365 Reflections

Sometimes you share the Word of God and live the life He calls you to and you get nothing but vicious attacks from the mouths of those you are sent to help. This was Jeremiah's reality and it helps us handle the pushback we get from modern culture which seems intent on destroying itself.  After declaring God's warnings through the image of the potter, the people respond: Jeremiah 18:18 (ESV) Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.” The NLT is helpful here: Jeremiah 18:18 (NLT) Then the people said, “Come on, let’s plot a way to stop Jeremiah. We have plenty of priests and wise men and prophets. We don’t need him to teach the word and give us advice and prophecies. Let’s spread rumors about him and ignore what he says.” The people were confident of their roster of pr...

God has the unilateral right to do with His creation as He sees fit. In Jeremiah 18 we are introduced to a vivid illustration of that truth.  Jeremiah 18:1–4 (ESV) The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. First, let's discuss something important. God uses illustrations to speak to us. "Go down to the potter's house and THERE I will let you hear my words". What truth! I sometimes hear Pastors criticized for using illustrations or props in their sermons. As if the teaching should be a theoretical lecture only. God can profoundly reveal His truth through all of creation.  When Jeremiah shows up he sees a spoiled vessel. The word for "spoiled" c...

Jeremiah 17:19–21 (ESV) Thus said the LORD to me: “Go and stand in the People’s Gate, by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say: ‘Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the LORD: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. Sabbath rest is of supreme importance in the economy of God. Here Jeremiah calls on the leaders to practice the Sabbath "for the sake of (their) lives." It's very clear, Sabbath rest is a life and death issue. When leaders do not practice rest, the people are overburdened and the nation suffers.  But what else is this calling for in our lives?  The Sabbath is modeled by God in creation.  Genesis 2:2 (ESV) And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his...

Through Israel, we are given a clear picture of the human condition. Here was a nation blessed, prosperous, and protected but all they did was wander. They are all of us on display in the Biblical text to help us understand how deep our struggle is with sin.  Jeremiah 17:1 (ESV) “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars, The law was written on stone tablets but Israel's sin was written on the tablet of their heart and even in their religious fixtures in the Temple.  God wanted the law written on their hearts.  Deuteronomy 6:6 (ESV) And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. Instead, they participated in sin and engraved their habits in the depth of their being.  Secondly, they put their trust in political alliances and made other nations their trust. Many of Judah's leaders (including righteous Hezekiah) turned to Babylon as an ally inst...

Jeremiah pronounces the final judgment over Judah because of their unrepentant sins. Jeremiah 16:13 (ESV) Therefore I will hurl you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’ They are bound for exile. And in exile, they are bound to backslide spiritually. So they are gone forever? Is it the end? Have they finally gone too far for God to save? No. Next verse: Jeremiah 16:14–15 (ESV) “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15 but ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers. God will change their story. Their story was  the Lord brought them out of the land of Egypt. But tha...