365 Reflections

Jeremiah 49 turns the prophet's attention to the other nation fathered by one of Lot's incestuous relations with his daughter - the Ammonites.  Jeremiah 49:1 (ESV) Concerning the Ammonites. Thus says the LORD: “Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad, and his people settled in its cities? There is a subtle taunt in this text. Lot had no sons; Abraham was the one called to father nations. Yet in their sin, the tables were turned for Israel, and the god of the Ammonites, Milcom, took the occupation of Gad, one of the 12 sons of Jacob. The point is that when those privileged by God act like the world, the world gets privileged.  Yet God would not abandon Israel.  Jeremiah 49:2 (ESV) Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will cause the battle cry to be heard against Rabbah of the Ammonites; it shall become a desolate mound, and its villages shall be burned with fire; then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossess...

A dire warning comes from Jeremiah to the nation of Moab in the 48th chapter. Jeremiah 48:10 (ESV) “Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed. Do you ever consider apathy a sin? It is. Moreover, Jeremiah says it is cursed to do God's work without firm conviction. Then Jeremiah describes a subtle problem Moab emulated to the ancient nations around them.  Jeremiah 48:11 (ESV) “Moab has been at ease from his youth and has settled on his dregs; he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile; so his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed. The thought in this passage is simple. Moab never faced judgment. She was never as disciplined as she needed to be, and thus, she became complacent and lazy.  God's punishment may be unpleasant, but if left to our own devices, we become far less of what we were made for. Even worse, we become proud and full of a false sense of overcon...

Jeremiah 47 begins the judgment decrees against the nations around Israel. The Lord is sovereign over all nations. He is not, as the ancients believed, a territorial god limited to the nation-state of His people. No, this ground-breaking truth was proclaimed by Jeremiah to an ancient people who imagined they could form their own gods after their own liking and do as they saw fit.  Jeremiah 47:1 (ESV) The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down Gaza. Philistia, a maritime empire of the ancient world, was first on the list. Perhaps no other nation caused Israel so much grief after their entrance to the promised land and all through the lives of Samuel, Saul, and David. How will God judge them? On their own territory, with the very thing they feel themselves to be masters over - the waters of the sea.  Jeremiah 47:2 (ESV) “Thus says the LORD: Behold, waters are rising out of the north, and shall become an overflow...

Jeremiah 46:2 (ESV) About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: The king of Egypt had killed Judah's last righteous king, Josiah. It may have seemed to Israel that this nation was once again dominant over the world's affairs. But how quickly things change in human history, particularly regarding the rise and fall of empires.  The faithful in Israel must have felt a particular sting from Josiah's death at the hands of Neco. After all, Egypt was their former captor and the supplier of much weaponry since the time of Solomon. But Josiah interfered in their affairs and wound up killed.  So when Neco's army fought against Babylon, it was the odds-on favorite. Yet it was resoundingly defeated.  Jeremiah 46:5 (ESV) Why have I seen it? They are dismayed and have turned backward. Their warriors are...

Jeremiah had an assistant named Baruch throughout his ministry. We don't know much about him other than he wrote down much of what Jeremiah proclaimed during the kingdom's downfall. Baruch delivered the message to the leaders of Israel, who then delivered it to the King. Baruch saw the king tear up the scrolls he had written down and throw them in the fire.  It must have been tough to serve with Jeremiah. Your boss is an outcast, and by association, so are you. Jeremiah was hunted by the king, and Baruch was too. So when Jeremiah 45 comes along, it's important to lean into what God has to say to this prophet's closest associate after serving with him for several seemingly fruitless decades.  Jeremiah 45:1–3 (ESV) The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch...

The human heart is impossible to understand. Jeremiah has dealt with that reality in his entire prophetic ministry. In Jeremiah 44, we see how twisted the heart can be. Even when the people of Judah fled to Egypt after the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar's army, they still refused to repent and turn to God. In fact, they consider their trouble the lack of idolatrous worship in their life since they were cut off from the land of Israel! Listen to their stubborn resistance to Jeremiah's warning: Jeremiah 44:16–18 (ESV) “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you. 17 But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster. 18 But since we left off making offerings to the queen of heaven...

The last recorded message of Jeremiah is given to the exiles who fled to Egypt. Jeremiah had been taken with them under the control of the rebel leader, Johanan. By this time, he had been ministering for 46 years. Everything he wrote about concerning the nation of Judah and the rise of Babylon came true. Everything the popular opinion held to be true proved false. That's often how it is. The minority, in the name of the Lord, is scorned by the majority, which seeks the wisdom and help of men.  In this particular message, Jeremiah tells those who fled to Egypt that God is still in charge and through Nebuchadnezzar, he will reach His mighty hand even in this land they consider a safe harbor.  Jeremiah 43:10 (ESV) ... say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden, and he will spread his royal canopy over them. You must remem...

Remember Johanan from Jeremiah 41? The man who saved many others from the threats of the murderous coup? He seemed like a noble leader. But time reveals a lot.  Jeremiah 42:5–6 (ESV)  Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the LORD your God sends you to us. 6 Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.” These are the words of the presumptive leaders of Israel in the land while the nation is in exile. The previous chapter saw a hero arise to protect a few remaining survivors. His name was Johanan. On the surface, he seems like a good man, seeking the will of the Lord in his leadership position. Jeremiah returns with directives from the Lord: Jeremiah 42:10 (ESV) If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant y...