back. We find worth in humans, created in God’s image and bearing the breath of God upon us. From the tiniest baby in a womb to the frail senior who passes from this life – all valued and loved by God.

Prayer

Dad,
What a rough story for Israel. What a stark reality for our own existence as well. It’s hard to fathom the depth of anger, frustration and rebellion bound up in our human hearts. We have such deep cravings to do wrong, to go our stubborn independant ways. Yet, we blame you for everything that goes wrong even though it originated with our decisions. We’re a goofy bunch. It’s hard to see what you see in us. Something worth saving, worth the patience and pursuit. I am certainly glad for your grace towards me.

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What does God want?

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “Consider all this, and call for the mourners. Send for the women who mourn at funerals. Quick! Begin your weeping! Let the tears flow from your eyes. Hear the people of Jerusalem crying in despair, ‘We are ruined! We are completely humiliated! We must leave our land, because our homes have been torn down.’” Jeremiah‬ ‭9:17-19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​Learning from discipline.

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a child being properly disciplined, but it is quite a difficult scene to endure. I’m not talking about abuse or harsh corporal punishment from parent to child. I’m just talking about the extraordinary patience as a toddler melts down in public! Of course the child is crying, but often I’ve seen the child’s mother break down in exhaustive tears in complete frustration. There is wailing for sure.

As I read through the God-spokesperson’s words, His prophets, warning, imploring God’s own people to stop their temper-tantrum, destructive behavior. I understand why God would…. discipline them – severely! God does so as the most loving, merciful acts ever. Israel (and ALL of humanity) just won’t listen and stubbornly, even defiantly CHOOSE to go their own way, choose their own path. Even if it’s right off the cliff to their own death and destruction. They don’t, we don’t care – we want what we want when we want it and we won’t let anyone tell us any different!

What’s God to do with that total toddler behavior showing up constantly in grownup adults? Back then, God said, enough is enough! He has plans and God will have His way and nothing, NOTHING is going to stop Him from getting what He wants.

What does God want? YOU. He wants you back. He wants what is best for you, for me. He wants everything and everyone to be made right, whole, at peace, and back in the family. What if humans don’t want that? Well there’s the rub, right? There’s the struggle, the WAR, the problem. What if humans WANT to go their own way? Sure, God will eventually let them, but not without a fight.

What does it take to get it through our thick skulls – there is NOTHING else out there but chaos, death and destruction! And that world, that existence has its own ruler with his own ways of doing a life without God – that’s Satan’s realm and his plan to take as many as possible away from God and drag them to the eternal pits of despair!

For those humans who “live” it up here and just hope for annihilation, a eternal state of nothingness, it’s a lie.

For those promised some kind of union with “all” things and experience karma (with is nothingness) being “one” with all matter, it’s a lie.

For those who think they get to do life here, then come back, reincarnated to try again, hopefully as a higher life-being, it’s also a lie.

ALL those paths are shams leading to the same place, death and destruction away from God for all eternity. When God comes across harsh in His discipline methods, like stripping Israel of everything they knew and everything they owned – He does so out love! Because the alternative is eternally worse. So when you see people angry at God, or bitter because they believe God isn’t fair (which He is definitely not fair, but He is just), or they struggle and fight to run into the street like a wild, willful toddler – yeah, you’ll see some serious tears and tantrums going on.

Prayer

Dad,
Even though I completely acknowledge my sins, I have no intention of trying to get away from you to do “my own thing.” My life was a wreck before you got ahold of me. I remember your discipline in my youth. I remember how stubborn and feisty I was towards the things of God and how hard it was for me to just be obedient. Honestly, from my chaotic past, a lot of what you were teaching me did not make sense. If felt extremely counterintuitive from everything I had learned on my own. If it were not for your grace and persistent patience, I would not have made it this far. So, thank you for your steadfast hand of love.

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Similar biases about the poor and rich.

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“Then I said, “But what can we expect from the poor? They are ignorant. They don’t know the ways of the Lord. They don’t understand God’s laws. So I will go and speak to their leaders. Surely they know the ways of the Lord and understand God’s laws.” But the leaders, too, as one man, had thrown off God’s yoke and broken his chains.” Jeremiah‬ ‭5:4-5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I read Jeremiah’s words spoken to himself and I agree with him – we both have these strange stereotypes and biases about the poor (followers) and the rich (leaders).

Fair warning, there are some big assumptions coming up next.

I struggle with a belief that the poor, and disenfranchised do NOT have sin. I don’t quite think they are perfect, but I have a weird framework that puts them in a far more angelic posture than the rich. They’re poor! How can they possibly do any wrong or get into trouble – they are broke!

I dismiss so many behaviors for them. They lie, well it’s because they’re poor. They cheat, they steal because they’re poor. They are angry, violent at times, aimless, weak and frail – all because they are poor. How can they possibly be wrong? How can they sin, they’ve been sinned against so many times?

I live in a “below poverty level” neighborhood. And for the majority of my neighbors I just feel sorry for them. They work so hard to make money, mostly with side hustles. They walk or bicycle everywhere. They drive slow and cautious. They do so many things together as families. Many of my neighbors still WALK with grandparents, parents and children to a local church!

But It’s not just poorer families, we’ve got more homeless wandering the streets than anywhere else in our County. They are not just poor, they are mentally unstable, like a scene out of the walking dead. They walk across traffic without looking. They wander about ranting and raving, cussing at the air while standing on the corners. They walk our sidewalks completely naked, except for shoes. They huddle against the walls and front doors of our local businesses and stores, shaking from drug use and frightening anyone who just wants to be a customer.

Other than constant annoyance and pure pity, I still can’t judge, blame or otherwise see them as sinners. I agree with Jeremiah – they seem ignorant of God!

Oh, but the rich, the wealthy, the powerful – oooh baby, they are the sinners. They know better, they have more! They live a better life. Yeah, they should be judged, blamed and held accountable for their behaviors. Like Jeremiah insinuates, they are NOT ignorant! Earlier in this text, God tells Jeremiah something we all know to be true, “Run up and down every street in Jerusalem,” says the Lord. “Look high and low; search throughout the city! If you can find even one just and honest person, I will not destroy the city.”

It is ridiculous for me or Jeremiah to believe that the poor are angelic and the rich (leaders) are just evil monsters. It’s not right for me to excuse, my behavior, the poor’s behavior or the rich’s behavior based on these equitable qualities of money or influence. All of us have sin! All of us do sin well in our own ways! All of us find ways to be creative in our sin to get what we want, when we want it. Sadly, none of us are innocent and should be given a “pass” or excuses to make wrong choices.

I’m neither poor nor rich, but I could easily blame my past or my parents for my bad choices today. And it would just be the same smokescreen justification as the rest of humanity. It’s not my fault! Well, it’s a hard reality – it is my fault, and yours too.

Prayer

Dad,
Wherever I go, whatever I do, I cannot get away from who I am. I am still just a regular old sinner saved by grace. And, as I look at the world around me, rich and poor, I have to remember that we are all at fault for own decisions. We are all responsible for those choices. As much as I do not want judge nor pity, I have to give every person their own dignity of being human, created in your image. And still keep in mind that we are all broken and in need of rescue and redemption.

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Gotta Serve Somebody.

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.’” But the people replied, “Don’t waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires.” Jeremiah‬ ‭18:11-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Whoa, this ain’t no Jeremiah 29:11! You know that verse that is highly quoted and controversial among millennials that are sick of the positive toxicity postured in so many pulpits today. I’ve used it, I’ve quoted it and have given it away to inspire hope.

The context of that verse should ALWAYS be taken into consideration. Judgment had been pronounced and God put Israel in a 70 year timeout! So, from within captivity, within the punishment, yes, there is a promise of hope. However, it has a contingency trigger… “IF,” – IF you look for me! “This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” Jeremiah‬ ‭29:10-14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

But here, in the face of arrogance, brash attitudes, God says the complete opposite! You just can’t get any clearer than, “I am planning disaster for you.” Who are these “people” who continue to ruin it for the whole nation? Who are the “but the people replied.” Are they national leaders? Are they spiritual leaders? At one point, later in the text it says, “Then the people said, “Come on, let’s plot a way to stop Jeremiah. We have plenty of priests and wise men and prophets. We don’t need him to teach the word and give us advice and prophecies. Let’s spread rumors about him and ignore what he says.” Is this group of people civic or business leaders?

Whoever they are, they are loud and proud ignoring Jeremiah and the warnings he had given. And, they had a significant influence and sway over the general public. Isn’t that how life really goes? The hard working, simple, average folk just trying to live their lives start listening to the loud, brash activists, who are normally such a small group. Why are we so swayed, so influenced by these “people?”

I can tell you this, if someone doesn’t stand up for themselves, their community and their nation, it’s the bullies and blowhards that will lead us right into trouble. What do these folks care about community, they just selfishly want to tear things down and blame it on everyone else!

Surprisingly, the rest of the “people” just went along with ignoring God and His warnings and off they go into Babylonian captivity. It’s a sad message to digest, “you want to be free from me,” God says, “well, let’s just put you back into captivity to see if you remember how well you do on your own.”

What a paradox of life – being human is all about serving UNDER someone or something! If it’s not God, then it’s a maniacal dictator or a suffocating religion or a destructive ideology. It’s Bob Dylan’s hit song, released on my birthday, August 20, 1979 Gotta Serve Somebody – “But you’re going to have to serve somebody.”

Dylan faked his way into Christianity for a short time, just to win over the Jesus’ movement hot christian music market. His words are true though, “You might be a rock ’n’ roll addict prancing on the stage. You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage. You may be a business man or some high-degree thief. They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief… but you’re going to have to serve somebody!

After warning and pleading with Israel to stop lusting after wooden poles and racing towards an evil, independent stupidity, God declares, ENOUGH! They had sunk into depravity, and they are seriously messing with God’s plans to redeem the whole world through Israel. Time after time, God let’s us go our own way. Let’s us plummet to the depths of our desires. Waits until we hit the bottom and start looking around for help and someone to rescue us. Then we recognize our failures, confess and repent and make our way back to God’s grace. Then start the cycle all over again. Oh, come quickly Lord Jesus! Not to escape this broken planet, but to end this cycle once and for all.

Prayer

Dad,
Help us, continue to have mercy and grace on us. Even in our sin.

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Sister wives and impolite dinner conversations.

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what fickle Israel has done? Like a wife who commits adultery, Israel has worshiped other gods on every hill and under every green tree. I thought, ‘After she has done all this, she will return to me.’ But she did not return, and her faithless sister Judah saw this. She saw that I divorced faithless Israel because of her adultery. But that treacherous sister Judah had no fear, and now she, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution.” Jeremiah‬ ‭3:6-8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God speaks to Jeremiah and it sounds like an episode from Sister Wives. God uses massive marriage, family and sisterhood language to explain just how inappropriate and hurtful are His own people, His chosen people are behaving towards him.

This passage reminds me of a couple of other Bible stories where the writers use very real, very course language to describe Israel’s sin. One is in Ezekiel 23, the other is the book of Hosea. It is interesting and disturbing that God would use and had to use such vivid, x-rated imagery to communicate Israel’s complete rejection of His love and care for them.

This was NOT polite dinner conversations! Oftentimes, parents today will not let their children read these Bible stories until they are old enough to understand the true consequences of choices and real and long lasting effects of sin.

God says, Israel has been having open love affairs with idols – actual wooden poles and stone figurines. Now, they weren’t having physical sex, but they were certainly giving themselves away in every other way. These idols, although dead, inanimate objects someone had a reputation for being really needy. They needed cash, fresh fruits, veggies and meat. They needed constant attention and in extreme cases demanded a human sacrifice for time to time, normally one of their children.

God told Jeremiah he thought Israel would go off, sow some wild oats and then come home, come back to Himself. Well Israel didn’t return and God served them divorce papers – God was done with that side of the family. But worse, Judah, the “other sister,” copied Israel’s behavior and just gave up the monogamous relationship all together.

It was through this long history of heartbreak that God shows us who we really are when we have full free choice! We all, like dogs in heat, just run off to find pleasure or “freedom” anywhere we can. This is Us! Read the rest of this story and you’ll see just how tiring it was for God to continue to pursue a people who were constantly running away from Him – not towards Him. These cycles of selfish pursuit are stories of God’s own chosen group, not some Philistine, Canaanite or Assyrian folks. Those people were KNOWN violent, brutal, highly immoral people. Yet, they weren’t any worse than Israel and Judah! When there’s no clear difference in the way God’s people live from the non-believers of God, there’s a serious problem, right?

Prayer

Dad,
Wow. We are a piece of work! History certainly does repeat itself. All I can think of is this impolite dinner talk being the real picture of what Paul said to the churches in Rome, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Oftentimes I think of the small sins and offenses and think, “I’m not that bad.” Then I read of the folks who regularly cheated on you and profaned your gifts of mercy, and remember “oh yeah, that’s in my heart as well.” I’m really humbled that I have to be reminded of how bad, how desperately wicked is my wandering soul, unchecked by your Holy Spirit! Forgive me. Forgive us as the Church.

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Somebody stop me!

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. From prophets to priests, they are all frauds. They offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their disgusting actions? Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush! Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. They will be brought down when I punish them,” says the Lord.” Jeremiah‬ ‭6:13-15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​Brought to you by the same guy that gave us Jeremiah 29:11. Oh, God has plans alright… but there’s this little (cough, cough) issue of deep, hidden, pervasive SIN. Just before this passage Jeremiah quite dramatically says, “So now I am filled with the Lord’s fury. Yes, I am tired of holding it in! “I will pour out my fury on children playing in the streets and on gatherings of young men, on husbands and wives and on those who are old and gray.”

The spokespersons for God had the awful job of delivering warnings, consequences and mostly bad news. Anything to get us, to shake us back into the reality of how far we’ve slid, how far we’ve drifted. And, enough is enough. For selfishness and self serving hunger from sin there is never satiation, it’s never enough. We don’t come to our senses. We don’t have an ultimate endpoint of self awareness to reign in our lust and desires.

God must stop our spiraling pursuit of MORE. Jeremiah describes it as greed, but it’s far more than just material gain, it’s power, control and massive egotistical tyrannies of self-protection.

We are currently being served (or subjugated) by these narcissistic leaders all around us today! No wonder Jeremiah can’t hold it in any more! There’s a moment when we also get a sense that one; we have just given up and expect these bad characters to lead us or two; we want these maniacs in power because they also give us what we want.

Do we really want leaders constantly telling us, leading us to DO RIGHT and LIVE RIGHT? God put a stop to all of it when He PUT his own people into slavery, under a powerful leader in the most wealthy kingdom of its day. It starts to feel like God would be saying, “if you want to behave like slaves, then I’ll just let you have your way.”

I’ve been seeing a lot of bad human qualities in me, reflected through these Old Testament stories. One is: I want what I want, when I want it and I don’t want anyone telling me different! Two is: Never point out when I’m wrong, because it is ALWAYS someone else’s fault! Geez, I’m a real piece of work here.

God stopped his people from destroying themselves and lovingly punished them to protect them. And, God is still doing so today in our lives, in our culture, even in our churches. I wouldn’t be too eager to celebrate God’s judgment on our “pagan” neighbors in entertainment, media, politics, policing, education or business. God is willing to start with his own, the church. Peter wasn’t afraid to just plainly write it out in 4:17, “For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household.” You know what’s wild, this is GOOD news. To quote Jim Carrey in The Mask, “Somebody stop me!”

Prayer

Dad,
I see that my sin could and would carry me away, far away from you. I see that you’re love equals discipline as much as it means blessing. I see, I know the things in my heart of hearts and I am thankful that the Holy Spirit both corrects and keeps them in check. I cannot get away from my sins, but I can confess and turn and run towards you rather than run from you. Thank you for your correction and your grace.

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God will always find our conspiracies

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“Again the Lord spoke to me and said, “I have discovered a conspiracy against me among the people of Judah and Jerusalem. They have returned to the sins of their ancestors. They have refused to listen to me and are worshiping other gods. Israel and Judah have both broken the covenant I made with their ancestors.” Jeremiah‬ ‭11:9-10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There is nothing hidden from God. And, of course, he knows our thoughts, our ways – everything about us from before we were born even all through our external existence.

He sees all, for all time, for everyone in a constant instance, a moment of continual present or NOW.

However, to talk about with Jeremiah or us for that matter, God says, “I’ve discovered” something. I read this like a Dad who has found fireworks contraband under my son’s mattress or my own Mom who thought she discovered Marijuana in a baggie in my desk (it was dried parsley, but it looked like drugs) long story.

God has these conversations with us as though he has expected such good from us, but alas, we’ve been secretly seeing another god. He tells Jeremiah about the plethora of very visible idols throughout the city.

They weren’t exactly hidden. In fact they were blatantly visible, like David’s son Absalom, having intimate relations with his father’s concubines on the roof. God says, look around – idols are everywhere! “you have as many gods as you have towns. You have as many altars of shame—altars for burning incense to your god Baal—as there are streets in Jerusalem.” It wasn’t as much a conspiracy as an outright rebellion.

God does tell Jeremiah something that has been consistent throughout all human history and it’s the hard part of our story – “They [we] actually rejoice in doing evil!” The only thing, the necessary thing for us to do is repent (turning 180°) from our sin. To have and a regular and ongoing admission of our natural desires to have our own way, a confession of those desires as well as the behaviors that follow. I would like to think that I am never trying to hide my sin from God nor for him to ever see it as a flaunting of rebellion against his law or love. I regularly sin, but I do not regularly rebel or openly display my idols in the cities and streets where I live.

PRAYER:

Dad,
It makes it especially egregious to think of my sin as any means of taking on another love like some kind of adulterous affair. I so want to be loyal and grateful for the relationship, the covenant you have made with me. Of course, I hate that fact that my sin, my thoughts and behaviors would EVER be seen as a public display of rebellion against you. You know my weaknesses, you know my faults and shortcomings, you see my heart. Even still I come before you humbly in repentance and confession, not pretending that I have no sin not that I do not sin. Thank you for your Word and thank you for your Holy Spirit who calls me to obedience!

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God-memos make it all the way to the King

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“During the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king in Judah, the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: “Get a scroll, and write down all my messages against Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Begin with the first message back in the days of Josiah, and write down every message, right up to the present time. Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭36:1-3‬‬

​What a hard life for a spokesperson for God. We have the book of Jeremiah because he was told to write things down. And, Jeremiah being obedient, did just that.

He had a scribe (which by the way ended up becoming Pharisees in the New Testament, (LONG story) write down everything that God had told him. All the “prophetic” words of warning, future possibilities and what God was thinking about and communicating to his people at that time.

Whoa! This long line of communication style, from Adam to Noah, Abraham to Moses and now to Prophets, Judges and even Kings was an amazing precursor to Jesus speaking as God Himself!

So Baruch wrote them on a scroll. Then after writing down all these memos from God, Jeremiah tells Baruch, “get down to the temple and read these things to the leaders over Israel, Judah AND “other” nations. These words need a larger audience BECAUSE there’s a chance, a hope, a possibility that people will hear the words (and warnings) and REPENT.

Why would they repent, because the stuff that God says he will do to them will be terrible! That ought to get their attention, right? Well, just about the time we, the reader might think, “yeah, this is going to work!” People will hear the FUTURE and change their ways. Alas, not so much.

Baruch does read and gets not one but two interested audiences. One is a more public reading, the other a private one.

In the private reading two things happen. First the guys tell Baruch, HIDE! What? Yeah, you and Jeremiah hide and don’t tell anyone where you are. Second, we’ve got to read these to King Jehoiakim immediately.

The scrolls make it all the way to the palace! Jeremiah records what happens when the God-memos make it all the way to the King. The next scene reads right out of some ancient, gothic novel (36:22-24) – “It was late autumn, and the king was in a winterized part of the palace, sitting in front of a fire to keep warm. 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.”

What? You’ve got to kidding me. Can you even imagine the creator of the entire universe sending you a personal letter telling you what is going to happen and giving you fair warning to get your act together for your sake and the entire country and you casually, but defiantly cut it up piece by piece and flippantly fling it into the royal fireplace? OMG.

We are such a piece of work! That takes some kind of huge human cojones to openly defy God himself. At some point, it seems so ridiculously dark but humorous! Who do we think we are?

Yet, even in that amount of shear audacity of arrogance, God goes through with his plans to save and redeem us. Even guys like King joker-Jehoiakim. This puts a whole new look on Paul’s words to the churches in Rome (5:8), “EVEN while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!” And, sadly there those, even though they are warned about the future, their future, will take the words of God, sit in front of their cozy fireplace and smugly cut and throw his words into the fire. God help us!

PRAYER

Dad,
Again, I have to see this all in the reality of my own life. I can be aghast at the behaviors of old, egotistical even maniacal kings and think, what a loser. But the truth is so hard. I look into the perfect mirror of your word and see reflections of my own will, selfishness and stubbornness.

Even knowing the warnings and the effects of my own sin, yet still I fail. I am so thankful for your grace and mercy. I am so thankful for confession and repentance. I am also unworthy, yet you still love me.