Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Aug 28th I Will Pardon Them Whom I Reserve

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 51 – 52 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – 1 Corinthians 1 – 4; Psalms 131 – 135; Proverbs 28)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 John 4:7 & 8

Read the “0828 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from this passage – “Are You Still in Prison”

“18 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. 19 And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead. 20 In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.” (Jeremiah 50:18-20)

Beginning in chapter 47, God is pronouncing judgment through the prophet Jeremiah on all the nations that had been an enemy to God’s people: Philistia (ch. 47), Moab (ch. 48), Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Cedar, Hamon, and Elam (ch. 49). In chapters 50 – 51, the focus of God’s judgment is on Babylon. Again, the judgment described in these chapters seems to surpass the conquering of the Babylonians by the Medes and Persians, which seemed to have happened without much of a fight (see Daniel 5). The description given in these chapters depict the future destruction of Antichrist’s kingdom in Revelation 17 and 18.

Interestingly, chapter 52 goes back in time and discusses the Babylonian siege against Jerusalem, which culminated in 586 BC. It is another historic interlude similar to one we saw in chapter 39. This one reads almost identically to 2 Kings 24:18 – 25:30.

My thought this morning is that though God used Babylon as an instrument of judgment against Israel, which is what the majority of this Book of Jeremiah has been focused on, He will still judge Babylon for what she did to God’s people. God allows and even uses evil people to accomplish His will in the lives of those that belong to Him, but we must not ever make the mistake of confusing God’s chastisement of His own with His ultimate wrath upon those who do not belong to Him.

I remember when I was a boy, my brothers and I used to fight like cats and dogs, but there was never a time when anybody outside of my family could ever attack me without experiencing the wrath of my older brothers. My brothers felt like they could whip up on me all they wanted, but they were not about to let anybody else touch me. That may be a weak illustration but it somewhat pictures God’s dealings with Israel. God would allow a certain measure of punishment to come Israel’s way but He would never allow them to be completely destroyed. However, the nations, like those listed above and in chapters 47 – 51, had no such guarantee. God ultimately destroyed (or will destroy) these nations that had oppressed Israel.

What is the application for us today? If you belong to God, you are in His hands and no-one can pluck you out of God’s hands. Absolutely nothing bad can happen to you unless God for some very good reason wills it to happen. Nothing gets past the desk of God. He sees everything that is happening in your life. I am reminded of what Satan told God in the Book of Job: “10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land” (Job 1:10). How did Satan know that God had hedged Job in on every side? He must have been trying to get in, but God wouldn’t let him. It is the same way with us. Satan can only do what God permits him to do to us, and the same principle applies to all our enemies. Israel had to be chastised for their rebellion against God, but God never forsook them, and He still has a wonderful plan for them. He has a wonderful plan for you as well. Notice Jeremiah 50:20 above. God sees Israel without iniquity and completely pardoned; and if you belong to God, that is how He sees you as well.

Notice what Spurgeon said about v. 20: “Those sins were of no common order. The Israelites were always a stiff-necked and rebellious race. Israel’s sins were of the most heinous character because of the greatness of their privileges and the peculiar and special love the Lord had lavished on them. They were positively unmatched in guilt by any nation under heaven. For all of that, the Israelites cast away their God. They who had worshiped the Lord turned aside from him and bowed down before Baal and went after other gods and worshiped idols. But their provocations, their idolatries, their lusts were all to be swept away and to be forgotten.” (Spurgeon. 2017. The Spurgeon Study Bible: Notes. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers).

We all deserve the judgment and destruction that Babylon received (and will receive in the future), but God in His marvelous grace has pardoned those who have placed their faith in Him. What an awesome God we serve!

Aug 25th Seekest Thou Great Things for Thyself?

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 41 – 45 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Romans 5 – 8; Psalm 119; Proverbs 25)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – *James 4:10*

Read the “0825 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from this passage – The Safest Place on Earth

“Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.” (Jeremiah 45:4-5)

Baruch was Jeremiah’s assistant. We find him assisting Jeremiah in the purchasing of land in chapter thirty-two, and again in chapter thirty-six we see Baruch performing the role of an amanuensis, recording the words of Jeremiah, which he then read before the king to warn him of the judgment that God had pronounced upon Judah. Baruch was a faithful servant of the Lord and helper to Jeremiah, but in chapter forty-five, Baruch is complaining about the hardships that he is facing in life because of all of the bad stuff that is happening in the kingdom:

“Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.” (Jeremiah 45:3)

God tells him through the prophet Jeremiah that a lot of horrible stuff is about to happen to the people of God and a great number of people are going to die, and this is not the time for Baruch to be looking for some great reward or a life of ease. God tells him to just be thankful that he was going to escape the judgment with his life intact. Baruch should have been more concerned about how much his nation had fallen from God and how their sin grieved the Lord. Baruch was looking for an “attaboy” because he was still holding the line and being faithful, but it was not a time for pleasure and rejoicing; it was a time of great calamity for his nation. Baruch was going to get to live and he should be content with that.

Here’s an application that I think can made from this passage. We all have certain expectations about how life could (and maybe should) be. We have this idea that if we do right we can expect to live an easy life, be blessed with a loving family and good friends, have a house with a white picket fence, enjoy good health, and live a long time on the earth. However, as God’s people, our purpose for living here does not surround us and our desires, it surrounds the will of God. We are here on this earth to glorify Him, communicate the gospel to the lost world around us, and to serve other people. God may and will bless us with many good things, and if we are faithful, we will certainly receive many rewards in Heaven. However, we need to learn to be content with whatever God wills and allows for us in this life, and sometimes God permits some “bad” stuff to happen to His children.

The apostle Paul was one of the greatest servants of God in the first century, but he didn’t enjoy here on earth many of the things that the average American Christian expects today. He was beaten often for his faith and put in prison countless times, but he was content with whatever the Lord allowed in His life:

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:11-13)

As Christians, we do not live for ourselves, we live for the Lord. We serve Him. Will He take care of us and supply our needs? Yes. Will he even bless us with many good things that we will be able to enjoy while we are here on earth? Yes. But, he may also allow, or even ordain, some hardship that we must endure according to His will, and we must be content with that. Really, we must learn to be content with Him and with whatever He puts into our lives.

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.” (1 Timothy 6:6-9)

Aug 24th Lean Not Unto Thine Own Understanding

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 37 – 40 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Romans 1 – 4; Psalms 116 – 118; Proverbs 24)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – *1 Timothy 1:17*

Read the “0824 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read previous posts from this passage – “The Truth Sometimes Hurts,” and “God Remembers.“

“14 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me. 15 Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? 16 So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life. 17 Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: 18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. 19 And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. 20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.” (Jeremiah 38:14-20)

“5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

I really enjoy reading the Book of Jeremiah! It has some of the characteristics and action of the historical books of the Bible, along with the prophecies that teach about the future of God’s people. I greatly admire Jeremiah’s faithfulness to the Lord to deliver this unpopular messages to God’s people, even when it resulted in his being put into jail. Once, the princes of Judah even placed him in a prison dungeon filled with mire where they attempted to starve him to death. God always brought him out of these unpleasant situations. He did not deliver him from them completely, but He always delivered him from them eventually. In the end we see Jeremiah being rewarded by the King of Babylon and also granted the freedom to go where he pleases, while all of the men of Judah that oppressed Jeremiah were either dragged into captivity or worse, put to death.

In chapter thirty-eight, King Zedekiah sends for Jeremiah to see if there is any word from the Lord, and there is; but what God has to say to Zedekiah was not what he wanted to hear. God was basically telling the king to surrender to the Babylonians and submit to them. God promises that if Zedekiah obeyed him, it would go well with the king’s family, and the city of Jerusalem would be spared. Zedekiah was more afraid of what his peers thought, however, and refused to listen to the counsel given through Jeremiah. He resists Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, which resulted in an 18 month siege and ultimate destruction of the city. Zedekiah’s sons were also slain, and the king’s eyes were plucked out immediately following the slaughter of his sons. Can you imagine the last thing you are able to see in life is the execution of your family? How tragic! And it did not have to happen. Zedekiah should have trusted the words of God given through the prophet Jeremiah and all of the death and destruction would have been avoided.

We are often no different than King Zedekiah. We often ignore the clear commands of God because we think we know better, or because doing so will result in the loss of friends. We need to learn to always choose God over everything and everybody else. God knows what is best for us, even if our finite minds cannot comprehend what He is doing. Acknowledge Him, and lean not unto your own understanding. Like Jeremiah, you will eventually reap the rewards of following Him.

Aug 23rd The Saturday Morning Post – What Will You Do With God’s Word?

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 33 – 36 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Acts 25 – 28; Psalms 111 – 115; Proverbs 23)

Read the “0823 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, Take in thine hand the roll wherein thou hast read in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch the son of Neriah took the roll in his hand, and came unto them. And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears. Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words. And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth? Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book. Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye be. And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king. So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of Elishama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king. Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words. Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them.” (Jeremiah 36:14-25)

Good morning. It may be cool where you are this morning, even damp from rain. What would you think if I threw a NIV bible on the fire? Would that heat thing up a bit. How about a New King James, or any of the newer bibles that call God Father/Mother? As the title of a book once said, “Things That Are Different Are Not The Same.” There is only on preserved Word of God for English speaking people: The King James Bible. There can only be one truth, everything else would be a lie. How do you feel about the Word of God? The king had very little regard for God’s Word. As God’s Word was being read to him, he would cut a piece off and throw it in the fire. How could he do that? How would he know the truth contained in God’s Word?

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17)

How would he know to do the right thing without the Word of God?

“…Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.” (Psalm 119:9-16)

How would he have hope?

“They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.” (Psalm 119:74)

“…My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.” (Psalm 119:81)

“Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.” (Psalm 119:114)

How would he find comfort, joy, and rejoicing?

“This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.” (Psalm 119:50)

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16)

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and trying to destroy God’s Word was not a wise move on the part of the king. Are not those who pervert the Word of God making the same unwise move? Is this the same unwise move that America has been making for years? Seeing the results of raising godless children who don’t fear God, or care what the Word of God says, do we let them go on killing each other, or teach them in the way they should go? Stand on the Truth. Stand on the King James Bible.

Peace!

Aug 22nd The New Covenant

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 30 – 32 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Acts 22 – 24; Psalms 106 – 110; Proverbs 22)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Ephesians 4:32

Read the “0822 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read another post from this passage – “No More Soulwinning?“ and “Investing in the Future”

Read all of Jeremiah 31 and then the following passage.

“36 And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; 37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: 38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: 39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. 41 Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. 42 For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. 43 And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. 44 Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 32:36-44)

In Jeremiah 31, and in the passage above, Jeremiah prophesies about a time when God will completely restore the land to Israel. At the time of the writing, the Babylonians were taking the people of God into captivity. The situation seemed completely hopeless and in the short term, it was. However God assures them that there would come a day in the future when he would bring the people of God back into the land permanently. This will not be completely fulfilled until the Millennial Kingdom, though God did bring some of the people out of the lands of Babylon and Persia after seventy years of captivity.

Unlike the first covenant that God made with Israel, this new covenant that will be an unconditional covenant. Israel failed to keep the first covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, because of their disobedience. This covenant will include both the northern (Jeremiah 31:1 – 22) and southern kingdoms (Jeremiah 31:27 – 40). Israel will be a united kingdom again and will be ruled by the Lord Jesus Christ within their own land. McGee stated this regarding the New Covenant: “This new covenant is going to be different from the one given to Moses at Mount Sinai. The grand distinction is that it will be engraved upon the hearts of the people and not upon cold tables of stone.”

“6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:6-13)

“20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. 21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.” (Isaiah 59:20-21)

“60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. 61 Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. 62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: 63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 16:60-63)

“21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” (Ezekiel 37:21-28)

Of course, when this happens Israel will no longer be in rejection of their Messiah. As a nation, they will realize that they were wrong about Jesus and they will put their faith in Him.

“10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10)

“26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” (Romans 11:26-27)

Aug 21st Who Can You Trust?

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 26 – 29 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Acts 19 – 21; Psalms 101 – 105; Proverbs 21)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Matthew 6:33

Read the “0821 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read previous posts from today’s passage – “Make the Best of It,” and “Keep Looking.”

“The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.” – (Jeremiah 28:9)

“Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.” – (Jeremiah 28:15)

“Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie:” – (Jeremiah 29:3)

In chapters 28 and 29, we see two false prophets that were preaching to Israel, refuting what the true prophet, Jeremiah, had been telling them. In chapter 28, we see Hananiah who was telling the people of Israel that God had told him that their problems with Babylon were only temporary and that God was going to rescue them in two years from the captivity that they were enduring. When Jeremiah first heard what this man had to say, he was skepticle yet optimistic. He hoped that what this man was saying was true (vs. 5 – 6), but he was careful to warn the people standing by that this man could be a false prophet (vs. 7 – 9). His suspicions were confirmed when later God revealed to him the truth about Hananiah. He was a false prophet. He was lying to the people and the peace that he was promising would not come to pass.

In chapter 29, there is another man, Shemiah the Nehelamite, that was also lying to the people. Jeremiah also exposed this man for the fraud that he was. It must have been difficult for the people, however,  to discern who was telling them the truth.  Jeremiah told them in verse nine of chapter 28 how they could know. They could determine whether a person was a false prophet or not simply by examining the proof of his claims. If what he predicted became true, he was a true prophet, but if what he said did not come to pass exactly as he said he would, he should never be trusted again.

Today, it is a lot easier for us to tell whether a preacher is telling us the truth. We have the Word of God and we know that the Bible is truth. If a preacher is telling us something that is contrary to the teaching of the Bible, we know that that person is a false prophet. Several years back there was a man on the radio that was forecasting a date for the return of the Lord. He had already done this back in the 90’s and was wrong then also. A lot of people were deceived by what this man told them. Some had even sold all their possessions and had given the money to this man so that he could spread his lies further. However, if they had just read their Bibles they would have known that “of that day and hour knoweth no man.” We can only know the truth through the Word of God. Don’t take any man’s word for it. Search the Scriptures to make sure that what the preacher is preaching lines up with the Bible and is in fact the truth. You cannot completely trust any man, but you can trust the Word of God. There are a lot of false prophets out there, some within the church and some outside of the church; but you can know the Truth, and the Truth will make you free.

Both of these false prophets that Jeremiah warned about were telling people what they wanted to hear; they were preaching good news. The only problem was, it was not the truth. Paul warned us that one of the characteristics of the last days will be a bunch of preachers who do not tell us what God said, but will rather tell us what we want to hear:

“3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Aug 20th Woe Be Unto the Pastors

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 23 – 25 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Acts 16 – 18; Psalms 96 – 100; Proverbs 20)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Micah 6:8

Read the “0820 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.” – (Jeremiah 23:28-32)

Jeremiah 23 is a strong rebuke against the unfaithful pastors and false prophets of Jeremiah’s day who claimed to be speaking on behalf of God, but were really just telling the people what they want they wanted to hear. I do not believe that we are doing injustice to the Scripture by making application to the many spiritual leaders in our world today who claim to be representing God by preaching and teaching the Word of God but are really just advancing their own agenda and taking advantage of God’s people. This passage delivers a scathing warning for those who mishandle the Bible. In this text I have noticed three common errors that were made in Jeremiah’s day and are also made today by people who claim to be ministers for the Lord.

1 Lying – We lie to the people when we don’t tell them exactly what God said or when we insert our philosophies and opinions. God’s Word is very clear. He has very specific instructions regarding how we are to conduct ourselves on this earth. Yet preachers will often misrepresent God by not declaring plainly and interpreting literally what God said. I wish every Christian knew the Bible intimately themselves, but unfortunately that is not the case. Many of the people that come to us for help are trusting us to tell them them what God would tell them. We have no right to just tell them what we think. Who cares what we think? What really matters is what God said!

2 Leaving Out – By this I mean that we neglect so many of the important truths of the Word. We do not declare the whole counsel of God. We conveniently select passages that promote our agenda, and we take verses out of their context. God expects us to preach and teach the whole Bible, not just the parts that will make us look good in front of the people. We are “itching” people’s ears today by ignoring the passages that deal with their sin.

3 Lightness – Notice verse 31. God mentions the prophets’ lightness. The preachers did not take their jobs seriously. It is an awesome responsibility to be God’s representative. We are to faithfully deliver and explain the Truth of the Word of God. The people need Truth, not entertainment. We have become comedians and story tellers and entertainers, but our “lightness” has caused an entire generation to fall away from God. We need to get back to the sober business of declaring the Truth. When I think back to the prophets of the Old Testament, I see men that were grave, serious, bold, determined, and fearful of the God they represented. We need to get back to that in our teaching and preaching today.

God wants His Word handled very carefully. God magnifies His word even above His name, and His name is above all other names. God’s Word is important. We need to be very careful that we are delivering it clearly, and entirely to the people of God.

This truth is taught in the New Testament as well:

“1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

Oh, and by the way, according to vs. 1 & 2, God’s flock needs to be handled with care as well. Woe to the pastor that takes advantage of one of God’s children.

“Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.” – (Jeremiah 23:1-2)

Preaching the Word of God and leading the people of God is a wonderful privilege and an awesome responsibility. God’s shepherds must take their jobs very seriously and put every effort into making sure that they are representing the Lord well and are being faithful to praying for God’s people and preaching the Truth of God’s Word accurately and compassionately. 

Aug 19th Write This Man Childless: The Curse of Jechonias

Today’s Passage –  Jeremiah 18 – 22 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here  to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Acts 13 – 15; Psalms 91 – 95; Proverbs 19)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Isaiah 51:11

Read the “0819 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read previous posts from today’s reading – “The Potter’s House,” and “Men at Best”

“24 As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; 25 And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. 27 But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return. 28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? 29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. 30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.” (Jeremiah 22:24-30)

If you study the genealogical record of the Lord Jesus from Matthew 1 and Luke 3, you will find that this man Coniah (also known as Jeconiah, Jechonias or Jehoiachin) is listed in Matthew’s list but not Luke’s. The reason for this is simple. Matthew traces the legal lineage of Christ through his adopted father Joseph. Luke’s gospel traces the biological lineage through His mother Mary. Jesus was the “seed” of Mary, but not the seed of Joseph. Jeremiah prophesied long ago in this passage that anybody that descended biologically from Jechoniah would be “disqualified” from being the King of Israel. Any of Joseph’s biological children was disqualified, but Jesus was not Joseph’s biological child. Mary was Jesus’s biological mother, but Mary did not descend from Jechonias. Study it out. It is amazing how accurate our Scripture is.

By the way, we do not know much about this man Jechonias, but we do know that “he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Kings 24:9; 2 Chronicles 36:9). We also know that the next (and final) king of Judah was not Jechonias’s son. He was his uncle (2 Kings 24:17). 

Here is the genealogical record from Matthew’s Gospel, which traces the lineage of Jesus from David through Solomon and Jechoniah:

“6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; 7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; 8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; 9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; 10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; 11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: 12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; 13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; 14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; 15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; 16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” (Matthew 1:6-16)

This is the legal line of Christ. Mary’s husband, Joseph, was the legal father of Jesus, but not his biological father. Joseph was in the lineage of the kings that descended from David. He was a descendant of both Solomon and Jechoniah. However, Jeremiah tells us that none of the “seed” of Jechoniah would sit on the throne of David. If Jesus was biologically the son of Joseph, He would have been disqualified to sit on the throne of David.

Here is the genealogical record from Luke’s Gospel, which traces the lineage of Jesus from David through Nathan”

“23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, 24 Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph, 25 Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge, 26 Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda, 27 Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri, 28 Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er, 29 Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, 30 Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim, 31 Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,“ (Luke 3:23-31)

This is the biological line. Jesus was biologically the child of Mary. Mary descends from David through Nathan, not Solomon. Jesus was both the biological son of David through Mary as well as the legal son of David through Joseph. But Jesus was not the biological seed of Jechoniah.

Note – there was also a false prophet in Jeremiah’s day, Hananiah, who prophesied that Jeconiah would return again to Jerusalem and that he would prosper. However, his prophecy never came true (see Jeremiah 28). Jeremiah was right. A lot of people say a lot of things, some of which may be true, but also much of it is false. Jeremiah was a true prophet in that everything that he said as a prophet of God came to pass exactly as he said it would. It is the same with all the Scripture. It is completely accurate and trustworthy. What God says He will do, He will do.

Aug 19th Men At Best

Today’s Passage –  Jeremiah 18 – 22 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here  to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Acts 13 – 15; Psalms 91 – 95; Proverbs 19)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Isaiah 51:11

Read the “0819 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from today’s reading – “The Potter’s House”

“Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them. Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle. Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet. Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.” (Jeremiah 18:19-23)

Have you ever heard the expression: “They may have been the best of men, but they were men at best?” Basically, it states that even good men are merely human and even though they are good most of the time, they also have their faults. In our reading this morning, in chapter eighteen, we see the humanity of Jeremiah coming through. He prays for God to destroy the people in Judah who had forsaken God and had turned against him. He even asks for their children to be punished. This is not the heart of someone who truly loves the people that he is ministering to.

Jeremiah was human, and he had an extremely difficult ministry. He had the job of preaching to the people of Judah at a time when God’s patience for their behavior had already run out. The people did not like or listen to what Jeremiah had to say and they often punished him for speaking the truth to them. But I don’t think that Jeremiah was always speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), sometimes he was angry at the people he was trying to reach, and in his flesh, he wanted God to judge them. I am reminded of Jonah who despised the Ninevites that he was sent to preach to.

Also, notice in chapter twenty that Jeremiah attempted to quit preaching:

“O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” (Jeremiah 20:7-9)

God did not let Jeremiah give up, however. “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29). God wouldn’t let him sit on the sidelines, His word was burning in Jeremiah’s heart and had to get out. But, Jeremiah was discouraged and at one point wanted to quit. He was human.

This is not a “let’s pile up on Jeremiah” devotion. I am merely pointing out that the best of men in the Bible got discouraged, angry, disgruntled, bitter, and even at times sinned against God. I am not rejoicing in their failures, but I am encouraged because I often feel as they do. I get discouraged, bitter, and angry. I sin against God often, I get mad at God’s people sometimes, and I want to quit about every other week. I am human and so are you.

What are we to do? We need to keep getting back up, dusting ourselves off, confess our failures to God, ask for His help, and keep doing what He has called us to do. We may someday see the great results of our work, or like Jeremiah, we may not. Judah was in worse shape after his ministry than before. But, we can have the satisfaction of knowing that we did what God had called us to do and we will hear God say, “well done.”

Aug 18th The Dearth

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 14 – 17 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Acts 10 – 12; Psalms 86 – 90; Proverbs 18)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Isaiah 40:31

Read the “0818 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth.” (Jeremiah 14:1)

“Dearth” – now that’s a word that has almost gone completely out of use. When is the last time that you heard somebody talking about a “dearth.” What does it mean? In a physical sense, it refers to a drought, similar to the one pictured above from the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s that decimated much of the Great Plains. The same Hebrew word for “dearth” (בַּצֹּרֶת – baṣṣōreṯ) is translated “drought” in Jeremiah 17:8. That is certainly the case here in Jeremiah 14:

“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. Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass. 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.” (Jeremiah 14:3-6)

Symbolically, it can refer to a time of great economic depression where jobs and resources are very scarce. Spiritually, it speaks of a time when God’s people forsake the Lord, resulting in God’s judgment, which in the case of the nation of Judah during the time of Jeremiah meant that they would be oppressed and eventually conquered by the Babylonians. God’s judgment in this case included all three, however, physical consequences and economic consequences were included in addition to the invading army.

God had warned His people many times in the past and had even sent smaller judgments to try to get their attention and get them to repent and turn back to Him. However, they had ignored all of God’s warnings, and now it was too late. God even tells Jeremiah to stop praying for the people’s “good.” In other words, God is telling Jeremiah that “good” will not get the people to return to Him. If they were going to repent, it would require God’s judgment:

“Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. 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.” (Jeremiah 14:11-12)

Notice also that God uses “pestilence,” or disease to get His people’s attention.

Jeremiah stated that God was a stranger (v. 8) in His own land. Complicating matters was the fact that there were “prophets” among the people who were telling them that everything was good, there would be no judgment from God. These were false prophets, the kind that tell people what they want to hear instead of what God said. They are like the ones that Paul warns us against in 2 Timothy 4:3:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” (2 Timothy 4:3)

Though the story we have here is about Jerusalem and Judah way back to almost 600 BC, I think we can make the leap and see how this could apply to America today. As a nation, we have almost altogether forsaken the Lord, and we are completely ignoring God’s warnings. It may in fact be too late for us as a nation, but it is never too late for you (or I) to confess our sins to the Lord and turn back to Him in repentance, faith, and obedience to His word. Though there may be dearth all around you, you can still have the tremendous blessing of the Lord on your life.