Short Reflection from Jeremiah 1-20

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

[5:07 pm, 15/06/2022] S.R: 𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟙:𝟙𝟡

"‘They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,’ declares the LORD."

It was surely God’s call, and yet it wasn’t easy.

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟚:𝟙𝟡

"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."

The way of a sinner is hard. It's suffering, sorrowful, and wasting!

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟛:𝟙𝟛

"'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."

Let's learn to acknowledge before God in prayer, submission, and trust that we aren't wise, aren't good, aren't able, aren't strong, but He is!

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟜:𝟚𝟚

"For My people are foolish, They know Me not; They are stupid children And have no understanding. They are shrewd to do evil, But to do good they do not know."

This can be said of this time too!

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟝:𝟚𝟝

'Your iniquities have turned these away, And your sins have withheld good from you.'

Sin will keep us away from blessing. It always is.

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟞:𝟙𝟛

"For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely."

Look at the indictment!

Read again this accusation!

Think about this verse in our present world.

Greedy. Hi-fi living. Oppression. Cheating. Scamming. Only for profit. Materialistic.

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟟:𝟜

"Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, 'This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.'"

Notice the repetition. It's not by profession but by practicing the principles!

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟠:𝟚𝟙

"For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken; I mourn, dismay has taken hold of me."

Jeremiah, being a true leader of Israel wept for his people!

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟡:𝟚𝟛-𝟚𝟜

"Thus says the LORD, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD."

This is one of the reasons why I delight to know God more and more. We tend to boast in what we are good at. And oftentimes that's sinful. But there's a legitimate boasting which is in the Lord—knowing Him!

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟙𝟘:𝟚𝟜

'Correct me, O LORD, but with justice; Not with Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing."

Indeed, who can bear the wrath of God?

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟙𝟙:𝟙𝟜

"Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster."

I want to be prayerful as Jeremiah.

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟙𝟚:𝟝

"If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?"

With God, the man of God should find adequacy for anything! No complaints. No dismay!

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟙𝟛:𝟙𝟞

"Give glory to the LORD your God, Before He brings darkness And before your feet stumble On the dusky mountains, And while you are hoping for light He makes it into deep darkness, And turns it into gloom."

To live for God's glory is not an option nor a suggestion, it's a commandment. It's not just a simple commandment, it's a consequential commandment. There's destruction coming for those who wouldn't!

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟙𝟜:𝟙𝟞

"The people also to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and there will be no one to bury them--neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters--for I will pour out their own wickedness on them."

It's dangerous to listen to only things we would like to hear (false hope, fake news, false teaching). If a sermon doesn't convict you of your sin or convict you to live a godly life or convict you to sorrow over sins in this world, most probably you aren't hearing from God or you are just accumulating judgment for the last day!

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟙𝟝:𝟙𝟠

“Why has my pain been perpetual And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream With water that is unreliable?”

If your life is hard, remember Jeremiah's life.

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟙𝟞:𝟚

"You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place."

That's the reason why I am still single in Delhi 😆😂 Westminster Catechism of Faith says that "undue delay of marriage is a violation of the seventh commandment"

Commit your marriage (desire/plan) to the Lord!

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟙𝟟:𝟙𝟛

"O LORD, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the LORD."

Don't ever think of forsaking God even if you feel forsaken by God.

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟙𝟠:𝟜

"But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make."

An unregenerate mind doesn't and cannot appreciate the concept that God is the Potter and we are the clay. He can and does according to His will. That's so good!

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟙𝟡:𝟙𝟘-𝟙𝟙

“Then you are to break the jar in the sight of the men who accompany you and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Just so will I break this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter's vessel, which cannot again be repaired; and they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place for burial."’”

God has the plan to break the wicked people into pieces. Endure the world!

 

𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙 𝟚𝟘:𝟡

"But if I say, ‘I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name,’ Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it."

There are times when I don't want to proclaim anymore, but (and) the experience of Jeremiah is true. After all, it's God's message. The response of the people is not important, the charge to proclaim is.