Jeremiah 23
COMMENTARY:
: 1–2 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the LORD. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). 7462 רָעָה, רָעָה [raʿah /raw·aw/] – to tend, pasture, to shepherd, ruler, teacher (fig), of people as flock (fig), shepherd, herdsman.
DEVOTION: Yahweh announced coming judgment on the leaders of Judah, kings and other leaders, who were harming His people rather than tending them like good shepherds care for sheep. Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003)
Jeremiah had in mind the kings and rulers of the people of Israel as he spoke these words, yet for the people of today often it is the pastors and spiritual leaders that are thought of as shepherds. The individual that are placed in authority over the people of God have a colossal responsibility and often that is forgotten by both the leadership and the congregation. God is looking for faithful people to be the leaders of His people. As Judah’s shepherds had not attend to the flock so God promised to attend to them.
God has promised to watch over and guard His people. He is also a punisher of those that abuse His people. In both ways He would provide what was necessary for His people to be nurtured, protected and cared for. He would assume responsibility for those things (Jer. 31:10; Micah 2:12; 5:4; 7:14).
CHALLENGE: Today there are many churches that are hurting and suffering under shepherds that have self-interest utmost in their focus. Instead of sacrificing and devoting themselves to the service of the body, they have a “me” first mentality. We need to pray for the leaders and churches that there may be a Christ-like mentality to the work of the Lord. Pray for your local leadership today. (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
: 4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, say the LORD. (2865 “dismayed” [chathath] means break in pieces, terrified, confounded, struck down, discouraged, or cracked.)
DEVOTION: The LORD gives us a picture of the present conditions of Judah and further in the chapter HE gives us a picture of the future condition of Judah. The LORD is omniscient regarding both the present and the future. HE knows the past. HE states that HE is omnipresent. HE is going to send a righteous Branch and a King in the future that will reign here on the earth for a thousand years. It has not happened yet but it is a promise from HIM. HE never lies. The prophets in Jeremiah’s day lied to the people.
The leaders of the people lied to the people. The priests lied to the people. The prophets lied to the people. The LORD condemned them for their lies. They were leading the people away from the LORD rather than toward HIM.
The people were being fed the wrong meal when they listened to these men. They were eating it up but it was causing them to be discouraged. The LORD is a God of hope not of discouragement.
The people were afraid at every turn because their leaders wanted them to fear. It was easier to lead a people who are afraid to go in their own direction. Some did follow the LORD but it was only a remnant of those who were in Jerusalem.
There was a lack of vision from the LORD given to the people. They were being scattered on purpose. The leaders didn’t want them organized against them. The people thought it was OK to worship Baal. They thought it was OK to just listen to their leaders instead of seeking the LORD on their own.
Jeremiah was there trying to instructed them but he was one against many false prophets. HE kept giving them the message of the LORD but it was being opposed on every side. Serving the LORD was work but serving the false gods could be done with little effort on the part of the people.
Today we face the same problem. Many leaders in society and in the church are trying to be politically correct instead of Biblically correct. There are pastors in churches who are afraid to take a stand against sin and cause their people to be afraid to take a stand against sin. The church is becoming an institution that is afraid to tell the world what the Bible really teaches. They are afraid of upsetting someone. They are afraid of losing people to churches that don’t preach against sin.
Our responsibility as believers is to meditate on the Word of God and then spread it to all those in our world. Our eyes should be on the LORD alone. If a leader makes us afraid to tell others about the truth of the Word of God, we need to find other leaders.
Jesus promised the disciples that there would be suffering involved in their service to HIM. That promise is true today as well. Many people in other nations are being put in prison, tortured and killed. That could happen here but we should be willing to have it happen. The LORD wants us to have HOLY BOLDNESS.
We are not to turn people off to our message but present it in a loving manner that shows we care for the individuals we are talking to about the LORD. They can tell if we love them or just want to condemn them. It is up to the Holy Spirit to convict them of their sin. We are to just show them the truth of the Word of God.
CHALLENGE: Listen to the LORD speaking to you regarding who you are to witness to regarding HIS truth. Then obey!!
: 17 They say still to them that despise ME, The LORD has said, You shall have peace; and they say to everyone that walks after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. (5006 “despise” [na’ats] means provoke, abhor, blaspheme, spurn, to look down on with contempt, treat with contempt, reviled, to treat disrespectfully, or irreverently.)
DEVOTION: We know that there are many people who claim to be followers of the LORD that are not genuine followers but people who want to deceive themselves or just deceive others.
There have been false prophets throughout time. Satan was the first one to tempt Adam and Eve and claim that he was speaking to them the way that the LORD would have wanted them to hear. His message was a lie and Adam and Eve believed him.
The enemy has many people who claim to be followers of the LORD that speak and preach things that are not what the Bible teaches. They sound good but it is just to tickle the ears of those who are listening.
Here we find that these individuals were around in the time of Jeremiah deceiving the people into thinking they were speaking for the LORD. The problem is that the people wanted to hear their messages because they wanted to do the things that made them happy even if it didn’t please the LORD.
Many churches today are centers of entertainment rather than preaching the truth of the Word of God. They attract many people but when they leave they are not challenged to obey the LORD in their every action. They are not encouraged to confess their sin and pray for the LORD to reveal HIS will for their life.
God wants HIS people to worship HIM in spirit and in truth. This means that we have to examine the teachings of anyone we listen to and check the Scriptures to see if they are teaching the truth.
However, this means that those who claim to be genuine followers of the LORD have to do research themselves into the teaching of the Word of God. We are not to just think that the person is Biblical in his or her teaching but check out the authors we read and the people we listen to.
We are to be individuals who are students of the Word. Yes, it takes time each day but if we are not studying we are losing some of the teachings of the Word of God with all the other voices we are listening to.
CHALLENGE: God wants us to be students of the Word. HE wants us to understand that there are genuine enemies to the cross and the only way to check them out is to study to show ourselves approved of HIM and HE will give us good instructions.
: 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? says the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? says the LORD. (5641 “hide’ [cathar] means be absent, keep close, conceal, or secret.)
DEVOTION: The LORD has omniscience. HE knows everything. HE is omnipresent. HE is omnipotent.
God is informing Jeremiah to tell the false prophets that there is no place they can conceal their presence from the LORD. HE sees through the darkness. HE is not a local God. HE created the world and reigns over it. HE is sovereign. HE is sending HIS son to reign in the future. Jesus Christ is a descendant of David. Christ will be called KING and a RIGHTEOUS BRANCH to reign and prosper in the future of Israel.
However, at the present time there was going to be judgment because of their sin. The pastors were not feeding their flocks. The pastors were not visiting the flock. In fact, they were scattering the flock. The LORD was going to gather them together again in the future. Not one of them was going to be lost.
The prophets were telling lies to the people. It was just mass rejection of the LORD and HIS word. They were telling the people that they were speaking for the LORD. They were informing the people that the LORD was sending peace their way. Lies!!
God’s people said they wanted to know the burden of the LORD. The LORD knew their hearts. HE knew they thought HE didn’t see what was going on in Jerusalem. They thought they could keep secrets from God.
Too often we think that God doesn’t see everything we do. HE is still omniscient. HE is still Sovereign. HE is still omnipresent. Nothing is concealed from the LORD.
There are still false prophet and false teachers in our world. We have to study and mediate on the Word of God to know the truth that it teaches. Then we will be able to hear teachers and discern if they are telling the truth. Don’t follow false teachers. Check out their teaching with the Word of God. Confront them as Jeremiah had to do in his time.
CHALLENGE: Realize that the LORD sees every moment of every day of our life. Nothing is concealed. HE states that what we hear in secret we should shout from the housetops. Let us do some shouting for the LORD.
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