Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 23-25.

Jeremiah begins today’s passage by condemning the leaders of Judah for scattering the people rather than gathering them and tending them.  Jeremiah declares that God has given power to political and religious authorities in order that they might unite the people, but all too often those with authority choose to divide people in order to more easily control them.  God declares that He will punish such leaders and replace them with those who will carry out His will.  I want to note that many people follow such divisive leaders because they see doing so as a path to power for themselves.  God will punish such people along with their leaders.

While Jeremiah has strong words for the secular leaders who divide God’s people (and I believe that for the purposes of this prophecy all people are God’s people), he has even stronger condemnation for the religious leaders who fail to gather God’s people to Him.  He warns us that many of those who claim to offer us moral guidance are godless and wicked, even among those who claim to speak on behalf of God.  Rather than speak God’s word  in order to turn people from their wicked ways, they speak words from their own mind, strengthening the hands of evildoers.  They tell those who despise God that their wicked actions will have only positive consequences.  Such prophets will face God’s wrath because if they had spoken God’s words people would have turned from their evil ways and been redeemed by God.

Later in today’s passage, Jeremiah has words of warning for those who think they can gain from the destruction of society.  When God brings His destruction upon those who mock His word, it will be indiscriminate.  The only shelter from His wrath will be for those who turn to Him and faithfully serve Him.  In this passage, Jeremiah refers to the destruction which will be visited on those nations around the world who thought to profit from the fall of Jerusalem, even for Babylon which was the tool by which that fall occurred.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.