Jeremiah 27  God said, "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." (v5)

Surprisingly, at that time, He gave it to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.  This was a temporary gift. It was only for a season. Ultimately all of creation belongs to One so much greater.. "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:16-17)

Jeremiah's message was to all the nations around Israel.. submit to the one that God put in power, or perish.  Judah was still trying to rely on outside help.. but God was bringing that all to an end.  They could submit to Him or perish.  

And, ultimately, that is each person's choice too.. we either submit and surrender to our Creator, who happens to love us and want us.. or we perish.  In these days, we are seeing what is happening in Israel.. and we know that God is in the middle of this... He loves His people and wants them to listen to His Word and surrender to His will.  May they not reject the Messiah any longer, but call on Him, who made them and holds them together.

Father in heaven, glorious and gracious, just and merciful.. we call on You .. praying for Your Kingdom to come and Your will to be done. May Jesus, the King of glory reign in Jerusalem and in all the earth we pray.  Bring home the captives.. set the prisoners free, Lord God.  Protect the children and the women, please Lord God!  Make Your Name great in the nations.. every nation.. we pray.  Thank You for making the way of salvation plain.. the glorious gospel.. let it be shouted above the roof tops.  Be glorified in all of this today, Lord.  In the name of Jesus Christ the Lord we come.. amen. 

 Jeremiah 26  The Lord gave Jeremiah another message.. oh how patient our Lord is... "Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak... Do not omit a word!.. Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that I may repent of the calamity which I am planning to do to them because of their evil deeds." 

And so, Jeremiah spoke everything the Lord told him to say.. and the result was that they sentenced him to die!  They did not heed the warnings.. they didn't even consider their need to repent.. or be thankful that God was giving them another chance.. they just wanted to kill the messenger.. and ignore the warning.  They certainly did not consider repenting from their evil ways..

Yet, there were some who intervened on Jeremiah's behalf.. the "princes of Judah"  came to hear the charges against Jeremiah.. They listened to Jeremiah's defense.. "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. But as for me, behold, I am in your hands; do with me as is good and right in your sight. Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing." ( v13-15)

Jeremiah stood on the Word of the Lord.. even in the face of a death sentence.  He did not waver or omit a word. The princes listened and revoked the sentence against Jeremiah. They told of the time that Hezekiah listened to the prophet Micah and the Lord answered that prayer.. and of the time that Jehoiakim heard from the prophet Uriah and did not listen but killed him. A choice needed to be made.. and they chose to listen this time.. 

"But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was not given into the hands of the people to put him to death." One man stood with Jeremiah. Sometimes one person can make all the difference in the hands of the Lord! 

Father, there is a message here for us from Your holy Word today.. as there is always!  May we be as Jeremiah.. standing firm on the Word in spite of the anger and threats and accusations of the world.. those who want to ignore the warnings of scripture to repent and turn from evil ways.  May we be like Ahikam.. standing with those who speak the truth.. when you give us the opportunity to make a difference.  Lead us in Your ways, Lord... in paths of righteousness and truth and grace.. in the ways of Jesus Christ our Great Shepherd and King.  Father, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem today.. and we pray with great urgency that they would heed Your Holy Word and turn from sin and rebellion.. to call upon the Name of Yahweh, their God.. and Yeshua, the Messiah.  We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. 

 Jeremiah 25   He spent 23 years giving the same message.. "Turn now every one from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and dwell on the land which the Lord has given to you... and do not go after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands." (v5-6)

"Yet you have not listened....in order that you might provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm." (v7)

There is a cup.. that contains all of God's wrath against sin.. a cup that every nation will drink, Jeremiah wrote.. a cup that will cause men to reel, fall, and rise no more. (v27)

This passage always makes me think of Gethsamane.. Jesus prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt." (Matthew 26:39-42)

Jesus drank the cup of God's wrath.. because we provoked the Father to anger.. because we would not listen.. because of the work of our hands.. He took it for us.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Father in heaven.. forgive us our sins, our trespasses, our evil ways. Turn our hearts back to You.. turn our ears to hear Your Word, and turn our wills.. that we might use our hands and feet and voices to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ the Lord. You are a God of compassion and mercy.. yet we know that You are a God who will bring judgement on all the earth. There are so many that are still not listening.. still using their hands to their own harm.  Send forth workers into the harvest field, Lord... that more people will come to repentance and turn to Jesus Christ who died for their sins.  Amen!

 Jeremiah 24  The Lord shows Jeremiah two baskets of figs.  One is filled with the best figs.. perfectly grown and picked.  The other is filled with old rotten, worthless figs.  The message given is this:

The good figs represent those people who have been taken captive and sent to Babylon. "For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to the land; and I will build them up and not overthrow them, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. And I will give the 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." ( v6-7) 

The bad figs represent those who were not carried away into exile.. Zedekiah, the king and his officials and the "remnant of Jerusalem".  They are the rotten and worthless lot.  They were evil in the Lord's eyes and He would send sword, famine, and pestilence "until they are destroyed". 

In my thinking it is the ones sent away from the promised land that seem to be cursed.. but they were actually the blessed ones.  The ones who stayed.. they were the ones deemed to be worthless and evil.. rotten!  Seems kind of backwards...

We may have found ourselves in a situation like this.. the loss of a job.. or a home.. being moved where we don't want to go.. yet, afterwards we find out that God had something better for us in the new place.  He made a way.. uncomfortable as it was.. to accomplish His greater  purpose for us!

The ones who stayed in the city.. those who refused the Lord's words.. remained in their sin and died in their wickedness. 

What about us?  We sometimes fight against change.. it is uncomfortable.. it is sometimes heartbreaking.  We don't know that God has a greater purpose.. we forget to trust Him in the exile... in the change..   

This message is so encouraging for us who are in that season of our lives..  He has set His eyes on us for good!  Praise the Lord! He plans on building us up.. on planting us deep.. making us fruitful and secure. He has given us a heart to know Him.. to be His people .. He is our God!  Hallelujah! 

Father,  bring us through the trials and storms.. help us remember that You are faithful and trustworthy to accomplish Your purposes through every situation!  We can even rejoice in the times of "exile".. when change happens.. when life becomes overwhelming... when our hearts are breaking.  You see us and You will cause all things to work together for good!  You are our amazing Lord, God of heaven and earth and there is no other!  Praise to Your Holy Name and to the Son, our Savior in who's name we come.. Be glorified, Lord Jesus we pray.. Amen

 Jeremiah 23  "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!" This chapter is a powerful condemnation of the "shepherds" of Judah.  Prophets and priests... those who were called to lead the people according to God's Word..  had failed horrifically! "You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the Lord." 

They had a greater responsibility.. so their judgement would be the greatest.. the Lord's heart was broken and His anger pours out in this message.. "For the land is full of adulterers; and the land mourns because of the curse.. for both prophet and priest are polluted; even in My house I have found their wickedness.." 

The Lord is very specific about the offensive and horrible things that He will punish them for:

They "prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray."

They committed adultery and spoke falsehoods.

They encouraged evildoers and did not turn anyone back from doing evil.

They spoke false prophesies.  They spoke of their own visions.. "of their own imagination ". 

They said that the Lord would give them peace.. even to those who were walking " in the stubbornness of his own heart."

"But who has stood in the council of the Lord, that he should see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and listened?" (v18)

They spoke for the Lord without hearing from Him. They proclaimed their own dreams and visions.  they "perverted the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God." 

"But if they had stood in My council, then they would have announced My words to My 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, declares the Lord, and not a God far off?  Can a man hide himself in hiding places, so I do not see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? declares the Lord." (v22-24) 

".. Let him who has My word speak My word in truth."  His Word, the Lord says is like "fire.. and like a hammer which shatters a rock.."  The prophets would be punished severely for their false dreams and messages that could not "furnish this people the slightest benefit." 

Let those who are shepherds.. church leaders.. teachers.. pastors.. anyone who has the responsibility to speak God's Word take heed of this passage.  God does not take lightly those who fain to speak for Him without hearing from Him! We are accountable to the One who sees and knows our hearts.. for every word that we speak for Him. 

Father, we live in a land where too many are speaking of their own dreams and visions.. false words that do not comfort and do not turn sinners back from their sins.  Forgive us Lord!  Change hearts and minds that we should come to You and stand in Your council and speak Your Word in truth.  Oh Jesus, the living Word, the Lord our righteousness,  come and reign as king.. to do justice and righteousness in the land. We pray for Your Kingdom to come and Your will to be done. Amen. 

 Jeremiah 22  Once again the Lord sends Jeremiah to the king to speak His Word.. "Thus says the Lord, 'Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also, do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.' "  

It doesn't seem like too much to ask.. how hard the heart and how evil the man who would refuse to turn away from doing wrong.. in order to save his nation ?  Yet, this is what happened. 

"But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself.. that this house will become a desolation."   The Lord  brought Nebuchadnezzar against  Judah and its king..  and "hurled"  them  "into another country where you were not born and there you will die." (v26)

Listen to what God says to kings... "Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness and his upper rooms without justice, who uses his neighbor's services without pay and does not give him his wages, who says, ' I will build myself a roomy house with spacious upper rooms, and cut out its windows, paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.'  Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not this what it means to know Me?  But your eyes and your heart are intent only upon your own dishonest gain, and on shedding innocent blood and on practicing oppression and extortion." 

God makes it so clear.. doing what is right.. will bring great blessing.  But, doing what is self-serving, evil, and against God's Word will bring only desolation and destruction.  It is the same word that He speaks over and over again.. yet we see the same attitudes.. the same selfish, rebellious, and evil leadership around our world today.  The "kings"  do not care about justice for the oppressed, the orphan and the widow.  They do not care about the shedding of innocent blood.. They only care about their own houses and prosperity.  They won't interfere with the power of the oppressor.. for that is their power too. 

God will bring judgement.  It is not a matter of if but when.. He gave many warnings to Judah and Israel and they did not repent. They did not choose righteousness and compassion. And they were destroyed.  This needs to be heard today.. by those in our nation who are choosing unrighteousness and sin.. who refuse God's Word.  Time is running out... 

Father in heaven, open up the ears of our president and other government leaders.. that they might hear the voice of Your servants warning them of the results of their sinful choices.  They have not done justice.. they have not delivered the poor.. they have condoned the shedding of innocent blood.. Oh God, may they repent and turn back to You.. to Truth.. to righteousness.  May they hear the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and find that You are willing to forgive and restore if they will call upon You.  Father, we seek Your Kingdom and Your righteousness.. waiting on You to accomplish all of Your perfect and holy will in us, Your children. Make us bold in declaring Your Word! May we persevere to the end...  Let Your name be exalted in all the earth. Amen!

 Jeremiah 21  King Zedekiah sends Jeremiah to "inquire of the Lord on our behalf... "  Nebuchadnezzar is at the door.. only God can rescue them now.  But... it is too late.  Jeremiah is given an answer to tell Zedekiah that he didn't want to hear.  God, Himself was against him.. " And I, Myself shall war against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm, even in anger and wrath and great indignation."

The sword of Babylon, pestilence and famine would ravage Jerusalem. God declared it and it would happen as He commanded.  "For I have set My face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the Lord." (v10)

God told them " I set before you the way of life and the way of death."  Staying in the city.. would bring death..  while fleeing.. giving up.. and surrendering would bring exile.. but life. This was the only choice left to make. 

The Lord had another word for the king... " O house of David.. Administer justice every morning; and deliver the person who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. that My wrath may not go forth like fire and burn with none to extinguish it, because of the evil of their deeds." (v12) 

There was still evil happening.. they wanted God's "wonderful acts" to rescue them.. but they hadn't stopped their sinfulness!  

Surrender..to "fall away " .. to cast down self.. to cease... to die.   Jesus said, "Whoever seeks to keep his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall preserve it." (Luke 17:33) "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." ( Matthew 10:38)   It was a time for Judah to surrender.. to stop fighting and to stop trying to manipulate God.  The chance to change the outcome of God's judgement had passed.  They would be punished "according to the results of [their] deeds". The only path to life was surrender.. 

How often we see this same attitude today.. we want.. we expect God to bless and help us.. yet we are unwilling to surrender to His will and His ways...  Our nation is in the same shape as Judah was in that day.. is there justice?  Have the poor been delivered from the oppressor?  Have our leaders surrendered to God?  Is there truth spoken any more?

Father in heaven, we confess that we live in a land where evil has been sanctioned by our leaders.. and we are deeply ashamed.  We know that oppression and immortality; murder and robbery are rampant and that Your wrath has been kindled.  We want to surrender to You, Lord God.  To take up our crosses and follow You, Jesus.  We do not seek to keep ourselves.. but to lose our lives in complete surrender to You.  Have Your way.. Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.  Holy and Righteous God.. be exalted in our nation today..let Your word be heard before it is too late. Be glorified in us, Your children.. Father... for we ask this in the Name that is above all names,  Jesus Christ the King of glory and our Rock. Amen.