JEREMIAH STRUGGLES WITH PERSECUTION

Jeremiah 11:18-12:1-17 / Keywords 12:5

If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?

 

Plot Against Jeremiah

11:18 Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. 19 I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me, saying,

“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;

    let us cut him off from the land of the living,

    that his name be remembered no more.”

20 But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously

    and test the heart and mind,

let me see your vengeance on them,

    for to you I have committed my cause.

Jeremiah’s Complaint

12:1 You are always righteous, Lord,

    when I bring a case before you.

Yet I would speak with you about your justice:

    Why does the way of the wicked prosper?

    Why do all the faithless live at ease?

2 You have planted them, and they have taken root;

    they grow and bear fruit.

You are always on their lips

    but far from their hearts.

3 Yet you know me, Lord;

    you see me and test my thoughts about you.

Drag them off like sheep to be butchered!

    Set them apart for the day of slaughter!

4 How long will the land lie parched

    and the grass in every field be withered?

Because those who live in it are wicked,

    the animals and birds have perished.

Moreover, the people are saying,

    “He will not see what happens to us.”

God’s Answer

5 “If you have raced with men on foot

    and they have worn you out,

    how can you compete with horses?

If you stumble[a] in safe country,

    how will you manage in the thickets by[b] the Jordan?

6 Your relatives, members of your own family—

    even they have betrayed you;

    they have raised a loud cry against you.

Do not trust them,

    though they speak well of you.

7 “I will forsake my house,

    abandon my inheritance;

I will give the one I love

    into the hands of her enemies.

8 My inheritance has become to me

    like a lion in the forest.

She roars at me;

    therefore I hate her.

9 Has not my inheritance become to me

    like a speckled bird of prey

    that other birds of prey surround and attack?

Go and gather all the wild beasts;

    bring them to devour.

10 Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard

    and trample down my field;

they will turn my pleasant field

    into a desolate wasteland.

11 It will be made a wasteland,

    parched and desolate before me;

the whole land will be laid waste

    because there is no one who cares.

12 Over all the barren heights in the desert

    destroyers will swarm,

for the sword of the Lord will devour

    from one end of the land to the other;

    no one will be safe.

13 They will sow wheat but reap thorns;

    they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.

They will bear the shame of their harvest

    because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”

14 This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the people of Judah from among them. 15 But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. 16 And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among my people. 17 But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” declares the Lord.

Footnotes

a. Jeremiah 12:5 Or you feel secure only

b. Jeremiah 12:5 Or the flooding of

21 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the people of Anathoth who are threatening to kill you, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord or you will die by our hands”— 22 therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. 23 Not even a remnant will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”

1. Jeremiah found out that people from the city of Anathoth were planning to kill him (11:18,21) to stop him from prophesying about God’s judgment. Before God revealed the plot to him, Jeremiah was totally unaware (19), but he prayed and committed his cause to the Lord (20). Then God promised to punish those who were plotting against Jeremiah so that he would not need to take his own revenge.

 

2. Still, Jeremiah was discouraged, and he poured out his questions to God. He wondered why the wicked seemed to be successful and live at ease (12:1). What was worse, the wicked were hypocrites, speaking holy-sounding words while their hearts were far from God (2). But God reminded Jeremiah that the life of faith is like running a race (5) and that he needed perseverance to continue his mission - even when his own family members turned against him (6). Then God prophesied his judgment again through Jeremiah, but this time, God also promised his redemption (15).

 

Prayer Father, help me to not be fearful of what people can do, but to keep doing the work you gave me with a pure heart. Give me strength to keep running the race of faith.

One Word Keep running the race

LISTEN TO THE TERMS OF THE COVENANT

Jeremiah 11:1-17 / Keywords 11:6

The LORD said to me, "Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: 'Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them.

 

The Covenant Is Broken

11:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Listen to the terms of this covenant and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. 3 Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant— 4 the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.’ I said, ‘Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. 5 Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’—the land you possess today.”

I answered, “Amen, Lord.”

6 The Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. 7 From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.” 8 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.’”

9 Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. 11 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. 12 The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes. 13 You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’

14 “Do not pray for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress.

15 “What is my beloved doing in my temple

    as she, with many others, works out her evil schemes?

    Can consecrated meat avert your punishment?

When you engage in your wickedness,

    then you rejoice.[a]”

16 The Lord called you a thriving olive tree

    with fruit beautiful in form.

But with the roar of a mighty storm

    he will set it on fire,

    and its branches will be broken.

17 The Lord Almighty, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you, because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and aroused my anger by burning incense to Baal.

Footnotes

a. Jeremiah 11:15 Or Could consecrated meat avert your punishment? / Then you would rejoice

1. The Lord commanded Jeremiah to remind Israel of the terms of the covenant he made with them (1-5). God brought them out of Egypt, and he promised to make them his people if they obeyed him from then on. As God’s people, their most important duty was to remember and keep that covenant. However, they broke their covenant with God, causing all of Israel’s current suffering (8). They neglected to worship God and, as a result, worshiped idols like they once did in Egypt (13). This made God’s judgment on them unavoidable (11).

 

2. However, God offers a new covenant with us that is greater than the one he made with Israel because it is a life-giving covenant of grace in Jesus. We enter a personal covenant relationship with Jesus through faith in his blood. This covenant is the basis of our new life as God’s people. We are naturally forgetful, and it’s easy for us to live focusing only on our current situations. But if we forget God’s covenant, we will fall back into sins we thought we had left behind (10). Let’s read the terms of God’s covenant with us in Bible and remind each other of it also.

 

Prayer Father, thank you for the covenant promise you gave me in Jesus. Help me remember your covenant and also teach it to others.

One Word Remember God’s covenant with us

IDOLS ARE WORTHLESS

Jeremiah 10:1-25 / Keywords 10:16

He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including Israel, the tribe of his inheritance--the LORD Almighty is his name.

 

God and Idols

10:1 Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. 2 This is what the Lord says:

“Do not learn the ways of the nations

    or be terrified by signs in the heavens,

    though the nations are terrified by them.

3 For the practices of the peoples are worthless;

    they cut a tree out of the forest,

    and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.

4 They adorn it with silver and gold;

    they fasten it with hammer and nails

    so it will not totter.

5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,

    their idols cannot speak;

they must be carried

    because they cannot walk.

Do not fear them;

    they can do no harm

    nor can they do any good.”

6 No one is like you, Lord;

    you are great,

    and your name is mighty in power.

7 Who should not fear you,

    King of the nations?

    This is your due.

Among all the wise leaders of the nations

    and in all their kingdoms,

    there is no one like you.

8 They are all senseless and foolish;

    they are taught by worthless wooden idols.

9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish

    and gold from Uphaz.

What the craftsman and goldsmith have made

    is then dressed in blue and purple—

    all made by skilled workers.

10 But the Lord is the true God;

    he is the living God, the eternal King.

When he is angry, the earth trembles;

    the nations cannot endure his wrath.

11 “Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’”[a]

12 But God made the earth by his power;

    he founded the world by his wisdom

    and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

13 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;

    he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

He sends lightning with the rain

    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

14 Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;

    every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.

The images he makes are a fraud;

    they have no breath in them.

15 They are worthless, the objects of mockery;

    when their judgment comes, they will perish.

16 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,

    for he is the Maker of all things,

including Israel, the people of his inheritance—

    the Lord Almighty is his name.

Coming Destruction

17 Gather up your belongings to leave the land,

    you who live under siege.

18 For this is what the Lord says:

    “At this time I will hurl out

    those who live in this land;

I will bring distress on them

    so that they may be captured.”

19 Woe to me because of my injury!

    My wound is incurable!

Yet I said to myself,

    “This is my sickness, and I must endure it.”

20 My tent is destroyed;

    all its ropes are snapped.

My children are gone from me and are no more;

    no one is left now to pitch my tent

    or to set up my shelter.

21 The shepherds are senseless

    and do not inquire of the Lord;

so they do not prosper

    and all their flock is scattered.

22 Listen! The report is coming—

    a great commotion from the land of the north!

It will make the towns of Judah desolate,

    a haunt of jackals.

Jeremiah’s Prayer

23 Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own;

    it is not for them to direct their steps.

24 Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure—

    not in your anger,

    or you will reduce me to nothing.

25 Pour out your wrath on the nations

    that do not acknowledge you,

    on the peoples who do not call on your name.

For they have devoured Jacob;

    they have devoured him completely

    and destroyed his homeland.

Footnotes

a. Jeremiah 10:11 The text of this verse is in Aramaic.

1. It’s natural for us to imitate the people around us and absorb their ways of thinking. But the Bible teaches us not to conform to the pattern of this world (1; Romans 12:1). This passage shows us that the business of the world is to create and worship idols. An idol is anything we strive after to satisfy our souls apart from God himself. Following idols makes us fools (8).

 

2. The people of the world make good money by creating, advertising, and selling idols, and they are very skilled at it (9). However, despite people’s best efforts, they are inwardly shamed because what they produce corrupts the world and is not worthy of worship (14). God’s people should choose their careers very carefully so they are not ashamed of what they produce or live for.

 

3. Idols cannot be compared to God, who created everything. He is truly worthy of worship because he is so high and holy above us (12-13). Even when we are suffering and feel that our wounds are incurable, we can put our trust in God who is our Portion (16) and who directs our life and disciplines us for our good (19, 23- 24).

 

Prayer Father, thank you for Jeremiah’s words that warn me not to follow the idolatrous pattern of this world. Help me live only to worship you.

One Word Creator God, not idols

WHO HAS THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE LORD?

Jeremiah 9:7-26 / Keywords 9:24

but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD.

 

9:7 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will refine and test them,

    for what else can I do

    because of the sin of my people?

8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow;

    it speaks deceitfully.

With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,

    but in their hearts they set traps for them.

9 Should I not punish them for this?”

    declares the Lord.

“Should I not avenge myself

    on such a nation as this?”

10 I will weep and wail for the mountains

    and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands.

They are desolate and untraveled,

    and the lowing of cattle is not heard.

The birds have all fled

    and the animals are gone.

11 “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,

    a haunt of jackals;

and I will lay waste the towns of Judah

    so no one can live there.”

12 Who is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?

13 The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. 14 Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” 15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. 16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them.”

17 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Consider now! Call for the wailing women to come;

    send for the most skillful of them.

18 Let them come quickly

    and wail over us

till our eyes overflow with tears

    and water streams from our eyelids.

19 The sound of wailing is heard from Zion:

    ‘How ruined we are!

    How great is our shame!

We must leave our land

    because our houses are in ruins.’”

20 Now, you women, hear the word of the Lord;

    open your ears to the words of his mouth.

Teach your daughters how to wail;

    teach one another a lament.

21 Death has climbed in through our windows

    and has entered our fortresses;

it has removed the children from the streets

    and the young men from the public squares.

22 Say, “This is what the Lord declares:

“‘Dead bodies will lie

    like dung on the open field,

like cut grain behind the reaper,

    with no one to gather them.’”

23 This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom

    or the strong boast of their strength

    or the rich boast of their riches,

24 but let the one who boasts boast about this:

    that they have the understanding to know me,

that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,

    justice and righteousness on earth,

    for in these I delight,”

declares the Lord.

25 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places.[e] For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”

Footnotes

e. Jeremiah 9:26 Or wilderness and who clip the hair by their foreheads

1. The people of Judah acted polished, speaking nicely to their neighbors. Yet their hearts were full of deceit, looking for a way to take advantage of others (8). They were circumcised only in the flesh, not their hearts (25,26). God, in his righteousness, could not leave them in their sin (9).

 

2. The vision of the ruins of Jerusalem brought Jeremiah to lament. The people will be scattered, and down through the generations, the women will wail over the death of their loved ones (20). Therefore, boasting about human wisdom, strength, and riches is meaningless (23). Our outward appearance does not glorify God, but we can boast of our deep relationship with God, who would lead us to kindness, justice, and righteousness (24). We can please God only when we find ourselves in him and desire to know him better (Galatians 6:14).

 

3. Would you humbly confess your sins before God, who loved you despite your sins? Turn to our kind and gracious Father, and you will boast about his wonderful love.

 

Prayer Father, I repent of my hypocrisy as I live before people instead of sincerely struggling to live by your word. Please help me to grow in my spirit to get to know you better each day.

One Word What do I have to boast?

THEY LIVE IN DECEPTION

Jeremiah 8:4-9:6 / Keywords 8:9

The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what kind of wisdom do they have?

 

Sin and Punishment

8:4 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘When people fall down, do they not get up?

    When someone turns away, do they not return?

5 Why then have these people turned away?

    Why does Jerusalem always turn away?

They cling to deceit;

    they refuse to return.

6 I have listened attentively,

    but they do not say what is right.

None of them repent of their wickedness,

    saying, “What have I done?”

Each pursues their own course

    like a horse charging into battle.

7 Even the stork in the sky

    knows her appointed seasons,

and the dove, the swift and the thrush

    observe the time of their migration.

But my people do not know

    the requirements of the Lord.

8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise,

    for we have the law of the Lord,”

when actually the lying pen of the scribes

    has handled it falsely?

9 The wise will be put to shame;

    they will be dismayed and trapped.

Since they have rejected the word of the Lord,

    what kind of wisdom do they have?

10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men

    and their fields to new owners.

From the least to the greatest,

    all are greedy for gain;

prophets and priests alike,

    all practice deceit.

11 They dress the wound of my people

    as though it were not serious.

“Peace, peace,” they say,

    when there is no peace.

12 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?

    No, they have no shame at all;

    they do not even know how to blush.

So they will fall among the fallen;

    they will be brought down when they are punished,

says the Lord.

13 “‘I will take away their harvest,

declares the Lord.

    There will be no grapes on the vine.

There will be no figs on the tree,

    and their leaves will wither.

What I have given them

    will be taken from them.[a]’”

14 Why are we sitting here?

    Gather together!

Let us flee to the fortified cities

    and perish there!

For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish

    and given us poisoned water to drink,

    because we have sinned against him.

15 We hoped for peace

    but no good has come,

for a time of healing

    but there is only terror.

16 The snorting of the enemy’s horses

    is heard from Dan;

at the neighing of their stallions

    the whole land trembles.

They have come to devour

    the land and everything in it,

    the city and all who live there.

17 “See, I will send venomous snakes among you,

    vipers that cannot be charmed,

    and they will bite you,”

declares the Lord.

18 You who are my Comforter[b] in sorrow,

    my heart is faint within me.

19 Listen to the cry of my people

    from a land far away:

“Is the Lord not in Zion?

    Is her King no longer there?”

“Why have they aroused my anger with their images,

    with their worthless foreign idols?”

20 “The harvest is past,

    the summer has ended,

    and we are not saved.”

21 Since my people are crushed, I am crushed;

    I mourn, and horror grips me.

22 Is there no balm in Gilead?

    Is there no physician there?

Why then is there no healing

    for the wound of my people?

9 [c]:1 Oh, that my head were a spring of water

    and my eyes a fountain of tears!

I would weep day and night

    for the slain of my people.

2 Oh, that I had in the desert

    a lodging place for travelers,

so that I might leave my people

    and go away from them;

for they are all adulterers,

    a crowd of unfaithful people.

3 “They make ready their tongue

    like a bow, to shoot lies;

it is not by truth

    that they triumph[d] in the land.

They go from one sin to another;

    they do not acknowledge me,”

declares the Lord.

4 “Beware of your friends;

    do not trust anyone in your clan.

For every one of them is a deceiver,[e]

    and every friend a slanderer.

5 Friend deceives friend,

    and no one speaks the truth.

They have taught their tongues to lie;

    they weary themselves with sinning.

6 You[f] live in the midst of deception;

    in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”

declares the Lord.

Footnotes

a. Jeremiah 8:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.

b. Jeremiah 8:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

c. Jeremiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-26 is numbered 9:1-25.

d. Jeremiah 9:3 Or lies; / they are not valiant for truth

e. Jeremiah 9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob

f. Jeremiah 9:6 That is, Jeremiah (the Hebrew is singular)

1. God asks rhetorical questions to his people so they would realize the foolishness of their unrepentant hearts. They were like ones who made a wrong turn and refused to return to the right path. They clung to deceit and acted as if nothing was wrong (4-6). They wanted to think they were wise with the law of the Lord, yet they refused to live by it and ended up being more foolish than the beasts who knew the seasons and their place (7,8). As a result, they would understand that their seasons of blessings are gone only when it is too late (20).

 

2. Jeremiah was grieved to see their deceitfulness and insincerity, knowing the judgment coming their way (21,22). In chapter 9, he further expresses his distress and sorrow. He was so disappointed in them and wanted to drive them away (2), yet he shed a fountain of tears for the suffering they would go through (1). Jeremiah’s shepherd's heart represents that of our Father God. As a loving Father, his heart is grieved to see his children stubbornly insist on living the way of sin and deception that would lead them to destruction. Have you stepped away from the right path? Would you get up and turn to the right path accepting the Father’s word today?

 

Prayer Father, thank you for giving me the desire to live by your word. Please help me not to cling to my idea and humbly accept your correction.

One Word Come out of deception

JUDAH’S FALSE WORSHIP

Jeremiah 7:1-8:3 / Keywords 7:19

But am I the one they are provoking? declares the LORD. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?

False Religion Worthless

7:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:

“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. 3 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.

9 “‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury,[a] burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.

12 “‘Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. 14 Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. 15 I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’

16 “So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger. 19 But am I the one they are provoking? declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?

20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land—and it will burn and not be quenched.

21 “‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! 22 For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23 but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26 But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.’

27 “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. 28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.

29 “‘Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath.

The Valley of Slaughter

30 “‘The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. 31 They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind. 32 So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 33 Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away. 34 I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will become desolate.

8:1 “‘At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves. 2 They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped. They will not be gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground. 3 Wherever I banish them, all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares the Lord Almighty.’

Footnotes

a. Jeremiah 7:9 Or and swear by false gods

 

1. Jeremiah was called to deliver this message at the temple gate. The people of Judah believed Jerusalem was their fortress that could not be attacked. It was built on a hill tucked away from the coasts, and more importantly, it was the city where the temple was located (4).

 

2. However, God calls their thoughts deceptive. They thought giving burnt offerings and sacrifices accompanying elaborate service was their worship. But they forgot the essential part of God’s instruction when he made them into a nation: obeying God’s will (22,23). Obeying God meant honoring Him, loving their neighbors, and living an honest life (6,9, Micah 6:8).

 

3. They burned incense and gave offerings to foreign idols. They even set up idols in the house of God and practiced the despicable pagan rituals of child sacrifices in the high places (30,31). Their attitude angered God’s heart. But they mainly were harming themselves (19). As they turned away from the creator God and turned to useless idols, they were disgracing themselves.

 

Prayer Father, it is a privilege to come to worship and praise your name. Please help me obey you fully so I can worship you properly. Please help me to honor you and find satisfaction in my soul.

One Word Worship God with obedience to him

BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT LISTENED

Jeremiah 6:1-30 / Keywords 6:16

This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'”

 

Jerusalem Under Siege

6:1 “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!

    Flee from Jerusalem!

Sound the trumpet in Tekoa!

    Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!

For disaster looms out of the north,

    even terrible destruction.

2 I will destroy Daughter Zion,

    so beautiful and delicate.

3 Shepherds with their flocks will come against her;

    they will pitch their tents around her,

    each tending his own portion.”

4 “Prepare for battle against her!

    Arise, let us attack at noon!

But, alas, the daylight is fading,

    and the shadows of evening grow long.

5 So arise, let us attack at night

    and destroy her fortresses!”

6 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Cut down the trees

    and build siege ramps against Jerusalem.

This city must be punished;

    it is filled with oppression.

7 As a well pours out its water,

    so she pours out her wickedness.

Violence and destruction resound in her;

    her sickness and wounds are ever before me.

8 Take warning, Jerusalem,

    or I will turn away from you

and make your land desolate

    so no one can live in it.”

9 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Let them glean the remnant of Israel

    as thoroughly as a vine;

pass your hand over the branches again,

    like one gathering grapes.”

10 To whom can I speak and give warning?

    Who will listen to me?

Their ears are closed[a]

    so they cannot hear.

The word of the Lord is offensive to them;

    they find no pleasure in it.

11 But I am full of the wrath of the Lord,

    and I cannot hold it in.

“Pour it out on the children in the street

    and on the young men gathered together;

both husband and wife will be caught in it,

    and the old, those weighed down with years.

12 Their houses will be turned over to others,

    together with their fields and their wives,

when I stretch out my hand

    against those who live in the land,”

declares the Lord.

13 “From the least to the greatest,

    all are greedy for gain;

prophets and priests alike,

    all practice deceit.

14 They dress the wound of my people

    as though it were not serious.

‘Peace, peace,’ they say,

    when there is no peace.

15 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?

    No, they have no shame at all;

    they do not even know how to blush.

So they will fall among the fallen;

    they will be brought down when I punish them,”

says the Lord.

16 This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;

    ask for the ancient paths,

ask where the good way is, and walk in it,

    and you will find rest for your souls.

    But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

17 I appointed watchmen over you and said,

    ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’

    But you said, ‘We will not listen.’

18 Therefore hear, you nations;

    you who are witnesses,

    observe what will happen to them.

19 Hear, you earth:

    I am bringing disaster on this people,

    the fruit of their schemes,

because they have not listened to my words

    and have rejected my law.

20 What do I care about incense from Sheba

    or sweet calamus from a distant land?

Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;

    your sacrifices do not please me.”

21 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“I will put obstacles before this people.

    Parents and children alike will stumble over them;

    neighbors and friends will perish.”

22 This is what the Lord says:

“Look, an army is coming

    from the land of the north;

a great nation is being stirred up

    from the ends of the earth.

23 They are armed with bow and spear;

    they are cruel and show no mercy.

They sound like the roaring sea

    as they ride on their horses;

they come like men in battle formation

    to attack you, Daughter Zion.”

24 We have heard reports about them,

    and our hands hang limp.

Anguish has gripped us,

    pain like that of a woman in labor.

25 Do not go out to the fields

    or walk on the roads,

for the enemy has a sword,

    and there is terror on every side.

26 Put on sackcloth, my people,

    and roll in ashes;

mourn with bitter wailing

    as for an only son,

for suddenly the destroyer

    will come upon us.

27 “I have made you a tester of metals

    and my people the ore,

that you may observe

    and test their ways.

28 They are all hardened rebels,

    going about to slander.

They are bronze and iron;

    they all act corruptly.

29 The bellows blow fiercely

    to burn away the lead with fire,

but the refining goes on in vain;

    the wicked are not purged out.

30 They are called rejected silver,

    because the Lord has rejected them.”

Footnotes

a. Jeremiah 6:10 Hebrew uncircumcised

1. Verse 1 starts with ‘Flee for safety.’ Disaster was coming to Jerusalem, carried by people who were ready to attack at any time. The beautiful city would be given to terrible destruction. As God brought judgment upon his children, he was also warning them to flee. However, Jeremiah also knew that people with closed ears would not listen (10). They were used to the priests and prophets who spoke what they liked to hear (13-15). As one who was bringing the word of God, Jeremiah could feel the wrath of God (11).

 

2. The Lord instructed them to find a good way to walk just as their forefathers had walked with God, but they refused (16). As they repeatedly disobeyed God’s will, they brought elaborate offerings that God did not care about (20) (1Sam 15:22).

 

3. God again warned them of the army coming from the north and their destruction. It was time for them to listen and sincerely repent of their sins (26). With their hearts stubborn and rebellious against God’s words, they would become rejected silver, impossible to refine (29).

 

Prayer Father, thank you for your gracious instructions through your word each day. Please help me to open my ears and listen so I can obey your will. Please purify my heart and take the wicked out of me.

One Word Listen to the word of God

THE REASON FOR JUDGEMENT

Jeremiah 5:1-31 / Keywords 5:1

Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city.

 

Not One Is Upright

5:1 “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem,

    look around and consider,

    search through her squares.

If you can find but one person

    who deals honestly and seeks the truth,

    I will forgive this city.

2 Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’

    still they are swearing falsely.”

3 Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?

    You struck them, but they felt no pain;

    you crushed them, but they refused correction.

They made their faces harder than stone

    and refused to repent.

4 I thought, “These are only the poor;

    they are foolish,

for they do not know the way of the Lord,

    the requirements of their God.

5 So I will go to the leaders

    and speak to them;

surely they know the way of the Lord,

    the requirements of their God.”

But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke

    and torn off the bonds.

6 Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them,

    a wolf from the desert will ravage them,

a leopard will lie in wait near their towns

    to tear to pieces any who venture out,

for their rebellion is great

    and their backslidings many.

7 “Why should I forgive you?

    Your children have forsaken me

    and sworn by gods that are not gods.

I supplied all their needs,

    yet they committed adultery

    and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.

8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions,

    each neighing for another man’s wife.

9 Should I not punish them for this?”

    declares the Lord.

“Should I not avenge myself

    on such a nation as this?

10 “Go through her vineyards and ravage them,

    but do not destroy them completely.

Strip off her branches,

    for these people do not belong to the Lord.

11 The people of Israel and the people of Judah

    have been utterly unfaithful to me,”

declares the Lord.

12 They have lied about the Lord;

    they said, “He will do nothing!

No harm will come to us;

    we will never see sword or famine.

13 The prophets are but wind

    and the word is not in them;

    so let what they say be done to them.”

14 Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says:

“Because the people have spoken these words,

    I will make my words in your mouth a fire

    and these people the wood it consumes.

15 People of Israel,” declares the Lord,

    “I am bringing a distant nation against you—

an ancient and enduring nation,

    a people whose language you do not know,

    whose speech you do not understand.

16 Their quivers are like an open grave;

    all of them are mighty warriors.

17 They will devour your harvests and food,

    devour your sons and daughters;

they will devour your flocks and herds,

    devour your vines and fig trees.

With the sword they will destroy

    the fortified cities in which you trust.

18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not destroy you completely. 19 And when the people ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.’

20 “Announce this to the descendants of Jacob

    and proclaim it in Judah:

21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,

    who have eyes but do not see,

    who have ears but do not hear:

22 Should you not fear me?” declares the Lord.

    “Should you not tremble in my presence?

I made the sand a boundary for the sea,

    an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.

The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;

    they may roar, but they cannot cross it.

23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;

    they have turned aside and gone away.

24 They do not say to themselves,

    ‘Let us fear the Lord our God,

who gives autumn and spring rains in season,

    who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’

25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away;

    your sins have deprived you of good.

26 “Among my people are the wicked

    who lie in wait like men who snare birds

    and like those who set traps to catch people.

27 Like cages full of birds,

    their houses are full of deceit;

they have become rich and powerful

28     and have grown fat and sleek.

Their evil deeds have no limit;

    they do not seek justice.

They do not promote the case of the fatherless;

    they do not defend the just cause of the poor.

29 Should I not punish them for this?”

    declares the Lord.

“Should I not avenge myself

    on such a nation as this?

30 “A horrible and shocking thing

    has happened in the land:

31 The prophets prophesy lies,

    the priests rule by their own authority,

and my people love it this way.

    But what will you do in the end?

1. God called Jeremiah to look for one righteous person in the streets of Jerusalem. If there was one who lived by the truth, God was willing to revoke his judgment upon them (1). Jeremiah looked all over high and low. But people were stubborn and proud. The leaders deceived people by their own authority (31). They claimed to know God (2), yet did not fear God nor care about justice and mercy (22,28).

 

2. They turned away from God while they lived in the promised land, enjoying seasonal blessings (23,24). Since they served foreign gods in the land they inherited from God, they would be punished as slaves in a foreign land (19). The people of Judah saw Israel being seized by Assyrians and tried to save themselves by having a wise foreign policy with Egypt and Assyria. However, God would raise a distant nation, Babylon (15), who spoke a language unknown to them and devoured them completely. Sin deceives us into thinking we can live without God if we are wise to control our environment. Even the spiritual leaders lived in such deception (31). As a result, every single one of them was guilty and deserved judgment.

 

Prayer Father, all I have is yours; your glory is my joy. Please guide me to honor you in my everyday living and glorify your name.

One Word Stubborn hearts call for judgment

WARNING OF THE JUDGMENT

Jeremiah 4:5-31 / Keywords 4:19

Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry.

 

Disaster From the North

4:5 “Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say:

    ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’

Cry aloud and say:

    ‘Gather together!

    Let us flee to the fortified cities!’

6 Raise the signal to go to Zion!

    Flee for safety without delay!

For I am bringing disaster from the north,

    even terrible destruction.”

7 A lion has come out of his lair;

    a destroyer of nations has set out.

He has left his place

    to lay waste your land.

Your towns will lie in ruins

    without inhabitant.

8 So put on sackcloth,

    lament and wail,

for the fierce anger of the Lord

    has not turned away from us.

9 “In that day,” declares the Lord,

    “the king and the officials will lose heart,

the priests will be horrified,

    and the prophets will be appalled.”

10 Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our throats!”

11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them.”

13 Look! He advances like the clouds,

    his chariots come like a whirlwind,

his horses are swifter than eagles.

    Woe to us! We are ruined!

14 Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved.

    How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?

15 A voice is announcing from Dan,

    proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.

16 “Tell this to the nations,

    proclaim concerning Jerusalem:

‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,

    raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.

17 They surround her like men guarding a field,

    because she has rebelled against me,’”

declares the Lord.

18 “Your own conduct and actions

    have brought this on you.

This is your punishment.

    How bitter it is!

    How it pierces to the heart!”

19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!

    I writhe in pain.

Oh, the agony of my heart!

    My heart pounds within me,

    I cannot keep silent.

For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;

    I have heard the battle cry.

20 Disaster follows disaster;

    the whole land lies in ruins.

In an instant my tents are destroyed,

    my shelter in a moment.

21 How long must I see the battle standard

    and hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 “My people are fools;

    they do not know me.

They are senseless children;

    they have no understanding.

They are skilled in doing evil;

    they know not how to do good.”

23 I looked at the earth,

    and it was formless and empty;

and at the heavens,

    and their light was gone.

24 I looked at the mountains,

    and they were quaking;

    all the hills were swaying.

25 I looked, and there were no people;

    every bird in the sky had flown away.

26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;

    all its towns lay in ruins

    before the Lord, before his fierce anger.

27 This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,

    though I will not destroy it completely.

28 Therefore the earth will mourn

    and the heavens above grow dark,

because I have spoken and will not relent,

    I have decided and will not turn back.”

29 At the sound of horsemen and archers

    every town takes to flight.

Some go into the thickets;

    some climb up among the rocks.

All the towns are deserted;

    no one lives in them.

30 What are you doing, you devastated one?

    Why dress yourself in scarlet

    and put on jewels of gold?

Why highlight your eyes with makeup?

    You adorn yourself in vain.

Your lovers despise you;

    they want to kill you.

31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,

    a groan as of one bearing her first child—

the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,

    stretching out her hands and saying,

“Alas! I am fainting;

    my life is given over to murderers.”

1. God had given Judah numerous chances to return, but they did not listen. Now Jeremiah was to bring the message of judgment. The coming disaster would be like a scorching wind that consumes everything. No discipline they had ever received would compare to the coming judgment (11,12).

 

2. Jeremiah was in anguish delivering this message. He moaned to God for allowing them to live in their sinful pride and illusion of peace for so long (10), and his heart was pained at the vision of the coming disaster (19). Jeremiah’s agony also reveals God’s aching heart as he decided to bring judgment upon the people he called his own (22). While he promises there will be remnants (27), the judgment had been decided against them (28).

 

3. The people of Judah were still oblivious (10). They adorned themselves and tried to keep the peace by pleasing the powerful nations (30). As they were unwilling to listen to the prophet’s desperate warning and turn back to God,, they faced the judgment they could not bear (31).

 

Prayer Father, you are gracious and patient with me. Help me not to take your patience for granted, remembering you are also a righteous God. Please help me to live each day faithful to you and be gracious to others as you want me to.

One Word Judgement is a reality