Jeremiah 32:2-3

September 24, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“At that time, the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. For Zedekiah, king of Judah, had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it;’” (Jeremiah 32:2-3)

The Babylonians are beating on the door of Jerusalem, and the king has jailed Jeremiah! Why? Because Jeremiah spoke the word of the Lord concerning Babylon. This touches so closely these days.

  1. Unbelievers think they can stop the word of the Lord by imprisoning or killing the Lord’s spokesperson. Wrong. Imprisoning Jeremiah had no bearing on the Babylonians. None.

Imprisoning or killing God’s spokesperson doesn’t prove the message wrong. We still have Jeremiah’s words, and what he said came to pass.

  1. Unbelievers seem not to understand how the word of the Lord works. They seem to think the messenger has the option to change the word or decide for themselves what to say. However, the faithful spokesperson will say exactly what God said. And it doesn’t matter if he received the word directly from the voice of the Lord, as did Jeremiah and Isaiah, etc, or directly from his book as we do today. Shame on anyone who changes God’s words.

Moses said, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬)

John said, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” (Revelation‬ ‭22‬:‭18‬-‭19‬)

Father, please help me be faithful to your word. Help me never change your word to suit sinful desires, mine or anyone else’s. Amen.

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Jeremiah 31:35-36

September 23, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar – the Lord of hosts is his name: ‘If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the Lord, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.’” (Jeremiah 31:35-36)

This passage reflects on the creation narrative in Genesis 1:16-17. First, it reaffirms that God, not chance, put the sun and moon in the sky. Second names, this God as the Lord of hosts, distinguishing the one true, living God from all the recognized deities of the regions. Third, he reaffirms his eternal covenant with Israel.

Note that the longevity of his covenant with Israel is contingent upon the longevity of the fixed order of the heavens. That is a solid covenant. I find it interesting that the longevity of this covenant comes immediately following God‘s declaration that he will make a new covenant with Israel. Since the order of the heavens has not changed, I conclude that the new covenant does not abrogate the covenant God made with Israel at Sinai. That does not mean the new covenant doesn’t exist or that it relates to Israel. It simply means the New Covenant, in my words, adds to the Old Covenant.

Application: 1) If Israel will continue to be a nation before the Lord, as long as the sun and moon are in the heavens, I need to think soberly about how I view and interact with Israel. 2) If God has made a new covenant with Israel, it is incumbent upon me to try to figure out how the Old and New Covenants work together in relation to Israel.

Father, thank you that you are a God who is faithful to your covenants. Thank you for bringing me into your family through the new covenant. I trust that you will be completely faithful to that covenant, and that I will benefit eternally from it. Amen.

Filed Under: covanent, devotional thoughts, Israel, Jeremiah, Old Testament Tagged With:

Jeremiah 30:11

September 22, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“For I am with you to save you, declares the Lord; I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.” (Jeremiah 30:11)

This verse is rich. I like to break the verse apart to see the details.

  1. For I am with you to save you, declares the Lord;

God declares He is with Israel.

How can that be if they are in exile? He is not a regional deity; He can be everywhere.

How can that be if they are in trouble? While they may feel abandoned, especially while being disciplined, God has not turned His back on them. God’s purpose is to save Israel. The reason he disciplines them is that he loves them and has plans for them.

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. (Hebrews 12:6)

  1. I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end.

Although Babylon conquered Jerusalem and drove Judah into exile, God took credit for scattering Judah among the nations. This gives us a glimpse into God’s ability to use the wicked actions of men to accomplish his purposes.

… “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” (Acts 2:23)

God promises once again that He will not destroy Israel.

  1. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”
    ‭‭
    God affirms that Israel will be punished, but in the appropriate amount.

One of the beauties of God is that while He will destroy the nations that rebel against Him, He offers to graft us into Israel through His son, Jesus.

As John wrote in 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

Paul writes in Romans 9:25-26, “As indeed he says in Hosea, ‘Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’” “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”

Father, thank you for your faithfulness to your people and for your generosity toward those who come to you through Jesus. Amen.

Filed Under: covanent, devotional thoughts, Jeremiah, Old Testament Tagged With:

Jeremiah 29:11-13

September 21, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

This is powerful. While it is written to Israel in exile, I believe it reveals the truth about God that applies to all people everywhere.

  1. (11) Even though Israel was so wicked that God sent them into exile, He says He has plans for them. God has not abandoned His covenant with them. Apparently, when He said “forever,” He meant forever.
  2. (11) God’s future for Israel is restoration, not destruction or abandonment.
  3. (12) Israel will call on God, and He will hear them.
  4. (13) He promises they will find Him when they seek Him with all their heart.

My thoughts are on the condition of verse 13. “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” I don’t know how to measure “with all your heart.” However, I think it means with sincerity. Perhaps, “with all your heart” means with the same energy and commitment we would search for our lost car keys if we were late for a meeting at which we would receive one million dollars, but only if we are present.

It’s hard to measure the heart, so we can’t look at someone who seems to be low energy about finding God and say, “You aren’t seeking with all your heart.” I suspect this is more of a personal standard that we use to measure our own hearts.

Jesus uses similar wording in His Sermon on the Mount: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

Father, please grow me in my faith so that I am more regularly seeking you with all my heart. Amen.

Filed Under: covanent, devotional thoughts, Israel, Jeremiah, Old Testament Tagged With:

Jeremiah 28:2-4, 8-9

September 20, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years, I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.” (2-4)

“The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.” (8-9)

This is something of a contest of the prophets. Hananiah surely must have gained a following because he was prophesying the almost immediate end of Babylonian captivity and the restoration of the temple and the throne. Peace and prosperity are highly desired.

In fact, Jeremiah’s initial response was, “Amen. May the Lord bring your words to pass.” Jeremiah is clearly not against the restoration of Israel. However, he also realizes that a prophet’s word must be tested. Just because a prophet says, “Thus says the Lord,” doesn’t automatically make it a word from the Lord.

In this case, Hananiah’s word was so contrary to what the prophets of old had said regarding war and famine that Jeremiah said, when his words come to pass, we will know that he was truly from the Lord. In other words, we have to take a wait-and-see approach. In the end, the Lord told Jeremiah to declare Hananiah a false prophet.

I appreciate Jeremiah’s desire for peace and restoration and willingness to see if Hananiah was a true prophet. I also appreciate his heart to stay true to the Lord and speak once God spoke to him.

Father, help me to be more like Jeremiah in my commitment to you and your word. Amen.

Filed Under: covanent, devotional thoughts, Jeremiah, Old Testament, Prophecy Tagged With:
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