Bible Reading Reflection from Jeremiah 30-38

 [Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (JAC), a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]

𝕁𝔼ℝ𝔼𝕄𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟛𝟘:𝟙𝟚-𝟙𝟜

"For thus says the LORD: Your hurt is incurable, and your wound is grievous.  There is none to uphold your cause, no medicine for your wound, no healing for you. All your lovers have forgotten you; they care nothing for you; for I have dealt you the blow of an enemy, the punishment of a merciless foe, because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant."

The imagery is compared to physical pain and emotional pain. Ruined, abandoned, dying. Yet, God shall restore them again. No darkness is too dark for God. God is not dead. God is alive. He has His purpose for everything.

Satan may lift up. Wicked people may seem to prevail now, but God will raise up His people in a due time. And the present suffering, past suffering, threat, trouble whatever will be like dew in the morning sun. God's grace will outshine every darkness, pain, and suffering!

 

𝕁𝔼ℝ𝔼𝕄𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟛𝟙:𝟚𝟝

"For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish."

Jeremiah 31 has a lot of good stuff. And it is especially known for the New Covenant. But what pleases me most in today's reading is verse 25, that God will satisfy the weary soul. And if someone says, "I am dying, I have lost appetite, I don't want anything" God says, "I will replenish your soul!" Wow! Satisfying and Replenishing.

What are we hungry for and where and how will we be satisfied? Behold the Lord. Are you tired, discouraged, and all your dreams shattered? Behold the Lord!

 

𝕁𝔼ℝ𝔼𝕄𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟛𝟚:𝟚𝟟

"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?"

Let's remember that there's such verse in the Bible. God is asking about His power? The answer is "Nothing is too hard for God."

Jeremiah was told to tell the people to live in Babylon happily. Yet for himself, he was told to buy land in Judah. There are some people whom God uses for an object lesson. Why would the children of missionaries die? Are they not some of the most faithful human beings on earth? God told Jeremiah to do many strange things!

 

𝕁𝔼ℝ𝔼𝕄𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟛𝟛:𝟚-𝟛

"Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it-the LORD is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known."

Wonderful nature of God. Answering God. Ever ready to tell beyond our imagination!

Sometimes, we think we have a great plan, and it looks that it should be reasonable for God to co-operate with us😅 But He knows and plans to do greater things that have never even come to our imagination yet.

Call on God!

 

𝕁𝔼ℝ𝔼𝕄𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟛𝟜:𝟛-𝟝

"‘You shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall go to Babylon.’ Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you: 'You shall not die by the sword. You shall die in peace. And as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so people shall burn spices for you and lament for you, saying, "Alas, lord!"' For I have spoken the word, declares the LORD."

This was a good prophecy that turned out to be not that good for Zedekiah because of his sin. He was stupid. He was a coward. He was rebellious. He was proud. He was disobedient. He didn't regard the word of God. He feared men but didn't fear God. Wow! The list of his sins went on and on...

Still, it was fulfilled exactly. He saw Nebuchadnezzar but then his eyes were taken out. Zedekiah wanted freedom from Nebuchadnezzar but he didn't have the character to achieve that, but God decided to give him a peaceful life. Still, he refused to accept even that and rebelled against God and so, though he was given a peaceful life, but without eyes. But what good is that peace without eyes? Perhaps, it wasn't supposed to be that way. God modified his plan, something like that.

Hezekiah was told to get ready for his death. That's great. Did God tell anybody else to get ready for his death? Hezekiah didn't rebel like Zedekiah, but he prayed earnestly. God let him live for another 15 years. But still, Manasseh, the most wicked king was born. That guy shouldn't have been born. Hezekiah's refusal to die caused that trouble. But in the good purpose of God, and in accordance with the godly request of Hezekiah, God granted Manasseh repentance in his later life. But it was too late. It ushered in the exile of Judah. The map of Jews was wiped out from the planet earth. Till today, Israel has no recognized international boundaries.

Let's learn to accept things from God gladly knowing He knows best!

 

𝕁𝔼ℝ𝔼𝕄𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟛𝟝:𝟙𝟠-𝟙𝟡

“But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me.’”

If we remain faithful, if we remain obedient, even when everyone is going mainstream, we can hope to see the exaltation from the Lord.

David Brainerd was in ministry for just one year. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 29. God uses him to raise up William Carey, Adoniram Judson, Henry Martin, and thousands of faithful missionaries.

Our life may be insignificant, short, and may seem unfruitful, but God promises a reward to those who are faithful in their lifetime or after their death or in heaven or all of them!

 God blessed the children of Jonadab for obedience.  And it's a simple thing: abstaining from wine. But remember what Mother Teresa said, "Little things are indeed little, but to be faithful in little things is a great thing."

 

𝕁𝔼ℝ𝔼𝕄𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟛𝟞:𝟚𝟞

"And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son and Seraiah the son of Azriel and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet, but the LORD hid them."

God knows how to protect His man. He hid Elijah, Apostle Paul, and even Jesus Christ. He hid Jeremiah and Baruch as well!

He protected Martin Luther and John Wycliffe.

Even recently, in America, God protected some churches from shutting down. They won a lawsuit against the government.

Nothing can snatch us away if the Lord doesn't will so. Also, if the Lord wills to let us die, nothing can prevent it from happening.

 

𝕁𝔼ℝ𝔼𝕄𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟛𝟟:𝟛

“King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ‘Please pray for us to the LORD our God.’”

Zedekiah didn't listen to God, but he expected God to bless them through the prayer of righteous man, Jeremiah! Is this not what's going on till today? But there's growing a section of professing Christians who neither pray fervently for themselves nor seek their pastor's prayer for themselves!

 

𝕁𝔼ℝ𝔼𝕄𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟛𝟠:𝟝

"King Zedekiah said, ‘Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.’"

Don't ever name your son Zedekiah😂 This guy is a coward. Yes, it was a difficult time, but that's why courage was all the more needed, leadership was needed. He knew the truth. Everyone knew the destruction was inevitable. But they didn't like the truth. So, they would rather silence the truth and tell lies.

Be careful of yourself when you don't like the truth. Be careful of yourself when you are obsessed with one thing. As Ben Shapiro says, "Facts do not care your feelings"