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#46 |
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Re: Jeremiah
I do think those who refuse to look at or acknowledge the spiritual nature, their own spiritual nature are indeed spiritually dead (though not necessarily hell bound) and useless for sure when it comes to serving God. Of course, unfortunately they likely don't believe in God so they view it as nonsense.
I think when it comes to worshipping other gods, as I said, there is one God. But people can make idols out of a lot of things, and they can almost worship them. Not necessarily in the sense of praying to them, but in honoring them, in becoming obsessed or overly preoccupied with them. Certainly too any other religions... well it's important to remember that while as a Christian I certainly believe other religions are incomplete, lacking, or even lies, it's important to remember that the commandment not to worship other gods went to the children of Israel and to believers today. This is not to say that people of other religions are okay or saved. It's to say that God is the judge and ignorance in and of itself is not a sin. Basically though I believe it would involve giving reverence to, if you will, something other than God... be that another religion, be it some religious figure or so called god, or be that some fleshly hang up that keeps one of God's children who claims to love Him from actually showing or exhibiting that love and more to the point, where that other "thing" or "god" becomes more important to them than their own Heavenly Father. Jason |
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Re: Jeremiah
Interesting points. Jason. Always appreciate your thoughts.
![]() I thought a lot about the girdle, I find the wording to be absolutely beautiful in how the picture of it in the rock unfolds. I dreamed you were going to post, and here you are. I love it when that happens. ![]() Ok..continue with your body of work. I won't hold you up any longer. ![]()
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#48 |
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Re: Jeremiah
Quite alright Sasa.
![]() Now then, continuing on with my body of work. Jeremiah 13:8 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, God is going to explain this illustration Himself. You know, there's a lot of people, or some people at least, who say that God's Word is hard to understand or that the truth is hidden. There are different levels of truth in the Word and sometimes yes one has to dig or search for it. But He will always, ALWAYS share it with one who honestly cares and seeks it out. So what does He have to say about the girdle? "Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. Now why would God do this to His people? Well first of all, having your balloon deflated a bit when it comes to pride isn't necessarily the worst thing in the world. Pride is what did Satan in. Now, it is fine to be proud of accomplishments that are rightly earned and blessings received from God. But when you're off into a bunch of falsehood and doing things that God does not approve of and are proud of it, you're probably in for a pretty harsh correcting. That is, if you are one of His and if He does have a purpose for you. Or even if you did receive some blessings and did get built up by God and start saying, "Look at what I did, or look how great I am." That was the downfall and the correction of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel Chapter 4. I mean he was warned by Daniel that God would take his kingdom away from him for a period of time and he would be driven mad like an animal. Then Nebuchadnezzar one day about a year later was walking around his palace and kingdom and said (paraphrasing), "Man, look at my great kingdom that I built for myself." Then just like that, in that instant he lost it all for a period of 7 times... which some say was a period of months, some say 7 years... but it happened as God said it would. Then at the end of that time, Nebuchadnezzar praised God and got everything back. But what does God have against Judah and Jerusalem here? Jer 13:10 This evil People, which refuse to hear My words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. Friend, that still applies today. Let's break it down a little and do a little self inventory. Do you refuse to hear His words? Well, I'll ask do you read and seek wisdom and understanding from this Word? If you do, then you're okay. If you ignore it, or would rather listen to some man, then things may not go so well for you. Do you pay more mind to fleshly things and desires and focus more on what you want than what God wants? Hey, we're all human and there's none of us perfect. But spiritual maturity comes when one reaches the point where they can honestly say, "If God doesn't want me to have it, I don't want to have it." Walking after other gods to serve and worship- well back then that was literal in the sense that they were following and accepting heathen gods and forms of worship. It still can be today. But it also can be again, what do I spend my time with. What takes precedence in my life? Is it God? Is it something else? Friend, if you come up on the negative side of that equation or those questions, then God pretty much considers you good for nothing. That's a hard truth to swallow. But guess what? The beautiful thing about Christianity is there is repentance and there is forgiveness. You can't fool Him, and He might not trust you right away even after you repent. But in time when one works at it, one of those "good for nothings" just might wind up amounting to something. Hey, I honestly believe that. If I didn't, I sure wouldn't say it, and I wouldn't be much of a Christian. But one has to work at it for sure. Jer 13:11 For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto Me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a People, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear. Now there's actually a lot of tenderness and a lot of love in that. What you have to realize is that God has feelings. He took all of Jacob, all 12 tribes, the house of Israel and the house of Judah, as His people. His special children whom He loved. It's the same way with the Christian body today. If you call yourself Christian, then you should stand up as one. You should represent Christ and your Father with a good name, and give Him praise and glory not only from you to Him but in what you do, showing that nature and that character to everyone around you. Hey, we all fall short. I certainly wouldn't want anyone to judge God or Christianity by following me around 24/7. But He loves you... and when you're in His family, you're something special. So, ACT LIKE IT. Not in a prideful way, other than being proud of what God has done for you. But live for him and be an example unto other people, as best you can. Jason |
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Re: Jeremiah
Okay, so we made it through the girdle illustration. Hopefully you kept yours on throughout.
![]() Alright, we're coming now to another illustration of wine bottles, and there's certainly a very spiritual element to this one. So, try to think of things in a spiritual sense and not so much the physical. Jeremiah 13:12 "Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; `Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine:' and they shall say unto thee, `Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?" We're going to find here that the bottles here, much as with the girdle, are representative of people. Take note too of the beginning of the verse. Is it "thus saith Jeremiah"? No, it's thus saith the Lord God of Israel. What's the reaction of the people? It's kind of scoffing, mocking, kind of a "well we already know that, quit bothering us" kind of attitude. Friends, if God has something to say, it's best to listen and pay attention. That's whether He speaks through someone or whether He speaks right here in His Word for you to read and hopefully absorb today. Again, what are the bottles? Jeremiah 13:13 "Then shalt thou say unto them, `Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. How many inhabitants of the land? Was it just a certain segment? No, it was ALL the inhabitants of the land, from the kings and priests right down to the lowliest resident in terms of wealth or status. Again, the bottles are people, and they're going to be stumbling around in a spiritual stupor. We've probably all seen someone drunk, I mean really drunk. It can be comical. But it's not all that funny when someone's soul is on the line. You know I think too in reading this of both Romans 11:7-8 and Revelation 17. In Romans 11:7 it actually states that Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it. Well who's the election? Well, it's some of Israel but not all. But it's composed of many different races and nations. It's made up of people who love the Lord, who study His Word and who won't be deceived by a fake, i.e. Satan. But then in verse 8 what does it say? "(According as it is written, "God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear" ![]() And so it is. You have people walking around today who don't have a clue about what's going on in the world today. Why is it happening, what will come of it? They are completely blinded to the reality that it's all coming about as foretold in God's Word. This spirit of slumber can also be translated "stupor". It's not making fun of them. God Himself places it over them. Why? For their protection quite honestly. That way they maintain perhaps SOME DEGREE of innocence. Not saying they are, not saying they're heaven bound, hell bound, that's for God to decide. But they are the type who always seem to have something more important to do than get into God's Word. Hey, no one's perfect, and God understands people and circumstances more than we do. But there are some who will be in a stupor spiritually, and quite frankly already are. Then Revelation 17 we have the harlot who as it says in verse 2 the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. What fornication? Spiritual fornication by being taken in by the false Christ instead of the true one. Again, spiritual stupor, spiritual slumber, none the wiser until it's too late and the true one returns, and they realize they made a big mistake. Alright then, back to Jeremiah. Jeremiah 13:14 "And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them." Now again, keep in mind this is spiritual and not physical. The drunkenness is spiritual. Keep in mind too that if you can picture a bunch of drunk people crammed together in a room, as an example, they'll probably be running into each other and knocking each other over. So it's as much self destruction as anything else. But why would God not pity or have mercy on them? Well, to obtain mercy you kind of have to repent and have a change of heart first. They're not going to. How many times does it say in Revelation that the people would not repent of their deeds? Kind of sad isn't it? Actually, it's really sad. Your Father loves you. He created your very soul because he wanted someone like YOU. Let Him know you love Him. Let Him know that you care enough to read and study His letter to you. Don't be in the spiritually drunk crowd. That's not a place you want to be. Be aware spiritually, be sober, diligent, and be blessed. That's a whole lot better than the alternative. Jason |
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Re: Jeremiah
Alright, continuing on then. We're going to have a warning or exhortation by Our Father given through Jeremiah, and later on, perhaps not today, we'll get into Jerusalem's destiny.
But let's pick it up with our next verse. Jeremiah 13:15 "Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken." You know, that was kind of that crowd's whole problem when Jeremiah addressed them. Was it not? They were too proud to give ear. "Oh we know the bottles will be filled with wine. Why would we not know that. We're "enlightened". Well, they actually were spiritually drunk and in a stupor, or would be. Again friends, if the Lord says something, pay attention. Like it or not, it's always for your own benefit when you follow it. Jeremiah 13:16 "Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness." Did you catch that? Did you catch that way out and that warning before the storm? How do I avoid destruction? Give glory to God. Love Him. Learn from Him and be guided by Him through His Word. What is that Psalm often recited at funerals? Psalms 23:4 "Yea thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Friend, He's your best defense and your greatest advocate in this world. If He's with you, you can have darkness and dark mountains all around you, let there will always be a light to guide your path personally. Do you believe that? I hope you do, because it's the truth. But if you feel like you're too important that you can't be bothered to hear and read His Word, then you'll be lost in that darkness. Jeremiah 13:17 "But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD's flock is carried away captive." This is Jeremiah speaking but it could almost be tied to Our Father as well. It hurts Him when people will not listen to His Word. Why? Because He needs the attention? No, because He loves His children! He wants to see them do well and be protected and blessed. But if their pride leads them to say that they don't need to pay attention to God, then He'll let them be carried away captive. It happened to all of Israel and Judah. It will happen to most of the world when Satan arrives as Antichrist, coming to "save them". The problem being is he's a fake, and had they paid attention and listened to God, they would have known that. It hurts God, it hurts one close to God, like a member of His election, to see people so spiritually deceived. It really does. Jeremiah 13:18 "Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory." Historically during Jeremiah's time this applied to King Jehoiachin, and his mother, the queen, as recorded in II Kings 24:12-15. After just 3 month's time, they had lost their power and rank and were taken to Babylon. Prophetically or currently, it can apply to any individual, any king, any nation. Certainly there will come a time in which Christ sits as king of kings and lord of lords over all, and that will be good. But before that time, we're going to have a fake fooling most of the world, and from that time to when Christ does arrive, it's going to be a humbling time, and unfortunately one of great shame for many. Jeremiah 13:19 "The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive." The word "cities" in the text originally actually read eyes. Now isn't that interesting? The eyes of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them. Spiritual blindness, spiritual slumber, as prophesied in God's Word. Jeremiah 13:20 "Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?" From the North in our time is mostly concerning Russia and those aligned with her. This is North in relation to the land of Judea or Israel. It will certainly be something to watch, as Russia certainly plays a role in these end times. Jason |
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Re: Jeremiah
Okay, I mentioned that I was going to talk a little about Jerusalem's destiny. I have a little bit of limited time, so we'll go with that a little. I do want to make a mention of that last verse where it asks where the flock went. Well, naturally they went into captivity. Historically it was captivity to literal Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar. Prophetically it will be spiritual Babylon and Antichrist. He's going to set up camp in Jerusalem. But let's get back to the chapter and try to at least come close to finishing it.
Jeremiah 13:21 "What wilt thou say when He shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?" This is kind of saying that the people that you taught and ultimately chose to be over you have lead you down the wrong path. That many times is going to obviously be bad priests, bad supposed teachers of the Word and they teach traditions of men. But it can even refer certainly to kings and heads of state. You know right here in this nation we have an election every four years, and in 2008 we had one in which we elected someone who didn't have a lot going for him other than personal charisma and being the opposite party of what many people came to believe caused a mess. Well, I know some people in 2012 who have and have had for some time a bit of buyer's remorse over the way they voted in 2008. Not everyone, and I don't want to get too political here. But the point is, if you have a leader over you who is not the most competent around, you're going to have problems. Obviously any woman who's experienced it knows about labor pains. Well, this world itself is experiencing some labor pains too as we come closer and closer to the end of this age. Stay awake, and stay tuned. Jeremiah 13:22 "And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare." This is basically very spiritual and it's saying that Judah, and anyone who takes part, was a harlot spiritually speaking. Whether than staying faithful to the true Christ, they married themselves to the false one, or will, and not only will there be some rough punishment and correction, it's going to be out in the open to everyone what they did. Jeremiah 13:23 "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." Naturally it is impossible for one to change the color of their skin or for a leopard to change or remove its spots. So too is it impossible, unfortunately, for one who is taught and trained to do evil to turn around and do good... ON THEIR OWN. It's not impossible for God, and it's not impossible for them if they repent and follow Him instead of their false religions and false traditions. But man can no more change himself or save himself than a leopard can change its spots. Part of it is because they actually believe, many of them, that they're doing right. But it unfortunately is the exact opposite. Jeremiah 13:24 "Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness." And so He did. He scattered the 10 northern tribes and He scattered the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to where it was not until 1948 that some of them returned to and reclaimed their home land. Jeremiah 13:25 "This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood." Don't ever forget your Father, and certainly don't ever trust or confide in something else over Him. It is good to have friends, to take advice if it's good advice. But He created your very soul, and there's no one in the universe who cares more about you or is more intelligent than Him. Jeremiah 13:26 "Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear." Again, out in the open. They'll be asking the mountains to fall upon them to hide them. But it will be known. A sad time to be sure. Jeremiah 13:27 "I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?" Well, rest assured, He will make it right and clean it up. What a time that will be. Jason |
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Re: Jeremiah
Well good afternoon or good day to you. We're picking up now with Chapter 14 in the book of Jeremiah. Chapter 14 at the start deals with a drought. There are many who based on the nature of the book of Jeremiah and what was going on that feel this drought is symbolism and a drought for spiritual truth. There are others who maybe think that around this time of roughly 490-480 BC there was a literal drought. In any event, for our purposes we can consider it spiritual because we know as it says in Amos 8:11 there will be a famine in the end times not for bread or water but for hearing the words of God. Why? Well, most of what will be taught and even is taught quite frankly, and unfortunately, is more tradition and denominational doctrine than God's Word. That is not coming down on churches. But the situation is what it is and it's all coming to pass as it is written. So how about this drought? Let's read on.
Jeremiah 14:1 "The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth." Dearth is a word that means drought, or literally restraint of rain. dearth 1226 batstsoreth (bats-tso'-reth); feminine intensive from 1219; restraint (of rain), i.e. drought: KJV-- dearth, drought. God can hold back or restrain the literal rain. He can also hold back the truth from many, and will do so as again it states in Amos 8:11. That famine is sent by God. Why would He do that? Well, first of all to test some. But if people would rather listen to something else rather than God's Word and Truth, well then He can arrange that. But let me tell you this too. God always, always, ALWAYS takes care and provides for His own and those who love Him. Jeremiah 14:2 "Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up." Black, as I'm sure you're well aware, is the color of mourning. Naturally when you have a literal drought and it's prolonged and bad, people suffer. So too with a spiritual drought or famine. If people are starving or thirsting in the flesh sense they suffer. If they starve or thirst in the spiritual sense, they really suffer. Here you have people calling out for help that are pretty much literally on their knees mourning and crying. Jeremiah 14:3 "And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads Little ones are not necessarily children, though they could be. But they sent their servants to the well to get water, and there's no water. Take this in a spiritual sense when you have people thirsting for truth and knowledge. Where do they go? They go to a church, but they find no truth, no knowledge. Friends, that is FAMINE. That is spiritually parched ground. These servants go back embarrassed and confused, and they cover their heads in mourning. There's no water! There's no truth! Jeremiah 14:4 "Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads." Here we say the ground is so literally dry and it's been so hot that there are literal cracks in the ground, making it useless for planting anything. You can't work the earth, the soil because it's so dry and hard, and there's no moisture at all in the soil to sustain the root system of anything if you could plant it. Similarly too, imagine that condition spiritually where everything is so dry and burnt up that even if you could plant a seed of truth, there's no way for it to grow. Very sorry state the land is in, and a very sorry state man will be in spiritually at that particular time. It reminds me of the parable of the sower in which the sower planted seeds that went on rocky ground, in areas where thistle choked out the good plants, in areas where birds swooped down and ate the seed. It was only in good, rich ground and good soil where the root system could be built up healthy that the seed germinated, grew, and the plant blossomed or bloomed. Similarly, if you're not firmly rooted in God's Word, then you're just susceptible to any obstacles that come along to pluck you away spiritually. Having spent a brief period of time in lawn care, one in that field knows, or should know, that the key to a healthy yard is healthy soil and a healthy root system. If the root system gets pulled up even a little, then that yard or that plant becomes much weaker and much more susceptible to drought, disease, pests, etc. Healthy soil, healthy well secured root structure is the key in horticulture and in your life spiritually as well. Jeremiah 14:5 "Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass." Here we have the drought extending even to the animals who naturally would be effected by a literal drought as well. We have a doe giving birth to a fawn, a little baby deer, and the mother actually abandons it. Why? There's no food for the mother, and with no food not only does it make it impossible for her to survive, she can't produce milk to even feed her baby. Jeremiah 14:6 "And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass." The word dragons actually in the Hebrew is jackals. There are of course no literal dragons, though Satan symbolically is the Dragon. Although, it's not a bad word or bad mental picture, because if you can picture in your mind that hot, dry air these wild donkies are breathing in and out, it probably to them almost would be like breathing fire. No moisture in the air even, their eyes dried up and glazed over due to this heavy drought. Think too of what that does to a person's soul spiritually during this famine of Amos 8. How did you stay sustained through it? You get into God's Word, you study it deeper than just what's on the surface, you absorb it into your mind to where rather than having the mark of the beast in your mind, you actually have the seal of God in your forehead, and you'll be in good shape. Think too in John 4 of Jesus offering that Living Water to the Samaritan woman at the well. That water is offered to anyone who loves Him, studies His Word, learns it, and chooses to partake of it. God will never allow someone to go hungry or thirsty spiritually who earnestly seeks and drinks of or eats of the truth. Keep that in mind. We'll continue this chapter later on. Jason |
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Re: Jeremiah
Well, it's a nice sunny afternoon here in Ohio and I figured I would see if I couldn't get a few verses in before heading back out. We have this drought, and it was likely a literal drought in the land. But there's going to be a spiritual drought and famine that comes as well. That is very likely going to happen in our lifetime, and again, you might say it's already started or is about to. So this is an important chapter to be sure. Let's continue on.
Jeremiah 14:7 "O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee." This is a plea and sort of admitting that they have sinned, which is good. But there is going to be a problem here. Jeremiah 14:8 "O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?" Here they are asking God why He's such a stranger to them in their time of trouble. Well, if you look at it and if you've been paying attention in this book of Jeremiah and know the bible even a little, it hopefully isn't that hard to figure out. God didn't leave them and wasn't a stranger to them, they were a stranger to Him! They went after other gods and other religions, rolling their little cakes to the "queen of heaven" and basically ignoring God's instruction and wisdom. Then when they ran into trouble, they want to know where God is and want Him to come save them. Well, I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way. He will ALWAYS forgive sin when one has a true change of heart and sincerely repents. But if one or a group of people want Him to help them so they can go right back to their wicked ways, I'm sorry, but it won't happen. Jeremiah 14:9 "Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not." Well, this is true except of course God can and does save whomsoever will believe, truly believe upon Him. While it is true they were called by His name, it's also true that in this same book back in Chapter 3 of Jeremiah God divorced all of Israel. Sadly, this is I don't want to say a common theme, but not an isolated case or example. It's as Christ will tell some after He returns and even on Judgment Day who claim to be Christian and have done all sorts of things in His name, "I never knew you, get out of my sight". There are many today who call themselves Christian, or they claim to be called by His name, and they're really not. I'm not judging, I'm just saying claiming to be of God or doing work in His name does not always make it so, and does not mean that He's going to aid you because you claim to be a Christian. It takes sincerity of heart to where you might never be perfect, but you try, and you love Him and don't want to let Him down. More than anything, you read His Word and seek to do His will and please Him. So, being"called" a certain thing doesn't necessarily mean all it's cracked up to be. Still, this is a plea and next time I'm here we'll see God's reaction to it. Jason |
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Re: Jeremiah
Well it's kind of almost bitterly ironic that this chapter talks about a drought and that's what we have right now in Ohio. It got up to 98 degrees today and the last rain we got was a very tiny amount on Sunday. Before that, it had been several days if not a week or more. Yards and gardens aren't fairing so well in places, and neither are the cornfields. You take a look around and you'll notice the ground is chapt or cracked here. I don't think we can read too much into that biblically or spiritually, although certainly our nation has drifted pretty far from God and His ways. But at least it will cool down a bit in a couple days if nothing else. My AC is running pretty much nonstop, which probably won't be good for my electric bill.
Anyway, we do have this drought in this chapter and we had the people or the prophet's prayer and plea to God. In this post we're going to look at God's response. Quite honestly it will probably come off as harsh to many. But one must remember that not only does God have feelings, but He also knows if repentance is sincere or if it's just done as ritual to try to get help. God doesn't want ritual. He wants, as it says in Hosea 6:6, our grace or our love. You know, this won't be a perfect analogy, but it is a situation that is probably common to almost everyone. Let's say you have a friend who is in financial trouble. So, let's say they ask you for, we'll make it small and say $20. They say they'll pay you back within a week. So, you loan them $20 and a week goes by and they don't pay you back. A few days later they ask for another $20. You being a friend and knowing their trouble, loan it to them again but remind them they still owe you $20. Another week goes by and they don't pay you back any of the $40 they owe you. A couple of days later they ask for another $20. At some point along the way you're probably going to come to the conclusion that your "friend" is coming to you whenever they need help but isn't too worried about paying you back if you're going to keep giving out money to him freely. So at some point, you're probably going to stop giving money to them. Now, again that's not a perfect analogy but again it should be common to all. The point here being here we had these children of Judah who were running off constantly to other gods and religions, and then when things got tough, then and only then did they run to their one true Father saying, "God, we're sorry, help us!" Well, God is very loving and patient and He does forgive sin. But you're not going to con Him and He's not there as just a supernatural get out of jail free card or some sort of wish genie. But even with that said, He will forgive sin upon sincere heartfelt repentance, and He will not stay angry forever if one does sincerely repent. With that said, let's get into it. Jeremiah 14:10 "Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins." Just like that wild donkey in heat running to any "god" or religion that will take them. God here is basically saying, these people did not stay true to me or my ways. He's kind of even saying that they don't stay with one false religion... they just constantly wander about running to and fro spiritually speaking, looking for any shot of "spirituality" that they can find. I don't know, do you think we have people like that today? I'd say we definitely have people like that today. You know, it's actually kind of sad and if someone is honestly seeking the truth, they will find out, even if in some cases it takes a strong man or woman of God to point them in the right direction. But what's really sad here is that they had everything they really could want and all the blessings imaginable if they would have just stayed true to God and not wandered. But at the same time, even today when you've got so called pastors teaching and feeding not from the Word of God but their own traditions and man made doctrine, then the sheep or flock will wander and scatter. That's why judgment starts at the pulpit. We'll get into some of these so called "prophets" in a few verses here. Jeremiah 14:11 "Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good." Whoa! That sounds kind of rough doesn't it? God telling Jeremiah not to pray for these people for their good. Well, one has to understand two things. Again, God knows if someone, even a bunch of someones, are truly sorry and repentant or if they're just playing sorry to be helped. But the other part of this is here again we have these people, part of God's chosen people who have been blessed, who have seen miracles, who have had the stories of God's help and guiding hand passed down to them, the great victories against overwhelming odds and the promises and covenant made to them, and they still went running off to false gods who couldn't do a thing to help them. Wouldn't you be just a little bit disappointed in them and maybe even angry if you were in God's position? Well, naturally He was. Jeremiah 14:12 "When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence." Some people unfortunately never really understand that playing religion just doesn't quite cut it. You know, there are some churches, some people, and I'm not judging here, but they look good and proper. I mean they seem to have it down pat. But it's all ritual, it's all even almost rehearsed. Friends, again God was never interested in the ritual of burnt offerings, oblations, or fasting. One can even get down and shave their head and rent their clothing and mourn and put on quite a show. But guess what? Putting on a show is still putting on a show. He wants you to honor and respect and love Him in your heart. He wants to hear from you as His child who when you mess up you come to Him and say, "Father, I'm sorry. I messed up. I let you down Father and I want to do better. When one says that and actually means it, then He can't help but take you in His arms spiritually speaking and say, "Oh my child, I forgive you." But you're not going to play church and go running to Him when things get bad and yell for help and expect Him to come running. In the next post we'll start to get into some false prophets who certainly had a lot to do with this mess. They're still out there today, so be careful. Jason |
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Re: Jeremiah
Okay, so now we're going to get into some false prophets in this chapter. As I said, we have them today as well. A false prophet or false messenger today is basically the same as a false prophet or false messenger back then. How do you identify them? If they claim to be Christian or have a message from God and it doesn't match up with what's written in His Word, then you've got a false prophet. We're going to identify them pretty much right out the gate in the very next verse, so pay attention.
Jeremiah 14:13 "Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place." Now right off the bat you should see hopefully one glaring thing wrong with this, if not two. God just said to Jeremiah in the previous verse that He would consume these people through the sword, famine, and pestilence. But here you have these so called prophets saying, "None of that is going to happen. It's going to be fine." Well, they're already in the midst of a terrible drought so those "prophets" are really doing a bang up job aren't they? But beyond that, did you notice they're claiming that they personally will give assured peace? Friends, man can never give lasting peace, only God can. Do you know what these false prophets say today? Oh just believe. Just believe in Jesus, you'll be fine. Friends, believing in Jesus is fine. But when they tell people falsely that they're going to be raptured away and that doesn't actually happen, and the first "Jesus" who shows up to gather them to him is a fake, they're leading people right into Satan's camp! They won't teach the Word as it is written, which says nothing about a rapture but instead says Satan is coming first and the first one taken is taken by him, and they base an entire fly away doctrine off of the subject of Paul talking about where the dead in Christ go. It seems very enticing, because it sounds like a quick and easy way out. But the problem is that it's not biblical. Jeremiah 14:14 "Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart." You know in a way, at least today and perhaps even back then it is actually quite sad. SOME of them are preachers who mean well. But they get in their head, as a beloved pastor of mine would say, they see a big "GP" up in the sky and thought it meant "go preach" when it actually meant "go plow". The point being, God didn't call them, He didn't send them, and what they are spreading that they think is some divine revelation from God is some puffed up message from Pastor Dan from their seminary. Plain and simple, if they teach something that's contrary to God's Word, it didn't come from God. This is why it is so important that you learn to study for yourself, so you can identify falsehood and false prophets when they are around. A lot of it can sound good. But only God's Word is truly good. Jeremiah 14:15 "Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed." Good, bad, or ugly God has a way of fixing and correcting things. And in some cases yes it is sad and it is ugly for some. Now again this is spiritual in a sense in our time at least. But sadly in some ways that's almost worse. Because they're supposed to be the teachers to set their flock on the right path and instead they're going to be totally deceived. When they teach that everyone is going to be raptured away and the first, fake Jesus comes to perhaps claim to do just that, these "pastors" will probably be the first to run to him saying, "Oh Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, I've done so much for you and telling my congregation about you." Then what a sad time it will be for them when the real one arrives and they realize they were completely deceived, and passed that deception on to other innocent souls. |
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Re: Jeremiah
Okay, I wanted to try to quickly get a few more verses in here while I could. The first verse actually kind of finishes a thought or subject that was left hanging a little. God has said what would happen to these false prophets who claim that what God has said will happen is not going to be. Now what about the people they're prophesying to?
Jeremiah 14:16 "And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them." Again this sounds harsh, but again we must remember a couple of things here. Number one this is again at least in our time for the most part spiritual. But we must remember too that they are not innocent either. For one thing, as it stipulates in Deuteronomy 18:21-22, the people were to test the prophets and use the criteria in those two verses to do so. They did not do that. Unfortunately, most today do not do so either. How many people maybe go to church every Sunday without missing and sit right in that front pew, but never really learn anything, and more to the point never really check out in the Word themselves what that man (or woman) behind the pulpit is saying? They can repeat the things from sermons almost verbatim but when it comes to cracking open their bible outside of church they're just a little too busy to do so. Jeremiah 14:17 "Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow." Did you know or were you aware that Christ upon His return is expecting a virgin bride spiritually? This is one reason why or actually the reason why in Matthew 24:19 Jesus would say woe to those who are with child and give suck during those days. It wasn't talking about a natural birth or a human baby. It's talking about the fact that spiritually speaking they're not virgins anymore but they went so far spiritually with Satan as the false Christ that they become impregnated spiritually speaking. That will be a woe alright! But it is sad. These people are basically good Christian people who really do love Christ. But when they go to church, they're never taught that the false Christ comes first, and if they are taught that, most of them are taught that it doesn't matter because somehow, even though the false Christ shows up before the true, you're going to magically disappear and teleport out of here and fly away. It's not biblical friends. That's why it is so very important to study for yourself and show yourself approved. Don't take what any pastor says at face value, don't take what I type here at face value. Study for yourself, rightly divide the Word, and test anyone who claims to teach it or have a message from God. Jeremiah 14:18 "If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not. The deception is unfortunately rampant, friends. And you take a look just overall at the world today and tell me how we're doing. We've got people stoned out of their minds on drugs hallucinating and becoming cannibals. We've got kids killing kids, kids killing adults. We've got violent government upheavals in the Middle East. We've got out of control government at home. More sexual immorality and still terrorists out there. I'm not saying that to scare you, I'm not saying that to point out that the world is in need of God. It's in need of Christ. The prophet and the priest should be feeding those sick with spiritual famine and they're not. There's some good ones out there, don't get me wrong. But there's a lot of bad ones who are just as spiritually sick and starving as the people they're supposed to be feeding. Jeremiah 14:19 "Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!" Well, there's one place to look for peace and that of course is through Christ and Christ only. No falsehoods, no watered down doctrine. Anything else and yeah, you'll have trouble. When we finish up this chapter, which I know is taking a while, we'll see Jeremiah's plea, prayer, and confession. Ultimately it acknowledges one key thing and that's that God is the one who can help in times of trouble. |
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Re: Jeremiah
Okay, I wanted to try to quickly get a few more verses in here while I could. The first verse actually kind of finishes a thought or subject that was left hanging a little. God has said what would happen to these false prophets who claim that what God has said will happen is not going to be. Now what about the people they're prophesying to?
Jeremiah 14:16 "And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them." Again this sounds harsh, but again we must remember a couple of things here. Number one this is again at least in our time for the most part spiritual. But we must remember too that they are not innocent either. For one thing, as it stipulates in Deuteronomy 18:21-22, the people were to test the prophets and use the criteria in those two verses to do so. They did not do that. Unfortunately, most today do not do so either. How many people maybe go to church every Sunday without missing and sit right in that front pew, but never really learn anything, and more to the point never really check out in the Word themselves what that man (or woman) behind the pulpit is saying? They can repeat the things from sermons almost verbatim but when it comes to cracking open their bible outside of church they're just a little too busy to do so. Jeremiah 14:17 "Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow." Did you know or were you aware that Christ upon His return is expecting a virgin bride spiritually? This is one reason why or actually the reason why in Matthew 24:19 Jesus would say woe to those who are with child and give suck during those days. It wasn't talking about a natural birth or a human baby. It's talking about the fact that spiritually speaking they're not virgins anymore but they went so far spiritually with Satan as the false Christ that they become impregnated spiritually speaking. That will be a woe alright! But it is sad. These people are basically good Christian people who really do love Christ. But when they go to church, they're never taught that the false Christ comes first, and if they are taught that, most of them are taught that it doesn't matter because somehow, even though the false Christ shows up before the true, you're going to magically disappear and teleport out of here and fly away. It's not biblical friends. That's why it is so very important to study for yourself and show yourself approved. Don't take what any pastor says at face value, don't take what I type here at face value. Study for yourself, rightly divide the Word, and test anyone who claims to teach it or have a message from God. Jeremiah 14:18 "If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not. The deception is unfortunately rampant, friends. And you take a look just overall at the world today and tell me how we're doing. We've got people stoned out of their minds on drugs hallucinating and becoming cannibals. We've got kids killing kids, kids killing adults. We've got violent government upheavals in the Middle East. We've got out of control government at home. More sexual immorality and still terrorists out there. I'm not saying that to scare you, I'm not saying that to point out that the world is in need of God. It's in need of Christ. The prophet and the priest should be feeding those sick with spiritual famine and they're not. There's some good ones out there, don't get me wrong. But there's a lot of bad ones who are just as spiritually sick and starving as the people they're supposed to be feeding. Jeremiah 14:19 "Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!" Well, there's one place to look for peace and that of course is through Christ and Christ only. No falsehoods, no watered down doctrine. Anything else and yeah, you'll have trouble. When we finish up this chapter, which I know is taking a while, we'll see Jeremiah's plea, prayer, and confession. Ultimately it acknowledges one key thing and that's that God is the one who can help in times of trouble. |
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