Milo

NEW COVENANT PROMISES
Jeremiah 30–33

“I will put My Law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. . . . For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jer. 31:33–34).

The key to understanding God’s work in believers today is to understand the impact of the New Covenant, and to realize that this covenant was instituted in the death of Jesus Christ.

Overview
A collection of sermons focused on the restoration (30:1–11) and healing (vv. 12–24) of the Old Testament faith community. God’s everlasting love guaranteed future blessedness despite present mourning (31:1–30). But to accomplish His purposes God had to make a New Covenant with His people (vv. 31–40). Jeremiah bought a field occupied by the enemy to demonstrate his personal confidence in God’s promises of restoration (32:1–44), which he repeated despite being imprisoned (33:1–26).

Understanding the Text
“I will bring My people . . . back” Jer. 30:1–11. The messages in these chapters are unified by the theme of restoration. While they may be drawn from different periods of Jeremiah’s ministry, they most likely are set, as the incidents in chapters 32 and 33, in Judah’s last days, with Jerusalem about to fall.
These messages underline a peculiar characteristic of prophetic preaching. When God’s people are prosperous and comfortable, the prophets thunder against their sins and predict judgment. Yet when judgment comes, and God’s people tremble with fear, the same prophets comfort with promises of forgiveness and restoration. There is no conflict between the two themes. The predictions of punishment are intended to bring repentance and, if there is no repentance at the warning, the punishment itself will bring repentance later. What we do see is that God is always careful to communicate just the message His people need for their particular situation. One modern pulpiteer observed that his calling was to “afflict the comfortable, and comfort the afflicted.” If you and I are too comfortable in this world, we need the stern words of God to remind us that we are to remain committed to justice and holiness. If we suffer, we need loving words of promise, that remind us of God’s love and His commitment to do us good.

“I will restore you to health and heal your wounds” Jer. 30:12–24. Here the “wound” God speaks of is spiritual. His people are “beyond healing” because their “guilt is so great, and your sins so many.”
Before God can restore the material prosperity of His people, He must restore their spiritual health. This is impossible for the people of Judah: their wound is “incurable” and “beyond healing.” But God will devise a way, and then He will restore them to relationship with Him (v. 22) and to national prosperity.
The order here is important. God is eager to bless us. But first we must be healed within, and in right relationship with Him. As Jesus put it, our first concern is to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Then “all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33).

“I have loved you with an everlasting love” Jer. 31:1–14. If we search for any reason for God’s promise of restoration in the people of Judah themselves, we’ll be disappointed. Nothing in their character or actions was attractive. Nothing merited God’s consideration. Instead the reason Jeremiah gave was simply that God had chosen to love His people “with an everlasting love.” It is the overflow of His “loving-kindness,” a term that speaks of God’s compassionate commitment to His covenant promises, which lies at the root of His actions.
It is the same with us today. When God sent His Son into the world, it was to save His enemies! He saved us despite, not because of, what we are. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Let’s never fall into the error of thinking that God saved us, or will save another person, because we are “good” or “nice” or somehow deserve His favor.
And what a blessing this is! The nicest of us are flawed, and if we had to depend on our own works, would be uncertain about gaining God’s gift. But since all depends on the love of God, we can be confident and sure. God’s love is boundless, and as Jeremiah says, “everlasting.” Only because we rely completely on the love of God can we say with confidence that we have been, are being, and surely will be “saved.”
No wonder Jeremiah called on Judah to “sing with joy” and “make your praises heard.” Trust in the love of God will turn our “mourning into gladness,” and will give us “comfort and joy instead of sorrow.”

“Mourning and great weeping” Jer. 31:15–30. The saying is quoted in Matthew’s Gospel (2:17–18), and applied to the slaughter of innocent babes at Herod’s order, in that king’s futile attempt to kill the Christ Child. Yet here the reference clearly is to Rachel, the ancestress of the northern tribes, weeping over the deportation of Israel to Assyria in 722B.C Her tragic figure also weeps at Ramah, the very site where exiles were gathered before being deported to Babylon (Jer. 40:1). God told her to stop weeping, for He would restore her banished offspring, making them again a source of joy rather than grief.
The Matthew quote is not intended as direct fulfillment, but as an application. In both cases, God will overrule. Tragedy will give birth to blessing; grief will give birth to joy.

“I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel” Jer. 31:31–40. A covenant was a formal, legal promise or commitment. Jeremiah predicted that a “time is coming” when God would make a New Covenant with Israel, to replace the “old” Mosaic Code under which the Jews lived. Note that God did not “make” that covenant in Jeremiah’s time, but rather promised to replace the old with a new agreement at some future date.
The New Testament makes it clear that the promised “New Covenant” was formally instituted by the death of Christ. That covenant took the most binding of all Old Testament forms: it was a “covenant of blood,” formalized by the offering of a blood sacrifice. How Jeremiah would have wondered, and bowed his head in awe, if he had known that the sacrifice necessary to keep the promises imbedded in the New Covenant would be the very Son of God.
Jeremiah did describe the nature of the New Covenant. It is “not like” the Mosaic Code, which recorded God’s Laws in stone and failed to offer complete forgiveness. Through the New Covenant, God would “put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” The New Covenant offers inner spiritual renewal and transformation. Through the New Covenant, God would “be their God,” united by a bond which nothing in heaven or hell can break. And through the New Covenant, God would “forgive their wickedness” and “remember their sins no more.”
Today you and I enjoy the spiritual benefits of this New Covenant through our faith in Jesus Christ. One day, according to Jeremiah, a restored Israel will dwell again in Judah and Jerusalem, secure in the ancient Promised Land. Then Israel too will recognize her Messiah, and the spiritual benefits you and I now enjoy will belong to this people whom God chose to love with an “everlasting love.”

“Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” Jer. 33:1–26. Jeremiah was in prison, held for his “treasonable” advice that Judah surrender to the Babylonians. God spoke to him again, and revealed the “unsearchable.” Here is God’s plan for the future of His people: a future no one could imagine then apart from divine revelation.
What is the outline of that future? Judah would be carried into Captivity (vv. 1–5). They would be brought back to the land, and its fortunes would be restored (vv. 6–13). The complete fulfillment of this promise awaits the appearance of a Descendant of David, who may rightly be called “the LORD Our Righteousness.” Until that time comes, there will always be a descendant of David qualified to sit on Israel’s throne (vv. 14–18). And, Jeremiah announced, this salvation intention of God is as firm as the Creation intention, which set the stars in their courses and established the rhythmic cycle of day and night (vv. 19–26). Of one thing we can be sure. God has not rejected His people Israel. And He will not reject us.

DEVOTIONAL
Money Where Your Mouth Is
(Jer. 31–32)
“I do! I do! I know you can!” The little fellow jumped up and down when the tightrope walker asked who believed he could carry a man on his shoulders as he walked his tightrope over Niagara Falls. But when told, “OK, brother. You’re first,” you couldn’t see the little fellow for dust! It’s an old story, but it surely illustrates the point. If you really believe something, you should be willing to display your faith by your actions.
This is what God asked Jeremiah to do. The prophet had boldly announced a future restoration and blessing of Jerusalem (chap. 31). Now he was told to buy a field, wrap the deed up carefully, and bury it where it could be found 70 years later when a remnant of Jews returned from Babylon. There was only one catch. The field Jeremiah was told to buy was outside of Jerusalem, occupied by the Babylonian army that was even then besieging the city walls! And Jeremiah was even told to pay full price, in silver, for what everyone then must have considered worthless land (32:6–15).
Jeremiah was stunned. After obeying the Lord, he voiced his surprise in prayer (vv. 16–25). God reminded His prophet, “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for Me?” (v. 26)
What a word for us. We believe, but sometimes when led to what seems a risky or costly act, we hold back. Like the little boy who fled the tightrope walker when invited to take the first ride, we tend to flee when challenged to put our faith into action.
When the temptation to flee comes, how good to remember God’s command to Jeremiah to buy a seemingly worthless field. That “foolish” act echoes down to our own day as evidence of the prophet’s faith—and evidence of the wisdom of obeying even “foolish” and seemingly costly commands of God.

Personal Application
The answer to God’s question, “Is anything too hard for Me?” is still “No!”

Quotable
“I was a free man in a worldly position; my father was a decurion, indeed, I bargained away my aristocratic status—I am neither ashamed nor sorry—for the benefit of others. In short, I am a slave in Christ to an outlandish nation because of the unspeakable glory of eternal life which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”—Patrick of Ireland

JUDGMENT DAY TODAY
Jeremiah 21–29

“Inquire now of the LORD for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us” (Jer. 21:2).

The scene now shifts to the final years of Judah’s existence. Jeremiah’s predictions were coming true: the land was under siege. These chapters report a series of incidents, in no special chronological order, from Judah’s last frantic months of independence.

Overview
Zedekiah was refused divine aid against Babylon (21:1–14), and Jeremiah condemned Judah’s evil kings (22:1–30). In the distant future Messiah will restore a scattered Israel (23:1–8), but the immediate future holds judgment, despite the lies of Judah’s prophets (vv. 9–40). God would bless those who went into Captivity (24:1–10), and in 70 years restore Judah to her land (25:1–14). Later He would punish her pagan persecutors (vv. 15–38).
Jeremiah was viewed as a traitor and threatened with death (26:1–24). Yet he did not stop calling on Judah to submit to Babylon and God’s will (27:1–22). His words are authenticated by the predicted death of the false prophet Hananiah (28:1–17), but a letter to Jewish captives already in Babylon sparks a new charge of treason against Jeremiah (29:1–32).

Understanding the Text
“Perhaps the LORD will perform wonders for us” Jer. 21:1–14. With the city under siege, King Zedekiah at last turned to Jeremiah and the Lord for help. Grimly the prophet repeated the message he had given faithfully for so many years. God would not fight for, but against, His people.
Jeremiah did offer one hope. Those who left the city of Jerusalem and surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar would survive. Those who stayed in the city to resist him would die. It was this call to surrender that aroused so much fury, and led to accusations of treason against Jeremiah. “My country, may she ever be right; but right or wrong, my country,” was clearly the sentiment in Judah. This popular patriotic slogan is just as wrong today as it was then. In a conflict between right and country, or God and country, we must choose as Jeremiah did. We must take our stand for God and right.

“Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar?” Jer. 22:1–30 The king of this passage is Jehoiakim, who earned Jeremiah’s rebuke by tyrannically forcing unpaid labor to expand his palace while the land groaned under tribute demanded by Egypt’s Pharaoh Neco (cf. 2 Kings 23:34–35). This was a direct violation of Old Testament Law (cf. Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14–15), and marked Jehoiakim as a user, rather than a servant, of his people.
Jeremiah’s question, quoted above, focuses our attention on the nature of all spiritual leadership. In his denunciation of Jehoiakim, he contrasted this wicked king with his godly father Josiah. Josiah was a true king: a true servant of his people. This description of Josiah might well serve as a motto and guide for anyone in a position of spiritual leadership:

“He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know Me?” declares the LORD (vv. 15–16).

“I will raise up to David a righteous Branch” Jer. 23:1–8. Wicked Jehoiakim, who abused his power, was to be carried away to Babylon and have the “burial of a donkey” (22:19), without honor or regret. Now the prophet drew the ultimate contrast. One day the deposed king will be replaced by another from David’s royal line, a righteous Person who will “do what is just and right in the land,” and provide a restored Judah with salvation and safety.
The Messiah, who we realize today is Jesus Christ, truly stands in contrast with Judah’s flawed kings. In order to provide His people with salvation and safety, King Jesus willingly suffered a criminal’s death. And, in dying, He demonstrated once and for all that what qualifies a person to rule—what marks a person off as a true leader—is the readiness to serve others at personal cost.

“They commit adultery and live a lie” Jer. 23:9–40. Once again contrast catapults us into a new but related topic. Judah was filled with prophets: professional religious leaders who claimed to be channels through whom God communicated His word. Unlike Josiah, who was committed to doing good, and unlike the Messiah, who was both righteous and just, these prophets were false prophets. Jeremiah said that these godless men “follow an evil course and use their power unjustly.”
What was it that marked them off as false prophets? The same traits that mark off godly from ungodly ministers today. One: “They commit adultery and live a lie” (v. 14). Their personal lives do not display the moral purity that the ministry of the Word of God requires. Two: “They strengthen the hand of evildoers” (v. 14). There is no emphasis on holiness in their ministry: no call to complete commitment to God. Three: “They fill you with false hopes” (v. 16). They preach popular messages; messages that people want to hear. Their promises of peace, health, and prosperity are “visions from their own minds.” Four: “The dreams they tell one another will make My people forget My name” (v. 27). They mouthed God’s name when giving messages that were supposedly from Him. But because the messages are actually only dreams stolen from one another, the result is that their hearers know less and less about God, and thus “forget” His name.
We should not judge any modern preacher, or publicly tag any individual with the label “false prophet.” Yet we should use these criteria to evaluate whom to listen to—and whom to support financially.

“For twenty-three years . . . I have spoken to you again and again” Jer. 25:1–38. The message of those 23 years was the same: “Turn . . . from your evil practices, and you can stay in the land.” But Judah refused to listen to the words God spoke through His prophet.
Twenty-three years! We can appreciate the frustration of the prophet, as again and again he uttered warnings and invitations—and again and again was ignored or persecuted. Twenty-three years. We can understand more of God’s grace, when we realize that it was really He who was ignored and rejected. And when, as the predicted invasion was taking place and Exile was certain, God added another note of promise. The Captivity was to last only for “seventy years.” Then, “when the seventy years are fulfilled,” Babylon will be repaid. Indeed, all the nations that were enemies of God’s people will be punished.
Three themes are linked in this chapter. (1) God brings disaster on His own in order to discipline them. (2) Discipline is intended to restore God’s own to right relationship. (3) If God is willing to so punish sin in His own, how will the rest of mankind escape judgment?
There is another significance to the prophecy of the 70 years. In Babylon the people of Judah would look back, and in anguish wonder if God had deserted them forever. There they would consider their desolated land and the ruins of the temple, and wonder if by their sin they had forfeited their ancient relationship entirely. Then they would recall Jeremiah’s prediction, that after 70 years a remnant would return. And, in that prophecy, the exiles would find hope.

“This man should be sentenced to death” Jer. 26:1–24. This chapter jumps back, near the beginning of Jeremiah’s public ministry. It gives details about the reaction to Jeremiah’s “temple sermon,” which is recorded in chapter 7. It is placed here to demonstrate the consistency of Judah’s response to Jeremiah’s message, from the beginning on through the decades of rejection and frustration.
That initial reaction was intense, and the religious leaders were the first to call for Jeremiah’s execution (26:7–12). At that time the royal officers and the people resisted, pointing out that speaking a message in the name of the Lord was not a capital offense (vv. 16–18). It would surely be dangerous to kill a prophet (v. 19).
Did Jeremiah’s release after being threatened with death suggest any openness to God’s word? Not at all. It only showed that God was guarding Jeremiah, for another prophet who preached the same message was executed by the reigning king, Jehoiakim (vv. 20–24).
Some ignore God’s messages; some react with anger; some believe. Some messengers are protected by God; some are killed by God’s enemies. The only guarantee anyone has when he takes the role of a Jeremiah is that God is sovereign, and that His Word must be heard.

“Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live” Jer. 27:1–22. The scene shifts back to the time of Zedekiah, with Babylonian invasion forces threatening the kingdom. Jeremiah announced that God the Creator had chosen to give Judah and the other nations of Syria-Palestine over to the Babylonians. If Zedekiah surrendered the nation to Nebuchadnezzar, he and his people would live.
At this time a number of Judah’s best families had already been deported to Babylon, in 605B.C It was then 597B.C, and within a year the Babylonian forces would be outside the city gates. There was no basis for hope, and yet Zedekiah would not listen to Jeremiah.
Revelation describes a similar irrational response at history’s end. The earth itself will be rocked by disaster after disaster; so much so that the supernatural origin of the judgments will be plain to all. Observing this in a vision, John said that all mankind “hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, ’Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’ ” (Rev. 6:15–17) Even the certainty of judgment cannot turn a man from his sins. Only the message of God’s saving love in Jesus can reach and melt the hardened human heart.
Jeremiah was called to proclaim judgment, and his generation was unmoved. You and I are called to share the Gospel’s Good News, and this message is still “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16).

“I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon” Jer. 28:1–17. Jeremiah was constantly opposed by false prophets, who loudly proclaimed messages that contradicted his own. At the time Jeremiah was urging Zedekiah to surrender to the Babylonians, a false prophet named Hananiah announced that God would free Judah from Babylon’s power and would bring back the captives already in that land. He then broke the wooden yoke Jeremiah wore to symbolize submission to Babylon. Jeremiah was then told to forge a yoke of iron. And to announce that because Hananiah claimed to speak in God’s name when God had not sent him, that Hananiah would die before the year was out. Within two months, Hananiah was dead!
In Old Testament times prophets were authenticated as God’s messengers by making predictions that would soon be fulfilled, or by performing some miraculous sign. That way there could be no mistake about who God’s spokesmen really were. Despite the fact that Hananiah died as Jeremiah predicted, the people of Judah still refused to listen to him.
Today too there is an authenticating work of God that helps us recognize His spokesmen. This is a work of the Holy Spirit performed within believers. Jesus spoke of this work when He said, “I know My sheep, and My sheep know Me” (John 10:14–15). We need to authenticate modern teachings, first by the objective standard of the Word of God, and then by the subjective standard of the Spirit’s inner voice.

DEVOTIONAL
Bad Good News
(Jer. 29)
It almost seems a contradiction in terms. “Bad” good news? But this is just what Jeremiah 29 is about.
Read the chapter, and you and I can see only good news. It contains a letter that Jeremiah wrote to instruct and encourage the Jews who had already been transported to Babylon. In it Jeremiah encouraged the captives to settle down, build houses, enjoy life, and prosper in that great world capital (vv. 4–9). Jeremiah also conveyed God’s promise to bring His people back to their own land after 70 years. “I know the plans I have for you,” God said through His prophet, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (vv. 10–14). You can hardly imagine better news than that! You’d think the exiles would jump up and down with excitement, or at least settle back with a sigh of relief and thank God.
Instead, the leaders in exile sent a missive to Judah’s ruling priest, demanding in God’s name that Jeremiah be put in stocks and neckirons! Jeremiah was a madman, who should be shut up once and for all!
To the exiles in Babylon the good news that Jeremiah conveyed seemed to be bad news. They didn’t want to hear it! They wanted to come home, now.
The other day I listened to a “Crossfire” program on CNN. The debate was between a little-known media evangelist and a man promoting a book in which he labels every radio and TV preacher a crook. And the very worst charge that the author hurled against the evangelist was, “You believe that everyone who doesn’t believe in Jesus is going to hell, don’t you?”
What a case of “bad” good news. The Gospel message is that everyone deserves hell. Yet in love God sent Jesus to die for us, so that through faith in Him human beings might be forgiven and receive eternal life as a free gift.
Somehow that critic of evangelists turned the whole message around, and made it appear that God condemned people for not believing in His Son, ignoring the fact that all mankind is lost and condemned without Him.
Well, don’t be too surprised if what happened to Jeremiah, and what happened on TV, happens to you sometime. People have an amazing capacity to twist God’s good news and make it appear to be bad news. But if it does happen to you, don’t let your critic succeed. Keep the focus on the “good” of the good news, and rejoice in what the Lord means to you.

Personal Application
Arguing with folks determined to make good news appear bad is about as productive as trying to make hay grow on the moon.

Quotable
“As Tennyson passed the cottage of an aged lady, he asked, ’What news this morning?’ Replied the old lady, ’Lord Tennyson, I know only one piece of news—that Jesus Christ died for all mankind.’ ’Madam,’ said Tennyson, ’that is old news and new news and good news!’ “—Howard A. Banks

THE POTTER
Jeremiah 16–20

“Therefore I will teach them—this time I will teach them My power and might. Then they will know that My name is the LORD” (Jer. 16:21).

There is no more powerful image in Scripture of God’s sovereignty than that of the potter, shaping clay to form whatever vessel he decides. This passage reminds us that God is sovereign. Yet the exercise of His sovereign power is tempered by love—even in the case of complaining Jeremiah.

Overview
In view of the coming disaster, Jeremiah was forbidden to live a normal human life (16:1–21). Three causes of Judah’s failure were identified (17:1–13), leading Jeremiah to cry out for personal healing (vv. 14–18). Judah was then challenged to put God first by honoring the Sabbath (vv. 19–27).
At the house of a potter God announced again the certain disaster He was preparing against Judah (18:1–23). Jeremiah smashed a clay jar to symbolize the devastation destined for Jerusalem (19:1–15). Pashhur had the prophet beaten (20:1–6), leading to another anguished complaint by a weary and bitter Jeremiah (vv. 7–18).

Understanding the Text
“You must not marry and have sons or daughters in this place” Jer. 16:1–21. God restricted Jeremiah. His prophet was not to live a normal life in the city destined for destruction. He was not to marry (vv. 1–4). He was not to mourn with others at funerals (vv. 5–7). He was not to celebrate at such festivities as weddings (vv. 8–9). Jeremiah was destined to be a perpetual outsider: a specter, who walked silently among members of his society but whose grim isolation from them was to be a reminder of the judgment bearing down on the land.
This strange behavior was intended to raise questions—and create opportunities for Jeremiah to announce God’s Word.
We should see God’s refusal to let Jeremiah marry as a grace—gift to His prophet, though it surely must have seemed a painful burden. But when the city population starved, and its young men were cut down by the invading army and its young women raped by its soldiers, Jeremiah would be spared the anguish of watching his own children suffer this fate. The popular saying is, “Every cloud has a silver lining.” A more accurate expression is, “Every burden God asks us to bear carries a hidden blessing.”

“Through your own fault you will lose the inheritance I gave you” Jer. 17:1–18. Again we’re reminded. When judgment comes, don’t blame God.
The Lord identified three faults that assured disaster. One: Sin was engraved on the tablets of Judah’s hearts (vv. 1–4). The image of writing on the heart is a common one in Scripture (cf. 2 Cor. 3:2–3). It is a reference to innate character; to the very core of one’s personality. There is not the slightest scratch on Judah’s heart to indicate any response to God’s Word. What is there, scored deep by bold slashes with a diamond (not “flint”) point, is sin. Two: Judah had turned away from God to trust in mere man (Jer. 17:5–8). There is no remedy for sin but trust in God. Yet Judah would not put her confidence in the Lord. Three: The human heart is corrupt beyond any cure (vv. 9–13). Judah’s heart constantly turned toward evil. Surely God could not be blamed for dooming a people of sinful character and corrupt heart, who refused to put their trust in Him.
Jeremiah wisely took this revelation personally, and cried out, “Heal me, O LORD” (vv. 14–18). Despite the fact that he had “not run away from being Your shepherd” to Judah, Jeremiah was fearful and uncertain. If only the people of Judah had responded as the prophet did now! If only they had cried out to God for healing. But instead they scoffed, and ridiculed Jeremiah saying, “Where is the word of the LORD?” Because disaster was not there, they could not see it ahead!
What a blessing that we have seen the coming judgment, and with Jeremiah cried out to God for spiritual healing. And what a joy to know that, because of Jesus Christ, healing is ours. God has erased the sin engraved on our hearts, and replaced it with His own Living Word. He has healed us from within, and taught us to trust not in man but in Him alone. A day of “double destruction” was hurtling down on Judah. But we wait for the redoubled blessings to be ours when Jesus comes.

“Keep the Sabbath Day holy” Jer. 17:19–27. Why, with all the many sins committed by the people of Judah, did God tell Jeremiah to focus his preaching on keeping the Sabbath Day holy? Surely the practice of idolatry in Judah was worse than the practice of carrying a load of firewood! Certainly the immorality Jeremiah had mentioned was more serious than doing a little work on God’s day of rest!
It’s best to see this message, with its promise of blessing for obedience (vv. 24–26), as a test case. If the people of Judah would put God first on the Sabbath, they would put Him first in their daily lives. The failure of Judah to honor God on the day set aside for that purpose revealed a reversal of all their values.
We too are to put God first on the day we worship Him, and in our private devotions as well. When we give the Lord priority in this, our other priorities will fall in line.

“At the potter’s house” Jer. 18:1–19:15. The sermon on sovereignty that was stimulated at the house of a Jerusalem potter led to another outburst of fury against Jeremiah.
Rather than respond to God’s invitation, an angry populace chose to “attack [Jeremiah] with our tongues” and “pay no attention to anything he says” (18:18). After years of such rejection, Jeremiah angrily cried out against his persecutors. Let their children be given “over to famine. . . . Their wives be made childless and widows . . . their men be put to death” (v. 21).
It is not for us to judge this vitriolic outburst. The fact is that the people of Judah merited—and would soon receive—just this fate. What we should remember, however, is that despite the most terrible provocations the Lord urged the people of Judah to return to Him again and again. When we suffer unjustly as Jeremiah surely did, it’s hard not to remember “all their plots to kill me” and hope for just retribution.
Still at the potter’s house, Jeremiah was told to purchase a clay jar and take it to the “sacred confines” (Topheth) where the rulers and people of Judah practiced pagan sacrifice. There Jeremiah smashed the jar, and announced in God’s name, “I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies.” Then Jeremiah returned to the city, and repeated his message of coming destruction.
In a sense, God answered His prophet’s prayer. Jeremiah’s persecutors, who were God’s committed enemies too, would suffer just the fate the prophet desired.

In Jeremiah’s time potters placed lumps of clay on a round platform, which they turned with their feet. Under their skilled hands, the clay took on whatever form they intended. As Jeremiah watched a potter at work, God told him to remind Judah that the nations are like clay in His hands! He can destroy, or restore. But the people of Judah rejected this explicit invitation to turn to the Lord. They said, “It is no use. We will continue with our own plans.”
Yes, God is sovereign. But this truth is intended to bring hope! The heavenly Potter has sovereignly determined to bless all who turn wholeheartedly to Him.

“The priest, Pashhur” Jer. 20:1–6. This high temple official heard Jeremiah’s preaching, and ordered him beaten and placed in stocks. When released, Jeremiah boldly predicted that Pashhur would see his friends die, the temple treasures he supervised taken away, and that he and his family would die in Exile.
It’s no fun being persecuted for our faith. But it’s better to be the persecuted than the persecutor!

DEVOTIONAL
The Other Fellow’s Shoes
(Jer. 19–20)
In some ways, Jeremiah strikes me as something of a pill. Always looking grim. Always condemning. And, worst of all, always complaining.
We see each of these traits in chapters 19 and 20. Grim Jeremiah is undoubtedly a prophet of doom (chap. 19).
Granted that the people of Judah fully deserved the disaster about to strike, Jeremiah seemed at times to be a little too enthusiastic. He almost licked his chops over their fate! (cf. 18:19–22) Granted too that Jeremiah faced hard times. It was no fun to be publicly beaten and placed in the stocks for speaking God’s word (20:1–6). But when we read Jeremiah’s words of complaint to the Lord after this incident, we can almost hear the whine in his voice. And it grates on us.
“Lord, You tricked me into serving You. I didn’t expect ridicule! But that’s all I get” (vv. 7–8).
“Lord, I’ve tried not speaking. But then You give me this pain, and the only way I can get relief is to speak out again” (v. 9).
“Lord, everybody’s whispering and plotting against me” (v. 10).
“Lord, at least let me see them get zapped” (vv. 11–12).
“Lord, I try praising You, and You have rescued me (v. 13). But I still curse the day I was born. And I’m still angry that people rejoiced over my birth (vv. 14–16). I wish,” and here the whine becomes pronounced, “that someone had performed an abortion and murdered me in the womb (v. 17). Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?” (v. 18)
Now, I’ve known some whiners. And they’re no fun to be around. In fact, before long we get so tired of their whining that we tune such people out, ignoring them and their feelings.
Yet two things impress me about the complaints of Jeremiah. First, everything he complained about was rooted in reality. He really did have a painful and difficult life. Compared to Jeremiah, my life has been a bed of roses. So perhaps I should listen more patiently, with more compassion, and realize that if I had been forced to walk in his shoes, I might have felt just as Jeremiah did. Perhaps too I can learn from Jeremiah. Despite all his complaints, despite the depression and despair that often gripped him, Jeremiah was totally faithful to God. He spoke God’s word to others, even when he knew ahead of time that they would listen with hostility and make his life even more difficult. What are a few complaints compared to this!
But second, when Jeremiah complained, God listened! God didn’t seem to become impatient, or angry, or even to ignore His prophet. And I can learn from this. People who hurt often will complain. And what they need most may very well be simply the sympathy and understanding of another person. A person willing to listen, and willing to admit, “Yes, it would be tough to walk in your shoes.” A person willing to express a little admiration of people like Jeremiah, who have chosen, despite their problems, to commit their cause to the Lord (v. 12).

Personal Application
When you hurt, seek God’s ear. When others hurt, be God’s ear for them.

Quotable
If we knew the cares and trials,
Knew the efforts all in vain,
And the bitter disappointment,
Understood the loss and gain;
Would the grim, eternal roughness
Seem, I wonder, just the same?
Should we help where now we hinder?
Should we pity where now we blame?
-Rudyard Kipling

THE BROKEN COVENANT
Jeremiah 11–15

“This is what the LORD says: ’Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity’ ” (Jer. 15:2).

Relationship with God is marked by commitment—on both sides. When we fall short of our commitment to God, He remains committed to us. But God’s commitment includes punishment, in order that by discipline He might purify and restore.

Overview
Jeremiah announced Judah’s punishment for breaking her covenant with God (11:1–17). Jeremiah’s life was threatened, and God responded to the angry prophet’s appeal (v. 18–12:17). Jeremiah delivered five symbolic warnings (13:1–27) to a people who “greatly love to wander” (14:1–15), and then graphically portrayed the coming disaster (v. 16–15:9). But the prophet, who bore God’s name, would be kept safe (vv. 10–21).

Understanding the Text
“Proclaim all these words” Jer. 11:1–17. Most believe this sermon was delivered during the reign of Josiah, just after the lost Law of the Lord had been rediscovered in the temple. Despite Josiah’s active efforts at reform, the Prophet Jeremiah was called to remind Judah of the terms of her ancient covenant with God. If the people obeyed wholeheartedly, God said, “I will fulfill the oath I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey.” But Jeremiah was also told to confront. God knew that the house of Judah had “broken the covenant I made with their forefathers,” and that their towns were filled with pagan idols. Because of the broken covenant the Lord had “decreed disaster for you.”
Two themes we’ve seen before are repeated here. “Consecrated meat” (v. 15) represents superficial public religion. No mere reform of ritual without complete moral and spiritual commitment could help. And again Jeremiah was told, “Do not pray for this people” (v. 14). For them it was too late.
It’s not too late for us. But our commitment must be more than settling comfortably into some Sunday pew, and putting our dollars in the offering plate. Only complete moral and spiritual commitment are appropriate to our own covenant relationship with God in Christ.

“The men of Anathoth” Jer. 11:18–23. Jeremiah was shaken when God revealed a plot against his life by the men of Anathoth. The prophet was shocked: he never expected his preaching to provoke such a savage reaction. He said, “I was like a gentle lamb,” meaning that he was totally naive.
It’s better for us to be naive than to be cynical. And it’s often better for us not to know the plots others may hatch against us. If we are as faithful as Jeremiah in doing God’s will, we may rest assured. The God who protected Jeremiah will guard us as well.

“I would speak with you about your justice” Jer. 12:1–17. Jeremiah, as you and I often are, was in a “hurry-up” mode here. His query, “Why does the way of the wicked prosper?” really means, “Why don’t You act to punish the wicked now?” In bloodthirsty terms, Jeremiah cried, “Drag them off like sheep to be butchered!”
In response God gave a full-orbed vision of what He intended. He knew the character of Judah well, and warned Jeremiah against trusting anyone—even in his own family (vv. 5–6). God would abandon this wicked people to become a prey to pagan nations (vv. 7–13). But He would “again have compassion” and restore His people in the end (vv. 14–17).
What is striking here is the pain God felt at the prospect of punishing Judah. The Lord cried out in anguish, “I will give the one I love into the hands of her enemies” (v. 7). God takes no pleasure in punishments. He disciplines because He must. And because, ultimately, discipline brings restoration to fellowship.
Any time you or I feel God’s heavy hand of discipline, it’s important to remember what the Lord told Jeremiah. We are still “the one I [God] love,” even when we deserve and receive punishment. And divine discipline is not abandonment. The Lord will “again have compassion, and bring each of them back to their inheritance.”

“The LORD’s flock will be taken captive” Jer. 13:1–27. The chapter lists five different warnings given Judah through Jeremiah. The first was by a symbolic act: the prophet’s linen “belt” was buried by a river representing the distant Euphrates (vv. 1–11). When it was dug up months later, it was rotted and ruined. This linen garment was most likely a thigh-length undershirt, worn next to the body. It symbolized the intimacy of the relationship God intended to have with Israel and Judah. But in Judah linen had come to represent luxury and pride. Only removal from the land, and symbolic burial in Babylon, would ruin Judah’s pride and make the people responsive to God once again.
The second message was based on a popular saying associated with drunkenness: “Every wineskin should be filled with wine” (vv. 12–14). Here the “wineskin” was a nebel, a large earthen jar. Judah’s people and leaders would be as foolish as drunkards, and God would smash and destroy them all.
The third warning was in plain words, condemning arrogance and announcing Captivity (vv. 15–17). The fourth called the king and queen mother to step down from their thrones and go into Captivity (vv. 18–19). The final warning was a denunciation of Judah’s sins, and again in plain words announced the coming Exile (vv. 20–27). Here the Lord specified the reason for the coming disaster. This people are so accustomed to doing evil that they don’t even know how to do good! (v. 23) They will be scattered like chaff because of their detestable moral and spiritual ways.
The only way to be good is to practice doing good. We become what we do. Modern men and women, as well as the people of Judah, can become so used to doing wrong that doing good is foreign to them.

“They greatly love to wander” Jer. 14:1–16. Jeremiah was again told not to pray for Judah. Because the people “do not restrain their feet” (from wandering) the Lord would “now remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins.”
Jeremiah observed that the prophets of Judah had a different message. These recognized spiritual leaders kept preaching, “You will not see the sword or suffer famine.” God’s answer was that all promises of lasting peace were lies. Disaster had been determined, and even the most holy of Israel’s saints could not avert it if they were present (15:1–2). The prophets spoke, but God “did not send them,” and they were telling lies (14:14–15).
“Popular” preaching isn’t something for spiritual leaders to strive for, or for you and me to seek out. Any popular message, of prosperity without perspiration, of blessing without battles, of success without suffering, of national greatness without social justice, or of divine approval without personal holiness, marks the speaker as one whom God has not sent, and the message as something less than God’s own.

DEVOTIONAL
Do Not Turn to Them
(Jer. 15)
It hurts to be out there, visible—and alone. It always has. I understand that pressure I mentioned in yesterday’s devotional; pressure that’s reflected in our nine-year-old’s compulsion to be in style and just like the other kids in her class. Adults feel the same pressure. And Christian adults perhaps especially. Many Christians make a real effort to fit in, and not make too much of their Christian faith or convictions. Taking any stand, particularly if you seem to be the only one holding an unpopular position, is a painful proposition.
Jeremiah felt the pain. He took a stand, and announced God’s message of judgment on his society. As a result he was isolated; “a man with whom the whole land strives and contends” and “everyone curses.” And it hurt. He “sat alone,” and as a result felt “unending pain.” I don’t suppose that any of us would choose to be in Jeremiah’s place, despite the fact that later generations have honored him.
This chapter tells us, however, what motivated Jeremiah—and what sustained him. The motivation is explained in verse 16. “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear Your name.” The prophet took God’s words into his heart. They became part of his very being. As he digested their meaning, he was filled with joy and delight. And the more he feasted on the words of God, the more he realized what it means to bear God’s name.
This is our primary source of motivation as well. We are to feast on God’s words: to “eat” them, digesting and applying their meaning. As we do we realize how wonderful it is to bear God’s name, and we are moved to honor Him in all we do and say. Because we do bear God’s name, we will often be moved to represent Him publicly by our words as well as by our way of life. And the more we “eat” and delight in God’s words, the more clearly we will see those issues on which we must speak out.
But what sustains us if, as may happen, speaking out brings ridicule or social isolation? God promised Jeremiah, “I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze” (v. 20). No one and nothing could penetrate the wall of protection that God erected around His servant. But with that promise of protection came a warning. “Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them” (v. 19). Those who oppose us may very well find their way inside the wall, for God’s Word is an open door inviting them to enter. But you and I must never step outside the wall, by abandoning our complete commitment to Scripture, in order to adopt the values, beliefs, or ways of a lost world.
Yes, often it does hurt if we take a stand for our faith and feel ourselves isolated from others. We all want to be popular and to fit in. Often we can, and without compromise. Yet when a conflict does come, let’s remember that we bear God’s name. Let’s be guided by His words. And, as we seek to represent our Lord, let’s be sustained by His words to Jeremiah: “I am with you to rescue and save you” (v. 20).

Personal Application
When we acknowledge the fact that we bear God’s name, His Word will guide us concerning those things about which we must make a personal stand.

Quotable
“When I was fourteen, I heard Lyman Beecher preach on the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I went to my room, locked the door, then threw myself on the floor of my room. This was what I said. ’O God, I belong to Thee. Take what is Thine own. I gladly recognize Thy ownership of me. I now take Thee as my Lord and Master.’ From that time to this I have never known a thing to be wrong without having an aversion to it. I have never seen anything to be right without having an attraction to it.”— Wendell Phillips

DEATH HAS CLIMBED IN
Jeremiah 7–10

“I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command: Obey Me” (Jer. 7:22–23).

In a powerful image, Jeremiah warned his nation that death had “climbed in through our windows.” We need to take Jeremiah’s words seriously today, for some of the same attitudes which characterized ancient Judah are prevalent in “Christian” America.

Overview
Jeremiah’s stunning “temple sermon” condemned Judah’s superficial religion (7:1–19) and warned of coming slaughter (v. 20–8:4). Judgment must strike the tainted land; divine punishment was fixed and certain (v. 5–9:26). Yet after scorning Judah’s idolatry (10:1–22), Jeremiah prayed that the suffering which was ahead would correct, not destroy (vv. 23–25).

Understanding the Text
“At the gate of the LORD’s house” Jer. 7:1–2. Jeremiah 26 gives us another report of this sermon, and sets its date. Jeremiah spoke in the fall or winter of 609B.C Josiah, the godly reformer, had just been killed in battle. Jehoiakim had been set up as king by Egypt. The dream of independence that flourished under Josiah was dead. Yet Judah had one last source of confidence and hope: the temple of the Lord. Surely God would never desert the nation where the temple stood that He had designated “My resting place forever and ever” (Ps. 132:14). Jeremiah’s sermon challenged this deeply held belief so forcefully that many shouted for his death!
What does Jeremiah’s sermon say to us today? Simply that just because a nation has a superficial form of religion, its people have no guarantee of peace or prosperity. America can take no comfort in being a “churchgoing” nation. What Judah and our own country must be is a holy nation, not just a religious one.

“Do not trust in deceptive words” Jer. 7:3–11. Jeremiah’s sermon condemned a distorted “temple theology.” The people of Judah believed that because the temple of the Lord was enclosed in the walls of their Holy City, they were safe. Surely God would not act against His own house!
Jeremiah cut the ground out from under this popular belief. “Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal . . . and then come and stand before Me in this house, which bears My Name, and say, ’We are safe’?”
Today too some are confident that God will not permit disaster to strike America. Don’t most of the missionaries in the world come from the U.S., and aren’t they supported by Christians here? Doesn’t every survey show that a large portion of our population believes in God? Modern popular theology often equates our nation or democracy with a temple of the Lord. How could God permit us to fall?
Yet when we look at the news we see constant reports of the very sins which destined Judah for destruction. Child abuse is a constant headline. Murder is commonplace. Just last week a young woman who had fought drug abuse on her block in St. Petersburg was shot in her own home. And officials of HUD, an agency supposedly dedicated to helping the poor, were shown to instead have fraudulently funneled millions of dollars to wealthy friends. We need to face the fact today that religiosity without holiness is completely worthless. The only thing such religion guarantees a people is divine judgment!
Tragically, the fallacy is also found within the church. The Jim Bakkers of TV and radio somehow assume that because they present the Gospel verbally, they will not be held responsible for moral and financial depravities. They are just as wrong as were the leaders in Jeremiah’s time. We are to present the truth, yes. But truth without holiness is a mockery and an insult to God. And God will not be insulted.

“So do not pray for this people” Jer. 7:12–29. There comes a time when it is too late for a people to avoid judgment. God told Jeremiah that that was the case with Judah. We will see this theme—“Don’t pray for this people”—repeated in future chapters.
How can we tell when a people have come to this sorry state? God told Jeremiah to look back—and then look around. Looking back Jeremiah was reminded that for generations the people of Judah had followed the “stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts.” They “did not listen or pay attention” to the prophets. Now, as Jeremiah looked around, he realized that when he himself spoke, “They will not listen to you; when you call them, they will not answer.”
It is persistent refusal to hear and respond to the Word of God that puts a people beyond the reach of prayer. Yet note that it took centuries, even generations of rejection, before God told Jeremiah to pray for Judah no longer. Neither our country, nor our friends, nor our families, have persisted in unbelief so long. We can, and must, keep on praying that the nation and people we love will respond to the Lord before it is too late.

“People will no longer call it Topheth” Jer. 7:30–8:3. The valley referred to here lay outside Jerusalem and was a sacred area where the Jews offered child sacrifice: “Something I did not command nor did it enter My mind” (7:31). God warned through Jeremiah that these “sacred” precincts will be desecrated by the bones of the people who worshiped pagan deities there. In that day at last the valley will be called by its right name: “the valley of slaughter.”
One of Satan’s favorite strategies is to give abominations deceptive names. In Jeremiah’s time the place where innocents were slaughtered was called a “topheth”—a “sacred precinct.” Today they are called “family planning clinics,” and defense of the decision to kill the unborn is presented as a woman’s “right to choose.” Homosexuality is called an “alternative lifestyle,” and TV and movies glamorize immorality as “adult.” When God acts in judgment, all our abominable practices will be stripped of their deceptive names, and identified for what they are. Until then, you and I must stand for the truth, and speak the truth, even as Jeremiah did in his day.

“Get up” Jer. 8:4–17. Jeremiah introduced a lengthy passage on judgment with a peculiar question. Don’t folks who fall down get up? Don’t folks who turn aside (get lost) try to find their way back? (v. 4) The people of Judah had gone against nature itself, for having fallen into idolatry, they simply lay there. And having turned away from God, rather than looking for a way back they actually refused to return!
Jeremiah offered two explanations. The people themselves refused to repent; each “pursues his own course” (vv. 6–7). The scribes who were responsible to interpret the Word of God had “handled it falsely.” The text suggested they twisted the Law to make it mean what they wanted. Many passages in Jeremiah suggest that their main deception was to make it seem that Judah could sin with impunity, rather than to affirm the necessity of holiness. The flaw in these spiritual leaders is their motivation: “All are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit” (vv. 8–17). As a result, people and priests will perish.

“Since My people are crushed, I am crushed” Jer. 8:18–9:2. Jeremiah’s own deep compassion for the sinning people of Judah reminds us that even the harshest words of judgment are to be uttered in love. But God’s response reminds us that we are to avoid another danger. We are not to be so compassionate that we find ourselves on the side of those who deserve judgment!
Jeremiah was torn by these two opposing forces, and wished that he could simply “leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people.” But neither Jeremiah nor you and I can avoid this tension as we try to live godly, caring lives in our society. The most difficult challenge we face may well be to speak the truth in love, without compromising truth for love, or love for truth.

“Should I not punish them for this?” Jer. 9:4–16 Jeremiah was reminded that he lived “in the midst of deception.” Even those whom he thought of as friends were secretly enemies. There were people who “speak cordially” to a neighbor, but in their hearts “set a trap for him.”
Today’s newspaper tells of a young woman who set up a “charity” to help victims of spina bifida. She collected over $250,000 . . . and kept all but about 6 percent to support her waterfront home and Mercedes! She is typical of those who use deceit to present themselves as “friends,” while in fact attempting simply to use others for their own profit.
God reminded Jeremiah, “Should I not punish them for this?” The question is rhetorical. And the answer is, “Yes.” God should, and will punish. He says, “I will lay waste to the towns of Judah, so that no one can live there.” No one can sin and expect to prosper.

“Gather up your belongings to leave the land” Jer. 10:17–22. Jeremiah delivered God’s relentless message. He would judge Judah. An enemy would appear from the north (Babylon) that would make Judah desolate and carry her people away captive.
One can talk and debate and argue about the meaning of various passages of Scripture. But some are unequivocably clear. This is one of those clear and final statements, which God uttered through Jeremiah to Judah. Enough talk! Pack your clothes! Judgment is coming, and will soon be here.

“It is not for man to direct his steps” Jer. 10:23–25. Jeremiah now submitted to the inevitable. God is sovereign. A man’s life is not his own: he must live in the time and place and circumstances that God has decreed.
Yet while Jeremiah recognized the inevitability of the coming judgment, he had one request. He asked God to use Judah’s defeat for her correction, rather than total destruction (v. 24). Let destruction be the fate of those nations that refuse to acknowledge Him and have devastated the Holy Land (v. 25).

DEVOTIONAL
Death Climbs through Our Windows
(Jer. 9:17–10:16)
Bringing up children is really tough today. I’m finding it much harder with our 9-year-old girl than with my “first” family of boys, now 31 and 27. Right now Sarah is enamoured with the “New Kids on the Block.” She loves their songs, wants to buy teen magazines that tell about them, and thinks the group’s scrawny 16-year-old is a “hunk.”
She’s also very fashion conscious. It’s no use to bring home a schoolbag until she’s seen what her classmates have. And not to have anything the others have is a total social disaster.
And it bothers me. Somehow I keep thinking of verses in these chapters of Jeremiah, and wondering how to apply them in our own home. God warned Judah that “the customs of the peoples are worthless” (10:3). Yes, I know the passage is talking about idolatry. But it says to me that the whole system of values adopted in any basically pagan society is worthless. And that God’s people are not to fall prey to such “senseless” notions.
On the one hand, I have no doubts about our decision to block out several TV channels with a “parental control” code. But I’m troubled by an uncertainty about just how far to go in restricting our daughter in other ways.
What troubles me most is Jeremiah’s observation that “death has climbed in through our windows and has entered our fortresses” (9:21). We can bar the smiling death’s head that knocks at our door. It is the death that climbs in through our windows, when we’re unaware, that spoils us—and our children.
I do know this. I can’t rely on my wisdom today. All I can do is struggle to follow God’s advice in Jeremiah 9:24, and strive daily to understand and know “Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.”

Personal Application
We have a special need these days for divine wisdom to see through our society’s deceit.

Quotable
“Adam’s choice cost him Eden; Esau’s, his birthright; Achan’s, his life; Lot’s, his home and herds; Absalom’s, his father’s throne; Saul’s, his kingdom; the rich young ruler’s, the companionship of Christ. Judas lost his apostleship; Demas his discipleship. Pilate, Agrippa, and Felix chose wrong and missed immortality. Ananias’ choice fooled no one but himself. Caleb and Joshua chose well, while Jonah’s first choice nearly shipwrecked himself and the crew.
“Ye older ones, what would your answer be as a father, a mother, as a Christian leader, if, concerning our young people, God would say to you today, ’Ask what I shall make of these young people’? Would your answer prove you know how to choose the things that matter most?”—Robert G. Lee