Jeremiah 40:1-3

October 2, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had let him go from Ramah, when he took him bound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, ‘The Lord your God pronounced this disaster against this place. The Lord has brought it about, and has done as he said. Because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you.’” (Jeremiah 40:1-3)

Interestingly, the captain of the guard is echoing Jeremiah’s warnings back to Jeremiah. Of course, the soldier is speaking after the fact. That means he has connected Jeremiah’s warnings with the actual event.

  1. Jeremiah’s God (YHWH) pronounced this disaster (ie, the destruction of Jerusalem).
  2. The Lord brought it about. He did what He said He would do.
  3. This happened because of sin.

I hope that I will be able to connect God’s word to my life as well as that soldier did.

Father, please help me to see your book, the Bible, as clearly as this soldier saw your word through Jeremiah. Amen.

Filed Under: Babylon, devotional thoughts, Jeremiah, Old Testament, Sovereignty Tagged With:

Jeremiah 39:6-9

October 1, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. The Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the house of the people, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the people who remained.” (Jeremiah 39:6-9)

Judah had repeatedly been called to repent. But they repeatedly refused. Jeremiah had given the Lord’s clear warning of judgment if they refused to repent. Now, the judgment was landing heavily upon them. The king and his security fled as the Babylonians approached. But they were caught and seized near Jericho. From there, they were taken to Nebuchadnezzar’s HQ in Syria, which is where the selected text picks up the story.

The king’s sons were executed before his eyes, then the Babylonians gouged out the king’s eyes. The last thing he saw was his sons being slaughtered! While it is legitimate to point out the harshness of that punishment, we should not forget that the punishment was the result of the king’s refusal to repent. Jeremiah had repeatedly warned the king.

Pointing to the cruelty of eternity in hell has become something of a sport among former evangelicals these days. They are correct that eternity in hell is harsh, but their thought experiment stops short of acknowledging that only sinners who did not repent before a holy God go there.

Similarly, by repenting, King Zedekiah could have avoided God’s wrath. The power of human pride is astounding. And, I’m not talking about the pride of others. I’m talking about mine. Yikes!

Lord, help me to be humble and quick to repent. Amen.

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

Jeremiah 38:3-6

September 30, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“Thus says the Lord: This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” Then the officials said to the king, “Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.” King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.” So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.” (Jeremiah 38:3-6)

This is one of the most famous stories of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was thrown into a dried-up cistern and left to die. But why? Because he would not compromise his calling to speak the word of the Lord.

I hope that I would have Jeremiah’s courage if I should ever be in such a spot.

Father, please grow my courage and take away my fear of man. Amen.

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

Jeremiah 37:13-15

September 29, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“When he was at the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ‘You are deserting to the Chaldeans.’ And Jeremiah said, ‘It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.’ But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.” (Jeremiah 37:13-15)

Jeremiah was doing the right thing when he was falsely accused and sent to prison. This is a good example of how life can be – even for a believer – in a broken world. (John the Baptist is a New Testament parallel.) Why should I think things should be different for me? I’m not looking to be arrested, but I can’t think I deserve better than Jeremiah.

Father, help me to grow in humility so that I can serve you in a broken world without expectation or complaining. Amen.

Filed Under: devotional thoughts, Faith, humility, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Old Testament Tagged With:

Jeremiah 36:1-3, 22-24

September 28, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that everyone may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.’” (1-3)

“It was the ninth month, and the king was sitting in the winter house, and there was a fire burning in the fire pot before him. As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. Yet neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, nor did they tear their garments.” (22‬-‭24‬)

This is an interesting and revealing story. God told Jeremiah to write down everything he had ever spoken to Judah, then to deliver that scroll to the palace. The desire was that the king would repent and be rescued from destruction.

Of course, Jeremiah obeyed. However, Jeremiah was forbidden to enter the Lord’s house. He got Baruch’s cooperation, who then delivered his message to the palace. Then, Jehudi read the words to King Jehoiakim at the winter palace as they warmed themselves by a fire. After every few lines of the scroll were read, the king would trim them off and toss them into the fire. Clearly, King Jehoiakim thought that if he disregarded or destroyed the message, it would not be true or apply to him. In this case, God had warned of Judah’s destruction by Babylon.

How many people today disregard God’s word as if doing so somehow nullifies it? How many times do I do the same? Unfortunately, the end of those who disregard God’s word will be similar to Jehoiakim’s, which is destruction.

I have to guard my own heart, so that I don’t disregard or avoid parts of the Bible as if doing so erases those parts. The hubris that would cause a man to think his disregard of God’s word would nullify it is astounding.

We will soon see that Isaiah was right: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭8‬) Jeremiah’s words were right, too, and King Jehoiakim was wrong.

Father, please help me not to walk in the way of Jehoiakim, pretending that I can nullify your word with a dismissive attitude. Amen.

Filed Under: devotional thoughts, God's Word, Israel, Jehoiakim, Jeremiah, Judah, Old Testament Tagged With:
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