Jeremiah 11-15
Hear
and Obey

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Psalm 84:1-12 Grace and Glory and Every Good Thing

How Lovely Are Your Dwellings!
1 To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

 How lovely is your dwelling place,
 O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
 for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
 to the living God.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
 and the swallow a nest for herself,
 where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
 my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
 ever singing your praise! Selah

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
 in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
 they make it a place of springs;
 the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
 each one appears before God in Zion.

8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
 give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
 look on the face of your anointed!

10 For a day in your courts is better
 than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
 than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
 the LORD bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
 from those who walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts,
 blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Understand

If you don't have something that you've been asking God for, which you think is good, think again. If it were good, God would give it to you (if you've been walking uprightly). If He hasn't given it to you (and you've been walking uprightly), then it isn't good. Either the thing you desire or the timing isn't best; therefore God is obligated, by His infinitely goodness, to not give you what would be bad for you. This is the key to contentment, and the basis of trust. If you are trusting God, then you trust that He will give what's best, when it's best.
  • Corollary #1: if God hasn't answered your prayer in the affirmative (given you what you desire) then check to see if you are walking uprightly in His ways, seeking Him first, foremost, and totally, without wavering. Then trust in His goodness, grace and glory.
  • Corollary #2: if God has given you something, then it is good, even though you might not immediately recognize it as such. Remember how God uses problems to prosper us?

Application

If we're walking in God's ways, then we can trust that our infinitely good and powerful God will give us what's best, when it's best.

Prayer

God of wonders and delights, who blesses His faithful children, I trust that You will give what's best, when it's best. Help me focus on walking uprightly in Your ways, trusting in Your goodness, grace and glory. Amen.

Proverbs 20:25-30 Wise Ways

25 It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,”
 and to reflect only after making vows.
26 A wise king winnows the wicked
 and drives the wheel over them.
27 The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD,
 searching all his innermost parts.
28 Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king,
 and by steadfast love his throne is upheld.
29 The glory of young men is their strength,
 but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
30 Blows that wound cleanse away evil;
 strokes make clean the innermost parts.

Application

We don't just want non-foolish actions, but we want wisdom at the core of our being; and we can only get there through the light/word of the Lord.

Prayer

Lord, shine the light of Your word on my actions and heart, so I may align them with Your wise will. Thanks. Amen.

Jeremiah 11-15 Hear and Obey

These chapters record the reasons for God's just judgment upon Judah, and some of Jeremiah's difficulties in being His spokesman. God emphasizes the importance of hearing and obeying Him unless we like disaster. 

Jeremiah 11 Hear and Do

The Broken Covenant
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.”

Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.”

6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”
9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers.
11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal.
14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.’ But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.”
A Plot against Jeremiah

18 The LORD made it known to me and I knew;
 then you showed me their deeds.
19 But I was like a gentle lamb
 led to the slaughter.
I did not know it was against me
 they devised schemes, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
 let us cut him off from the land of the living,
 that his name be remembered no more.”

20 But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,
 who tests the heart and the mind,
let me see your vengeance upon them,
 for to you have I committed my cause.
21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand”— 22 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.”

Application

God wants us to hear and do His will, or else; what else would you rather do?

Prayer

Mighty God, I want to know and do Your will, exclusively, regardless of the consequences. Amen.

Jeremiah 12 The Wicked Prosper Temporarily

The Prosperity of the Wicked

1 Righteous are you, O LORD,
 when I complain to you;
 yet I would plead my case before you.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
 Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
2 You plant them, and they take root;
 they grow and produce fruit;
you are near in their mouth
 and far from their heart.
3 But you, O LORD, know me;
 you see me, and test my heart toward you.
Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
 and set them apart for the day of slaughter.
4 How long will the land mourn
 and the grass of every field wither?
For the evil of those who dwell in it
 the beasts and the birds are swept away,
 because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”

God’s Answer to Jeremiah

5 “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,
 how will you compete with horses?
And if in a safe land you are so trusting,
 what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
6 For even your brothers and the house of your father,
 even they have dealt treacherously with you;
 they are in full cry after you;
do not believe them,
 though they speak friendly words to you.”


7 “I have forsaken my house;
 I have abandoned my heritage;
I have given the beloved of my soul
 into the hands of her enemies.
8 My heritage has become to me
 like a lion in the forest;
she has lifted up her voice against me;
 therefore I hate her.
9 Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair?
 Are the birds of prey against her all around?
Go, assemble all the wild beasts;
 bring them to devour.
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;
 they have trampled down my portion;
they have made my pleasant portion
 a desolate wilderness.
11 They have made it a desolation;
 desolate, it mourns to me.
The whole land is made desolate,
 but no man lays it to heart.
12 Upon all the bare heights in the desert
 destroyers have come,
for the sword of the LORD devours
 from one end of the land to the other;
 no flesh has peace.
13 They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;
 they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.
They shall be ashamed of their harvests
 because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”

A Message for Israel’s Neighbors
14 Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land.
16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD.”

Application

Know that God eventually judges all wickedness, including our own, and repent while you can.

Prayer

Lord, may I diligently learn Your ways, and bring forth fruit that causes You delight rather than incurring destruction. Amen.

Jeremiah 13 Spots and Snares

The Linen Loincloth
1 Thus says the LORD to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the LORD, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the LORD came to me a second time, 4 “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.
6 And after many days the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was spoiled; it was good for nothing.
8 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 9 “Thus says the LORD: Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.
The Wineskins
12 “You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine?’ 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14 And I will dash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the LORD. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.’”
Captivity Threatened

15 Hear and give ear; be not proud,
 for the LORD has spoken.
16 Give glory to the LORD your God
 before he brings darkness,
before your feet stumble
 on the twilight mountains,
and while you look for light
 he turns it into gloom
 and makes it deep darkness.
17 But if you will not listen,
 my soul will weep in secret for your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,
 because the LORD's flock has been taken captive.

18 Say to the king and the queen mother:
 “Take a lowly seat,
for your beautiful crown
 has come down from your head.”

19 The cities of the Negeb are shut up,
 with none to open them;
all Judah is taken into exile,
 wholly taken into exile.

20 “Lift up your eyes and see
 those who come from the north.
Where is the flock that was given you,
 your beautiful flock?
21 What will you say when they set as head over you
 those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?
Will not pangs take hold of you
 like those of a woman in labor?
22 And if you say in your heart,
 ‘Why have these things come upon me?’
it is for the greatness of your iniquity
 that your skirts are lifted up
 and you suffer violence.
23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin
 or the leopard his spots?
Then also you can do good
 who are accustomed to do evil.
24 I will scatter you like chaff
 driven by the wind from the desert.
25 This is your lot,
 the portion I have measured out to you, declares the LORD,
because you have forgotten me
 and trusted in lies.
26 I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,
 and your shame will be seen.
27 I have seen your abominations,
 your adulteries and neighings, your lewd whorings,
 on the hills in the field.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
 How long will it be before you are made clean”?

Application

Don't teach yourself to like and do what's not good for you, nor pleasing to God; snares can be quite sticky.

Prayer

Lord God, I want to fulfill the purpose for which You created and redeemed me; may I be so accustomed to doing Your will, that I will never even want to be disloyal to You. Amen.

Jeremiah 14 Loving to Wander Leads to Wreck and Ruin

Drought, Famine, Sword, and Plague
1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:

2 “Judah mourns,
 and her gates languish;
her people lament on the ground,
 and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
3 Her nobles send their servants for water;
 they come to the cisterns;
they find no water;
 they return with their vessels empty;
they are ashamed and confounded
 and cover their heads.
4 Because of the ground that is dismayed,
 since there is no rain on the land,
the farmers are ashamed;
 they cover their heads.
5 Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn
 because there is no grass.
6 The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;
 they pant for air like jackals;
their eyes fail
 because there is no vegetation.

7 “Though our iniquities testify against us,
 act, O LORD, for your name's sake;
for our backslidings are many;
 we have sinned against you.
8 O you hope of Israel,
 its savior in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the land,
 like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
9 Why should you be like a man confused,
 like a mighty warrior who cannot save?
Yet you, O LORD, are in the midst of us,
 and we are called by your name;
 do not leave us.”


10 Thus says the LORD concerning this people:
“They have loved to wander thus;
 they have not restrained their feet;
therefore the LORD does not accept them;
 now he will remember their iniquity
 and punish their sins.”

11 The LORD said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”
13 Then I said: “Ah, Lord GOD, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’”
14 And the LORD said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. 15 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, with none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.

17 “You shall say to them this word:
‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,
 and let them not cease,
for the virgin daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,
 with a very grievous blow.
18 If I go out into the field,
 behold, those pierced by the sword!
And if I enter the city,
 behold, the diseases of famine!
For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land
 and have no knowledge.’”

A Prayer for Mercy

19 Have you utterly rejected Judah?
 Does your soul loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
 so that there is no healing for us?
We looked for peace, but no good came;
 for a time of healing, but behold, terror.
20 We acknowledge our wickedness, O LORD,
 and the iniquity of our fathers,
 for we have sinned against you.
21 Do not spurn us, for your name's sake;
 do not dishonor your glorious throne;
 remember and do not break your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?
 Or can the heavens give showers?
Are you not he, O LORD our God?
 We set our hope on you,
 for you do all these things.

Application

If we don't love God, and restrain our ways to be loyal, we will wander into ruin.

Prayer

Lord, I will order my ways according to Your truth, to please You, and restrain myself from any deceptive detours; help me recognize and avoid them. Thanks. Amen.

Jeremiah 15 Point of No Return and a Pouting Prophet

Judgment to Continue
1 Then the LORD said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! 2 And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD:

 “‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence,
 and those who are for the sword, to the sword;
those who are for famine, to famine,
 and those who are for captivity, to captivity.’
3 I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the LORD: the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 And I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.

5 “Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,
 or who will grieve for you?
Who will turn aside
 to ask about your welfare?
6 You have rejected me, declares the LORD;
 you keep going backward,
so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you—
 I am weary of relenting.
7 I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork
 in the gates of the land;
I have bereaved them; I have destroyed my people;
 they did not turn from their ways.
8 I have made their widows more in number
 than the sand of the seas;
I have brought against the mothers of young men
 a destroyer at noonday;
I have made anguish and terror
 fall upon them suddenly.
9 She who bore seven has grown feeble;
 she has fainted away;
her sun went down while it was yet day;
 she has been shamed and disgraced.
And the rest of them I will give to the sword
 before their enemies,
 → declares the LORD.”

Jeremiah’s Woe
10 Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land! I have not lent, nor have I borrowed, yet all of them curse me.
11 The LORD said, “Have I not set you free for their good? Have I not pleaded for you before the enemy in the time of trouble and in the time of distress? 12 Can one break iron, iron from the north, and bronze?
13 “Your wealth and your treasures I will give as spoil, without price, for all your sins, throughout all your territory. 14 I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”

15 O LORD, you know;
 remember me and visit me,
 and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In your forbearance take me not away;
 know that for your sake I bear reproach.
16 Your words were found, and I ate them,
 and your words became to me a joy
 and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
 O LORD, God of hosts.
17 I did not sit in the company of revelers,
 nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,
 for you had filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unceasing,
 my wound incurable,
 refusing to be healed?
Will you be to me like a deceitful brook,
 like waters that fail?
The LORD’s Promise

19 Therefore thus says the LORD:
“If you return, I will restore you,
 and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
 you shall be as my mouth.
They shall turn to you,
 but you shall not turn to them.
20 And I will make you to this people
 a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
 but they shall not prevail over you,
for I am with you
 to save you and deliver you,
 → declares the LORD.
21 I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
 and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.”

Application

God requires loyal obedience from His servants; we bring unnecessary grief upon ourselves by questioning His decisions and methods.

Prayer

God, I totally trust that You know what You're doing, and that it's best; may I only care that I'm faithful to do what is pleasing in Your sight, and trust You for the outcome. Amen.

Digging Deeper

God in a nutshell: God made people for a relationship with Him and calls them to hear and obey Him. However, they willfully chose their own way. He sends discipline, and they ignore it, loving to wander. He reaches the point where their repeated refusal puts them over the point of no return, and only disaster awaits them. No prayers can save them, for they refuse His rule and their choice will not be overruled.

Us in a nutshell: We have a responsibility to hear and obey God. If we don't, He'll graciously warn of consequences, and then lower the boom of judgment. We have a tendency to wander disloyally from God, despite His care of us. We try to find comfort in hypocritical ritual and platitudes of false prophets (who don't serve God). Servants of God can get discouraged if they delight in anything other than serving God.

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