Jeremiah

Faithful or Fickle?

“Thus says the Lord, ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant.’” Jeremiah 33:20-21

The Lord has just promised Israel that “David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel” (v 17). This relates to the covenant the Lord made with King David recorded in 2 Samuel 7:16. The Lord links the fulfilment of His covenant with His sovereign power over day and night. Only the Creator and Sustainer of all creation could have such authority and ability.

He also states that He would cast off Israel if anyone can measure the heaven above (31:37). For man, that is impossible. Only the Creator can number all the heavenly bodies. Men and computers may be able to make calculated guesses but since they do not know the unseen boundaries they could be out by many factors.

If the Lord is not able to fulfil His covenant with Israel why would He make such statements? Only foolish people make promises they have no hope or no intention of keeping. If any person suggests that the Lord cannot or will not fulfil His word they reveal that their god is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is Creator of all that exists and He sustains it in every detail. It would be totally absurd or deceitful for Him to make this, and all the other similar statements, if He could not perform as He says. This would result in both He and His word being totally discredited. That may be the motivation behind the belief that God has now forever rejected Israel. Some people do not want to believe all that the Bible and Jesus have said. We must be careful that we do not treat the Bible like a cafeteria where we pick and choose what we will believe.

Our God is absolutely faithful to His covenants and promises. Perhaps another reason some people want to believe otherwise is so that they don’t feel so bad or guilty about their broken promises and unfaithfulness to covenants such as marriage. If a person believes that God has turned away from His covenant with Israel then it may ease his conscience when he turns away from his contracts, vows or other commitments and promises.

This would seem to be in conflict with the name given to Messiah when He returns to earth as recorded in Revelation 19:11, “And He who sat on him (a white horse) was called Faithful and True.”

The objection that Israel has so sinned that the nation cannot be reconciled not only contradicts huge portions of the Bible but also disparages the character and nature of our God. Because of Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection God is able to forgive all sin. That is the essence of the Good News, the Gospel.

Whenever the Lord speaks through His prophets concerning Israel’s return and restoration He always acknowledges the nation’s sinfulness. Let us not make nonsense of God’s New Covenant with Israel recorded in Jeremiah 31:31-34 which concludes with these words, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” but rather rejoice in the faithfulness of our God. “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16).

For Their Sake

“The Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, ‘Repent now …’ ‘Yet you have not listened to Me,’ says the Lord” Jeremiah 25:4-7

It isn’t unusual for people who faithfully share the Gospel of Christ to be concerned at the deafness of those with whom they share. Sometimes Christians may think that they are the problem and become discouraged in speaking of our Lord and Saviour. We may think that no one is interested. That is, of course, wrong thinking; it is the outcome of believing something that is not true. There are people who are ready to hear the Good News.

Jeremiah writes that he faithfully proclaimed the word of God for twenty three years (Jeremiah 25:3) without national response. He was ostracized, imprisoned, mocked and threatened with death for his efforts. Was there something wrong with the message, the messenger or the audience? Though it has never been the case we seem to have the wrong expectation that the world will welcome the Gospel of Christ. Jesus said otherwise. Our message may be faithful and we may be faithful in our presentation (and we must ensure these) but there is still the matter of the hearers. The wonderful thing is that we are privileged to be part of the process of a person coming to and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. The angels in heaven are still daily rejoicing over sinners who repent.

The world may assess success based on numbers or economics but the Lord assesses success on faithfulness. Whenever the Gospel is faithfully presented the Lord is glorified in the world regardless of the response but He is glorified in a very special way when a person repents.

Only a true and intimate relationship with the Lord kept Jeremiah faithfully proclaiming all the words that the Lord had given him even in the face of death threats (Jeremiah 26:11-13). There were times that he was despondent and depressed but the Lord revived him and gave him another word to speak and he spoke it. The people hated and despised him for the messages he brought from the Lord but he persisted for more than the twenty three years mentioned here.

Was he a failure? The answer to this is clearly, No. The Lord told Jeremiah to tell the people of Judah that individuals who defected to Nebuchadnezzar would not be killed but preserved ready to return to their land seventy years later (Jeremiah 21:8-10; 25:11). All those who heard the word of the Lord, believed it and acted upon it were saved. The majority refused to do this and perished. Those who acted on the word of God that he spoke certainly recognized that he had successfully fulfilled his mission.

This is still a valid picture for people today. We may faithfully proclaim Christ with seemingly little response but for the sake of those who do hear, believe and act, we must persist. For their sake we press on faithfully proclaiming Jesus Christ.

There was a day many years ago when a man and his wife invited me to their home and faithfully shared the Gospel with me. Even if I was the only person who ever responded to their sharing it was worth it to me and I love them for it. Let us continue to faithfully preach the Gospel of Christ and surely there will be those who will respond. What if you were that one longing for the word of truth?

The Father’s Palette

“Indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this? Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honour and another for dishonour?’” Romans 9:20, 21

As we read through the Bible we read of many father – son relationships and wonder why they turned out the way they did. It started in the Garden of Eden with Cain and Abel. Both sons had the same parents and virtually the same environment yet one heeded the word of God through his father and the other did not. Quite often there are indicators as to why sons turned out the way they did but frequently there is no observable reason.

Isaiah writes, “We are the clay, and You our potter; and we are the work of Your hand” (64:8). The Lord spoke to Israel through Jeremiah saying, “as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand” (18:6). Paul wrote that any complaint on our part is as clay complaining about the potter. That is quite absurd. That I should be a vessel in His house is grace enough but that He should also add His beauty is beyond comprehension without gazing at the cross of Jesus.

In our household we have many vessels although these days few are made of clay. There are vessels in my shed that contain used screws, bolts and other reusable things that I may need one day. They have no value until needed. The container itself is not pretty. It is just to contain used, dirty and sometimes rusty items year after year. Even so, the vessel is necessary even if not a visual delight.

In the house and on display we do have items that have no useful function except to be admired for their looks. They have been made for that purpose and even if something was placed in them that would not change their purpose.

The more common containers in our house have useful purposes as well as sometimes being reasonably pleasing to the eye. Sometimes the beauty comes from the occasion in which it was purchased or because it was a love gift from someone special. On other occasions the maker’s palette has added beauty to what would otherwise be a plain item.

Speaking spiritually, there are times that I feel like one of these items. There are times I feel like the ugly container on the back shelf holding the rusting screws that may never be used. On other occasions I feel more like the coffee mug that is used quite often but not of great value or beauty.

However, there are times that I feel treasured. I am made of ordinary clay of the earth that has little value or beauty in itself but God in grace has chosen to take out His palette and paint me into a thing of beauty that is treasured by my children and grandchildren. Had the Lord not intervened in my life when He did the picture I was painting on this clay vessel would have been quite different.

In His wonderful grace through Jesus Christ, God has given me a beautiful wife who loves me, two children and their spouses who love us and through them He has given us five grandchildren who delight in our company. This is the Father’s palette of grace. I am but the clay who watches in awe as the Potter skilfully applies from His palette the beauty of His grace as He chooses for His own glory.

Denying Reality

“And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.” (Jeremiah 26:9)

Jeremiah had been called as a young man to prophesy to Judah. On this occasion he had been communicating the word of the Lord concerning Jerusalem’s destruction. To the king, princes, counsellors and people of Judah and Israel it was unthinkable that Jerusalem should be overrun, let alone destroyed. Since their God was the Creator, the God of heaven and earth, the God who had brought them out of Egypt with such great power, they thought it impossible that their holy city should be destroyed. They believed the city and they who dwelt in it were essentially invincible. The relationship that Israel had earlier in its history with God had turned into religion without a relationship.

When Jeremiah reminded the King of Judah and his leaders of their failure to obey God and that God would judge them for it, they didn’t want to hear it. They wanted to hear a fairy tale and not the truth.

People today are no different. Each person knows deep in their being that they will have to give account just as the writer of Hebrews writes, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). No one wants to be reminded of this and so they often respond in anger. In some way or other they will try and silence the messenger. They may do this by creating a distance between them such as imprisonment, by killing them, or by finding a way to discredit the messenger or his message. In our day the most common way men deal with the message of the Bible is to appeal to the theory of evolution. However, even this method does not satisfy the one who really looks into the theory. He knows that the theory is impossible so he still needs to silence the messenger.

This is often done by intimidation through false accusation. The other method is to try and brain-wash oneself into thinking evolution is true, contrary to the evidence, and demand that others be taught and believe that it is true. The hypocrisy is that they are manipulating others to accept as true what they know is not and cannot be true. No wonder they get angry when their lie is exposed!

Denying reality was the great error of the King of Judah and his advisors but it did not change the outcome. Indeed, it opened the door for fulfilment. The same is true for any who refuse to believe God’s word regarding His judgment against sin and their ultimate accountability; they will face God and be held accountable for their unbelief.

There is, and will be, no excuse.

A Remnant of Israel

“Ah, Lord God! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?” (Ezekiel 11:13)

Ezekiel was not the first person and will not be the last to ask this question. It is still being asked today. In this respect nothing has changed through the centuries. As in the days of Ezekiel there are people who claim to speak for God who have not heard from Him.

As the Lord says, “They hope that the word may be confirmed” (13:6). That is, they prophecy according to their own wisdom and then wait to see if it comes to pass. A true prophet does not act in such a way. He speaks that which the Lord puts in His mouth to speak. The test of a true prophet that people have had for a long time is given in Deuteronomy 18:22. However we also have the Bible, God’s own word to us, as a measure.

Israel had a choice to listen to the prophets who spoke from their own wisdom or to a prophets who told them what God said. The choice is no different for us today. We can either use our own wisdom to answer life’s questions or we can rely on what God has said.

How many times does God have to say something for it to be so? The revelation of the Bible is that once is absolutely sufficient. There are many occasions and circumstances in which God affirms His patient and longsuffering purpose for Israel and affirms that He will accomplish it. This is the reason God gives for Israel’s repeated and continuing refining through tribulation. The very fact that Israel, while in unbelief, is suffering tribulation gives assurance that a glorious day lies ahead for the nation.

Among the many occasions that the Lord affirms that He will never bring an end to Israel is the one in answer to the above question:

“Thus says the Lord God: ‘Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.’ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel’” (11:16, 17).

The context of this passage (and all similar passages in the Bible) dictates that it is meant to be taken literally. Verses 19 and 20 affirm that this is tied to the fulfilment of the New Covenant as recorded in Jeremiah 31:31-34.

We watch in anticipation as the “bones” of Israel returns and the “flesh” is added (ch. 37). This was the expectation of Jesus (Matthew 24, 25) and Paul (Romans 11:26, 27).

Anyone who believes that God cannot or will not literally fulfil His Covenant with Abraham and David must of necessity live without assurance of salvation because that one sees God as either impotent or unfaithful. He is neither!

Selective Hearing

“His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding back, and I could not”  (Jeremiah 20:9)

It has often been said that men have selective hearing. It is obvious which group in our population started this saying but they ought not to think they should be excluded.

The message that God is Love seems to have permeated much of our society but not that God is also holy and a righteous judge. Consequently when God deals with our wickedness in righteous judgment we are led to the thought that God is not love. Many have turned to bitterness and hatred of God because He exposed their wicked heart. Jeremiah records the Lord saying, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it” (Jeremiah 17:9)? The Lord then goes on to say that only He can.

The Lord says concerning a nation on which He is about to judge, “If that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring on it” (Jeremiah 18:8). Also concerning a nation on which the Lord desired good,  “if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it” (18:10).

Following these statements the Lord called for Israel to repent, to turn back from gods of their own making and obey Him. This they refused to do saying, “That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart” (v 12).

God is true to Himself and therefore His actions and words are consistent without variation. How He deals with nations is, in principle, how He deals with individuals. What we see in this revelation is that God will respond favourably to the person who repents and follows Him but that He will also remove His favour from the one who chooses to follow his own evil heart.

Those who accuse God of not loving them ought to have a look at their own attitudes and conduct – and evaluate them in the light of who God is. If they turn from evil, He will show favour toward them – but if they choose to remain in wickedness, God will remove whatever favour He may have desired for them.

Jeremiah was mocked (20:7) and put in the stocks (20:3) because the people rejected the message – but it was not him who was mocked and rejected, it was the Lord. Jeremiah didn’t want to keep on preaching the message because of the reaction of the people yet he couldn’t help himself (20:9).

Some people we rub shoulders with will have selective hearing and may mock our words as we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Like Jeremiah the Lord has called us to proclaim the Good News. We must speak it clearly so that people can distinguish the true from the false and we must also speak it all. We cannot help it if others have selective hearing but we must not be selective in what we speak concerning the Gospel.

May the abundant grace of the Lord be upon you as you follow Jeremiah’s example in this New Year.

In Our Time

“Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; Do not further his wicked scheme, Less they be exalted” (Psalm 140:8)

This Psalm is written by King David and is a prayer that the Lord would: Deliver him from the plans of evil men and preserve him from violent men (v 1); Keep him from the power of evil men and again to preserve him from violent men (v 4); Shelter him from harm in battle which must also include violence (v 7); and bring down the wicked to their end (vv 9-11).

This Psalm is written for David’s own situation; but as a type of Israel’s Messiah, it will also have its fulfilment when Messiah Jesus rules the world from Jerusalem – in fulfilment of His covenant with David.

For these requests to be made it is evident that evil men were plotting against the king and his life and rule were under threat. In the Psalms written by David we find a confidence in the Lord to fulfil His covenant with him.

We live in a world full of troubles; not least of these are violent men who oppose anything godly. Their motives are many but they are all under the power of the evil one and of the spirit of antichrist.

On this anniversary of one of the many very violent acts in our time we would do well to lift up our eyes to the Lord with a prayer and for an answer.

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills –
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord Who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1, 2).

We may look to the “hills” (UN, USA, NATO, EU, etc.) for help but no help will come from among men, quite the contrary.

“The heart of man is deceitful above all, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart; I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:9-10).

In answer to the question the writer declares that it is the Creator alone who can give that help.

We live in a world where people have a greater ability to express wickedness and on a much larger scale than in times past. Is this cause for us to be discouraged in the Lord? By no means: Jeremiah and David both declare that the Lord will administer justice to all according to their life and actions.

When the Holy Spirit convicts the heart of a person that they are of the same wickedness as those who perpetrate such evil deeds, they are then well placed to call on the name of the Lord. In Him alone are forgiveness of sin and the gift of new life. It is in Him alone because He alone is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).