Jeremiah 25
COMMENTARY:
: 3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even to this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking: but you have not hearkened. (8085 “hearkened” [shama] means to listen, hear, or pay close attention to, usually respond in conformity, able to hear, or discern.)
DEVOTION: Can you imagine speaking to a group of people for 23 years and they would not listen to your message. That happened to Jeremiah and it happens in a lot of churches even today.
A pastor can speak the truth to a congregation and they can walk out of the building and not obey the message that was just given.
The problem is that there are many who are in leadership who are giving the wrong message and the people are listening because they like what they hear. They want to be entertained and while that is happening, they are happy.
In Jeremiah’s day and our day there are more people who can go an hear a message from the LORD and they leave the building and nothing changes. It is sad but true. God wants HIS pastors to preach the truth no matter what happens. They are accountable to HIM and HE will bless them, in spite of the fact that no one is listening.
Remember that the LORD warns before HE judges and there are very few people here in this county that have not heard the message of salvation and have an excuse for not making a commitment. They have been warned.
Jeremiah is warning the people in his day and the message goes in one ear and out the other. Sad but true then and now.
Does that mean that he can stop preaching the truth? NO, those who are called to preach have to preach the truth and the people have to make a decision. Too often we find that some people who claim to be pastors are just there to entertain the people. God will judge them too.
CHALLENGE: Pray for those who are going to good Bible preaching churches that are not listening because one day they will meet the LORD and have NO EXCUSE!
: 8 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words,…” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). (3651 כֵּן, כֵּן, כֵּן, לָכֵן [ken /kane/] – translates as “so”, “thus”, “like manner”, “well”, “such thing”, “howbeit”, “state”, “after that”, “following”, “after this”, “therefore”, “wherefore”, and “surely”).
DEVOTION: Many times in ministry I am asked about the faithfulness of God and His word. It seems that believers today have a difficult time with believing that God is a God of His word. We expect things to be microwave fast and instantaneous. That God is to answer as fast as the technology and the passions that we have. But, God in his word is clear that He moves according to His timetable and no faster or slower. Carefully reading His word will assist us in understanding the ways and principles of God. The people of Israel was accused by God of not listening to Him as He spoke to them (v.3, 4, 7 & 8).
In verse 8 God declares with a “therefore” a statement of judgment! The people of Israel would be punished by Babylon because they would not listen! What will it take to make us listen to God’s words? What will be done to help us to see that God is ever true to His word and we can depend upon that principle?
CHALLENGE: God is true to His word. Regardless of whether it was spoken in Genesis or in the present time, He will be faithful to that word. Like the children of Israel we sometimes take for granted the serious aspect of God’s spoken word! We become callous and indifferent as we listen or read the word of God. He does not waver or change though and we should be mindful of that fact. Read carefully His promises and then discern whether they are for you today or not. Take time to reflect on the context and the New Testament passages that you find through cross referencing. You can depend upon God’s word to be accurate and true as you remain faithful to biblical principles.
(Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
: 16 And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. (1984 “mad” [halal] means act like a madman, insane, irrational, to be foolish, and to rave.)
DEVOTION: The book of Jeremiah is not in chronological order. This causes confusion sometimes with people who read it for the first time. Sometimes prophets write in themes rather than in chronological order. Here we find that Jeremiah has prophesied for twenty-three years without the people listening to him.
He says that the LORD is going to send judgment as he has been warning. Not only is HE going to send judgment on Judah but on all the nations in the area. HE is showing that HE is sovereign over ALL the world. HE is not just a local god or a false god but the ONLY God.
God promises those who go into captivity that it will only last seventy years. HE promises that the nations that took them into captivity would be judged. HE warned the shepherds of Israel that they were going to be judged for misleading the people.
The nations thought that there was going to be peace. They thought they could continue getting drunk and doing as they pleased and the LORD didn’t care. However, they found out that the LORD was going to send a sword to kill them. God used the heathen nations to judge HIS people but that didn’t mean that they were not going to be judged. They were being foolish.
They were going to be drunk. They were going to be moved. They were going to be irrational. All these actions were going to happen because there was a sword of judgment coming. This sword was the wrath of God.
Sometimes there are people today that think that the second coming of the LORD is not really going to happen or it has already passed. They are wrong. The second coming of the LORD is still going to happen. Remember a thousand years is as one day to the LORD. Two days have passed but remember the THIRD day means something in Scripture all the time. Be prepared.
There is coming a day when all those who are not followers of the LORD will stand before the Great White Throne and the books will be opened and they will be sent to a place called hell for eternity. The Bible promises that it will happen when we least expect it. All the false prophets, false shepherd and false teachers are going to be part of this group.
We are told in the New Testament that we can hasten the coming of the LORD by presenting the gospel to the last person that needs to follow HIM and then the rapture of the church. There is only one problem – only 5% of the followers of Christ are trying to find new followers. We need more workers in the fields. The fields are truly white unto harvest.
Are we out in the fields bringing in the sheaves? If we are not part of a church that visits its neighbors with the witness of the LORD then we need to find one. We need to start a group going out to reach our neighbors for the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Results are the LORD’S concern not ours; it is our faithfulness in spreading the message. Jeremiah preached for twenty three years without results.
: 30 Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. (7580 “roar” [sha’ag] means groan, shout, loud sound, or thunder.)
DEVOTION: The LORD likes to use object lessons. We use them with children all the time in church. We can take an object and ask them questions regarding the object and present a Biblical lesson.
The LORD uses a cup of wine. HE instructs Jeremiah to take the cup to all the nations he is going to visit. He takes the cup from nation to nation and gives them the message of the LORD.
The message is that they are going to face the wrath of the LORD. However, they are not going to care because they are going to continue in their ways and act like a person who is drunk. They are going to drink until they vomit. They were going to fall down. They don’t even realize what is going on around them. In fact, they don’t even care.
Many drunks are in their own little world and it doesn’t include anyone else. They are only thinking of themselves. The nations are all thinking about how they can get ahead without the LORD. Even Judah thinks they can get ahead without the LORD.
The message is plain. God is going to show HIS sovereignty over the nations but sending Babylon to conquer them all. Then HE is going to conquer Babylon. HE is going to bring back the captives to the Promised Land. HE will again show HIS sovereignty and that HE can do the impossible.
There is a promise that one day those who are believers will hear the loud sound of a trumpet and those who are dead in Christ will rise first and then we that are alive will meet the LORD in the air.
CHALLENGE: Are we listening for the sound of the trumpet? Are we witnessing to those around us even if they are not responding? Our faithfulness is important.
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