Jeremiah 30 Throughout this chapter the Lord reveals Himself as:

"God of all the families of Israel.." (  v1)
The One who " loved you with an everlasting love.." v3
The rebuilder of Israel.. v4
The gatherer of the scattered.. v8
The Father to Israel.. v9
The Shepherd to His flock.  v10
The Ransomer and Redeemer of Jacob.. v11
The bountiful provider.. v12
The One who turns mourning into joy and their comforter v13
The One who satisfies with His goodness.. v14
The Rewarder of the faithful v16
The Giver of a hope for the future.. v17
The Father of "My dear son..." whose heart "yearns for him." v20
The Father of the "faithless daughter"
The Creator of a "new thing" v22
The One who satisfies the weary ones and refreshes those who languish. v25
The Giver of a New Covenant v31
"The Lord of hosts is His name." v35

" I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God and they shall be My people." v33  The Lord's promise to Jeremiah was fulfilled by the coming of Jesus.. His life, death, and resurrection made the way for "all" to know God.. "from the least of them to the greatest of them... for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more."  The Holy Spirit was sent to fill us inside and inscribe His truth deep in our inner beings.

"Behold, days are coming..."  the Lord continues to declare.. A new city will be built.. not made by human hands.  A city that will be holy to the Lord forevermore.  Like Abraham, we too look for the city to come.  May we be ready for that day!

Father in Heaven,  You are near and not far off.  You are our refuge and strength.  You are the Lover of our souls.  You are God and there is no one like You.  Glory to Your Name.  Fill us anew with Your Spirit of Truth and Grace for the day ahead.  May we abide in Your rest today.  In Jesus we pray. amen.

Jeremiah 30  Though all that the Lord has said will happen - the exile, the destruction, and the judgements - God is not through will Israel.  He reveals to them once again, His good plan for the future. There will come a day when Israel will return to the Lord.  They will serve Him and will be restored. Their "incurable" wound will be healed - by the Lord.  Their "great" iniquity and their numerous sins brought on this punishment, but that is not the end. God has a future plan.

In that day, " .. their leader shall be one of them, and their ruler shall come forth from their midst. And I will bring him near, and he shall approach Me; For who would dare risk his life to approach Me? declares the Lord. And you shall be My people, and I will be your God". ( v21-22) 

Who would dare approach the Holy One?  Who would not only risk his life, but give it freely?
Jesus, only Jesus! O how wonderful is our God!
He can cure the incurable!
He can save those whose iniquity is great and whose sins are numerous!
He can accomplish His plans for our good... even when we have gone into exile.

Our God is Mighty to save.  It is the "intent of His heart"  to accomplish the restoration of His people.
He loves with an everlasting love!
He has sent us a perfect Mediator!

Thank You Father for saving us.  Thank You that Your promises are true and You will accomplish Your will in us.  You are good and You are just. You are gracious and merciful.  We give You praise and once again bow in humble adoration to You, our God and King. Amen.

Jeremiah 29  One of the most well known verses from this book is found here, part of Jeremiah's letter to the Jews in exile.  They went to Babylon.. sent there by the Lord ( 29:4)  The Lord commands them to:

1. "Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens, and eat their produce." ( v5)  This will be their home for 70 years.  They needed to settle in and believe what the Lord has said.

2."And seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare." (v7)  Not only were they to make Babylon their home, but they were to pray for the city!  They were commissioned to be peacemakers in the heart of the enemy's capital.

3. They were also to have hope for the future. " For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."  Here is the Lord's promise - He will take them back to Israel.  He will restore them, not only to their homeland, but to Himself.

We are not sent into exile.. at least not at this time.. but we are also "aliens and strangers".. for our home is in Heaven.  Jeremiah's words are just as important to us, wherever we are.. May we;

Settle in where the Lord has sent us and believe His Word.
Pray for and seek the peace of the city in which we live.
Keep our eyes on our Hope - an Eternal City - our true Homeland.


Jeremiah's letter also confronts the false prophets.  Even in captivity they are speaking their lies.
The Lord did not send them.
The Lord Himself is a witness to their lies.
The Lord will punish those who have "preached rebellion".
Truth is vital!  God will defend His Word from those will in any way misuse it!


Father in Heaven, thank You for the Word that leads us into Your paths of righteousness. Thank You that You do have a plan for each of us - a good plan for those who belong to You and walk in faith. Thank You that when we seek You with all our heart, You let us find You!  Thank You for the hope we have in Christ Jesus.  No matter how long our days on this earth, no matter where our journey may take us.. we have You with us.. Even as You promised Joshua, " Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." ( Joshua 1:9)  You are with me, here and now.. in my uncertain future( as far as this world is concerned).. and in my eternal future.. forever in Your home. Hallelujah!  Thank You Lord. Amen!

Jeremiah 27-28  Yokes.. We know that oxen are yoked together; joined by a simple bar so that they can work together.  Here, Jeremiah is told to make a yoke for himself and to bind it to his own neck.  It is a visual message of God's Word - all the nations who will come under the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar  will be preserved;  all those who refuse, will be destroyed.  " I have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight."  the Lord declares.  And that is Nebuchadnezzar...

"Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live.." Jeremiah pleads with Zedekiah.. ".. as the Lord has spoken..."  Even as Jeremiah pleads for them not to listen to the false prophets.. Hananiah pushes his way into the Lord's house and proclaims, " Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ' I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.'"

Jeremiah had set up a test of sorts... The prophets would say that the vessels of the Lord's house would be returned from Babylon shortly..  but that is a lie.  But ask them to do this.. ".. if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now entreat the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, may not go to Babylon."  Let them at least say something worthwhile if they have to speak..

Hananiah is the one who comes proclaiming that the vessels would be returned to Jerusalem within 2 years.  Jeremiah's response is perfect, " Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord confirm your words which you have prophesied to bring back the vessels of the Lord's house and all the exiles from Babylon to this place.. "  But, " hear now the word... The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent."   

Hananiah does not quit.  He takes the wooden yoke that Jeremiah has been wearing and breaks it; continuing to proclaim that Nebuchadnezzar would be removed and the vessels returned in two years.
Jeremiah leaves, but comes back to Hananiah privately.  Not only will the yoke not be removed, but it will become a yoke of iron instead of wood.  Not only was the prophesy of Hananiah a lie, but it was a counsel of" rebellion against the Lord."  Because of this, Jeremiah prophesied,  Hananiah would die within a year.  This prophesy was fulfilled within 2 months, proving that Jeremiah is the true prophet.

Deuteronomy 28: 47-48.. in the list of "curses" that will come upon Israel for disobedience to God's word is this.." Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord shall send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you. " 
 Once again we see that God is doing what He said He would do!

Jesus also talked about a yoke.. " Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My load is light." ( Matt. 11:29-30)

We either willingly put our necks under the yoke of Jesus.. or we will find ourselves under a yoke of iron in service to our enemy.  Satan lusts for our submission to him.  His aim is to keep up locked up until we are destroyed.  But, Jesus came to rescue us for all time and eternity! He has set us free from the dominion of darkness and brought us into His Kingdom of Light!  Praise the Name of our Lord!!!

Father,  I am willing.. to take the yoke of my King, to learn from Jesus, to be bound to Him and serving in unity with my wonderful Savior.  Once again, I am reminded to offer myself, my body, soul, mind, and spirit.. as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable.. in worship to You, the God of Creation, my Maker. Do as You have said You would in me.. sanctify me through and through that I might stand before You, blameless and complete in Christ on that day.  Use me as You choose, I am Your servant..  I ask this in the Name above all names, Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.

Jeremiah 26  Once again Jeremiah is given a message for the nation of Judah.  " Thus says the Lord, 'If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law, which I have set before you, to listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you again and again, but you have not listened; the I will make this house like Shiloh, and this city I will make a curse to all the nations of the earth.'" ( v4-5)

The priests, prophets, and the people were so angry at this message that they seized Jeremiah and wanted to kill him.  Shiloh had once been the place of the tabernacle.. the place of God's presence after Joshua finally brought Israel into the promised land.  It was in the days of Samuel that Shiloh was forsaken.  Eli's sons had taken the Ark of the Covenant into battle where it was taken by the Philistines.  Because of the terrible consequences of this action, the Philistines had to send it back.. but it did not ever return to Shiloh.  Shiloh became nothing but a wilderness.  To think that this would happen to Jerusalem was more than the people in Jeremiah's day could believe.  So they decided to shoot the messenger!

Jesus was accused of this same thing.  He told them that there would not be a stone left of the Temple in Jerusalem.  The religious leaders in His day also wanted to kill Him, using this message as their excuse. The temple meant more to them than the God Who's Presence it was meant to symbolize.

Jeremiah is rescued by Ahikam the son of Shaphan.  This family, one of very few, chose to believe and obey the Word of the Lord.  Later on Ahikam's son, Gedaliah, would take in Jeremiah and care for him. ( 39:14) God was preserving a remnant for Himself, a promise that He would always keep.

Jeremiah continued to listen to and speak the Word of God, even when it was met with such hostility.
I am reminded once again of how important it is that we do not omit, dilute, or in anyway diminish the Word.  It is not popular and is sometimes hated in our world today.. but it is the only Truth and we are responsible to speak it out as well as to live according to it.  In this chapter, one thing that we can speak out and live by is verse 13 , " Now therefore amend your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will change His mind about the misfortune which He has pronounced against you."   It is not too late to speak of God's grace.. of His willingness to forgive us our sins; of the truth that if we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse of from all unrighteousness.  He still is calling for His people to repent and turn back.  Jesus makes this all possible.... what a wonderful message we have.. even if others may want to hate us for it.

Father in Heaven, You are a loving God.  You are Mighty and Powerful and Holy.. yet You are gentle and merciful and kind.  How thankful we are to know You.  We bless Your Name. Father, empower us by Your Spirit to speak Your words of truth.. Your call of repentance to those whom we come into contact with.  May we be faithful to use every opportunity to speak truth and turn others back to You. We need Your Presence filling us to overflowing.. fill us now we pray, in Jesus' name. amen.

Jeremiah 24 -25  "What do you see, Jeremiah?"  the Lord said once again.  This time Jeremiah sees 2 baskets of figs.  One basket is full of the best figs on earth.  The other is filled with the worst - rotting and not eatable.  The Lord declares that those who had gone into exile as He had commanded - would end up being the ones blessed with His goodness.

 " And I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart."  ( v7)

But, all the rest, the rotten, the disobedient, will be destroyed.

For 23 years Jeremiah had spoken the Word of the Lord. For 23 years the people would not listen.  They would not turn away from their evil ways.  They would not stop worshiping idols.  70 years of captivity would keep them from the land of Israel.   But, Israel would not be the only nation under judgement... " all the kingdoms of the earth"  would also be made to drink the cup of God's wrath.  "Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'You shall surely drink!'" ( 25:28)

The cup of the Lord's wrath - "Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall, and rise no more because of the sword which I will send among you."  Calamity comes by way of the sword,  but it is from the Lord.
He will" roar from on high."  It will be a mighty roar.  A shout.  A clamor to the ends of the earth. "Because the Lord has a controversy with the nations. He is entering into judgement with all flesh." 
"On that day".. the Lord says, "those slain by the Lord.. shall be from one end of the earth to the other."  The Lord's anger is fierce... like a lion who has left lair and has become a horror.

The book of Revelation describes what the wrath of God entails.. 7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls of wrath.  Judgements will come to the whole earth because they will not repent... Death, destruction... plagues worse than those in the days of Moses and Pharaoh... The wrath of God will be completely poured out on this planet.. on that day. Only those who are in Christ Jesus will survive...

The Gospels tell us that Jesus went to the place called Gethsemane.  He was deeply "grieved and distressed", even to the point of death.   His prayer was this, " My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt." ( Matthew 26:39)  Jesus prayed again, twice more,
"My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it,  Thy will be done." ( v42)   Jesus did drink the cup of God's wrath, judgement for all sin.. on our behalf.  Because He did.. and because we are in Him, covered by His sacrifice.. we will not drink of God's wrath.  It is that covenant of Love, uniting us with the Lord Jesus, our Savior, that delivers us from the wrath to come.

He has truly given us a "heart to know Him." We are His people and He is our God, because of Jesus. We have life.. because He lives.  We have salvation because He paid the price for us.. He drank the cup for us.  Hallelujah what a Savior!

Father in Heaven, we praise You!  You have done all that You said.  There is coming a day when it will all be finished.. when the final judgements will be poured out upon the earth because of the wickedness found here.  May we stand firm in our Lord Jesus, clothed in His righteousness alone.. faultless to stand before Your throne!  Thank You for a heart that has been shattered by Your Word, replaced by Your Spirit, inscribed with Your Law, and ruled by Your Son.. May I know You and forever be in Your Presence.  I ask this in the Name of my Lord, Jesus Christ.  amen.

Jeremiah 23 From verse 9 the rest of this chapter is a judgement against the false prophets of Israel and Judah.  The Lord's anger is fierce against those who claimed to know His truth, but really were proclaiming their own lies.  They broke Jeremiah's heart and the Lord's heart as well.  "Because of the Lord and because of His holy words" , Jeremiah was reeling.  O that we might know God's Word and honor it so much!

The Lord called the prophets and priest adulterers.  They polluted the House of the Lord and the land as well.  They filled His house with wickedness.  They offended the Lord with their idolatry and led the people astray.  Their falsehoods were "horrible" things to the Lord.

 " And they strengthened the hands of the evildoers, so that no one turned back from his wickedness." 
What a statement.  The prophets and priests had the responsibility of preaching and teaching the Word of God.  They were ordained and responsible to lead the whole nation to know what was holy and what was profane according to the Word of the Lord. Because they failed to do what they were supposed to do, the whole nation was lost in their sin... therefore their judgement would be the harshest. They were:
False shepherds that led the sheep astray.
False healers who could not heal anyone.
False preachers, preaching peace when there was no peace coming.
False prophets who claimed to speak for the Lord, but had never even listened to His Word.

Our world is full of the same kinds of people.  Men and women who claim to be Christians, who rationalize sin in their sermons, who fail to speak Biblical truth because it doesn't agree with modern (wicked )"cultural" viewpoints... Churches and whole denominations are "strengthening the hands of evildoers" by not turning them back from their wickedness. God's judgement will be upon them.

"But if they had stood in My council, then they would have announced My words to the people, and would have turned them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds.  Am I a God who is near... and not a God far off?  Can a man hide himself in hiding places, so I do not see him?.. Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? declares the Lord."

God's Word is the truth and we must be careful to speak it in Truth.   His Word is like a fire.. and like a "hammer which shatters rock".   The false speakers, "perverted the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God."  They received punishment for their wickedness in Jeremiah's days and they will in our day also.

The Word of God is "the sword of the Spirit". (Ephesians 6:17) "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. "  ( Hebrews 4:12-13)

James wrote this warning, " Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgement."  Paul wrote about false teachers who "want[ed] to distort the gospel of Christ."  ( Gal. 1:6-7) Peter wrote about those who  were "untaught and unstable [who] distort.. the Scriptures, to their own destruction." 

There is such an immensely important truth that we must heed from God's Word here - God's powerful Word is able to turn people away from sin and to the Lord - if it is not distorted or perverted or in any way diluted. We, as followers of Christ, must never allow ourselves or any others to teach  anything but the Truth, The whole Word of God.. . even when it is not politically correct or culturally acceptable.

Father in heaven,  I worship You and praise Your Name.. Holy and Almighty God, the Lord of hosts.
Guard my tongue and my fingers.. as I type these words.. Take captive my thoughts to abide only in Your Truth.. in Christ Jesus my Lord.  Bring repentance to those who are called by Your name but who have diluted or perverted the truth of Your Word.  Revive us and renew us by Your Word and Your Spirit.  Forgive us for not taking heed of Your word and not guarding it carefully as we should. Give us wisdom to discern those who want to lead us astray with falsehoods.  Protect us and our children from all false teaching.
Thank You for this Truth that You have shown us today.  May all who read this, take heed.  In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.