Promises and a look into the Future from Jeremiah 3:11-20

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/31/2014 10:07 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  More of the Pictures from Jeremiah

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Jeremiah 3:11-20

            Message of the verses:  We will begin by looking at verse 11-13 and then look at verses 14-20.

            Promises (Jeremiah 3:11-13):  “11 And the LORD said to me, "Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, ’Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD; ’I will not look upon you in anger. For I am gracious,’ declares the LORD; ’I will not be angry forever. 13 ’Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the LORD your God And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the LORD.”

            We see in these verses that the Lord promises to bring faithless Israel back to be forgiven by Him if they would repent, and that is the key.  Let us look at a promise from the book of Leviticus “40 ’If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me- 41 I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies-or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, 42  then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. 43  ’For the land will be abandoned by them, and will make up for its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and their soul abhorred My statutes. 44  ’Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. 45  ’But I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the LORD.’”  (Lev. 26:40-45)

            There are other promises that we can site, for there is one in the 30^th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, and also in 1 Kings 8:46-53, “46  "When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and deliver them to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near; 47  if they take thought in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and make supplication to You in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, ’We have sinned and have committed iniquity, we have acted wickedly’; 48  if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and pray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name; 49  then hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause, 50  and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You, and make them objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51  (for they are Your people and Your inheritance which You have brought forth from Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace), 52  that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and to the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You. 53  "For You have separated them from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, as You spoke through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers forth from Egypt, O Lord GOD.’”  This passage is from Solomon’s sermon and prayer when he dedicates the temple of the Lord that was just completed by Solomon.

            Now let us look at verses 14-19 of the 3^rd chapter of Jeremiah:  “14  ’Return, O faithless sons,’ declares the LORD; ’For I am a master to you, And I will take you one from a city and two from a family, And I will bring you to Zion.’ 15 “Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. 16  "It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land," declares the LORD, "they will no longer say, ’The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. 17 “At that time they will call Jerusalem ’The Throne of the LORD,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the LORD; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18 “In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance. 19 “Then I said, ’How I would set you among My sons And give you a pleasant land, The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’ And I said, ’You shall call Me, My Father, And not turn away from following Me.’”

            I surely seems the Jeremiah has fast-forward to the millennial kingdom, the 1000 year Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ as He reigns from Jerusalem after He conquers the earth at His second coming. In this passages Jeremiah mentions that at this time the house of Judah and the house of Israel will walk together.  There is a passage in one of the OT prophets that talks about the joining of two sticks, and this speaks of the joining of Judah and Israel.  I have been told that when the nation of Israel was reborn in May of 1948 that those who were in charge were wondering what to call this reborn nation for there were two kingdoms when the people of Israel actually had control of their land.  The leaders said that because of the passage of the two sticks that they would call the nation Israel.  We see this happening in our day, but I believe that this passage from Jeremiah is speaking of the Kingdom age that will happen after the tribulation period as I have already mentioned.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following in an endnote:  “The NIV translates Jeremiah 3:14 ‘for I am you husband,’ for the Hebrew word for ‘husband’ is the same as baal and means ‘lord.’  Baal was the Canaanite rain god that the Jews worshiped so as to have good crops.  Therefore, there’s a play on words here.  ‘You are worshiping the false god Baal, ‘says the prophet, ‘ when your true baal—husband—is the Lord.’”

            Let us look at Jeremiah 3:16 again “. 16  "It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land," declares the LORD, "they will no longer say, ’The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again.”  Do you think that the people that Jeremiah was speaking this sermon to were shocked when they heard these words, that the Ark of the Covenant would be gone, forgotten, and never missed?  This was one of the things that they put their trust in and actually one of the reasons why they did not believe that the Lord would have Jerusalem destroyed, and yet it was what the Ark of the Covenant represented that they should have been looking at and not the Ark itself.  The Ark of the Covenant pointed to the Lord for it was made of wood overlaid by gold and this speaks of the humanity and the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have been told that the type of wood that was used in the construction of the Ark of the Covenant is the Hebrew word for carpenter. 

            There would come a day when the circumcised and the uncircumcised would be the same as seen in Jeremiah 9:25-26, and there would come a day when the temple would no longer be needed as seen in Jeremiah 7:1-15, and also John 4:20-24, and there would also be a new covenant as seen in Jeremiah 11:1-5 and 31:31-40.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Like Jesus, Jeremiah saw beyond external religion and taught that God was seeking the devotion of the heart.  No wonder both of them were accused of being traitors and persecuted for opposing the ‘true religion,’ which God had given to Israel.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Ephesians 2:8-9 says “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  This verse is often used in evangelism, and I am not saying that it should not be used that way, but the verse is telling those early believer how they were saved, and it was not by their works, and this is what those Jews in Jeremiah’s day and also in the days when the Lord Jesus was walking on the earth believed.  As Dr. Wiersbe points out they were both persecuted for this.  Both were also put to death too.

            It is the heart that has to be right with the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to have my heart right with the Lord each day.  I know that my heart was made right with the Lord as soon as He saved me, but I want it right with Him each day that I walk with Him.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Psalms 150 chapters.”

Today’s Bible Question:  “How did Joseph treat his brothers after their father died?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/31/2014 10:59 AM

More Pictures from Jeremiah from Jeremiah 4:1-4

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/30/2014 9:03 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus: More Pictures from Jeremiah

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Jeremiah 4:1-4

            Message of the verses: We will look at two more pictures from Jeremiah’s writing in the 4^th chapter.

The Unplowed Field(Jeremiah 4:1-3):  “1 "If you will return, O Israel," declares the LORD, "Then you should return to Me. And if you will put away your detested things from My presence, And will not waver, 2  And you will swear, ’As the LORD lives,’ In truth, in justice and in righteousness; Then the nations will bless themselves in Him, And in Him they will glory." 3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, "Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.” (NASB)

            1 "If you will return, O Israel, return to me," declares the LORD. "If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, 2  and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ then the nations will be blessed by him and in him they will glory."  3 This is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: "Break up your unploughed ground and do not sow among thorns.”  (NIV) 

I rarely use the NIV, but I was having a difficult time understanding how the NASB wrote verse one so that is why I also have used the NIV in this section.

To begin this section I want to look at two different passages, one from the book of Hosea, and one from Matthew where we will look at a parable of our Lord Jesus Christ.  “Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD Until He comes to rain righteousness on you Hosea 10:12).”

 “3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 “Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 “But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 “Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 “And others fell on the good soil and *yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9  "He who has ears, let him hear." 10  And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?’”  (Matthew 13:3-9)

Now we look at the meaning of this parable in Matthew 13:18-23 “18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23  "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.’”  I believe that when we read from verse 23 that the man whom the parable refers to as producing fruit is the only one who has become a true believer.  When we look at the verses in Jeremiah 4:1-4 we see that these people were not producing fruit, and they were not being truthful with the Lord and so they were compared to a field that was unplowed and full of thorns, thus they were pretty much worthless in their worship of the Lord.

 The Uncircumcised Heart (Jeremiah 4:4):  “4  Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no-one to quench it.”

We find the word circumcision 21 times in the NT and the word circumcise four times in the NT.  Jewish boys were circumcised when they were eight days old and then they were given a name and they believed that this brought about their salvation for they were made a son of the covenant as seen in Genesis 17:9-14; Lev. 12:3; Luke 1:59.  In some circles of religion today some believe that when a person is baptized they are given salvation from the Lord.  Both of these “rituals” are important, but neither of them save a person.  Jeremiah is saying to these Jews that they need their heart circumcised for it is the heart that needs to change. 

I want to look at some of the verses in the NT that speak of circumcision:

 “Ro 2:28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.”  “Ro 2:29  But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”

“Col 2:11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.”

Dr. Wiersbe writes about baptism and the Lords Table as we finish this portion of today’s SD:  “Many people today depend on baptism, the Lord’s Supper (Communion, the Eucharist), confirmation, or some other religious ritual for their salvation when what God wants from us is sincere faith from a repentant heart.  Salvation is a gift that we receive by faith; it’s not a reward that we earn by being religious.”

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Romans 10:17 says “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”  I am not only saved through faith, but I am to walk by faith and my faith grows as by looking into the Word of God and having the Holy Spirit apply these truths to my life.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Depend upon the Lord so that I can live my life in a way that is pleasing to Him.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “John”  (Acts 3:8).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Which book of the Bible has the most chapters?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/30/2014 10:07 AM

Picture of The Unhealthy Patient from Jeremiah 3:21-25

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/29/2014 8:53 AM

My Worship Time                                                                            Focus:  The Unhealthy Patient

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Jeremiah 3:21-25

            Message of the verses:  I am following the outline that is found in Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on the book of Jeremiah and that is why, for the moment I am skipping to verses 21-25.

            “21 A voice is heard on the bare heights, The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel; Because they have perverted their way, They have forgotten the LORD their God. 22 “Return, O faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness." "Behold, we come to You; For You are the LORD our God. 23 “Surely, the hills are a deception, A tumult on the mountains. Surely in the LORD our God Is the salvation of Israel. 24 “But the shameful thing has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 “Let us lie down in our shame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.’”

            In verse twenty-two we see that the Lord tells the Jewish people that He will heal their faithlessness, which is a picture of sinfulness in the metaphor of sin, and this is used in other places of the Scriptures.  Sin is like a sickness, as we think of being in a store and someone sneezes close to us who has a cold and the next thing we know is that we too have a cold, and the germs from the person travels into our air passages and then into our blood stream.  Sin is like that for we can be tempted by a look or a thought and if we do not do something about it at that very moment sin can travel into our minds and then into some kind of action we take that is sinful, and the next thing we know is that we have fallen into sinful habits that are hard to break.  I have read that the sin-nature is what Satan uses to get into our thoughts and he uses is like a beachhead where he then can move more freely in our being.  This of course is an analogy of how an enemy takes over an island as they first may be bombarded and next they gain a beachhead, and then they can begin moving troops onto the island to begin to take over the island.  In the Lord ’s Prayer we read “lead us not into temptation,” and then in Psalm 119:133 we read “Establish my footsteps in Your word, And do not let any iniquity have dominion over me.”  Jesus told His disciples who were sleeping while He was praying in the garden as seen in Mark 14:38 “"Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’”  Paul writes the following to the believers at Corinth in 1 Cor. 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”  These verses help us when we are tempted, but the people of Jeremiah’s day had gone far past these precautions and have went headlong into sin, for they offered the produce that God provide for them along with their animals and even their children as sacrifices to their “gods.” 

            I want to close this section of this SD with a story that Dr. Wiersbe tells in his commentary, a story that can help us to not be defeated by sin:  “A certain church member was in the habit of closing his public prayers with ‘And, Lord, take the cobwebs out of my heart!’  One of the other members became weary of this litany, so one evening, after hearing it again, he stood and prayed, ‘And Lord, while You’re at it…kill the spider!’  Jeremiah was out to kill the spider and cure the patient.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Killing the spider is a difficult thing to accomplish, and that is why I must follow what the Lord told His disciples when He said to them “Keep watching and praying, for the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  Watching and praying are also difficult things to do all of the time, but are necessary if I am to walk worthy of the calling that the Lord has given to me.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Keep watching and praying.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Chebar” (Ezekiel 1:1).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who was with Peter when the lame man was healed at the temple gate?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/29/2014 9:38 AM

            

More Pictures from Jeremiah (Jeremiah 3:1-10)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/28/2014 8:11 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  More Pictures

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Jeremiah 3:1-10

            Message of the verses:  The second main point from Dr. Wiersbe’s outline is entitled “Repentance:  God Pleads for His People to Return to Him” and this section covers chapters three and four from the book of Jeremiah.  We again will be looking at pictures that Jeremiah paints for us, four pictures in this first sub-section.

            Picture One:  The Unfaithful Wife (Jeremiah 3:1-10):  “1 God says, "If a husband divorces his wife And she goes from him And belongs to another man, Will he still return to her? Will not that land be completely polluted? But you are a harlot with many lovers; Yet you turn to Me," declares the LORD. 2 “Lift up your eyes to the bare heights and see; Where have you not been violated? By the roads you have sat for them Like an Arab in the desert, And you have polluted a land With your harlotry and with your wickedness. 3 “Therefore the showers have been withheld, And there has been no spring rain. Yet you had a harlot’s forehead; You refused to be ashamed. 4 “Have you not just now called to Me, ’My Father, You are the friend of my youth? 5 ’Will He be angry forever? Will He be indignant to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken And have done evil things, And you have had your way."

    “6 Then the LORD said to me in the days of Josiah the king, "Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. 7 “I thought, ’After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8  "And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. 9 “Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. 10 “Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception," declares the LORD.”

            In this section of two paragraphs we see that God divorces Israel for their unfaithfulness to Him, we see that God calls Judah back to Himself, and because of the “revival” in the time of Josiah was not one from the heart it can be seen that God is still not pleased with them.  In the Law a man was permitted to divorce his wife, but not to remarry her (Deut. 24:1-4), and so as God divorced Israel (The Northern Kingdom) He would not take her back.  At this point I want to remind you that during the split of the kingdoms of Israel, ten going with the Northern Kingdom, and two with the Southern Kingdom, that many of the people from the Northern Kingdom migrated to the Southern Kingdom because of the idolatry that was going on in the North.  Some people have believed that ten of the tribes of Israel were lost, but this is not the case for in the book of Revelations we see that God calls 12,000 men from each of the twelve tribes of Israel to be a witness to Him during the tribulation period. 

            I believe that it is because of Judah being in the Southern Kingdom, and the fact that all of the tribes were represented in the Southern Kingdom that God continues to bring them back to Himself.  Now we know that Judah eventually fell to Babylon, but while they were in captivity they had prophets to teach them what was going to happen, and they had faithful men to lead them back to their land so that in God’s perfect timing He would bring the Messiah into the world in the way that He had spoken through the prophets that He would. 

            The biggest problem (sin) that all of Israel had committed was idolatry and that is the reason that God would send them into captivity.  God desired them to worship only Him, and when they put up their shrines in the high places they were not worshiping Him, and this brought about the fierce anger of the Lord on them.  It should be noted that when Israel returned to their land that they never again worshiped the types of idols that they worshiped before they went into captivity.

            What we have seen in this section is that both Israel and Judah were like unfaithful wives to the Lord, and for this they paid a very heavy price. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Idols came in all kinds shapes and sizes in the time when Israel and Judah worshiped them.  Today idols are not made up of wood and stone where people bow down to them, but they do come in things like TV sets, I pads, Smart phones, cars, boats, and other things like this that take first place in our lives when it is God who is suppose to take first place in our lives.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  God is to be first place in my life.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Nicodemus” (john 3:4).

Today’s Bible Question:  “By what river was Ezekiel held captive?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/28/2014 8:45 AM

Jeremiah Paints three more Pictures from Jeremiah chapter Two.

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/27/2014 8:17 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  More Pictures from Jer. 2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Jeremiah 2:26-37

            Message of the verses:  We will look at the last three pictures from the second chapter of Jeremiah that, as the rest of them will expose the sins of the people he is writing to.

            A Disgraced Thief (Jeremiah 2:26-28):  “26 “As the thief is shamed when he is discovered, So the house of Israel is shamed; They, their kings, their princes And their priests and their prophets, 27 Who say to a tree, ’You are my father,’ And to a stone, ’You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their back to Me, And not their face; But in the time of their trouble they will say, ’Arise and save us.’ 28 “But where are your gods Which you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you In the time of your trouble; For according to the number of your cities Are your gods, O Judah.”

            If a true believer in Jehovah came into the Southern Kingdom at the time when Jeremiah was preaching they too would see what the people were doing, for they were making idols and worshiping them.  Jeremiah writes that there were as many gods as there were cities in Judah.

            Incorrigible Children (Jeremiah 2:29-35):  “29 "Why do you contend with Me? You have all transgressed against Me," declares the LORD. 30 “In vain I have struck your sons; They accepted no chastening. Your sword has devoured your prophets Like a destroying lion. 31 “O generation, heed the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, Or a land of thick darkness? Why do My people say, ’We are free to roam; We will no longer come to You’? 32 “Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me Days without number. 33 “How well you prepare your way To seek love! Therefore even the wicked women You have taught your ways. 34 “Also on your skirts is found The lifeblood of the innocent poor; You did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things, 35 Yet you said, ’I am innocent; Surely His anger is turned away from me.’ Behold, I will enter into judgment with you Because you say, ’I have not sinned.’”

            I have to say that this section reminds me of those who have believed the lie that evolution teaches today.  When I was a young man we were taught evolution in the 9^th grade of school, and at that time my parents were taking all of us children to church every Sunday, but I told them that I did not want to go to church anymore because I believed what I was taught in school about how the world began.  In this section the people have told God that they did not want to worship or believe in him anymore, and so they believed in something that was false, and that is what people in our age are doing.  If they don’t believe that God created the earth in six days like the Bible teaches then they don’t have to believe in God because creation to them was just an accident and so were they.

            The people of Israel had a rich heritage as they were privileged to have the Bible written by their people, and their ancestors had wittiness the miracles that the Lord had done to take them out of Egypt, but they chose not to get rid of all of the people that God told them to get rid of instead they chose to worship their gods, and thus they were now in great trouble with the Lord.

            Prisoners of War (Jeremiah 2:36-37):  “36 “Why do you go around so much Changing your way? Also, you will be put to shame by Egypt As you were put to shame by Assyria. 37 “From this place also you will go out With your hands on your head; For the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust, And you will not prosper with them.’”

            As we just finished studying the book of Isaiah we say that not only did the Assyrians capture all of the Northern Kingdom, but they also took captive some of the people in the Southern Kingdom.  We also learned from Isaiah that God killed 180,000 Assyrians to pretty much end their threat of attacking Judah anymore.  Still Judah filtered between these foreign nations to help them, but did not want to come to the Lord in repentance and ask His help.  When we look at verse 37 we get the idea of prisoners of war as we see their hands tied above their heads, being led away captive. 

            Dr. Wiersbe finishes his commentary on this 2^nd chapter of Jeremiah and first main point in his commentary with these words:  “Was there any way Judah could escape the coming wrath?  Yes, and that was the theme of the next point in Jeremiah’s message.”  Lord willing we will look at that in our next SD. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  What I see in this passage and many others like it is the long-suffering of the Lord, which is one of His wonderful attributes.  I am so glad that this is one of the Lord’s attributes.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  As the weather gets very cold in our part of the world I put my trust in the Lord to keep us warm and praise Him for doing this during this very cold winter we are experiencing.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Jerusalem” (Luke 19:41).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who said ‘How can a man be born when he is old?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/27/2014 8:48 PM 

Pictures 4-7 from Jeremiah 2:20-25

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/26/2014 3:35 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  Pictures 4-7

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Jeremiah 2:20-25

            Message of the verses:  We will look at pictures four through seven that show us more about the rebellion of the people of Judah along with the fact that God sees His people’s sins.

            A Stubborn animal (Jeremiah 2:20):  “20 "For long ago I broke your yoke And tore off your bonds; But you said, ’I will not serve!’ For on every high hill And under every green tree You have lain down as a harlot.”

            Jeremiah is comparing the people of Judah to an unruly animal, one that refuses to wear a yoke.  I want to compare this verse with three verses at the end of the 11^th chapter of Matthew, and in those verses we see that it is the Lord Jesus who is speaking and the word “yoke” is used in these verses, but it is contrary to how Jeremiah speaks of the people he is writing to.  “28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.’
            As we work our way through the book of Jeremiah we will see that he will often use animals to picture the behavior of the people whom he is writing about.

            A Degenerate Vine (Jeremiah 2:21):  “21 “Yet I planted you a choice vine, A completely faithful seed. How then have you turned yourself before Me Into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?”

            This is not the only time when Israel is pictured as a vine in the OT.  “1 Let me sing now for my well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. 2 He dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it And also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones. 3 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard. 4  "What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones? 5 “So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. 6 “I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it." 7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress (Isaiah 5:1-7).”

            Hosea has the following to say in Hosea 10:1-2 “1 Israel is a luxuriant vine; He produces fruit for himself. The more his fruit, The more altars he made; The richer his land, The better he made the sacred pillars. 2 Their heart is faithless; Now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars And destroy their sacred pillars.”

            One more from Ezekiel 17:1-10:  “1 Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2  "Son of man, propound a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel, 3  saying, ’Thus says the Lord GOD, "A great eagle with great wings, long pinions and a full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar. 4 “He plucked off the topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a city of traders. 5 “He also took some of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant waters; he set it like a willow. 6 “Then it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine with its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and yielded shoots and sent out branches. 7  "But there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and sent out its branches toward him from the beds where it was planted, that he might water it. 8 “It was planted in good soil beside abundant waters, that it might yield branches and bear fruit and become a splendid vine."’ 9 “Say, ’Thus says the Lord GOD, "Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers-so that all its sprouting leaves wither? And neither by great strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again. 10 “Behold, though it is planted, will it thrive? Will it not completely wither as soon as the east wind strikes it-wither on the beds where it grew?"’"

            What we see in all of these verses is that God planted Israel in a fertile place and nurtured them like they were a fine vine, but they did not want to follow the leading of the Lord, and so the Lord had to punish them until the time came when they would follow the Lord fully.

            A Defiled Body (Jeremiah 2:22): “22 "Although you wash yourself with lye And use much soap, The stain of your iniquity is before Me," declares the Lord GOD.”

            Many of the people of Israel and of Judah though that they could do good works in order to satisfy the Lord, and for that matter many people today believe that they can do good works in order to please the Lord so much that He will allow them to get into heaven, but this is not so.  The OT Law shows the righteousness of God and Paul writes the following in Romans chapter five to show one of the purposes of the Law:  “Ro 5:20  The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”  The Law of God causes transgressions to increase, and this is good because this will show people that they cannot keep the righteous Law of God and then they will turn to the Lord for mercy and He will save them.  You have to admit that you are a sinner before you can be saved by the grace of God.  There is nothing wrong with the Law of God, it is perfect, but we are not.  The problem with man is in his heart, and Jeremiah is a prophet of the heart for he uses this word more than sixty times in his book.

            An Animal in the Desert (Jeremiah 2:23-25):  “23 “How can you say, ’I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baals’? Look at your way in the valley! Know what you have done! You are a swift young camel entangling her ways, 24 A wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness, That sniffs the wind in her passion. In the time of her heat who can turn her away? All who seek her will not become weary; In her month they will find her. 25 “Keep your feet from being unshod And your throat from thirst; But you said, ’It is hopeless! No! For I have loved strangers, And after them I will walk.’”

            The following are two verses from the Gospel’s of Matthew and Luke that help us better understand these verses in Jeremiah better:  “Mt 7:16  "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?  Lu 6:44 “For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.”  Jesus is saying that one will be able to know a person by their fruit.  The people Jeremiah was writing to were saying one thing but doing a completely different thing. 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes:  “Even if people denied that they were defiled, their actions proved otherwise, for they were like animals: a lost camel looking for an oasis; or a donkey in heat, running here and there looking for a mate.  As the Jews pursued the false gods of the pagan nations, their shoes wore out and their throats became dry.  How much better had they drunk the refreshing water from the river of God!”

            In verse 25 we see that these people who had sinned so much though it was hopeless, but that is not true.  Paul said that he was the chief of sinners and the Lord Jesus saved him, so that means that it is not hopeless.  We read the following from Charles Wesley’s hymn “For a thousand tongues to sing.”  “He breaks the power of canceled sins, He sets the prisoner free.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today: In order for me to do things that are pleasing to the Lord I must rely upon the Spirit of God to show me what He wants me to do that will bring honor to my Lord, and not try to do things on my own.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Proverbs 3:5-6.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “The Jews” (1 Cor. 9:20).

Today’s Bible Question:  “What city did Jesus weep over?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/26/2014 4:27 PM

           

            

Two more Pictures from Jeremiah 2:9-14

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/25/2014 10:04 AM

My Worship Time                                     Focus:  PT-2 of Rebellion: God Sees His People’s Sins

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Jeremiah 2:9-19

            Message of the verses:  We will try to look at two more of the ten sub-points in this rather long chapter two of Jeremiah, which are two more of the pictures that Jeremiah uses to expose the sins of the people he is ministering to in the Southern Kingdom.

            Broken Cisterns (Jeremiah 2:9-13):  “9 “Therefore I will yet contend with you," declares the LORD, "And with your sons’ sons I will contend. 10 "For cross to the coastlands of Kittim and see, And send to Kedar and observe closely And see if there has been such a thing as this! 11 "Has a nation changed gods When they were not gods? But My people have changed their glory For that which does not profit. 12 "Be appalled, O heavens, at this, And shudder, be very desolate," declares the LORD. 13 "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.”

            Jeremiah is telling the people of Judah that there has never been a people that have changed gods, especially when the nation of Israel had a relationship with the one true God.  When Jeremiah lists different nations he is actually saying “God from west to east” and see if this has happened.  Israel had the opportunity to drink from the fresh waters, but chose to drink from the muddy cisterns that could not hold fresh waters.

            A Plundered Slave (Jeremiah 2:14-19):  “14 “Is Israel a slave? Or is he a homeborn servant? Why has he become a prey? 15 “The young lions have roared at him, They have roared loudly. And they have made his land a waste; His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant. 16 “Also the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes Have shaved the crown of your head. 17 “Have you not done this to yourself By your forsaking the LORD your God When He led you in the way? 18 “But now what are you doing on the road to Egypt, To drink the waters of the Nile? Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria, To drink the waters of the Euphrates? 19  "Your own wickedness will correct you, And your apostasies will reprove you; Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter For you to forsake the LORD your God, And the dread of Me is not in you," declares the Lord GOD of hosts.”

            I want to make three points here from these verses:  First God brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt and put them in the Promised Land.  Now they want to rely upon Egypt and Assyria to give them help, and this was a big mistake on their part for they should have trusted the Lord who had brought them into their land years earlier.

            Next I want to quote verse nineteen from the KJV:  “19  Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.”  We see that the KJV uses the word “backsliding” in this verse while NASB uses the word “apostasies.”  The dictionary that I have in my Online Bible Program says the following about this word:  “1) turning away, turning back, apostasy, backsliding.”  The word is not found in the NT, but we see evidences of it in different books in the NT like Gal. 5:4 and others.

            The last point I want to make from this section is what God is saying to Judah in verse nineteen, and that is if they were not going to trust Him he would let them go their way and there sin would find them out.  In other words the consequences of their sins would be their punishment. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have seen times in my life when people I know have had their sin find them out and it was not a pretty picture for them either.  God says in His Word that He will work all thing out for believers to bring glory to Himself and to be good for us.  I believe this but I would just like to do things right.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Into the Red Sea” (Exodus 10:19)

Today’s Bible Question:  “Unto the Jews Paul became as a Jew, that he might gain whom?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/25/2014 11:06 AM 

           

            

Part One of "God Sees His People's Sins" from Jeremiah 2:1-8

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/24/2014 9:11 AM

My Worship Time                                                 Focus:  Rebellion:  God Sees His People’s Sins

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Jeremiah 2:1-8

            Message of the verses:  We begin a new chapter in the book of Jeremiah and also in Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on Jeremiah.  He entitles this second chapter in his book :  “The Prophet Preaches” and it covers chapters 2-6 of Jeremiah.

            Introduction:  Jeremiah is a young man when he begins his ministry for the Lord as we have learned in chapter one.  I have heard many young men preach the Word of God, and although many of them usually did not take up their whole allotted time to preach they would eventually make up for it because when they got older they would take more than their allotted time.  I have seen several of these young men continue to be used of God and for that matter are still being used today by the Lord.  We will see Jeremiah’s first two messages to the people of Judah in these six chapters we are about to look at.  In an end note to this chapter Dr. Wiersbe explains “The break at Jeremiah 3:6 indicates that two messages are recorded in these chapters, the first from 2:1-3:5, and the second from 3:6 to 6:30.  Later, Jeremiah’s messages were written down by his secretary, Baruch, but King Jehoiakim burned the scroll. So Jeremiah dictated them again and added new messages to the book (Jeremiah 36).”

            Dr Wiersbe writes the following important information for his readers at the end of his introductory commentary:  “Four major themes combine in these messages:  rebellion, repentance, righteousness, and retribution.”  As we go through these chapters in Jeremiah we will look for these four themes. As we look at chapter two it would be good for us to realize that much of the book of Jeremiah is written in Hebrew poetry and for a summary on what that means you can go to the introduction to the book of Psalms.  We will be looking for ten pictures that Jeremiah paints in this second chapter of his book.

            An unfaithful wife (Jeremiah 2:1-8):  “1 Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2  "Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ’Thus says the LORD, "I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, The love of your betrothals, Your following after Me in the wilderness, Through a land not sown. 3 “Israel was holy to the LORD, The first of His harvest. All who ate of it became guilty; Evil came upon them," declares the LORD.’" 4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the LORD, "What injustice did your fathers find in Me, That they went far from Me And walked after emptiness and became empty? 6  "They did not say, ’Where is the LORD Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and of pits, Through a land of drought and of deep darkness, Through a land that no one crossed And where no man dwelt?’ 7 “I brought you into the fruitful land To eat its fruit and its good things. But you came and defiled My land, And My inheritance you made an abomination. 8 “The priests did not say, ’Where is the LORD?’ And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me, And the prophets prophesied by Baal And walked after things that did not profit.”

            In an earlier SD we began to see that the Lord made a covenant with the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai and that covenant was like a marriage covenant between Israel and the Lord.  The problem was that after the second generation the people of Israel did not serve the Lord and they actually went after false gods.  In the Scriptures the idolatry they committed is often called adultery or prostitution.  This shows that the covenant was like a marriage covenant.  I have mentioned in earlier SD’s that the problem that Israel had after they got into the Promised Land was that they failed to drive out all of the inhabitants of the land and they were the ones who worshiped idols, thus Israel began to worship their idols and this was what the Lord hated.  They were still doing this in Jeremiah’s day and so he tells them about this at the beginning of his first sermon to them.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  After the Lord saved me almost 40 years ago I like the children of Israel have to continue to conquer “the land” just should have done.  This is a picture of what believer’s have to do in their walk with the Lord, and that is to continue to fight in the power of the Spirit so that their, and my life can be pleasing to the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Remember that the successful walk of the believer is a series of new beginnings.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Mark and Luke.”

Today’s Bible Question:  “Where did the locusts go when they left Egypt during the plague?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/24/2014 9:53 AM 

Jeremiah's Message would be Dangerous PT-3 from Jeremiah 1:17-19

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/23/2014 11:36 AM

My Worship Time                                             Focus:  Jeremiah’s Message was Dangerous PT-3

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Jeremiah 1:17-19

            Message of the verses:  “In today’s SD we will be looking at the last three verses of the first chapter of the book of Jeremiah.

            The City, Pillar, & Wall:  God will protect His Servant (Jeremiah 1:17-19):  “17 “Now, gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them. 18 “Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land. 19 “They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD.”

            The Lord tells Jeremiah to “gird up your loins.”  We have to understand the dress in that day was a lot different than it is today for the men would wear robes and when they had to go some place in a hurry they would have to pull together the looseness of the robes they were wearing so that they would be able to run without having the robe in the way.  What the Lord was saying to him was you have to get ready for action.  We might say that we have to “roll up our sleeves in a figurative way of speaking to say that we have to get ready to go to work on something.  This would also mean that Jeremiah had to get his mind ready for the work that the Lord had called him to do.

            The Lord again tells Jeremiah that he should not be frightened, for He had told him the same in verse eight:  “"Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD.’”  God promises Jeremiah that he would care for him.

            Jeremiah accepts the task from the Lord, a talk that would be both difficult and fulfilling as we will see as we continue our study in this book.  If we look at human standards then Jeremiah’s life and ministry would be a complete failure, but we cannot look at it in human standards, for it must be measured by the Lord.  When we are called by the Lord to do something we are accountable to Him, and there may be many times when we think that we are in the wrong place.  What the Lord calls us to do He will see us through if we are faithful to Him, and we will see that Jeremiah was indeed faithful to Him.

            We close this section with a couple of quotes of which the first one is one the Warren Wiersbe quotes in his commentary from the book “Walden” written by Henry David Thoreau:  “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.  Le him step to the music which he hears however measured or far away.”

            The next quote is four our Lord Jesus Christ who said “If anyone desire to came after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me…For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”  (Matthew 16:24, 26)

            Dr Wiersbe then asks this penetrating question:  “In light of that sobering question, what decision will you make? Will you conform to the crowd or carry the cross?”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  We know which way that Jeremiah chose to go.  I desire to go that way too even though I know that it will cause difficulties in my earthly life, difficulties in following this way too.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to keep me on the right path in serving Him even though at times it is hard.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Jael” (Judges 4:18-21).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Which two of the Gospels were written by men who had been with Paul on some of his missionary journeys?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/23/2014 12:06 PM

Jeremiah's Message was Dangerous PT-2 (Jeremiah 1:13-16)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/22/2014 9:00 AM

My Worship Time                                             Focus:  Jeremiah’s Message was Dangerous PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Jeremiah 1:13-16

            Message of the verses:  In today’s SD we will be looking at verses 13-16 which speaks of “The Boiling Pot.”

            The Boling Pot:  God’s Wrath is Coming (Jeremiah 1:13-16):  “13 The word of the LORD came to me a second time saying, "What do you see?" And I said, "I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north." 14 Then the LORD said to me, "Out of the north the evil will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 “For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north," declares the LORD; "and they will come and they will set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah. 16 “I will pronounce My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.’”

            We have just finished studying the book of Isaiah, and one thing we saw while studying Isaiah was that the dominant power in Middle East at that time was Assyria, and not Babylonian, for actually the Babylonian empire’s leaders came out of the Assyrian Empire.  In Jeremiah’s day, that is when he was young the Assyrians were still the power in this region, but according to these verses Babylon would be the empire that will destroy Judah.  The problem was that no one in Judah believed this because Babylon was not powerful at this time.  Babylon is the boiling pot as seen in 1:13-14, and they were also seen as a marauding lion in Jeremiah 4:7 “The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.”  (KJV)  Babylon is also called by Jeremiah a “Flooding river” in Jeremiah 47:2 “Thus says the LORD: "Behold, waters are going to rise from the north And become an overflowing torrent, And overflow the land and all its fullness, The city and those who live in it; And the men will cry out, And every inhabitant of the land will wail.”

            We see that the main reason for this invasion was Israel’s idolatry and this is also seen in our verses today.  I realize that in our modern world today that we do not understand much about the idols that the Jewish people worshiped back in the days that Jeremiah lived, but the fact is that we still worship idols today.  We don’t bow down to idols of stone and wood like they did but we do bow down to idols of plastic and glass and other technology’s, now I don’t mean that we actually bow down to them in a literal way, but we do put these types of things before our worship of the Lord.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “When a nation turns from worshiping the true God, its people begin to exploit on another, and that‘s what happened in Judah.  The rich oppressed the poor and the courts would defend the rights of the oppressed.  Yet these evil rulers and judges went to the temple faithfully and pretended to be devoted to Jehovah!  All they did was make the temple ‘a den of robbers’ (7:11).  It was this kind of sin that God was about to judge.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The biggest idol that mankind has worshiped is self, and this was the first sin that entered our world, for Adam and Eve cared more about themselves than they did in their relationship with the Lord. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Care more about the worship of the Lord than myself.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Jerusalem” (Luke 2:42).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who killed Sisera by driving a nail into his temple?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/22/2014 9:33 AM   

Jeremiah's message was Dangerous PT-1 (Jeremiah 1:11-12)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/21/2014 8:39 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  The Message was Dangerous PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Jeremiah 1:11-12

            Message of the verses:  In today’s SD we begin the last major point from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary and also from the first chapter of the book of Jeremiah.

            Can you imagine being Jeremiah and waking up one morning and God speaks to you and tells you that your whole life will be different?  Jeremiah was a priest and probably had different ideas for what he would do for his life, but God intervened one day and told him that he was going to be a prophet to the people of Judah, a people who were disobedient to the Law of God.

            As we begin to study the OT prophets, and this is the second one we have been studying we can see that there are three common threads that are seen in these books, three common strands of truth that was woven into their messages.  The first thing we see is something about their past sins, for the nation was disobeying the Law of the Lord.  Next we see something about their present responsibility, showing the people the need for repentance. And the last thing we see is a hope for the future, the promise of the glorious kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ as He will reign on earth to fulfill the promises that God is giving through the prophets.  Now we know more about this kingdom than those of the OT, we know that the Lord Jesus Christ will return at the end of the period we call the tribulation period which lasts for seven years as God is doing a final purging of the nation of Israel.  He will return to planet earth as seen in the 19^th chapter of the book of Revelations with His saints and then separate the sheep and the goats after which He will set up His earthly kingdom that will last for 1000 years as seen also in the book of Revelations.

            As we begin to look at the message that Jeremiah had for the people we find out that it was not a joyful message that he was given by God, but it was rather a tragic message of judgment.  Dr. Wiersbe says “So dangerous was his message that people hearing it called Jeremiah a traitor.  He would be misunderstood, persecuted, arrested, and imprisoned and more than once, his life was in danger.  The nation didn’t want to hear the truth, but Jeremiah told them plainly that they were defying the Lord, disobeying the Law, and destined for judgment.”

            As we continue in this SD we will find out that God gave Jeremiah three promises in order to prepare him for the dangerous mission he was to go on.  Two of these promises were in the form of visions.

            The Almond Tree:  God’s Word will be Fulfilled (Jeremiah 1:11-12):  “11 The word of the LORD came to me saying, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" And I said, "I see a rod of an almond tree." 12 Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.’”

            Dr. Wiersbe points out something very interesting about the almond tree and what it means.  He states that the almond tree begins to blossom in the Holy Land in the month of January, which gives the people a hope of the spring.  The Lord uses a play of words to Jeremiah for the world for almond tree is saqed and the word for “watch” is soqed. This word can also men to be awake.  This play on words used by the Lord to impress him with the fact that the Lord is always awake to watch over His Word and to fulfill His Word.

            When the Lord took Israel out of the land of Egypt as described in the book of Exodus He took them to Mt. Sinai and there He gave them His covenant, and this covenant is likened to a marriage covenant.  Israel on the other hand had played the harlot and instead of worshiping the Lord as they told Him they would they began to worship idols, and this was displeasing to the Lord and so He sent different prophets to call them back to Himself, and this would be a part of Jeremiah’s message to the people.  Let’s look at an example of this from the book of 2 Kings 17:13-15, “13 Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets and every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets." 14 However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God. 15 They rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the LORD had commanded them not to do like them.”  This section tells the story of what Israel and Judah did, and it is not a pretty picture.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The Lord Jesus calls those who belong to Him His bride, and so we are actually married to the Lord because of what He did for us on the cross.  God uses marriage to show His people that they are to be faithful to Him, and that is my desire.  However there are forces to deal with that makes this obedience difficult to accomplish.  Walking with the Lord is hard at times, but I know that He will give me the strength to accomplish this.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To be faithful to the Lord and walk in obedience to Him.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Solomon” (1 Kings 3:25).

Today’s Bible Question:  “To what city did Joseph and Mary take Jesus when He was twelve years old?

Answer in our next SD.

1/21/2014 9:22 AM   

Jeremiah Was Doubtful PT-3 from Jeremiah 1:9-10

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/20/2014 10:58 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Jeremiah was Doubtful PT-3

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Jeremiah 1:9-10

            Message of the verses:  We will look at the last sub-point in Warren Wiersbe’s outline in today’s SD.

            God’s Effecting Word (Jeremiah 1:9-10):  “9 Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 10 “See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, To pluck up and to break down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant.’”

            Let us begin by looking at two notes from the John MacArthur Study Bible on these verses:  “My Words in your mouth:  God used him as His mouthpiece speaking His message (15:19); thus, Jeremiah’s fitting response to receive God’s Word (15:16).”

            Jeremiah 15:19 “Therefore, thus says the LORD, "If you return, then I will restore you- Before Me you will stand; And if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, But as for you, you must not turn to them.”

            Jeremiah 15:16 “Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.”

            “Appointed you…over:  Because God spoke through Jeremiah, the message has divine authority.” 

            I think that many of us do not understand the power that is in God’s Word, for it was by His word that He created the entire universe, especially the earth which we live on.  Whenever I think about the Word of God I think many times on Hebrews 4:12 which says, “For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  Then I also think about Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”  The entire 119^th Psalm, all 176 verse is about the Word of God, and so is the 19^th Psalm.  “7 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. 10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. 13  Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:7-14).”

            I want to use one more example of the power of God’s Word and it comes from Hebrews 1:3 “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.”  Since has no idea of what holds the universe together, but the Bible tells us it is Jesus Christ.

            God tells Jeremiah that He is going to put His Words into his mouth so that he could declare what the Lord has to say to the nations and also to Judah to whom he speaks directly to.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes:  “In too many churches today, worship has become entertainment and preaching is merely the happy dispensing of good advice.  We need to hear and obey Paul’s admonition to Timothy:  ‘Preach the Word’ (2Tim. 4:2).  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth (John 16:13) and works by means of the Word of truth (Ps. 119:43; 2 Tim. 2:15).  Jeremiah didn’t accomplish God’s will on earth by means of clever speeches, cunning diplomacy, or skillful psychology.  He heard Gods’ Word, took it too heart, and then proclaimed it fearlessly to the people.  God did the rest.”

            We know that there must have been some fear and trepidation when all of these things began to happen to Jeremiah, but in the end Jeremiah would trust the Lord and do the things that He called him to do.

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes this section with these very important words that can mean much to us if we heed them:  “Any servant of God who feels himself or herself too weak to serve needs to consider these three encouragements.  Has God called you?  Then He will equip you and enable you.  Are you obeying His commands by faith?  Then He is with you to protect you.  Are you sharing the Word?  Then He will accomplish His purposes no matter how the people respond.  Jeremiah’s name means ‘Jehovah establishes’ and God did establish His servant and his ministry and cared for him to the very end.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  These promises that I look at from Warren Wiersbe are something that I want to take hold of.  All believers are called by the Lord and so that means that they have the power through His Word and by His Spirit to accomplish His will.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to empower me to do His will.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “I will, be thou clean” (Mark 1:41).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who said ‘Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and have to the other?’”

Answer in our next SD.

1/20/2014 1:25 PM

           

            

Jeremiah had his doubts from Jeremiah 1:6-8

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/19/2014 10:45 PM

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  Jeremiah Was Doubtful PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Jeremiah 1:6-8

            Message of the verses:  We will look at the second sub-point from the outline given by Warren Wiersbe.

            God’s Protecting Presence (Jeremiah 1:6-8):  “6 Then I said, "Alas, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, Because I am a youth." 7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, ’I am a youth,’ Because everywhere I send you, you shall go, And all that I command you, you shall speak. 8 “Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD.”

            As we look at these three verses we see that God has given Jeremiah three instructions.  The first one is that Jeremiah is to go where God sends him, and then he is to speak the words that God gives him to speak, and finally he is not to be afraid of the people and he is probably speaking of the people that he is speaking to.  For a repeating of this let us look at verse nineteen “19 “They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD.”

            Dr. Wiersbe gives us some food for thought in the last paragraph of this section:  “Please note that there was a condition attached to this encouraging promise: Jeremiah had to go where God sent him and speak what God told him to speak.  He also had to believe God’s promise and prove it by not fearing the people.  We call Jeremiah ‘the weeping prophet,’ and he was (9:1), but he was also a courageous man who faced many dangers and trials and remained true to the Lord.  He knew that the Lord was with him just as we should know that the Lord is with us.  ‘For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’  So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6 (NKJV).

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It does take courage to serve the Lord, and it also takes obedience to serve the Lord and Jeremiah had both of these qualities, along with weeping over sinful man.  I just listened to the 17^th chapter of the book of Acts and in that chapter the Apostle Paul is in the city of Athens and as he was walking around in that city he became very upset over the many idols that he saw.  Like Jeremiah, Paul was upset with sinfulness, something that I too need to be.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to give me what is needed to accomplish all that He has for me to do.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “As virgins” (2 Corinthians 11:2).”

Today’s Bible Question:

“What did Jesus say to the leper when the leper wanted to be cleansed?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/19/2014 11:07 PM