4/21/13. Jeremiah 5:1-31.  WILL MAKE MY WORDS IN YOUR MOUTH A FIRE – my devotional

Key Verse: 5:14                                                                                                                                                                             Kevin E. Jesmer

“Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says: “Because the people have spoken these words, I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes.”

     Dear Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for the wonderful Ekballo Conference at NIU and showing us the possibilities in mission. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. I ask you, the Lord of the Harvest, to send out workers into harvest field, even the harvest field if the unreached people groups, even in dangerous areas. Lord, please work through our family to make the Gospel known to the nations. Lord, I come to you now to receive your illumination to my heart, through your word. Mature me in faith through this passage. I thank you and I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

For the complete text, Jeremiah 5:1-31, please refer to the end of the daily devotional.

The people in Jeremiah’s time had some severe problems born out of their rejection of God.   Look at verses 1-6, “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth,    I will forgive this city. ² Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’    still they are swearing falsely.” ³ Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain;    you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent. ⁴ I thought, “These are only the poor;  they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God. ⁵ So I will go to the leaders   and speak to them; surely they know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God.” But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds. ⁶ Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns  to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great  and their backslidings many.”

The Lord challenged Jeremiah to find one person who seeks truth but he is unable to do so (1-6). The people had broken off their relationship with God, seeing it as a burdensome yoke (5). They did not trust God’s truth, for they rejected God’s words through the prophets (12-13), and then ignored the reality of God’s existence as Creator (22-25). As a result they were full of ignorance and immorality (7-8), violence and injustice (26-28). This ignorance of God is propagated through lying prophets and authoritarian priests (30-31).

The people had drifted so far away from God. It is because they had turned their hearts away from God. When we turn our hearts away from the Lord and ignore his word and the leading of his Spirit, it is like we are a ship set adrift in the ocean with no anchor. We drift and find ourselves in insecure places. We may even be in danger of finding ourselves dashed against the rocks and sink. I really need to hold onto the word of God. I need to keep the practice of writing my daily devotionals and prayer. I need to keep some basics. I eat three meals a day. I brush my teeth. I need to apply some regular spiritual practices to my life with the whole goal of growing in the fullness of God and spiritual maturity. I pray that God may guide the hearts of Americans to himself.

God’s judgment prophesied by Jeremiah would fall on them in the coming of a distant nation to destroy them (4:5-9; 5:12-17). Look at verses 6 and 15-17, “⁶ Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns  to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great  and their backslidings many.” and “ People of Israel,” declares the Lord,    “I am bringing a distant nation against you—an ancient and enduring nation,    a people whose language you do not know,    whose speech you do not understand. ¹⁶ Their quivers are like an open grave; all of them are mighty warriors. ¹⁷ They will devour your harvests and food, devour your sons and daughters; they will devour your flocks and herds, devour your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy    the fortified cities in which you trust.” There would be repercussions to their venturing away from the Lord and worshipping idols.

Our nation is feeling the repercussions of turning away from the Lord. We are becoming known for our home grown domestic suicides, mass shootings, now public bombings. There are so many people who are depressed and alone and angry that they are on the edge of shooting people, with the intent to kill as many as possible and then die. There is depression, isolation, the breakup of families at historically high rates.  We are loosing out place of leadership in the world. Others are coming to the country and taking the places of leadership among us. Who are we to blame. Blame ourselves, for as a society, we are drifting spiritually and seeking after idols.  We need to make a decision as Joshua, in time of old, had to make a decision…“But if serving the Lord seems undesireable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 NIV.   Repentance and turning back to the Lord Jesus Christ with all of our hearts is the answer.

Though things look bad, yet there is hope. Look at verses 18-19, ““Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not destroy you completely. ¹⁹ And when the people ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.’” Yet God would spare some, making it clear why they were punished, and leaving a remnant to repent (18-19).  There will be time of suffering, but this suffering would be redemptive. People will stop it with their idol worship. They will become self reflective. They will see the problem and then they will have a chance to repent and turn back to the Lord, for healing and restoration. There will be a minority who does so. God promises, “I will not destroy you completely.” (18b) There will be a remnant. There will be a few people who choose to come to the Lord. Even today, with all of our contemporary sufferings that are, many times, self imposed, there will be some who come to the light of the gospel. I pray for the remnant here is America. May they return to the Lord Jesus Christ with Gospel faith.

God wanted to speak through his servant, Jeremiah to bring the message of judgment to the people of his time, thereby helping them to come turn back to the Lord. Look at verse 14, “Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says: “Because the people have spoken these words, I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes.” Jeremiah’s message of truth, as he spoke God’s word, would be like a fire of conviction in an unbelieving atmosphere.

We need servants of the word, who can prepare and deliver the word of God to the people of their generation. They need to be instep with the Holy Spirit and deliver the message of God with power and authority. I pray that I can deliver the word of God with power and authority. I need to be able to share the word of God with others, praying for them and communicating with them the Gospel message. May such servants of the word be raised up all across our nation. May they be raised up to serve all types of cross cultural missions. May they be able to reach out the young people of our nation.

God will send a purifying fire into our hearts. “I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes.” (14b) Today, the Holy Spirit works in our hearts, convicting us of truth in a world that distorts and denies God.  He works in conjunction with the word that is preached to us. I thank God for purifying fire of the Holy Spirit. Burning away the chaff is never a comfortable and easy thing to happen, but it is a good thing. God is burning away my chaff. I have lots of it to burn away. I need God to purify my faith so that through faith I can grow in my relationship with the Lord and glory Jesus with my life. Help me Lord.

Prayer: Father, you have given us the truth in your message, the Bible. Convict my heart with a fire, that I may know you and follow your ways, not the ways of this world.

One Word: Be the one who seeks truth

Jeremiah 5:1-31, (NIV) “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth,    I will forgive this city. ² Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’    still they are swearing falsely.” ³ Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain;    you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent. ⁴ I thought, “These are only the poor;  they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God. ⁵ So I will go to the leaders   and speak to them; surely they know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God.” But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds. ⁶ Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns  to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great  and their backslidings many.” ⁷ “Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes. ⁸ They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man’s wife. ⁹ Should I not punish them for this?” declares the Lord “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? ¹⁰ “Go through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not destroy them completely. Strip off her branches, for these people do not belong to the Lord .¹¹ The people of Israel and the people of Judah    have been utterly unfaithful to me,” declares the Lord. ¹² They have lied about the Lord; they said, “He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine. ¹³ The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them; so let what they say be done to them.” ¹⁴ Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says: “Because the people have spoken these words, I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes. ¹⁵ People of Israel,” declares the Lord, “I am bringing a distant nation against you—an ancient and enduring nation,    a people whose language you do not know,    whose speech you do not understand. ¹⁶ Their quivers are like an open grave; all of them are mighty warriors. ¹⁷ They will devour your harvests and food, devour your sons and daughters; they will devour your flocks and herds, devour your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy    the fortified cities in which you trust. ¹⁸ “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not destroy you completely. ¹⁹ And when the people ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.’ ²⁰ “Announce this to the descendants of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah: ²¹ Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see,  who have ears but do not hear :²² Should you not fear me?” declares the Lord. “Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea,  an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;    they may roar, but they cannot cross it. ²³ But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;    they have turned aside and gone away. ²⁴ They do not say to themselves, ‘Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’ ²⁵ Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good. ²⁶ “Among my people are the wicked who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch people. ²⁷ Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful ²⁸ and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit;    they do not seek justice. They do not promote the case of the fatherless; they do not defend the just cause of the poor. ²⁹ Should I not punish them for this?” declares the Lord. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? ³⁰ “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: ³¹ The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way.  But what will you do in the end?