The New Covenant: Jeremiah 31:21-40

Jeremiah 31:21-40

Covenants were made to be broken. At least you would think that was the case if you tracked the history of all the covenants God established in the Old Testament. Each covenant’s basic structure is, “I, God, will do X and you, human, will do Y.” From Adam to Moses, when a covenant is broken, it is always broken in the same way-people fail. So what good will it do to establish a new covenant? What is the point in God recreating a new covenant when every one so far has fallen to pieces?

Well, the covenant promised in Jeremiah 31 is not only new, it is different from the others. We begin to get this sense in 31:22 where Jeremiah says:

“For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth: a woman encircles a man.”

Jeremiah chose the word for “created” that first appears in Genesis 1:1. This is the sense of “create” in which something completely new happens that only God is able to enact. As for a woman encircling a man, though it is a cryptic phrase it most likely refers to God’s people clinging onto God and not letting go. If they have let go every time in the past, then this truly is a new thing.

In what is likely the theological highlight of Jeremiah, and arguably the theological high point in the OT, Jeremiah declares the new covenant:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” (31:31)

In this brief passage in verses 31-34, this new covenant is described in powerful and world-changing language. First, under the new covenant, there is deep reconciliation. God’s covenant is with Israel and Judah-two brother nations who split apart centuries before in violent and bloody conflict. This same theme is picked up in several places in the New Testament (Latin for “New Covenant”) including Galatians chapter 3:

“But now that faith has come…in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (vs. 25-28)

Second, there is deep regeneration. God will write his law on their hearts. Jeremiah has already told us what is currently written on our hearts in 17:1 where he remarks that sin and rebellion are like stone tablets within us.

Third there is a deep act of intimacy. We will all know God and no one will need to teach his neighbor about him. Instead of needing to be reminded of God on a regular and daily basis, we will enjoy such intimacy with him that we will be continually in His presence.

Fourthly, there is a deep satisfaction for sins and this is where we realize what has changed so dramatically with this new covenant. In his last conversation with his disciples, Jesus speaks of his death and resurrection and says:

“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

What is so new about this covenant is that it is not between God and humanity-it is between God and Christ. This covenant cannot be broken by my sin and rebellion; I am not on pins and needles waiting for the other shoe to drop. I am the blessed and undeserving recipient of the benefits of a covenant between two other parties. Christ fulfilled this covenant and sits at the right hand of God waiting his reward. You and I partake in this unlimited forgiveness and grace through the loving act of a merciful God who has created something new upon the earth.

Suffering and Despair: Jer 31

Jeremiah 31:15-20

Many times we know segments of Old Testament Scripture because of their usage in the New. When we read Jeremiah 31:15, it rings familiar in our ears, but probably because of where it is in the book of Matthew. Well, Jeremiah is the first place we encounter this well-known passage and he has something particular to communicate to us. This part of his dream (vs. 26) begins:

Thus says the LORD:
"A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more."

Rachel refers to the beloved wife of Jacob, and the mother of two children-Joseph and Benjamin. As the mother of Joseph, her appearance here is significant for being the matriarch of Joseph’s two children Manasseh and Ephraim. These two tribes become the dominant two in the northern kingdom of Israel by the time they are taken into captivity by Assyria. By telling us he hears Rachel weeping for her children, Jeremiah is referring to how long-gone and dispersed the northern kingdom of Israel had become in the last two hundred years. Literally, only God knows where her children are.

Ramah is a geographical location just north of Bethlehem significant for being the place where Rachel gave birth to Benjamin, died as a result, and was buried. Jeremiah, in this dream, hears Rachel mourning from her grave for her lost children.

But there is more to Ramah than its historical significance for Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 40:1 we read that he is taken captive by the conquering Babylonians and taken to the way station for exiles in Ramah. Ramah, for Jeremiah’s contemporaries, was one of those places where you knew for sure the effects of the siege warfare and famine. Here exiles are processed and learn for sure their family members are dead or gone and that their lives are about to be forcibly changed forever. Jeremiah did not just hear Rachel from the grave, he stood next to grieving mothers who had their children ripped from their arms and would not be consoled.

These are the images Matthew calls to mind in chapter 2 verses 16-18 when Herod slaughters all the male children in Bethlehem 2 years old and younger. But NT authors rarely refer to just a single OT verse when they quote OT passages. Matthew, though he hears the weeping, also hears something else-he hears the rest of the passage in Jeremiah beginning with verses 16 and 17:

Thus says the LORD:
"Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears,…
There is hope for your future,
declares the LORD.

When the Messiah was born, a great slaughter ensued because of an evil king, but the Messiah was born. And this Messiah would bring light and life to all, including the Bethlehem infants.

Scripture recognizes and validates the reality and the depth of suffering and evil. Scripture allows us to grieve and mourn when necessary and appropriate. But Scripture does not let us stay there; we are not to despair of all hope. Suffering is real, but is it never the last word. The Puritan Matthew Henry said, “we can mourn, but we cannot mummer.”

In Anne of Green Gables, Anne asked Cuthbert this question, “Can’t you even imagine you’re in the depths of despair?” The wise Cuthbert responded, “No I cannot. To despair is to turn your back on God.”

And I Will Be Your God: Jeremiah 30-31

Jeremiah 30:18-31:14

After 29 chapters of warning and judgment, we now find ourselves in the middle of a section of Jeremiah where God promises blessing and wholeness for His people. Between chapters 30 and 31, the promised graces bestowed upon Judah and Israel are a redemption of the people’s behavior before the exile, and what was lost in the exile. Over and over, the curse is turned around as God blesses His people. In what might be the most radical of these reversals, God says:

“Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel!” (31:4)

Keep in mind that for centuries, God has warned an adulterous people that their whoring after other gods would lead to their corruption and their destruction. Israel was anything but a virgin.

But that is exactly how deep the forgiveness of God goes. Israel was not suddenly worthy of this renewed status-God bestowed it upon them in an act of love that we can only vaguely comprehend. A wicked and adulterous people received the grace and forgiveness of God, returned to their homeland, and became the favored and forgiven people of God once more. That same grace is available to each and every sinner while they are still sinners.

As a powerful commentary on the reversal of the curse, God says:

“And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” (30:22)

The phrase, “I will be your God” becomes a refrain for not only Jeremiah but for another prophet during the exile as well. In 36:24-31 Ezekiel says:

“You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all uncleanness.”

In this passage especially, the curse is reversed in terms of not only the specific sins and consequences perpetrated and suffered by Israel and Judah, but on a much deeper level as well. A deliverance from “all uncleanness” is a promise to not only modify my behavior, but to modify my desires as well.

Though I may not always commit certain sins, I may certainly be drawn to them. If I am smart I modify my actions and routines in order to avoid situations that put me in a position of temptation. That is behavior modification, and it is good as far as it goes. But the work of the Spirit in my life wants to go deeper.

Imagine a situation in which your natural inclinations-your natural and instinctual responses-are Christ-like. In some scenario in which you might have been tempted to rebel in the past, rebellion now actually cuts against the grain of your desires. In this position, it is hard to sin and easy to be Christ-like.

This is much of what the Spirit is at work at in my life, as I become one of the people of God and learn how to live like God has become my God. With the Spirit resident in my life, I have a taste of that final, blessed moment when we will see God face-to-face and the curse will be completely gone. What Jeremiah promised comes to fruition in Revelation 21:3-4:

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning or crying or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Fear Not: Jeremiah 30:1-17

Jeremiah 30:1-17

This chapter begins a very distinct section within Jeremiah sometimes called “The Book of Consolation.”  There have been glimmers of hope so far in his book, but here it hits the surface and become the focus of attention.  In the next four chapters, Jeremiah concentrates on the hope in store for God’s people, even though they find themselves in exile.

It is worthwhile to note that as the chapter opens, Jeremiah addresses this section to both Judah and Israel.  This is the first substantial reference to the long-gone northern kingdom.  The idea is that both Israel and Judah are now in the same condition-entirely decimated as a result of exile-and that God’s promise of hope applies to all His people.  Israel, though long gone into Assyria, has not been forgotten by God.

Jeremiah, though, sees the turmoil and difficulty the nation is currently in.  He sees the best, brightest and strongest doubled over in pain as if they were women in labor: “Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale?” (vs. 6)   When women go through labor they bring forth life, but when Judah’s warriors went through their labor, it only produced death and destruction.

But that is not the whole story.  God will rescue His people from their captivity in order to return them to their homeland to serve Him.  As with the prophecy of the yoke in chapter 28, God’s people will either be slaves to their sin, or will willingly serve their God.

Then Jeremiah says, “fear not.” (vs. 10)  The command, “fear not” is the most repeated command in all of Scripture.  Of everything commanded by God, the prophets, the apostles, angels, and others, “fear not” shows up more often than anything else.  This communicates at least two very important things.  First, the most common human condition is something like fear and anxiety.  And second, it is the emotion or reaction to life that is least warranted for a follower of Christ.

God just doesn’t give us the command without any support behind it, however.  Later in this little section, He tells us why we should not be afraid.  He says in verse 11, “For I am with you to save you.”  “I am with you”: those have to be the four most encouraging words in Scripture.

They show up at pivotal points in the lives of God’s people.  When Jacob was fleeing from Esau to only God knows where, God showed up in the wilderness and told Jacob that He was with him wherever he went (Gen. 28:15).  When Moses stood before the burning bush full of excuses, God told him that He was with him (Ex. 3:12).  After Moses died over a million people stood on the edge of the Promised Land.  The burden of their futures fell on one man, Joshua, and what do you think God’s message was to him? (Joshua 1:9)  When Mary and Joseph faced a complicated and problematic social situation with the birth of their child, what did the angel tell them to name him?  His name was Immanuel-God was with Mary and Joseph.

And when the disciple Matthew reflected on his life with Jesus and composed his book-when he arranged the beginning, middle and end, and included the stories and discussions he wanted us to hear-what was the last thing he wanted you to hear Jesus say?  “And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

God With Us-In Exile: Jer 29

Jeremiah 29

Exile can’t be easy.  Different landscapes, different languages and accents, different customs and food, and foreign sights and sounds can add to a sense of displacement and anxiety.  Add to that the fact that the people of Judah were forcibly removed from their homeland and family and taken to the homeland of a brutal dictator, and you have a recipe for cultural and personal destruction.

Here in chapter 29 Jeremiah sends a letter to the exiles to give them God’s word for the near future.  His address adds to the sense of devastation when he says, “to the surviving elders of the exile.” (vs. 1)  The fundamental message of the letter is straightforward if not surprising to the community in exile.  Keep in mind the message of the false prophets Jeremiah has been countering for years.  Recently, in chapter 28, we heard Hananiah promise a short and relatively pain-free exile.  Jeremiah predicted 70 years.

The message of the letter is that the exiles should settle in and sink roots in the area and the culture.  They should build houses, plant gardens, eat their harvest, and marry off their children; they should live as God’s people in a foreign land.  At the end of the chapter, Shemaiah writes back to the priest in charge of the Temple in Jerusalem and tells him he should do something about this troublemaker, Jeremiah.  Shemaiah is bothered by the long exile message, and intends to get rid of the messenger.

But Jeremiah’s message is clear-God will be with His people while they are in exile, not by taking them out of exile.  His plan for them is that they live as His people in a foreign and pagan culture.

Into this context comes possibly the best-known verse in Jeremiah.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (vs. 11)

Many people have memorized this verse for personal edification and comfort, and it is true that God does pay this kind of personal attention to us.  But two things should be understood about what Jeremiah means with this verse.  First, the application is primarily corporate.  God’s promise for a future and a hope is for the whole nation 70 years from now.  This means that there are exiles hearing this promise that will not live to see the day it comes to pass.  But that does not leave them out of God’s pledge.  If they build a godly culture in Babylon, then there will be a faithful and strong remnant that will return to rebuild the Judean culture and religion after they are gone.

Secondly, it is a promise to people who are in exile and who will be in exile for a while.  It is not a promise of immediate removal from exile, but of God’s faithful presence with believers who turn their entire attention and being upon Him in the midst of it all.  He tells them:

…you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you…(vss. 12-14)

God is with me even now.  It matters not how deep my sorrow or confusion, and it matters not how vexing my situation.  All I need to do is turn myself to Him and seek after Him with all my will, intellect, emotions, and desires-everything.  Then, He will be found by me.

Reconciliation with God: Jeremiah 28

Jeremiah 28


More than once Jeremiah comes into conflict with false prophets.  Most times they are anonymous, but here we meet one in particular who is unhappy with Jeremiah’s message in chapter 27.  There Jeremiah wore an oxen yoke before the king and the region’s ambassadors to invite them to join him in submission to Nebuchadnezzar.

As chapter 28 opens, we should keep in mind that several weeks, if not months, have passed.  Jeremiah is still wearing the yoke, and it gets to Hananiah.  He meets Jeremiah in the Temple court and confronts him with his own message.  In the course of two verses, 3 and 4, he contradicts all the major points in Jeremiah’s message from the last few chapters.  Hananiah is tired of the bothersome prophet and he is tired of the yoke.  Hananiah’s next move is to take the yoke from Jeremiah’s neck and smash it to pieces (vs. 10-11).

The first thing that strikes me about this confrontation is the difference between Hananiah and Jeremiah.  If all we had of this book was the first two-thirds of this chapter, it would be hard to tell God’s true prophet from the false prophet.  They both have prophetic names, they both sound alike in their proclamations, and they both make use of the yoke-the symbolic tool.  The difference, though possibly elusive, is crucial and profound.

Part of Jeremiah’s response to him is a history and theology lesson wrapped up in a couple of short verses.  Here is how the Message puts parts of verses 7-9:

But listen to me, listen closely. Listen to what I tell both you and all the people here today: The old prophets, the ones before our time, preached judgment against many countries and kingdoms, warning of war and disaster and plague. So any prophet who preaches that everything is just fine and there's nothing to worry about stands out like a sore thumb.

Jeremiah reminds him that the role of prophet is to warn people of their rebellious behavior, and that the prophet preaching only “peace and safety” is the odd man out.  As a result of such behavior, we know that the prophet has at the core of their message a theme of turning away from sin and toward God.

In a way, Hananiah’s message is actually accurate.  All the things he says God will do, God eventually does.  All Hananiah gets wrong is the timing and the process.  He preaches a message of prosperity and blessing without outlay; a message of success without responsibility; a message of reconciliation without repentance.

On the other hand, Jeremiah’s message has been clear.  God wanted a blessed and intense relationship with His people, but their behavior was driving a wedge between them.  If they repented and turned to Him, He would forgive and bless.  If they continued in their sin they would simply suffer the consequences.

Because of God’s great love and His initiation, we have a chance at that blessed and passionate relationship.  And just as with our meaningful relationships with other people, we sometimes need to examine our behavior and turn ourselves toward that person to reconcile.  Take advantage of what is available to you with God by laying aside all those empty and meaningless things that steal your soul and your relationship with Him all at the same time.

Bringing God's Kingdom to Bear: Jeremiah 26

Jeremiah 26

Jeremiah faced death. It wasn’t disease resulting from the Babylonian sieges, or threat to his life from the warfare that seemed to rage throughout his adult life; it was from the priests and false prophets of his day who took him to court in a capital case. In chapter 26, God has Jeremiah speak some pretty serious and devastating words over the Temple in Jerusalem:

Thus says the LORD: “If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not listened, then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.” (vs 4-6)

The allusion to Shiloh would have hit the priests right between the eyes. Shiloh was the first place the Arc of the Covenant was housed, and in a very real sense, the place where God was worshiped and where He dwelt. In standard fashion, however, the people rebelled against God, the Philistines attacked, Shiloh was destroyed, and the Arc was captured. (1 Samuel 1-4) The Temple was not safe because the Arc of the Covenant dwelt there.

The scene in chapter 26 turns into a courtroom drama. The priests and prophets bring a case of blasphemy against Jeremiah before the town judges. There are witnesses invoked and Jeremiah provides his own defense. His defense, by the way, is exactly the right one for this circumstance: “not guilty by reason of obedience.”

But most compelling to me is the precedent that is cited, and how it comes to the fore. The city officials recount the story of Micah the prophet and Hezekiah the king, and even quote Micah 3:12. In the story, God’s prophet speaks to Hezekiah what Jeremiah spoke to Jehoiakim. In Hezekiah’s case, he repents and God spares his people. The conclusion the officials draw is that the wise course of action would be to listen to Jeremiah and not put him to death.

I absolutely love what just happened. Jeremiah’s life was spared because the “people in the pews” knew their Scripture, were able to comprehend and apply it, and were even able to quote it. It wasn’t the priests or prophets who applied God’s word, it was the commoner, the individuals who were not professional theologians or spiritual leaders, but who had grown wise in their knowledge and application of Scripture who brought God’s kingdom to bear in a life-threatening situation.

In this context I think it is useful to ask a question. What do you need from God to know what He wants from you? Do you need a cloud-parting, thunder-clapping, audible voice 5 out of 7 days of the week? I know it would be nice, but it won’t happen.

The people we watch do God’s will in Jeremiah 26 knew God’s word, and thus, knew what God wanted them to do on that day. Rightly comprehending the Word of God is in a very real and deep sense rightly comprehending God’s will.

The Yoke of Christ: Jeremiah 27

Jeremiah 27

This chapter gives us another “illustrated prophecy” of Jeremiah’s to the rulers of his day. In this case, it involves not only the king of Judah, but the ambassadors of several small surrounding nations as well. And Jeremiah’s prop of choice this time is a piece of farm equipment-he enters the king’s chambers wearing a yoke meant for two large oxen. God never said being a prophet would be easy…or cool.

Jeremiah’s message is simple: surrender to the coming Babylonian army or suffer the consequences of a loosing battle. Notice that with this message, the illustration of the yoke is not one of impending doom and destruction-it is an invitation. The yoke is intended for two oxen, so there is one free opening in the yoke and Jeremiah invites the king and ambassadors to join him in willing submission to Nebuchadnezzar. In verse 8 he says:

But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the LORD, until I have consumed it by his hand.

God has given the region to the Babylonians and there is nothing Zedekiah or the other nations can do to change that. They, however, feel differently. We know from the Babylonian’s own records that at this time they are facing battle on their eastern border, battle with the Syrian army, and an internal insurrection all at the same time. So it is not surprising that Zedekiah and the others feel confident of their chances to throw of the Babylonian yoke. Throw in the mixture the false prophets who are telling Zedekiah what he wants to hear, and he is sure there is a third way out of this situation.

But Jeremiah is persistent about his two options. Either Zedekiah goes with God and remains in his own land, or he takes his fate into his own hands and suffers the fortune of the looser in battle. (2 Kings 25 details Zedekiah’s rebellious choice and his fate worse than death.) Both choices are yokes, but one leads him to safety and the other to doom.

Paul has something similar to say about the choices before all of us in Romans 6:16-18.

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

Like Zedekiah we want to be in charge of our own destinies, to be absolutely autonomous. But also like Zedekiah we have only two choices set before us. Either we enslave ourselves to our own shortcomings, passions and sins, or we willingly take on the yoke of Christ and open ourselves to abundance, grace, forgiveness, and life eternal. The autonomous choice is blindness and death; taking on the yoke of Christ is life more abundantly. Christ spoke to his disciples saying this,

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:29-30

Cup of Wrath Cup of Grace: Jeremiah 25

“Cup of Wrath, Cup of Grace”

Jeremiah 25:15-38

In this passage we observe a kind of parade of nations as God prophecies through Jeremiah the judgment that will come upon not only Judah, but on all the surrounding nations and finally Babylon itself.

Except for a couple of points of interest, this passage reads like a typical judgment chapter in the Old Testament prophets, so it is tempting to pass on its significance.  First of all, it goes to great lengths to describe not only God’s heavy judgment, but the depth of sin as well.  We learn, through the weight of the judgment how weighty sin is: the punishment fits the crime, so to speak.  It is a lesson throughout the book of Jeremiah that judgment is neither arbitrary nor pleasant for God.  It is always the just response to rebellion after God has pleaded with His people over and over to repent.

Secondly, Jeremiah uses the image of a cup of wrath.  A fairly common image for the Old Testament prophets, it is designed to give us an image of a goblet filled to the brim and overflowing with wine.  Jeremiah is vivid in his description of this cup.  He says:

16 They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.

and…

27 Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword I am sending among you.

These are images, not of someone who has had “one too many,” but of something akin to alcohol poisoning.  The rebellious decisions made by these people have destroyed them.

This, however, is not all there is to be said about this cup or wrath.  Isaiah 51:17-23 also describes this time in history for Judah with the same image.  But near the end something drastic and unexpected is recorded.

22 Thus says you Lord, the Lord, your God who pleads the cause of his people: “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more…”

How is it the cup is simply taken away from sinful and rebellious people?  The answer lies in a prayer spoken by Jesus moments before his trial and crucifixion.  In Matthew 26:39 He prays, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”  You see, Jesus saw this cup of wrath, being poured out on Him, and shook.  Pastor Philip G. Ryken says of this moment, “But were we to watch and pray, to kneel beside our Savior in the grass, to hear his cries of anguish, and to see the bloody sweat upon his brow, then we would see the fearfulness of God’s wrath.  And then we would know the sinfulness of our sin.”

Jesus has not only taken away this cup of wrath, He has provided a cup of a new relationship, the one provided by his blood shed on the cross.  This is a cup of forgiveness and grace, of relationship with the God of the universe Himself.  The English poet George Herbert saw this truth and wrote in his “The Agony”:

Love is that liquor sweet and most divine
Which my God feels as blood; but I, as wine.

He Purchased the Refuse: Jer 19

Jeremiah 19

This chapter closes out the image Jeremiah has been using since the beginning of chapter 18: the Potter and the clay. Whereas we watched the potter remake wet clay in the last scene, here Jeremiah is commanded to buy a finished pot, take it to the gate where trash was dumped, and smash it into a pile of useless pieces. The wet clay was able to be remade-this pile of pottery shards is worthless.

God tells Jeremiah to take several of the local religious and civic leaders to the Potsherd Gate overlooking the Valley of Hinnom. Hinnom shows up several times in the Old Testament, and thought its name is a simple family name, its reputation becomes something rather singular. This is the city garbage dump. It is not only where the potters would dump their cracked pots, but also where the city would burn the bodies of criminals and diseased animals. Additionally, and maybe ironically, over time Hinnom becomes a locus for pagan worship and idolatry. Topheth, also mentioned in this passage, is probably the specific location in Hinnom where most of the idol worship took place.

And this was not your garden-variety idol worship. This was a place of infant sacrifice. Jeremiah mentions that, “they have filled this place with the blood of innocents…[and have burned] their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal.” (vs. 4-5) These idols to Baal were made of iron and were built in such a way that the arms of the idol were extended over a fire at its feet so that the arms would become hot as brands. Then the children were placed on the arms as sacrifices to false gods.

Before we are too quick to condemn them, our culture is not all that different. What we lack in overt brutality, we make up for in well honed subtly. We still crush the skulls of infants and dismember them in worship to the gods of convenience, work, money, self, and so on. We just do it now in a way that placates our sensibilities.

Though Jeremiah’s parable here is dark and brutal, and speaks of Judah’s imminent demise, it is part of a larger thread in Scripture-a thread of redemption. In Matthew 27, Judas is wracked with guilt over his betrayal of Jesus and returns the blood money to the chief priests in the Temple. They don’t know what to do with the money, so they buy the potter’s field as a burial ground-the same field where Jeremiah shattered a pot almost 600 years earlier. And then in John 18, Jesus is arrested to be crucified in the Valley of Kidron-the NT name for what we know as the Valley of Hinnom. When Jesus was arrested, he could probably look up and see where Jeremiah had stood announcing doom.

In a very real way, the first thing purchased with the blood of Christ was the refuse-the broken and useless shards that no one else wanted or had any use for. What was a lost cause was redeemed-bought back for God’s purposes-as the cross of Jesus Christ.

We often have shards in our lives-those moments in our past that seem insurmountable and unforgivable. Or they may be broken pieces to our lives today that seem too painful, confusing, frustrating or useless to be of any good. Take heart-what seems to be a garbage heap of uselessness was purchased as something valuable and meaningful to Jesus Christ.

Encountering Jesus: Matthew 2

Matthew 2:1-12

This advent season, we are going to approach the Christmas story through the lenses of the other people and characters involved.  There is a lot to learn in how people encountered the birth of Jesus Christ.

In the account of Jesus’ birth in Matthew chapter two, we have three distinct groups or individuals mentioned besides Mary and Joseph.  First, we encounter the Magi from the east.  There is a lot of mystery surrounding these men, and that may actually lead us to some interesting conclusions about their relationship to Jesus.  All we know for sure is that they come from the east, they were likely Chaldean or Arabian by descent, and that they were aware of what was happening in the birth of Jesus Christ.  The journey they endured took a significant amount of effort and time.  We learn later in chapter 2 that Herod is worried about baby boys at and under the age of two, so their journey brought them to Bethlehem up to two years after Jesus’ birth.

The second group we read about is often overlooked in the story-the scribes and priests.  When Herod hears of the Magi’s visit, he is concerned about the birth of a king and asks the experts in the Law where the Messiah is to be born.  Note two things about their reaction to the question.  First, they know exactly where he is to be born.  Second, they don’t go.

And thirdly, Herod provides a fascinating and tragic story.  Historically, we know this Herod died a suspicious and hated ruler.  By the time of his death he had assassinated at least three of his own sons, several wives, many beloved local tribal and political leaders, and several hundred baby boys in Bethlehem.

Observing Herod, we have our first lesson in encountering Christ.  Herod reacted in fear and hatred.  Ironically, Herod understood the Kingship of Jesus better than most Christians do.  He knew that if this child were to grow to be King, his power and sovereignty were gone.  The birth of Jesus meant he was no longer King.  Likewise, the birth of Jesus means I am no longer the sovereign of my own soul-Jesus, and no one else, is King.

Encountering Jesus means not just coming to terms with my Savior, Redeemer, and Friend, but with my Lord and my King as well.

The priests and scribes reacted with distracted apathy.  They knew exactly where, Herod had given them the when, but they made no attempt to make their way to the Messiah.  Their preoccupation with their religiosity blinded them to THE moment in their nation’s history.  There is nothing wrong with religious ritual, but it is intended to be a means to Christ, and not an end in itself.

Our religious observance should be a tool in the hands of God to help us encounter Jesus Christ.  Once it becomes an end in itself, it becomes a blinding idol.

I am going to use the phrase “spiritual endurance” to describe how the Magi encountered Christ.  They had no political, military, religious, or social investment or expectation in the birth of the Messiah.  They did not journey in order to find their next political savior.  They endured their long and arduous journey to do nothing but worship.  They did not ask a thing, demand a thing, and they did not leave with a thing.  They endured the journey to do nothing but present gifts to a baby-to worship the King.

What am I willing to endure just to worship?  I am typically more ready to endure in order to ask, expect or even demand of Jesus, but can I be like the Magi and endure all time and hardship to do nothing but worship my King?

Contagious Worship: Jeremiah 17:26-27

Jeremiah 17:26-27

At the tail end of a passage in which God teaches on the topic of keeping and breaking the Sabbath, there is a final blessing added to the community that faithfully keeps it. Here God promises that if the people of God worship Him the way He ought to be worshiped, people will come from the surrounding nations to worship with them.

26And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD.

The problem Judah has with surrounding nations at this time is not that they are being ignored, but that they are flocking to Jerusalem to destroy them. Jeremiah has made it clear time and time again that Judah has turned its back against God, and that foreign nations are coming to enact judgment on their sins.

As we noted in the previous section, God uses some surprising language regarding the Sabbath. It is the kind of language we would expect to be connected with murder or idolatry. But nonetheless, this rather strong language applies to the keeping and the breaking of the Sabbath. Ultimately, keeping the Sabbath is an act of outward faithfulness expressing an inward disposition of worship and sanctification. We keep the Sabbath-we observe days and times of worship-because we are willing to prioritize our lives around God, and not vise versa. We stop the routine of our week, take ourselves someplace other than work, school, or any of our other normal destinations, and take ourselves to worship.

Judah was failing to worship on the Sabbath. According to scholars, the Sabbath command was unique among the ancient Jews. In fact, the only other culture to pick up on the same notion is the New Testament Church. The Sabbath made the Judean culture different, but different in such a way as to be a symbol of God’s lordship. Without the Sabbath, and by conducting commerce on the day of rest, Judah became just like any other culture.

When we take our time and energy to worship, we make ourselves different. And we are different in a way that points to the lordship of Christ. Some say sticking out might be a bad thing-it might attract the wrong kind of attention or repel people from the church. But that is not what God promised. He promised that proper, enthusiastic, whole-hearted worship would draw the nations in.

People were born to worship. The church of Jesus Christ should be able to point them to the one worthy object of worship; our worship can be and should be contagious. May we learn to lift up Christ and allow Him to draw all people to Himself.

Clearing a Path: Jeremiah 17:19-27

Jeremiah 17:19-27

This little section of Jeremiah contains some teaching and warning about a very specific violation: the breaking of the Sabbath. Of the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath law is maybe the most difficult for us to wrap our lives around, and the one we might be most inclined to think no longer applies to us. But we must be careful with such inclinations. In the Old Testament we discover that the Sabbath is a pervasive reality in the life of the observant Jew. And in the New Testament, it is an assumed observance amongst Christians. The biblical teaching about the Sabbath begins in Genesis 1 and wraps up in Revelation 22; it is a thread throughout literally the whole Bible.

So what does Jeremiah have to tell us about the Sabbath? Here, Jeremiah confronts a culture that has become accustomed to working and bearing burdens on the one day God instituted for rest. And the warning is introduced by some pretty stark language-the kind we might expect when God wants to talk about idolatry or murder.

21. Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22. And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers.

When God begins to promise the blessings attached to Sabbath observance, the first one listed is that the rightful kings will be able to come in and out of the gate. The imagery is crucial. As long as there is clutter in the streets and the gate the king cannot enter, but if the clutter is cleared, the king will freely come and go.

24. But if you listen to me, declares the LORD, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25. then there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David,…

The Sabbath is ultimately about setting ourselves aside from the rest of the world and focusing our time and attention on God. It is ultimately about worship and sanctification. We deliberately take our time and our energy and clear a path for God to reenter our hearts and minds. The imagery used by Jeremiah says this very thing: if the streets of the city are full of wrongful clutter, the king cannot come and go. But if the people properly worship God and remove the market from the streets on the Sabbath, the rightful king will reign.

Ours is a cluttered life. We are constantly plugged-in and we are constantly in touch with just about any part of the outside world through 24/7 media, cell phones, and ubiquitous access to the World Wide Web. Each of these vies for our spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical attention. For us, then, a Sabbath act of worship will likely involve the deliberate clearing of the clutter so the King can come and go.

We need to take purposeful and effective steps to disconnect ourselves from the mindless flotsam we live in. So how can we, in a culture so different from the ancient Jewish culture, affect Sabbath in our lives? I have three suggestions, and they may be ones you have heard before.

First, we should pay attention to prayer in our lives. Instead of praying out of habit or circumstantial compulsion, we need to pray deliberately. It can and should act as divine water washing out the debris in our hearts and minds. Secondly, Scripture reading is reorientation. Being so inundated with the pagan culture’s worldview, reading Scripture should help reorient us toward God’s point of view. And thirdly, corporate worship is a whole-body/soul experience in which we take our time, our mental and emotional energy, and we worship God with brothers and sisters in Christ.

Are the pathways in your heart and mind filled with the kind of flotsam and jetsam that hinders the coming of your King? Do you hear the blessing promised by God for clearing out the clutter and allowing Him to enter? May we pay more attention to the Sabbath and the kind of relationship with our Lord it promises.

From Frustration to Affirmation: Jeremiah 17:1-18

Jeremiah 17:1-18

It is difficult to keep our eyes on Christ in hard times. Peter serves as the clearest lesson of this truth when he tried to walk on water and began to sink after moving his gaze from Christ to the storm around him. Jeremiah has been through many difficult times simply for being a faithful servant of God, and in these few chapters we have heard him express that frustration several times. But what might it be like on the other side; what clarity there may be when the trial has passed and our gaze has not moved from God!

In verses 5-18, we read a psalm of sorts from the pen of Jeremiah. In fact, you might recognize the influence Psalm 1 has on the vocabulary and themes of this chapter. Jeremiah begins by expressing the fate of those who trust in humanity:

Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.

This is not the kind of cursing in which we wish futility or destruction upon our enemies. This is the word God used to curse the serpent in the garden, and it means, “doomed.” The prophet has learned that those who rely on the potential and abilities of themselves or other humans are doomed to a path of aggravation and eventual failure. And the prophet is clear on why we cannot trust in others or ourselves:

The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?

This may be the starkest and most vivid description of the state of the human heart in Scripture. Of any and all things wicked and twisted we can imagine, the heart is worse than them all; clearly not a thing to be trusted. And in what is sometimes a convicting twist of phrase, though we are unable to fully understand the depths of our own heart, God sees and comprehends it all.

But all of this is a lesson Jeremiah has learned-he is writing out of what he has lived. Whereas he once accused God of being a deceitful brook (15:18), he now affirms that in reality, God is a fountain that never runs dry. Jeremiah has discovered that God never fails-never ceases to provide nourishment and grace to those who trust in Him.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.

So now, where in the past we read a complaint spoken out of desperation, we read an affirmation spoken from a position of strength (vs. 14-18)-from one who has seen the dregs of life and who has kept his eyes on God the entire time. In the past, Jeremiah has wondered about God’s ability to save and heal (15:18), now he proclaims that God is the only one who can save and heal. In the past, Jeremiah has complained about scoffers (11:19). He now brushes them aside. In the past, Jeremiah has felt the burden of his call (15:16-17), but now he proclaims in victory and thanksgiving that he has not turned aside from God’s purpose.

Let Jeremiah be an example to us all. Taking our eyes off of God and turning them to humanity for our provision and security spells certain doom. We must train ourselves to keep our eyes on the only one who is able to heal and to save; the only one in whom our trust and faith should reside.

My Only Hope Is In The Lord: Jeremiah 16

As chapter 16 opens, God wastes no time in laying a fairly heavy burden upon the prophet in order to get a point across to the people of Judah. These first nine verses are sometimes difficult for us to read.

First, God commands Jeremiah not to marry. The command is final: it is not the case that Jeremiah can marry later on in life. God wants the prophet to stand for the rest of his life as a symbol of the desolation, loss and loneliness that Judah is about to encounter. And this is no small matter for a young man or woman in Jeremiah’s culture. Marriage was not only considered a blessing, but singleness and chastity were considered a curse. Our prophet has become a social pariah-an outcast at the command of God.

Secondly, God commands Jeremiah not to mourn. Though this may not sound as harsh to our ears, it would have been to the prophet. Funeral processions were a community event, especially in a community as small as Jeremiah’s hometown, and again the servant of God is asked to stick out in an uncomfortable way.

And thirdly, Jeremiah is commanded not to make merry. This command reminds us of Jeremiah’s complaint in 15:17, “I did not sit in the company of revelers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone, because your hand was upon me…”

Each time, however, God gives Jeremiah and Judah his reasons. These are not arbitrary commands on God’s part. There was coming a day in which everyone would lose their families, when the dead would outnumber the living and there would be no time to bury and mourn, and the sounds of joy would be gone from the streets and homes of Judah.

But even then, it is sometimes hard for us to imagine the God we serve and want to follow demanding these kinds of things of his faithful servant. Note that none of these commands concern “extraordinary” events or circumstances. They comprise “expected” and normal events of life. (The extraordinary things might be much easier to give up!) Barring any calling to the contrary, most of us imagine ourselves being married someday, we plan on attending the funerals of our friends and family, and we intend to rejoice with those who rejoice. We tend to consider these events as things that will naturally come to us in the courses of our lives.

But we need to be careful with what we expect out of life. Jeremiah expected nothing but the glory and kingdom of God. If we expect anything else (for ourselves) it is because from time to time we consider our selves as more important than the kingdom and purposes of God. Jeremiah, on the other hand, did not see life as a string of events that were due him. Rather, he viewed life as a series of opportunities to be a part of God’s kingdom and fulfill his purposes. If the normal graces of life come, it is by the grace of God, and if they do not, then there may be more important things taking place.

So as a result of this series of hard commands, what is the prophet’s response? In verses 19 and 20 Jeremiah says:

O LORD, my strength and my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of trouble,
to you shall the nations come
from the ends of the earth and say:
"Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies,
worthless things in which there is no profit.
Can man make for himself gods?
Such are not gods!"

This is language of hope straight from the Psalms. As a social outcast simply for being a faithful child of God, Jeremiah recognizes where ultimate hope lies-in the kingdom of God. It is there where salvation is to be found-for himself, Judah, and the nations of the world. Jeremiah did not consider himself a living martyr, but he knew that by letting go of his “rights” in this world, he was grasping hold of something far more important and far more eternal in God’s will.

May God grant us the wisdom and strength to know not just that our hope is in him, but that our only hope is in him.

God Remembers Jeremiah: Jeremiah 15

Jeremiah 15

Sometimes the call is difficult. Sometimes faithfully following the path God has laid out in our lives asks things of us that are a stretch, and sometimes they require everything we are and everything we have. Sometimes even just trying to be a Christian in our world is hard. I know we feel that strain from time to time in our lives today, but we can draw strength from the stories of God’s people and learn from them how to relate to the world around us and to God all at the same time.

As chapter 15 opens, God tells Jeremiah that despite his intercession Judah was slated for judgment. In fact, even if two of the better-known intercessors in the OT, Moses and Samuel, were to stand in the gap at this point, it would avail nothing. Our hero must be feeling a little useless.

Then, as we reach the halfway mark of the chapter, we enter another of Jeremiah’s complaints and if we are honest with the text, and ourselves, it is not difficult to hear a certain degree of self-pity and frustration. Jeremiah, like Job before him, laments the day of his birth. He feels as if his life has been nothing but a pain to everyone around him since the day he was born. But God feels differently. He reminds the prophet that he knew what he was doing when he gave him life. In fact, God had noted this very fact when he called him. Chapter 1:5 states:

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;…

But Jeremiah has more to say, and taking note of the logic in his next argument is crucial. He says in verse 15:

O LORD, you know;
remember me and visit me,
and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.

“Remembering” in the OT is a powerful tool. When it is used, it means more than just simple recollection. It is intended to request a return to a previous state of affairs: it is a plea for action. In using this device, Jeremiah wields a powerful notion. He is asking God to return to a time in their relationship when Jeremiah felt God’s protection and life overall seemed a little easier for the prophet. Our hero is struggling.

Next, Jeremiah notes that he gladly and faithfully took in God’s word, and by virtue of that, his life has been a struggle.

Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,…
I did not sit in the company of revelers,
nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,
for you had filled me with indignation.

In other words, Jeremiah is telling God that his word has built in him a love for God and godly things and a hatred for sin and evil. The catch is that all Jeremiah was seeing was sin and evil, and therefore he was indignant all the time. Our hero is tired.

So how does the God who led him to this life respond? After a mild rebuke asking Jeremiah to turn back to him, God encourages the prophet in a profound way. In verses 20 and 21, God repeats almost word-for-word what he told Jeremiah when he called him in 1:18-19. God returned to that spiritual mountaintop in Jeremiah’s life-he remembered Jeremiah.

God remembers you. God is willing and able to restore a relationship of blessed union and grace in your life and mine. It will probably not mean an end to the difficulties of this life, but what are they in light of the glories that are to be revealed in us? (Rom 8:18)

God's Glory Is My Greatest Delight: Jeremiah 14

Jeremiah 14

If everything were stacked against you, and you perceived certain struggle in the future, how would you turn to God? What would you ask for? How would you pray? In chapter 14 of Jeremiah, we get another wonderful glimpse into a conversation between the prophet and his God. God continues to present a message of coming judgment through Jeremiah, and a brutally honest prophet continues to faithfully convey the message while at the same time communicating his heart and struggles to God.

Now that is a difficult combination to preserve in our lives: brutal honesty and complete faithfulness. Oftentimes we assume that we have to surrender ourselves to a destructive doubt in order to speak with God on honest terms, or we feel that in order to remain faithful to God and his call on our lives, we need to ignore the questions or frustrations creeping along in the backs of our minds. Neither is so with Jeremiah. This chapter contains another display of Jeremiah’s struggles with the problem of evil while at the same time containing the prophet’s prophetic description of a famine resulting from rebellion.

So how does an honest and faithful prophet struggle with the problem of evil? In verses 8 and 9 Jeremiah opines:

O you hope of Israel,
its savior in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
Why should you be like a man confused,
like a mighty warrior who cannot save?

In other words, Jeremiah is wondering how God can act like a tourist or a worthless warrior while his people perish all around him. And before we have a chance to catch our breath, God replies in verse 10:

Thus says the LORD concerning this people:
"They have loved to wander thus;
they have not restrained their feet;
therefore the LORD does not accept them;
now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins."

God’s answer, in this situation, is that the problem of evil is directed at the wrong person. Why is there so much evil and why does it seem that God is absent? It is because rebellious people have wandered away from God. It is not God who is causing the trouble, and thus it is not God who should be catching the grief. The people’s rebellion caused their pain.

And then after some more conversation, Jeremiah finishes his thoughts with a prayer. Given all that the weeping prophet sees around him, and all that he knows is good for the people of Judah and for himself, this is how he summarizes his thoughts in verses 20-22:

We acknowledge our wickedness, O LORD,
and the iniquity of our fathers,
for we have sinned against you.
Do not spurn us, for your name's sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne;
remember and do not break your covenant with us.
Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Are you not he, O LORD our God?
We set our hope on you,
for you do all these things.

Three things come to the surface. First, Jeremiah recognizes that he and his people are sinners. Even if Jeremiah struggles with the problem of evil from time to time, he knows it does not exonerate him or those around him from their sins. Thirdly (a little out of order), he acknowledges God as the only God. There is no one besides him who can rescue his people.

Secondly, and I think most telling, Jeremiah asks for God’s name to be glorified. Jeremiah does not pray that the whole ordeal will be over with quickly, or that the righteous would be saved from the pain and sorrow, or that God would stop it all. What Jeremiah wants more than anything else at this moment is God’s glory. He knows that what is best for him and best for Judah is what is best for God-that he would be exalted and glorified.

Will I have the strength of faith required to pray that prayer when the time comes? Do I honestly know that no matter what I perceive to be the best outcome in the face of pain or peril, it is the one that will glorify God? God’s glory is my greatest delight.

What Does God Think?: Jeremiah 12:7-17

Jeremiah 12:7-17

This particular passage is one of those that can fly by very quickly in our evening devotions as we prepare to fall asleep. You know the kind of passage. The one you reach and think to yourself, “I can skim through this passage-it will be OK.” We are all guilty of that, and we can’t always be blamed for trying to get to sleep on time. But there are treasures for the diligent reader, and this passage contains some wonderful and challenging truths for us if we only have the wherewithal to read closely.

Our passage opens with God describing the loss of his treasure. Though destruction is upon his people, and though God has warned them and told them the present troubles are a result of their own evil deeds, God is broken-hearted. Notice how the first three phrases make this evident:

“I have forsaken my house,”
“I have abandoned my heritage,”
“I have given [to their enemies] the beloved of my soul.”

I hope that our trek through Jeremiah has taught us a clear lesson about God-he is not vindictive, capricious, arbitrary, or spiteful. The God of the Bible is so full of love for his creation that even when we suffer the consequences due our rebellion, God hurts over our struggle and still considers us his beloved. His love demands we feel the sting of our sins and rebellion, but he remains always the lover of our souls and the forgiver of our sins.

As the passage continues, God describes how Judah has turned against him though he came to them over and over. They were like a wild lion in the forest and turned on their God. Then the chapter ends with an enthralling twist of pronouns.

Imagine yourself the king of Judah. Your enemies surround your country, many of your town and villages have already been leveled, and here stands the prophet of God bringing you the news of your imminent demise. Then you get this little gem:

“Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors… after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them…”

If you watch the pronouns closely (or read this passage in a clear paraphrase or contemporary translation), you will discover that God is telling Judah that he will have compassion on their enemies. This is not what you, the imaginary king of Judah, want to hear. But it is a powerful pair of lessons from the God of history to his people.

First, this reality, the potential for gentiles (everyone) to become part of God’s kingdom, should fight against the hatred the Judeans have at this point for all outsiders. God’s priority for them-even them-is reconciliation with him.

Secondly, this passage is a clear theological call for the particularity of the worship of the God of the Bible. God describes the terms of their reconciliation by telling us that He should be worshiped alone: there is no room for sincere worshipers of idols and pagan gods.

There is a great deal of pressure in our pluralistic culture to minimize the particularity of Christianity and hold to the kind of belief in which all sincere religious adherents have access to “salvation.” One catch is that Scripture doesn’t teach that. The most compassionate thing we can do is expose people to the God of the Bible and give them an opportunity to become a part of His kingdom-no matter who they are.

Let us not loose the courage of our doctrine, but gain the freedom found in the truth of the unique Gospel of Jesus Christ. And let us gain the compassion and strength to carry the message to “whosoever will.”

Take It From An Old Man: 1 John 2:1-6

1 John 2:1-6

What would your last piece of advice be? If you had a chance near the end of your life to write a letter to your loved ones, how would you encapsulate the lessons of your life? John had a chance to do that very thing in this letter, and his advice is a little surprising. We might think of “love God,” or “be thankful and kind.” There is nothing wrong with either of these pieces of advice, but they are not what John picks.

John has, almost literally, seen everything. He was there at the cross, the empty tomb, and the ascension. And don’t forget, this is John the Revelator who watched as Christ’s kingdom came to fruition. So what might this wise man say? “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” (vs. 1) So this apostle, whom God has given the opportunity to watch the universe be torn apart as a result of sin and rebellion, turns to his beloved readers and pleads with them not to sin. In a world in which we take sin lightly, in a world in which we think we may find joy and fulfillment in redefining our brokenness and indulging our shortcomings, John asks believers to take sin seriously. Take it from an old man who has actually watched it happen-sin will tear us all apart.

But John is a realist, and this brings us to the good news.

John pleads with me to avoid sin, but he also knows I will fail. He immediately adds, “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ…” (vs. 1). The error the false teachers were making (dealt with in chapter 1) was that they did not believe in sin. The error the sinner makes is not turning to a God who is “faithful and just to forgive us of our sins.” And this is a God who not only wants our repentance, but who has provided everything necessary for our forgiveness. We need not do anything but turn to Him.

Many believe that we should soften the blow of Christian teaching by downplaying the topic of sin. The idea is that it is easier to make people happy and fulfilled if they are not aware of their sinfulness. But John sees things differently. After describing the boundless forgiveness provided for by God Himself, John has this to say in verse 5, “but whoever keeps his word, in him, truly the love of God is perfected.”

The phrase, “love of God” is interesting here. It could mean several things, but most scholars agree that it is intended to convey the concept of “my love for God.” Secondly, the word “perfected” adds a great deal of meaning. This word is translated in a few ways in the NT including “finished” and “fulfilled.” It contains the Greek prefix telos, which means, “purpose,” “end,” or “design.” Now, having a feel for John’s language, reread that first phrase of verse 5. I am able to perfect/fulfill/find purpose for my love for God if I keep His word-if I come to Him finding forgiveness and His amazing grace. But that requires that I take a humbling, but crucial step toward him.

So many of us are searching for meaning and fulfillment in life, and John has given us insight into how to realize these desires. Let us strive to take the advice from this old and wise man-find yourself in the ocean of God’s forgiveness and love.

Is It OK To Say That? Jeremiah 10:17-11:17

Jeremiah 10:17-11:17

As we reenter Jeremiah part way through chapter ten, the vocabulary changes back from reflections on wisdom to prophetic lament and warning. What is rich about this particular passage is not only the imagery and metaphor employed by Jeremiah, but the glimpse we get into the prophet’s heart and mind. I think this is one of the things I am enjoying the most about this study in this prophet-following a faithful follower of God and learning from his frustrations, struggles, and triumphs.

In verses 17-18, and 22, the focus is the warning of impending judgment on the rebellious people. The rest of the chapter focuses on how that is affecting Jeremiah. Verses 19-21 hint at three things going wrong for the Weeping Prophet: possible physical illness (definite physical anguish), his home has been destroyed (and the families around him are being torn apart), and the general cultural decay wrought by corrupt and stupid leadership.

A good context for this short section is chapter 9:1-2. Here Jeremiah is conflicted between staying with his people and speaking God’s word to them in hope, and fleeing to the desert to escape all the inevitable pain. What does the prophet decide to do? He stays. His faithfulness to God’s call not only lead him through difficult circumstances, it required it of him. “Truly this is an affliction, and I must bear it.” (10:19)

So how does that make Jeremiah feel? It makes him feel like praying death and annihilation upon his enemies. “Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not…” (10:25). In doing so, Jeremiah stands on solid ground with the other prophets and the Psalmists. Several times in Scripture God’s people pray for these kinds of things in no uncertain terms, and they are never rebuffed for doing so. For instance, “happy is he who…seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.” (Psalm 137:8-9)

But what I really want to know is if I should pray this way. I think we should, if we understand properly what these prayers are intended to do for us. First, praying this way teaches us utter honesty with God. We can dig into the ugly and gnarled depths of our selves and yank out the things we don’t even want to acknowledge. And note that the biblical pattern in these prayers is to request that God He resolve them. These are not vigilante prayers.

Secondly, we should learn to pray against God’s enemies this way. This does not mean praying against individuals, but the forces and the “isms” behind them. When was the last time you prayed against the Christian-killing reality of totalitarianism? Or what about the soul-dulling force of consumerism? Psalm 97:10 says, “O you who love the Lord, hate evil!”

And thirdly, praying this way helps make us aware of Christians who really are facing persecution and death around the world simply because they are the people of God. This was the scenario Jeremiah and David faced, and there are countless believers around the world facing the same thing for the same reasons. Pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ!

Is it OK to say these kinds of things? You bet-in fact, it might just be an enriching experience to let some of these things out into the open.