Jeremiah 44-48
Deceived Exiles;
Destroyed Nations

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Psalm 91:1-16 Resting in the Refuge of His Wings

My Refuge and My Fortress

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
 will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,
 my God, in whom I trust.”


3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
 and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions,
 and under his wings you will find refuge;
 his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
 nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
 nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
 ten thousand at your right hand,
 but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
 and see the recompense of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place—
 the Most High, who is my refuge—
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
 no plague come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
 to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
 lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;
 the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
 I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
 I will be with him in trouble;
 I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
 and show him my salvation.”

Application

We don't dwell under God's wings unless we purposely trust and follow Him throughout every day.

Prayer

God, it's incredible that You, the Creator of the ends of the earth and the farthest reaches of the universe, would desire such an intimate relationship with me; thanks for offering it, may I dwell with You daily. Amen.

Proverbs 21:22-31 Preparing for Victory and Honor

22 A wise man scales the city of the mighty
 and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.
23 Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue
 keeps himself out of trouble.
24 “Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man
 who acts with arrogant pride.
25 The desire of the sluggard kills him,
 for his hands refuse to labor.
26 All day long he craves and craves,
 but the righteous gives and does not hold back.
27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
 how much more when he brings it with evil intent.
28 A false witness will perish,
 but the word of a man who hears will endure.
29 A wicked man puts on a bold face,
 but the upright gives thought to his ways.
30 No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel
 can avail against the LORD.
31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
 but the victory belongs to the LORD.

Application

God has purposed to bless the righteous, who are rightly and loyally related to Him, and curse the wicked; that's not going to change.

Prayer

Lord, may I do Your will and receive Your protection, blessings, honor, and victory. Amen.

Jeremiah 44-48 Deceived Exiles; Destroyed Nations

Jeremiah delivers a message of extermination to the Jews who rebelled in going to Egypt. Chapter 44 is considered to contain the last words of Jeremiah, containing a fitting summary of Judah's self-deceived self will. It's followed by a group of prophecies against the surrounding nations. Intermingled are a few words of encouragement to Judah.

Jeremiah 44 Errors of the Exiles in Egypt

Judgment on the Jews in Egypt
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of Pathros, 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, 3 because of the evil that they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to make offerings and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. 4 Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!’
5 But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods. 6 Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day.
7 And now thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant? 8 Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, making offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live, so that you may be cut off and become a curse and a taunt among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, the evil of the kings of Judah, the evil of their wives, your own evil, and the evil of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They have not humbled themselves even to this day, nor have they feared, nor walked in my law and my statutes that I set before you and before your fathers.
11 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah. 12 I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall be consumed. From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, and they shall become an oath, a horror, a curse, and a taunt.
13 I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, 14 so that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to live in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return to dwell there. For they shall not return, except some fugitives.”
The Stubbornness of the People
15 Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: 16 “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you. 17 But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster. 18 But since we left off making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.”
19 And the women said, “When we made offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands' approval that we made cakes for her bearing her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”
Calamity for the Jews
20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women, all the people who had given him this answer: 21 “As for the offerings that you offered in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your officials, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them? Did it not come into his mind? 22 The LORD could no longer bear your evil deeds and the abominations that you committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day. 23 It is because you made offerings and because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey the voice of the LORD or walk in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies that this disaster has happened to you, as at this day.”
24 Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt. 25 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made, to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’ Then confirm your vows and perform your vows!
26 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the LORD, that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, ‘As the Lord GOD lives.’
27 Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them.
28 And those who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who came to the land of Egypt to live, shall know whose word will stand, mine or theirs. 29 This shall be the sign to you, declares the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, in order that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for harm: 30 Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought his life.”

Application

Our perception of reality can be a faulty determinant of truth, if not bounded by Revelation and reason.

Prayer

God of truth, help me see reality clearly, through Your eyes, so I don't commit the folly of self deception and wind up being destroyed. Amen.

Jeremiah 45 Baruch Rebuffed and Blessed

Jeremiah’s Message to Baruch
1 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
2 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 3 You said, ‘Woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.’
4 Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. 5 And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the LORD. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.”

Application

God's servants don't have to worry about their future, only about being faithful.

Prayer

Lord, may I seek Your glory and not my own, and trust that You know how to utilize and protect Your faithful servants. Amen.

Jeremiah 46 Egypt Destroyed, Israel Disciplined

Judgment on Egypt
1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
2 About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

3 “Prepare buckler and shield,
 and advance for battle!
4 Harness the horses;
 mount, O horsemen!
Take your stations with your helmets,
 polish your spears,
 put on your armor!
5 Why have I seen it?
They are dismayed
 and have turned backward.
Their warriors are beaten down
 and have fled in haste;
they look not back—
 terror on every side!
 → declares the LORD.

6 “The swift cannot flee away,
 nor the warrior escape;
in the north by the river Euphrates
 they have stumbled and fallen.

7 “Who is this, rising like the Nile,
 like rivers whose waters surge?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
 like rivers whose waters surge.
He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,
 I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’
9 Advance, O horses,
 and rage, O chariots!
Let the warriors go out:
 men of Cush and Put who handle the shield,
 men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
10 That day is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts,
 a day of vengeance,
 to avenge himself on his foes.
The sword shall devour and be sated
 and drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord GOD of hosts holds a sacrifice
 in the north country by the river Euphrates.
11 Go up to Gilead, and take balm,
 O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
 there is no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your shame,
 and the earth is full of your cry;
for warrior has stumbled against warrior;
 they have both fallen together.”

13 The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol;
 proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes;
say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared,
 for the sword shall devour around you.’
15 Why are your mighty ones face down?
 They do not stand
 because the LORD thrust them down.
16 He made many stumble, and they fell,
 and they said one to another,
‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people
 and to the land of our birth,
 because of the sword of the oppressor.’
17 Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
 ‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’

18 “As I live, declares the King,
 whose name is the LORD of hosts,
like Tabor among the mountains
 and like Carmel by the sea, shall one come.
19 Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,
 O inhabitants of Egypt!
For Memphis shall become a waste,
 a ruin, without inhabitant.

20 “A beautiful heifer is Egypt,
 but a biting fly from the north has come upon her.
21 Even her hired soldiers in her midst
 are like fattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
 they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
 the time of their punishment.

22 “She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away;
 for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
 like those who fell trees.
23 They shall cut down her forest,
 → declares the LORD,
 though it is impenetrable,
because they are more numerous than locusts;
 they are without number.
24 The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
 she shall be delivered into the hand of a people from the north.”

25 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, declares the LORD.

27 “But fear not, O Jacob my servant,
 nor be dismayed, O Israel,
for behold, I will save you from far away,
 and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
 and none shall make him afraid.
28 Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
 → declares the LORD,
 for I am with you.
I will make a full end of all the nations
 to which I have driven you,
 but of you I will not make a full end.
I will discipline you in just measure,
 and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”

Application

Discipline is not destruction unless we fail to learn and repent.

Prayer

God, may I be quick to learn whatever You want to teach me. Thanks.  Amen.

Jeremiah 47 Tyre Trashed

Judgment on the Philistines
1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down Gaza.

2 “Thus says the LORD:
Behold, waters are rising out of the north,
 and shall become an overflowing torrent;
they shall overflow the land and all that fills it,
 the city and those who dwell in it.
Men shall cry out,
 and every inhabitant of the land shall wail.
3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions,
 at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels,
the fathers look not back to their children,
 so feeble are their hands,
4 because of the day that is coming to destroy
 all the Philistines,
to cut off from Tyre and Sidon
 every helper that remains.
For the LORD is destroying the Philistines,
 the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.
5 Baldness has come upon Gaza;
 Ashkelon has perished.
O remnant of their valley,
 how long will you gash yourselves?
6 Ah, sword of the LORD!
 How long till you are quiet?
Put yourself into your scabbard;
 rest and be still!
7 How can it be quiet
 when the LORD has given it a charge?
Against Ashkelon and against the seashore
 he has appointed it.”

Application

God always justly pays back injustice.

Prayer

God, may my dealings with others always be just, and may I trust You to execute vengeance on my behalf. Amen.

Jeremiah 48 False Trust of Moab

Judgment on Moab
1 Concerning Moab.
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:

 “Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste!
 Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame and broken down;
2  the renown of Moab is no more.
In Heshbon they planned disaster against her:
 ‘Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!’
You also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence;
 the sword shall pursue you.

3 “A voice! A cry from Horonaim,
 ‘Desolation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is destroyed;
 her little ones have made a cry.
5 For at the ascent of Luhith
 they go up weeping;
for at the descent of Horonaim
 they have heard the distressed cry of destruction.
6 Flee! Save yourselves!
 You will be like a juniper in the desert!
7 For, because you trusted in your works and your treasures,
 you also shall be taken;
and Chemosh shall go into exile
 with his priests and his officials.
8 The destroyer shall come upon every city,
 and no city shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
 and the plain shall be destroyed,
 as the LORD has spoken.

9 “Give wings to Moab,
 for she would fly away;
her cities shall become a desolation,
 with no inhabitant in them.
10 “Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.

11 “Moab has been at ease from his youth
 and has settled on his dregs;
he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
 nor has he gone into exile;
so his taste remains in him,
 and his scent is not changed.
12 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his jars in pieces. 13 Then Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

14 “How do you say, ‘We are heroes
 and mighty men of war’?
15 The destroyer of Moab and his cities has come up,
 and the choicest of his young men have gone down to slaughter,
 declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
16 The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
 and his affliction hastens swiftly.
17 Grieve for him, all you who are around him,
 and all who know his name;
say, ‘How the mighty scepter is broken,
 the glorious staff.’

18 “Come down from your glory,
 and sit on the parched ground,
 O inhabitant of Dibon!
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;
 he has destroyed your strongholds.
19 Stand by the way and watch,
 O inhabitant of Aroer!
Ask him who flees and her who escapes;
 say, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;
 wail and cry!
Tell it beside the Arnon,
 that Moab is laid waste.
21 “Judgment has come upon the tableland, upon Holon, and Jahzah, and Mephaath, 22 and Dibon, and Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, 24 and Kerioth, and Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, declares the LORD.
26 “Make him drunk, because he magnified himself against the LORD, so that Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he too shall be held in derision. 27 Was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him you wagged your head?

28 “Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,
 O inhabitants of Moab!
Be like the dove that nests
 in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
29 We have heard of the pride of Moab—
 he is very proud—
of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance,
 and the haughtiness of his heart.
30 I know his insolence, declares the LORD;
 his boasts are false,
 his deeds are false.
31 Therefore I wail for Moab;
 I cry out for all Moab;
 for the men of Kir-hareseth I mourn.
32 More than for Jazer I weep for you,
 O vine of Sibmah!
Your branches passed over the sea,
 reached to the Sea of Jazer;
on your summer fruits and your grapes
 the destroyer has fallen.
33 Gladness and joy have been taken away
 from the fruitful land of Moab;
I have made the wine cease from the winepresses;
 no one treads them with shouts of joy;
 the shouting is not the shout of joy.
34 “From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate.
35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the LORD, him who offers sacrifice in the high place and makes offerings to his god. 36 Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of Kir-hareseth. Therefore the riches they gained have perished.
37 “For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. On all the hands are gashes, and around the waist is sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like a vessel for which no one cares, declares the LORD. 39 How it is broken! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab has become a derision and a horror to all that are around him.”


40 For thus says the LORD:
“Behold, one shall fly swiftly like an eagle
 and spread his wings against Moab;
41 the cities shall be taken
 and the strongholds seized.
The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day
 like the heart of a woman in her birth pains;
42 Moab shall be destroyed and be no longer a people,
 because he magnified himself against the LORD.
43 Terror, pit, and snare
 are before you, O inhabitant of Moab!
 → declares the LORD.
44 He who flees from the terror
 shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
 shall be caught in the snare.
For I will bring these things upon Moab,
 the year of their punishment,
 → declares the LORD.

45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
 fugitives stop without strength,
for fire came out from Heshbon,
 flame from the house of Sihon;
it has destroyed the forehead of Moab,
 the crown of the sons of tumult.
46 Woe to you, O Moab!
 The people of Chemosh are undone,
for your sons have been taken captive,
 and your daughters into captivity.
47 Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
 in the latter days, declares the LORD.”

Thus far is the judgment on Moab.

Application

Those who arrogantly trust in their works or a false god for security and safey will be sorely disappointed.

Prayer

God, You alone are worthy of my trust; help me see wherever I may be trusting dumb things like idols or myself. Thanks. Amen.

Digging Deeper

God in a nutshell: God judges stubborn pride and those who engage in sensual pagan worship, be they Jew or Gentile. However, His judgment is tempered by His promises to His people most of the time. Those who stupidly believe lies and fight against God are doomed to destruction. God corrects the faulty thinking of His faithful servants when necessary. His judgment is something scary to be avoided by seeking His will and doing it.

Us in a nutshell: Our capacity for self-deception and distorting reality are astounding. If we humble ourselves, fear God, and seek His will, we have a chance at a renewed relationship with Him.

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