Chapters 14 and 15 are considered to be Jeremiah's sixth sermon. Here, Jeremiah is given the prophetic word from the Lord about a coming drought of epic proportions, what my King James version calls a "dearth." And, of course, if there is no water, there will soon be no food; famine must follow closely behind, bringing death as well.
As you read this next passage of scripture, try to imagine the horror Jeremiah must have felt to hear these words of severe judgment against his people, affecting even the beasts of the field that inhabited the land of Judah, being spoken to him straight from the mouth of almighty God:
" Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.
Because the ground is chaff, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.
Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass.
And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass." (Jeremiah 14:2-6)
It is no wonder, then, that Jeremiah immediately begins to intercede and plead with the Lord for mercy, even while acknowledging the sins of his people. Three times in the remainder of the 14th chapter, Jeremiah pleads with the Lord. And three times God refuses to change His mind about His coming judgment against Judah. These verses are very self-explanatory, needing no further commentary from me.
But as you read them, please read them not only with unrepentant Judah in mind, but with the unrepentant United States of America in mind as well. When you read about horrendous coming judgment upon the unrepentant people individually, consider if those horrifying judgments were being spoken to us as a people who once belonged solely to God, but have turned from Him. As you read about false prophets, speaking only a positive word, consider yourself, as I do myself: are we so intent on being "positive" that we do not want to speak the "harsh" words that the Holy Spirit might be leading us to speak concerning coming judgment in our own time and in our own land? Will proclaiming peace when there is no peace, in God's eyes at least, bring about the salvation for the multitudes who are leading their lives as they see fit with no regard for this fearful and holy God who must bring such judgment to those who will not heed Him? Are we definitely being led by the Spirit of God at all times when we speak or are we just speaking what we want to hear and believe no matter how contrary it appears to be to the Word of God?
For me, these passages bring me great pause to consider my own actions, both as part of a people group, and as an individual. Have I repented of all that I need to repent of? Have I spoken what God wanted me to speak, versus what I wanted to hear spoken? Have I taken an easy way out of proclaiming peace, versus the enduring the misery and rejection that would come of speaking God's words of coming judgment as Jeremiah did? Am I leading the life God wants me to lead, versus going my own way and doing what feels good to me?
Consider all of this as you read the conversation that went on between Jeremiah and God, as Jeremiah pleads for a change of heart from the Lord on behalf of Judah:
Jeremiah: "O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee...yet thou O lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not."
The Lord: "Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence." (Jeremiah 14:11-12)
Jeremiah: "Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place."
The Lord: "The prophets prophesy lies in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land. By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. And the people shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters, for I will pour this wickedness upon them. Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them: 'Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow."
Jeremiah: "Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? Hath thy soul loathed Zion? Why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, and there is no good: and for the time of healing, and behold trouble! We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us."
The Lord: "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? Then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord: Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity....for who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem?...thou hast forsaken Me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting. And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land: I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their wicked ways."
Does the new covenant in Jesus Christ do away with judgments such as these toward a disobedient people, even if that disobedient person is a believer in Christ? Or did Christ come to show us that through Him we don't have to live lives of disobedience to the Lord; that we don't have to fear these judgments, not because our holy God has changed His ways, but because we have changed our disobedient ways into obedience through the strength of Christ? How does a person change their ways, and escape such judgment, without Christ? And what are we doing to help them come to know Christ and thus escape such judgment?
We will finish the 15h chapter on the next posting.
As you read this next passage of scripture, try to imagine the horror Jeremiah must have felt to hear these words of severe judgment against his people, affecting even the beasts of the field that inhabited the land of Judah, being spoken to him straight from the mouth of almighty God:
" Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.
Because the ground is chaff, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.
Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass.
And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass." (Jeremiah 14:2-6)
It is no wonder, then, that Jeremiah immediately begins to intercede and plead with the Lord for mercy, even while acknowledging the sins of his people. Three times in the remainder of the 14th chapter, Jeremiah pleads with the Lord. And three times God refuses to change His mind about His coming judgment against Judah. These verses are very self-explanatory, needing no further commentary from me.
But as you read them, please read them not only with unrepentant Judah in mind, but with the unrepentant United States of America in mind as well. When you read about horrendous coming judgment upon the unrepentant people individually, consider if those horrifying judgments were being spoken to us as a people who once belonged solely to God, but have turned from Him. As you read about false prophets, speaking only a positive word, consider yourself, as I do myself: are we so intent on being "positive" that we do not want to speak the "harsh" words that the Holy Spirit might be leading us to speak concerning coming judgment in our own time and in our own land? Will proclaiming peace when there is no peace, in God's eyes at least, bring about the salvation for the multitudes who are leading their lives as they see fit with no regard for this fearful and holy God who must bring such judgment to those who will not heed Him? Are we definitely being led by the Spirit of God at all times when we speak or are we just speaking what we want to hear and believe no matter how contrary it appears to be to the Word of God?
For me, these passages bring me great pause to consider my own actions, both as part of a people group, and as an individual. Have I repented of all that I need to repent of? Have I spoken what God wanted me to speak, versus what I wanted to hear spoken? Have I taken an easy way out of proclaiming peace, versus the enduring the misery and rejection that would come of speaking God's words of coming judgment as Jeremiah did? Am I leading the life God wants me to lead, versus going my own way and doing what feels good to me?
Consider all of this as you read the conversation that went on between Jeremiah and God, as Jeremiah pleads for a change of heart from the Lord on behalf of Judah:
Jeremiah: "O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee...yet thou O lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not."
The Lord: "Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence." (Jeremiah 14:11-12)
Jeremiah: "Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place."
The Lord: "The prophets prophesy lies in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land. By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. And the people shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters, for I will pour this wickedness upon them. Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them: 'Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow."
Jeremiah: "Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? Hath thy soul loathed Zion? Why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, and there is no good: and for the time of healing, and behold trouble! We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us."
The Lord: "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? Then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord: Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity....for who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem?...thou hast forsaken Me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting. And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land: I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their wicked ways."
Does the new covenant in Jesus Christ do away with judgments such as these toward a disobedient people, even if that disobedient person is a believer in Christ? Or did Christ come to show us that through Him we don't have to live lives of disobedience to the Lord; that we don't have to fear these judgments, not because our holy God has changed His ways, but because we have changed our disobedient ways into obedience through the strength of Christ? How does a person change their ways, and escape such judgment, without Christ? And what are we doing to help them come to know Christ and thus escape such judgment?
We will finish the 15h chapter on the next posting.
2 comments:
Thought provoking questions: I do not believe the new covenant in Christ does away with judgments such as describe in Jeremiah.
In Matthew 5:17, we hear Christ say, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets: I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Like this verse, Jesus Christ is an extension of God. If the new covenant in Jesus did away with judgments as spoken in Jeremiah, then why did God say in Matthew 12:36, “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.”
Christ’s life is an example of how we should live our lives. Not in disobedience, but obedience to God. And as you stated, we do not have to fear these judgments, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am you God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10).
I too imagined the description given in Jeremiah was the United States….it would be hard not to see all the examples of idolatry of money, power, fame on display daily in our country. I have to say that I read further and in Chapter 19, the comparison of Judah to America jumped off the page when saying, “They have burned incense in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal - - something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.”
Have you ever really read the statistics on the innocents aborted each year? 2011, approx. 1.06 Million; 2008 1.29 Million, 2002 1.29 Million, 2000 1.31 Million, 1996 1.36 Million…..how can we honestly say we are a Christian Nation???
I believe that we abortion was “legalized” by the Supreme Court and the Pastors of this Nation did not stand up in unison and take a stand for life by preaching to their congregations and showing civil disobedience - - that was a pivotal point in our country’s history. I believe in the coming days with the Supreme Court to soon make its decision known regarding the unholy “union” of same sex individuals - - this too will be a pivotal point.
Too long Christians have been silent and have not taken as stand for God. Too long have they failed in their duty of being the “light and salt” of the world.
I believe now, we are seeing a glimpse of what life will be like when the Christians have been taken up by Christ and removed from Earth. Can you imagine the destruction and evil that will prevail? The Lion will prowl and wander over the Earth with no one or nothing to stop it.
With regards to what a person needs to do to “escape such judgment?” They need to repent. Need to acknowledge they are sinners and fall short of being innocent of the evil they have committed. They must speak their sins to God and ask for forgiveness. They must acknowledge that they alone are unworthy, but through their belief, acceptance, and understanding that Christ is God’s Son and through the sacrifice and shed blood of Christ for all; he took away their sins and paid the price of death. But, His death was not the end of the story, but the beginning….
He destroyed the hold death held over all of us and no lives again, sitting at God’s right side. We must repent, acknowledge Christ as our savior or our Heavenly Father will not acknowledge us. GW
Excellent comments GW...nothing I can add to it! Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to add so greatly to our study! I appreciate you!
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