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.
God told Jeremiah to stop praying for the people of Judah, that they were too far gone in their sin to return to God before they suffered His judgement. Yet, Jeremiah still cried out for them and prayed to God. He did so because their prophets were telling them that they were doing nothing wrong, that if they continued to follow the path which they were following God would send them peace. Today we often see the same thing, false teachers proclaiming that God will send peace and prosperity to those who are sinning. There are two types of such prophets: those who preach “prosperity gospel” and those who preach acceptance of self-destructive behavior. The former teach that God will grant us material wealth. The latter teach that we can do whatever we like as long as we are “loving”. Neither group preaches God’s actual word. Some know they are lying and some of them failed to heed what God told Jeremiah later on in this passage.
Jeremiah complains to God about the persecution he is suffering and begs God for deliverance. God promises Jeremiah that He will indeed keep him safe. God told Jeremiah to speak God’s good words rather than worthless ones of those around him. In like manner we should seek to influence those who do not worship God (yet), but not allow them to influence us. As Paul says in Romans 12, let us not copy the behaviors of this world but let us be transformed by the Holy Spirit into the likeness of God.
I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I am on vacation from July 31 through today, but I did my Bible reading in advance so that I could continue to publish these every day.
Growing up, and even into my young adult years, I viewed passages like those in today’s reading where the prophets spoke against idols made by man as something to be read figuratively. However, in recent years I have come to know more and more people who are returning to worship of gods made by human hands. Some of them even view the gods they worship as being man-made. We should not allow ourselves to be drawn into their practices. None of those other gods can compare to God. God created the universe and all that is in it. The believers in those other gods make no such claim.
God sent Jeremiah to speak His message to people who did not want to hear it. Some of those to whom Jeremiah preached wished to silence him by killing him. We see the same thing today. Perhaps not yet to the point of seeking to kill those who truly preach God’s word, but strong efforts are under way to silence such voices. Those who sought Jeremiah’s death were from Anathoth, which was one of the Levitical Cities of Refuge and Jeremiah’s birthplace. A little further on God tells Jeremiah that his own brothers had turned against him. Since Jeremiah was a priest, his brothers also would have been priests. So, some of the religious leaders of the day were taking part in the attempt to silence Jeremiah because he spoke God’s word. Similar things happen today.
I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I am going to be on vacation through August 10th. I have prepared my daily Bible Studies for each day throughout that time in advance since I will have limited access to the Internet during this time. The timing on when I publish these blogs may be erratic during this time.
Today’s passage warns those who think that they are safe and secure. Those who believe they will never suffer any negative consequences for their sins. God does not tell us not to do certain things because He desires to limit our pleasure. God tells us not to certain things because those things damage us. Sometimes that damage is physical, sometimes it is mental or emotional, and sometimes it is spiritual. If we do any of the things which God has warned us against we bring damage on ourselves, even if we cannot see how. Further, these self-destructive behaviors which we call sins are cumulative, both within the individual and in society. The more sins you commit, the more each of those sins will damage you. The more people in society sin, the greater the breakdown of society. This will continue until an entire country becomes a wasteland.
Jeremiah speaks of the fact that people refuse to turn away from their self-destructive behavior. I see it all around me. I will use the discovery of AIDS in the 1980s as an example. Initially, it was seen as a disease which occurred in those who had homosexual sex. After a short time it was discovered that anyone who had sex with multiple partners was at risk (side-note: it is still more common among men who have sex with other men, but that is not relevant to my point). However, people rejected the idea as “old-fashioned” that one should not have multiple sexual partners. Those who held such ideas were often called “prudes” (and sometimes still are). People recognized that certain behaviors were self-destructive, but refused to give them up. Even many of those who claimed to teach God’s word twisted it so as to support this self-destructive behavior. Worse, some of those who proclaimed God’s warning against such behavior twisted God’s word so as to justify failing to show God’s love to those who suffered.
The example I gave is but one such example, and not even the worst. People commit sins and when they suffer the consequences refuse to change their behavior. They lie and cheat, and, when they are cheated and lied use it to justify more lying and cheating. God tells us that when we are cheated and lied to we should stand up for the truth. Our society believes in treating the symptoms rather than the disease. Those who point to the source of our problems is condemned as intolerant and hate-filled.
I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I am going to be on vacation through August 10th. I have prepared my daily Bible Studies for each day throughout that time in advance since I will have limited access to the Internet during this time. The timing on when I publish these blogs may be erratic during this time.
Reading Jeremiah frightens me, but it also gives me hope. The fear comes because Jeremiah’s prophecies started when Josiah was king and things seemed to be getting better. The hope comes from things like the start of today’s passage. The people of Judah could have returned to God and avoided the coming disaster. Even now, if the people would plow up the hard ground of their hearts and turn to God, He would forgive them and welcome them home..
Still, my fear persists. I see the signs of the coming storm which God will unleash on this land if its people continue to ignore His warnings. I read what Jeremiah says about the lack of honest people and see similar things in our society. People condemn their opponents for lying, then lie themselves when they perceive it as being to their advantage. The poor do it, the rich do it. Those without any power do it, those with great power do it. And everyone in between. God tells us to walk in the old, godly way, but no one today wants that road. They call that way “intolerant”, refusing to see where they path they choose instead actually leads. They want a “new” way and will not listen to anyone who tells them that the “new” way is not new.
I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I am going to be on vacation through August 10th. I have prepared my daily Bible Studies for each day throughout that time in advance since I will have limited access to the Internet during this time. The timing on when I publish these blogs may be erratic during this time.
Jeremiah’s prophecy today reminds me of the history of the United States. I want to be clear that I do not view the United States as God’s new “Chosen People”. I think that similar comparisons can be made of other people and nations. Jeremiah begins by speaking about how the Israelites loved and worshiped God as He led them through the wilderness. Yet soon began to stray to the worship of other gods. In the United States, before there was a United States, there was a great revival. However, it is not entirely accurate to call it a revival because few of the early settlers were particularly religious (there were some notable exceptions: the Puritans in Massachusetts, the Quakers and others in Pennsylvania, and a few other similar groups elsewhere, but before the “Great Awakening” most of those who lived in the Colonies had no use for God). That all changed with the Great Awakening. The Holy Spirit swept over the thirteen Colonies like a wild fire. Then came the conflict between the British and French colonists and the war which followed. Than, just as Jeremiah said of the Israelites, the settles did not ask, “Where is God?”, they asked, “Where is the government?” (in this case the British government).. There were similar revivals where the people of the United States turned to God in large numbers, only to a few years later look elsewhere for solutions to their problems.
I want to point out that Jeremiah began to prophecy while Josiah was king. Josiah was one of the kings of Judah who “did what was pleasing in God’s sight.” So, just because you attend Church regularly and worship God, does not mean that you are not one of those whom Jeremiah would accuse of idolatry. Where do YOU turn for solutions to the problems you see around you? Are you lobbying the government? Or, are you seeking to do God’s will?
