The great promise of Israel in Jeremiah 13:11 “to be for me (the Lord) a people” has failed and the people are dispersed because they have not kept their covenant with the Lord. The Lord says in Jeremiah 16:18 “I will first doubly repay their iniquity and their sin because of their profaning my land” because in Jeremiah 16:17 “For my eyes are on all their ways”. But then, the Lord will restore, and bring Israel back and with them will come people of the nations and in Jeremiah 16:21 “they will know that my name is Yahweh.” 

Why Have These Things Happened to Me?

Jeremiah 13:18–27
Jeremiah begins with the pleasant picture of “the king and the queen mother” and “the beautiful crown”. We have all seen images of events of state or marriage in our times and they are done with great splendor. But this introduction is only to show us the fall, in Jeremiah 13:1 “your beautiful crown has come down from your head”. And now comes the lament, here is the ageless question that people ask, in Jeremiah 13:22 “Why have these things happened to me?”. Or, sometimes people say, “Why did God let this happen?” and the answer is never easy to face, because we don’t like to be corrected. The first answer, and the first place for us to check, is in Jeremiah 13:22 “Because of the greatness of your iniquity”. Have we followed after the Lord? And if we have erred, now is the time to turn around and make a correction, repent.

We also know that we are in a fallen world as we find in

John 9:2–3 And his disciples asked him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?” 3 Jesus replied, “Neither this man sinned nor his parents, but it happened* so that the works of God could be revealed in him.

and also that there is an enemy that would destroy us

John 10:10 The thief comes only so that he can steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

so it is not always God’s action or our own that is the answer to the question, “Why have these things happened to me?”. But it is the Lord that is our deliverer, the one that offers in

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans that I am planning concerning you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘plans for prosperity and not for harm, to give to you a future and a hope”.

I Have Taken Away My Peace From This People

Jeremiah 16:1–13 

I Am Going to Let Them Know

Jeremiah 16:14–21
The Lord is God. And yet, people think they are free to do anything they want without any repercussion. But the Lord says in Jeremiah 16:17 “For my eyes are on all their ways, they are not hidden”. How would you behave if every action was seen by the Lord? Well, every action is seen by the Lord but that doesn’t prevent people from their abuse and oppression and deceitfulness and in Jeremiah 16:18 “the dead bodies”.

The Lord will repay, and here in Jeremiah 16:18 “I will first doubly repay their iniquity and their sin because of their profaning my land”. Sin will not go unpunished. Partly because the Lord is righteous and holy and partly because of the cries of those who have been sinned against. So, “In vv. 14 and 15 the prophet opens to the people a view of ultimate redemption from the affliction amidst the heathen, into which, for their sin, they will be cast”.¹ This will occur as the people are expelled from the land in

Jeremiah 16:16 Look, I am sending for many fishermen,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and they will fish them out, and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and from the clefts of the cliffs.

This expulsion, as terrible and difficult as it may be, is followed by a great restoration and they are brought back in Jeremiah 16:15 “from all the lands where he had driven them”. And with this great return of God’s people to their land, “the nations will come” with them recognizing that there is “no profit” in the ways of their ancestors in

Jeremiah 16:19 O Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of distress, to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth, and they will say, “Our ancestors have inherited only lies, vanity, and there is no profit in them.

Though the Lord desired to have Israel, in Jeremiah 13:11 “to be for me a people, and a name, and a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen”, he will use this restoration to demonstrate that he is “Yahweh”, the Lord in

Jeremiah 16:21 “Therefore look, I am about to let them know, this time I am going to let them know my power and my might, and they will know that my name is Yahweh.”

The Heart is Deceitful More Than Anything Else

Jeremiah 17:1–11
Here is the way the Lord operates. He is not randomly or maliciously bringing judgement on nations of people because of one or two that do evil. The Lord says in

Jeremiah 17:10 I, Yahweh, examine the mind, I test the heart, and give to each one according to his way, according to the fruit of his deeds.

This is the hard part for us, evil is not judged by a thought, but by “the fruit of his deeds”. This means that someone was hurt, the environment damaged, oppression or deceit or theft happened. The fruit of evil is harm, just as the fruit of the spirit is good. In the end, the Lord will judge each with righteousness and good or evil, “their deeds follow after them” and, as it says in

Revelation 14:12–13 Here is the patient endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith in Jesus. 13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “in order that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow after them.”

Heal Me, O Yahweh, and I Will be Healed

Jeremiah 17:12–18

Declare Holy the Day of Sabbath

Jeremiah 17:19–27

Study Verses

• Jeremiah 13:18–27 Why Have These Things Happened to Me?
• Jeremiah 16:14–21 I Am Going to Let Them Know
• Jeremiah 17:1–11 The Heart is Deceitful More Than Anything Else

Today’s Reading

• Jeremiah 13:18-27
• Jeremiah 16:1-21
• Jeremiah 17:1-27

References

• 1. Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F. (1996). Commentary on the Old Testament (Vol. 8, p. 168). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.

The last verse from today’s reading is the prophet saying in Jeremiah 13:17 “my inner self will weep in secret places” and the first study section is the Lord saying in Jeremiah 5:30 “A horrific event and something horrible has happened in the land”. What is it? They have cast aside God’s word. Yes, they follow the ritual, but in Jeremiah 6:13 “For from the smallest of them to the greatest of them … everyone practices deceit”. And even the Lord laments in Jeremiah 6:10 To whom shall I speak and admonish, that they may hear? Will anyone ask, will anyone in Jeremiah 6:16 “Stand at the roads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the way of the good is, and walk in it”. Will you be one that does? 

A Horrific Event and Something Horrible has Happened

Jeremiah 5:20–31
What is this horrible thing that has happened? What is this horrific event the Lord is reacting to in Jeremiah 5:30-31? Certainly it is that the “prophets prophecy falsely” (see Je 23:14; Ho 6:10)¹ “and the priests rule by their own authority” in Jeremiah 5:31 that is “literally, “according to their hands,” that is, under their guidance (1 Ch 25:3). As a sample of the priests lending themselves to the deceits of the false prophets, to gain influence over the people, see Je 29:24–32”.¹ but even worse than this misrepresentation of God by the prophets and the priests, the Lord says in Jeremiah 5:31 “and my people love it so much” or “love to have it so—(Mic 2:11)”¹. 

To Whom Shall I Speak and Admonish

Jeremiah 6:1–10
Jerusalem, the place of God’s covenant for blessing has become a place where in Jeremiah 6:7 “Violence and destruction are heard within her”. But it isn’t just that violence has happened as a random event, here, the Lord describes the whole city saying they are, in Jeremiah 6:7 “As a water well keeps its water cool, so she keeps cool her wickedness”. This is understood to be “rather, a well dug, from which water springs; distinct from a natural spring or fountain … (2 Ki 21:16, 24; Is 57:20)”.¹ The city has a culture of violence and destruction, a lifestyle of wickedness that they have fostered developed.
So now the Lord asks who can he talk to about correcting their ways? Who will hear what the Lord has to say? in

Jeremiah 6:10 To whom shall I speak and admonish, that they may hear? Look, their ears are closed, and they are not able to listen attentively. Look, the word of Yahweh is to them an object of scorn, they do not delight in it.

Ask for the Ancient Paths, Where the Way of the Good is

Jeremiah 6:11–20
Here is a people that is practicing the ritual, they are offering the sacrifices as prescribed by Moses, there is a priesthood that officiates and they are not holding back on the best ingredients for their ceremony in Jeremiah 6:20 “Frankincense comes from Sheba, and the precious spice reed from a distant land” but the Lord says, “Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, your sacrifices are not pleasing to me.”

How is it that this sacrifice that the Lord prescribed is not acceptable? It is because in

Jeremiah 6:13 “For from the smallest of them to the greatest of them, everyone makes profit for unlawful gain. And from the prophet to the priest, everyone practices deceit.

The Lord goes on to say in Jeremiah 6:14–15 “they have treated the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace. 15 Have they acted ashamed, for they have committed a detestable thing? Not at all”. There is a disconnect between behavior and character, there is a religion of form without content of righteousness and justice. The instruction from the Lord has been clear and he says it again, in

Jeremiah 6:16 Thus says Yahweh: “Stand at the roads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the way of the good is, and walk in it, and find rest for your inner selves. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

Put to the Test Their Ways

Jeremiah 6:21–30
It isn’t the trial, the destruction, the judgement that the Lord wants. There has always been one request from the Lord and he restates it here in

Jeremiah 7:5–7 For if you truly make your ways and your deeds good, if you truly do justice between a man and his neighbor, 6 you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, you do not shed innocent blood in this place, and you do not go after other gods to your harm, 7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors forever and ever.

To Be for Me a People

Jeremiah 13:1–11

My Inner Self Will Weep in Secret Places

Jeremiah 13:12–17

Study Verses

• Jeremiah 5:20–31 A Horrific Event and Something Horrible has Happened
• Jeremiah 6:1–10 To Whom Shall I Speak and Admonish
• Jeremiah 6:11–20 Ask for the Ancient Paths, Where the Way of the Good is

Today’s Reading

• Jeremiah 5:20-31
• Jeremiah 6:1-30
• Jeremiah 13:1-17

References

• 1. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 512). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

The Lord is calling people to himself. This is always his way. And for those that come, there is a new covenant, a new relationship, not just the Ark behind the veil that no one could approach. Now, the Lord will set His throne in Jerusalem and call all people to him. But this is all based on one thing: Will you return to Him? Will you circumcise your heart? Will you leave the things of the past and instead choose to live, from Jeremiah 4:2 “in truth, in justice, and in righteousness”? Will you accept Jesus Christ as Lord of your life? Say yes right now and come into the fullness of life that the Lord has for you.

Have You Seen What Apostate Israel Has Done?

Jeremiah 3:6–10 

They Will Call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of Yahweh’

Jeremiah 3:11–25
The Lord is calling Israel back. But they have been scattered and it is also true that not all are willing to return. For those that will in Jeremiah 3:13 “acknowledge your guilt”, the Lord says in Jeremiah 3:14 “I will take you one from a city and two from a clan, and I will bring you to Zion”. Here, though, is God’s heart toward them, and also to us as Christians, “all shall be restored (Am 9:9). So, in the spiritual Israel, God gathers one convert here, another there, into His Church; not the least one is lost (Mt 18:14; Ro 11:5; compare Je 24:5–7)”.¹

Even thought there are those that will refuse, it is the Lords desire for all to be saved in

1 Timothy 2:3–4 This is good and acceptable before God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

And for those that will come, they will find in

Jeremiah 3:15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart and they will feed you knowledge and insight.

Even more than this, it will be a much closer relationship. In Jeremiah 3:16 “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of Yahweh” by which only the high priest could enter in and then only once a year. Now, in Jeremiah 3:17 “they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of Yahweh,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem”. 

Circumcise Yourselves to Yahweh

Jeremiah 4:1–4
People often say they are waiting on God, when it is usually God that is waiting on us. Here in Jeremiah 4:1 the Lord says “If you return … if you remove your abominations …” and in Jeremiah 4:4 “Circumcise yourselves … remove the foreskins of your hearts”. The action is on the people that the Lord is calling, for them to set themselves apart from the old life and take on in Jeremiah 4:2 “in truth, in justice, and in righteousness” which is a new life. This is new life that begins with “a new oath by the life of the Lord in truth, justice and uprightness as an indication of genuine repentance”.²

Blow a Horn Through the Land

Jeremiah4:5–13

Cleanse Your Heart From Wickedness

Jeremiah 4:14–22
Again, the cry goes out from the Lord in Jeremiah 4:14 “Cleanse your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved”. But the will not so the Lord then says, in Jeremiah 4:18 “You obtained this for yourself because of your way and your deeds” and in Jeremiah 4:22 “For my people … are foolish … They are skillful at doing evil, and they do not know how to do good.”

All of the Land Will be a Desolation

Jeremiah 4:23–31

They Together Have Broken the Yoke

Jeremiah 5:1–10 

Because You Have Spoken This Word

Jeremiah 5:11–19
The Lord says in Jeremiah 5:11 “the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt utterly treacherously with me,” but what prompts him to say this? It is their disregard for the covenant and disregard for the word of the prophets in Jeremiah 5:12 where they say “evil will not come on us” which denies that God has any power over the affairs of men. And in Jeremiah 5:13 “the prophets are like wind” which denies that the prophets are speaking from presence of God.

Here, the people have made the mistake many make today, depending only on God’s love and ignoring the sceptre of righteousness in Hebrews 1:8-9 “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of righteous is the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness”. These “people, forgetful that God maintains his rights (Exod. 20:5), had stressed the privileges of covenant membership at the expense of its responsibilities, thinking that punishment was incompatible with the nature of a loving God. Consequently they had scoffed at predictions of calamity (cf. Zeph. 1:12), regarding the prophets as mere windbags whose word had no higher authority than their own, and adhering instead to the soothing utterances of false prognosticators”.³

And because of this arrogant attitude toward God and his covenant, in

Jeremiah 5:19 And then, when you people say, ‘Why has Yahweh our God done all of these things to us?’ Then you will say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and have served gods of a foreign land in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that does not belong to you.’

Study Verses

• Jeremiah 3:11–25 They Will Call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of Yahweh’
• Jeremiah 4:1–4 Circumcise Yourselves to Yahweh
• Jeremiah 5:11–19 Because You Have Spoken This Word

Today’s Reading

• Jeremiah 3:6-25
• Jeremiah 4:1-31
• Jeremiah 5:1-19

References

• 1. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 510). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
• 2. Harrison, R. K. (1973). Jeremiah and Lamentations: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 21, p. 72). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
• 3. Harrison, R. K. (1973). Jeremiah and Lamentations: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 21, p. 80). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Reading about Jeremiah’s encounter with the Lord reminds us that God is our creator and what the Lord said here is also true of us in Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you”. There is a plan and purpose that the Lord has for each of us. Jeremiah is appointed to bring a strong message to “to pluck up”, “to destroy and to tear down”, but also “to build and to plant”. It is surprising though to read the charge against the people in Jeremiah 2:6 “they did not say, “Where is Yahweh”. These have missed his plan for their lives. Have you asked the Lord what he has for you now? 

Before I Formed You in the Womb I Knew You

Jeremiah 1:1–10 Jeremiah had an experience that few people have, a divine encounter. It doesn’t say if this was a vision, or a dream, or a physical encounter as Moses had with the burning bush (Exodus 3:4) or simply an audible voice as when Jesus was baptised with the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22). It simply says in Jeremiah 1:4 “the word of the Lord came to me, saying”. In Jeremiah 1:7 it is clear that he knew it was the Lord because he reacted with “Ah, Lord Yahweh!” and then a very human statement, “I do not know how” as if the Lord didn’t know his ability. This was a dialog, a conversation, and not just a command from the Lord. This was the Lord informing Jeremiah of the Lords plan and purpose for Jeremiah and it came with correction (Jeremiah 1:7 “you must not say, ‘I am a youth’) and encouragement (Jeremiah 1:8 “Do not be afraid of them”) and finally equipping for the work ahead (Jeremiah 1:9 “Yahweh stretched out his hand and he touched my mouth, and Yahweh said to me, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth”). Then the Lord sets the boundaries in

Jeremiah 1:10 See, I appoint you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, and to destroy and to tear down, to build and to plant.”

And while this has great prophetic impact for Judah and Jerusalem in their day, and it is now an historic record for us, there is a pattern here for us showing how the Lord operates. He does know us from the womb. He does have a plan and purpose for our lives. He will confirm and equip for the work. But this plan isn’t set in stone. There is a dialog, there is correction and encouragement, and a time when the Lord says, “I appoint you this day …”. 

You, You Must Gird Your Loins, and Stand, and Speak

Jeremiah 1:11–19 The Lord spends time with Jeremiah teaching him, saying to him in Jeremiah 1:11 and 13 “What are you seeing?”. It seems that Jeremiah heard the Lord speaking and also had a vision that showed him what was going to happen. But these visions, these pictures needed interpretation. In Jeremiah 1:11-2 “the branch of an Almond tree” represented God “watching over his word to perform it”. But we miss something here if we don’t know the Almond tree is the first to bud and flower in the spring so, “There is a play on MT almond rod (šāqēd, ‘waker’) and šōqēd (watching over), which illustrates the promptness with which God keeps his promises. Just as the early stirring of the almond heralded springtime, so the spoken word pointed to its own rapid fulfilment”.¹ Then in Jeremiah 1:13 he sees “a boiling pot, and its face is from the face of the north.” The language is a bit unusual for us so, it seems that Jeremiah saw a large pot, perhaps above the the earth below and “The pot in the north rested on one side, its mouth being about to pour forth its contents southwards, namely, on Judea”.² Another commentary suggest that “The pot described as boiling (RSV) was a large vessel used for cooking or washing and placed upon glowing embers which were fanned by the wind”.¹ And another commentary ads that “If the wind is blowing the steam from the pot as suggested above, then the wind is coming from the north and blowing the steam southward”.³ And from these descriptions of the boiling pot ready to pour out to the South with steam blowing across the land, the interpretation is clear in Jeremiah 1:14 where the Lord says this means “From the north disaster will be unleashed on all the inhabitants of the land”. We now also understand the intensity, the severity, of the word of the Lord to be delivered by Jeremiah to the people of Judah and why the Lords says to him in Jeremiah 1:17–19 “you, you must gird your loins, and stand, and speak … Do not be afraid of them … I have made you today as a fortified city and as an iron pillar and a bronze wall against all the land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land. 19 And they will fight against you but they will not prevail against you, for I am with you,” declares Yahweh, “to deliver you.”  

They Did Not Say, ‘Where is Yahweh?’

Jeremiah 2:1–8 Some people believe that God is far off and that even if they search they wouldn’t find him. But Paul said that God did put us on the earth to find him and “he is not far away”, in

Acts 17:27 “to search for God, if perhaps indeed they might feel around for him and find him. And indeed he is not far away from each one of us”

And, the Lord, from the beginning, has made himself known as it says in

Romans 1:20–21 For from the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, both his eternal power and deity, are discerned clearly, being understood in the things created, so that they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasoning, and their senseless hearts were darkened.

So, here, the Lord asks in Jeremiah 2:5 “What injustice did your ancestors find in me that they were far from me”. The answer should be obvious, there is no injustice in the Lord. If we are far from him, it isn’t because of anything he has done. Here is the answer, in

Jeremiah 2:6 And they did not say, ‘Where is Yahweh, the one who brought us up from the land of Egypt …”

But it wasn’t only the people that did not seek the Lord or ask for him, it was also the priests who might have led the people to the Lord in

Jeremiah 2:8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is Yahweh?’

Here is how this is said after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, in

Romans 10:13 For “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Have you called on the Lord? Have you asked him to show himself to you? This may seem too simple, and yet, as it says in

Hebrews 11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and is a rewarder of those who seek him.

Will you accept Jesus Christ right now? Will you speak out what you believe?

Romans 10:9–10 that if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.

Simply say this prayer from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association at https://peacewithgod.net/: Dear God, I know I’m a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe that He died for my sin and that you raised Him to life. I want to trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as Lord, from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do your will. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

My People Have Committed Two Evils

Jeremiah 2:9–19

Jeremiah 2:13 “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the source of living water, to hew out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.

Where are Your Gods That You Made for Yourself?

Jeremiah 2:20–28

Yahweh has Rejected Those in Whom You Trust

Jeremiah 2:29–37

Jeremiah 2:37 Also from there you will come out with your hands on your head, for Yahweh has rejected those in whom you trust, and you will not prosper through them.

You Refuse to be Ashamed

Jeremiah 3:1–5

Study Verses

• Jeremiah 1:1–10 Before I Formed You in the Womb I Knew You
• Jeremiah 1:11–19 You, You Must Gird Your Loins, and Stand, and Speak
• Jeremiah 2:1–8 They Did Not Say, ‘Where is Yahweh?’

Today’s Reading

• Jeremiah 1:1-19
• Jeremiah 2:1-37
• Jeremiah 3:1-5

References

• 1. Harrison, R. K. (1973). Jeremiah and Lamentations: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 21, p. 55). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
• 2. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 507). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
• 3. Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Je 1:13). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.