Jeremiah 27
COMMENTARY:
: 5 I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me (The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982)
DEVOTION: Speaking to authority and powers can be an intimidating and fearful experience! God seems to repeatedly bring his leaders and spoke persons into confrontation with earthly authorities. From Genesis to Revelation the message must be spoken faithfully and without respect to civil powers. That is not to say that the people who spoke for God did not show respect and exercise wisdom and judgment while in the presence of authorities. Moses, Abraham, Joseph, Elijah, Esther, Nehemiah, Paul and many others are examples of this truth. In each instance the men or women recognized God was sovereign and directing their lives. When Jeremiah stood before the king and priests of Israel and declared the message he also acknowledged God’s sovereignty. Irving Jensen in his little book [Jeremiah and Lamentations, Moody Press, Chicago, 1976. 80.] states that Jeremiah’ message in these verses(1-8) involves a) the fact of sovereignty v. 5 b) the exercise of sovereignty v. 6-7, and c) the warning of sovereignty v.8.
As sovereign God chose who would rule and who would serve. A lesson that we need to remember and take to heart as well.
CHALLENGE: Many times, we struggle with the path and leading of God when it is not prosperous and filled with sunshine. Jeremiah spoke clearly to a rebellious people of the path God had provided them to walk. As He directs us let us submit and not be rebellious. May we accept His sovereign rule of our lives and paths. (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
: 9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon. (3786 “sorcerers” [kashshaph] means a magician, enchanter, or one who practices the black magic arts.)
DEVOTION: The children of Israel and Judah had strayed far from the LORD. They were practicing all kinds of false religion. They were looking to the stars for guidance. They were asking people to interpret their dreams. They were looking for people who could contact the dead to give answers. Finally, they were consulting with those who could perform magic. They were turning to everyone they could excluding the LORD.
Jeremiah tells the king of Judah, the leaders and the people that these individuals are liars. Their prophets that were telling them that the captivity would end right away were liars. The only one telling the truth was Jeremiah. Jeremiah warns the Israelites not to trust the words of this group of people.
We need to understand the same warning. There are many false prophets with false messages that are being quoted today. We still have false prophets, diviners, dreamers, enchanters and magicians in this world that say they have power that is given to them of God.
One of the rules in the Old Testament regarding anyone who said they had a message from God is that they had to be one hundred percent accurate. If they were not one hundred percent accurate, they were to be killed.
We don’t have that authority today but they should be as dead men to us. However, too often, these false dispensers of lies fool people who claim to be Christians. Don’t listen! Watch out! Some just want our money but others just want to lead us as far from the God of the Bible as they can. Watch who we follow!! Watch who we listen too! Watch want we read! There are Christians who look at their horoscope each morning. This is not what the LORD wants us to do. Some even look at the fortune cookies for their lucky numbers. LOOK to the Word of God and those who preach it only!!!
CHALLENGE: Watch who or what you depend on for your future outlook on life. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit should guide you.
: 15 For I have not sent them, says the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in MY name; that I might drive you out, and that you might perish, you, and the prophets that prophesy to you. (5012 “prophesy” [naba] means to deliver a prophetic mess, either of proper behavior to a standard or of future events, to cause to bubble up, be in prophetic ecstasy, or to be in a prophetic trance.)
DEVOTION: The LORD sent prophets who would proclaim HIS message only. The problem is that there were individuals who said they were coming from the LORD but they were lying to the people.
Even today we find individuals who say they have been sent of God but are not saying what the LORD says in HIS Word. They are giving new ideas to what the Bible says and people are believing them because they are saying what they want to hear.
This was true in the Old Testament and it is true today. Many people don’t want to hear the truth of the Word of God but only hear what makes them feel good about themselves and the way they are heading which is further and further away from the LORD.
The children of Israel would listen to lies and not seem to care because the lies pleased them.
We have to ask ourselves when we attend church each Sunday if we are genuinely hearing the truth of the Word of God or just being entertained for a while and then feeling good that they had ben in church.
Just being in church is not enough. You have to be in a church that is preaching the truth of the Word of God and not just entertaining you with music and saying what you want to hear.
All believers need to be challenged to grow in the LORD which means hearing things they don’t want to hear that will improve their walk with the LORD. What do you want to hear? Truth or just be entertained?
CHALLENGE: The LORD wants you to read your Bible and go to a church that will challenge you to grow in your service to HIM and others.
: 22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, says the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place. (6485 “visit” [paqad] means attend to, muster, appoint, pay attention to, observe, or hunt up.)
DEVOTION: We find that there are many false prophets in the days of Jeremiah. They were the ones lying to the people. However, the people would rather believe a lie rather than the truth from the mouth of Jeremiah.
There is a tendency in all of us to want to hear what we like rather than what we don’t like. We really don’t want to change our habits. We seem to enjoy our sinful habits and think that it is OK to keep them.
The LORD has sent many messengers with the instructions from the LORD to change their present habits and the LORD will take away the captivity. They didn’t want to hear it. They were going into captivity no matter what the false prophets had told them.
One of the benefits of believing in the LORD is the fact that HE is a God of HOPE. HE always gives a message of future hope to those who are believers. They might pay the consequences of their sins while they are still here on the earth but HE does restore after a time. We find this promise in this verse.
HE is going to bring the vessels of the house of the LORD back to the Promised Land after seventy years. We know from reading the rest of Scripture that it is the people who will bring the vessels back. The remnant that is believers will return.
Remember they were the ones the LORD told through Jeremiah to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar and be taken into captivity. The ones who refused to obey the command were killed. Even those who fled to Egypt were killed.
Jeremiah gave God’s instructions and those who obeyed would see the Promised Land again. Those who disobeyed were dead.
God still gives promises today. HE informs us concerning the future. We are to obey HIS commands to us while we are still here. We are to be witnesses for HIM to our world. We are to be ones who keep in close contact with HIM on a daily basis. We are the ones who humbly follow HIM.
CHALLENGE: The LORD through Jeremiah told HIS people what the future was going to be. It happened just as HE said. This is our HOPE.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastty (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level
Intercessionverse 18
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Priestsverse 16
LORD’s houseverses 16, 18, 21
Vesselsverses 18, 19, 21
Pillarsverse 19
Seaverse 19
Basesverse 19
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word of the LORDverses 1, 18
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 1, 2, 4, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17 19, 21, 22
LORD of hostsverses 4, 18, 19, 21
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign)verses 4, 21
God of Israelverses 4, 21
Creatorverse 5
Omnipotenceverse 5
Outstretched armverse 5
I have given all these lands to Nebuchadnezzarverse 6
I have given Nebuchadnezzar – MY servant
the beasts of the field to serve him,
all nations shall serve him
his son, his son’s son,verses 6, 7
Punishment of God on nations not serving
Nebuchadnezzarverse 8
Tells Israel not to hearken to prophets or diviners, or dreamers, or enchanters
or sorcerersverse 9
LORD has spoken against the nationverse 13
Word of the LORDverse 18
House of the LORDverses 18, 21
Promise to Israel: Day I visit themverse 22
Promise of restorationverse 22
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
King of Edomverse 3
King of Moabverse 3
King of the Ammonitesverse 3
King of Tyrusverse 3
King of Zidonverse 3
Nebuchadnezzar – king of Babylonverses 6, 8, 9, 11-14, 17, 20
God’s servant
Nebuchadnezzar – God’s servantverse 6
All nationsverse 7
Babylonverses 16, 18
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Consulting false prophetsverses 9, 10, 14-16
Consulting divinersverse 9
Consulting dreamersverse 9
Consulting enchantersverse 9
Consulting sorcerersverse 9
Lieverses 10, 14- 16
Listening to false prophetsverses 14, 16
God has not sent false prophetsverse 15
Prophesy a lieverse 16
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
LORD speaks to priestsverse 16
Not listening to false prophetsverse 17
Future restorationverse 22
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Jehoiakim- son of Josiah king of Judahverse 1
Jeremiahverse 1
Had word of the LORD
He was to put bonds and yokes on his neck
He was to send a message to other nations
Jerusalemverses 3, 18, 20, 21
Zedekiah – king of Judahverses 3, 12, 18
LORD spoke to him: bring your necks
Under the yoke of Babylon
Israelverse 4
False prophets prophesy a lie in HIS nameverse 15
Don’t listen to prophets that verse 16
To serve the king of Babylonverse 17
King of Judahverse 18
Jeconiah- son of Jehoiakim – king of Judahverse 20
Nobles of Judah and Jerusalemverse 20
House of the king of Judah and Jerusalem carried to Babylonverse 21
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Perishverse 10
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