Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 16-18.

Jeremiah continues to prophesy that God’s judgement could not be avoided, that a time of sorrow and mourning was coming and that it was too late to forestall it.  The disaster is coming because those who came before us forsook God, rejected Him and worshiped other gods.  They worshiped power and wealth.  They chose not to keep the laws which God had given them.  And our generation has behaved even more wickedly than those who went before us.  For this reason, God will show us no favor.  Yet there is still a path forward for us.  Jeremiah tells us that those who trust in man will be cursed, but those who trust in the Lord will be blessed.  The former will be like a bush in the wastelands, dry and bitter.  The latter will be like a tree planted by the water, even during a drought it will bear fruit.  Jeremiah tells us to keep the Sabbath holy and things will go well for us and our land.  When Jeremiah says that he is referring more to keeping God’s will than to following specific rituals.  He refers to seeking justice and not oppressing the poor, to feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and the prisoner.  Finally, Jeremiah gives a reason to hope and something for which to strive.  He tells us that God is like a potter, if the nation which God has declared will be destroyed because of its evil repents of its sin and turns to Him, He will turn that destruction aside and bring good things to it.  Let us pray that God pour out His Spirit upon the people of this land and turn them from their sins.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 16-18.

For the most part, Jeremiah prophesies that an unavoidable disaster is about to come upon the people of Jerusalem.  The people to whom he spoke feigned ignorance as to why God would allow that to happen to them.  Jeremiah pointed out that their ancestors had forsaken God’s law and that they had behaved even more wickedly than their ancestors, stubbornly following their own wills rather than obeying God.  Jeremiah goes on to condemn them for putting their trust in human beings while turning away from God.  He tells them that if they would put their trust in God and depend upon Him they would be able to face the coming disaster without need to fear.

So, even now, as bad as it seems, and how inevitable disaster appears, God promises that if we, each of us, turn to Him, He will rescue us from the disaster our actions deserve.  As Jeremiah told the people of Jerusalem, we must return to keeping the Sabbath holy.  We must return to the days when we did not work, or do business, on Sunday.  Or, whatever day of the week you choose, just pick a day and spend it worshiping the Lord.  It might even be different days each week, but there should be a system to how you select the day.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 16-18.

Today’s passage begins with a prophecy which seems to say that the coming disaster can no longer be avoided.  Jeremiah goes from there to warn against putting our trust in human beings, or human institutions.  He contrasts them with those who put their trust in God.  He tells us that those who rely on God will withstand the coming disaster.  Then God sends Jeremiah to stand in the gate of the temple and tell people to be sure to keep the Sabbath Day.  This message is being delivered to those going into the temple in order to offer sacrifices to God.  After that Jeremiah prophesies that if God sends an evil nation a warning that He is about to destroy it and that nation repents of its evil, He will refrain from fulfilling His prophecy.  On the other hand, if God announces that a good nation is to be rewarded for its deeds and that nation turns to evil, He will bring destruction upon it.

So, I really believe that our nation, and perhaps our entire world, is at the point the Kingdom of Judah was when Jeremiah made these particular prophecies.  Our institutions have been completely corrupted and that can only lead to destruction and devastation.  If we continue to put our trust in man and human institutions, the destruction will be inevitable.  If we continue to think that if we just elect the right people, demand the government do the right thing, we can escape God’s judgement, the destruction will be unescapable.  Only if we put our trust fully in God, recognizing that only Divine intervention can change the path we are on will we be able to see things turn around.  Doing so means more than just going to Church on Sunday and making donations to charitable organizations, or even directly to those in need.  We need to keep the Sabbath, we need sacrifice some of our personal convenience in order to serve God.  I have long thought that many abortions in this country result from people sacrificing their child on the altar of convenience, that convenience is a god more important to them than God.  But, how many of us serve that same god by shopping on Sunday because it is convenient?  Can’t we set aside one day to rest and serve God?  Maybe it is worth a little inconvenience to allow others to rest on Sunday as well?  I think this message applies to me, but each person will have to see where they need to stop offering service to the god of convenience for themselves.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 16-18.

I have written how, as I read through the Book of Jeremiah I wonder if we today have gotten to the point Judah was at when Jeremiah prophesied, to the point where God’s judgement could no longer be avoided?  The beginning of today’s passage makes me think that we have not yet gotten there.  God warned Jeremiah, and instructed him to warn others, not to have children in Jerusalem.  I do not get the sense that God is sending such a message today, at least, not yet.  Further, despite the constant drumbeat that disaster could no longer be avoided which Jeremiah’s prophecies contained, God gave Jeremiah the occasional prophecy that it is never too late.

“If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed,  and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.  And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted,  and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.”

Of course, at the same time God also warns that no society is so secure that it can turn its back on Him and survive.  Many people in our society today have chosen to turn from God and reject His will.  Our society is accelerating into the abyss.  I believe it is too late to attempt to salvage society, we must seek instead to reach individuals and convince them to turn back to God (or, perhaps a better way to put it would be to say, allow the Holy Spirit to convince them through us).  However, I also believe that if enough people are touched by the Holy Spirit, our society may still be saved from disaster.

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

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 16-18.

When people asked Jeremiah why God would do the things which Jeremiah prophesied against them, his answer was “because their ancestors had been unfaithful to God.”  However, that was not the whole of Jeremiah’s answer.  The rest of his answer was that they were even worse than their ancestors.  From time to time throughout the Old Testament we have examples of where people are asked to repent of sins committed by their ancestors, but in every such case, they must also repent of their own sins.  God only holds us to account for the sins of our ancestors when we continue those sins ourselves.  This reminds us that the biggest value in examining our ancestors sins is to determine if we are continuing in those sins.

My thoughts on this next bit are kind of muddled, so bear with me.  If we put our trust in our fellow man, we will be disappointed and will have no hope for the future.  But, if we instead put out trust in God, we will be like trees planted along a river bank, constantly renewed even in times of drought.  In either case, whether we put our trust in man or in God, we may get crushed.  However, if we have put our trust in God, He will have crushed us in order to build us back up better than we were.  Whereas when people crush us, they have no idea how we should truly be built back up and the results will be no better than what we were before.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.  I just got back from a ten day vacation and prepared this before I left.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 16-18.

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows…well, perhaps, but The Shadow was a fictional character.  God knows, and He is not fictional, no matter how much some people proclaim that He is.  We may think we know that wickedness lurks in the hearts of certain people and not in the hearts of others.  But we are generally mistaken.  We do not truly know our own wickedness, let alone that of others.  However, God knows the inmost thoughts of everyone and will give us the just reward for our thoughts and behaviors.  Which should scare each and everyone of us!  On the other hand, if we humbly throw ourselves upon His mercy, He will extend us that mercy.