In The Word
Read: Jeremiah 5-6
Jerusalem’s Godlessness
5 “Roam about through the streets of Jerusalem,
And look and take notice.
And seek in her public squares,
If you can find a person,
If there is one who does justice, who seeks honesty,
Then I will forgive her.
2 And although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’
Certainly they swear falsely.”
3 Lord, do Your eyes not look for honesty?
You have struck them,
But they did not weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they refused to accept discipline.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to repent.
4 Then I said, “They are only the poor,
They are foolish;
For they do not know the way of the Lord
Or the judgment of their God.
5 I will go to the great
And speak to them,
For they know the way of the Lord
And the judgment of their God.”
But together they too have broken the yoke
And burst the restraints.
6 Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them,
A wolf of the deserts will destroy them,
A leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces,
Because their wrongdoings are many,
Their apostasies are numerous.
7 “Why should I forgive you?
Your sons have forsaken Me
And sworn by those who are not gods.
When I had fed them to the full,
They committed adultery
And stayed at the prostitute’s house.
8 They were well-fed lusty horses,
Each one neighing at his neighbor’s wife.
9 Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the Lord,
“And shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?
10 “Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
But do not execute a complete destruction;
Strip away her branches,
For they are not the Lord’s.
11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares the Lord.
12 They have lied about the Lord
And said, “Not He;
Misfortune will not come upon us,
Nor will we see sword or famine.
13 The prophets are as wind,
And the word is not in them.
So it will be done to them!”
Judgment Proclaimed
14 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of armies says:
“Because you have spoken this word,
Behold, I am making My words fire in your mouth,
And this people wood, and it will consume them.
15 Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from far away, you house of Israel,” declares theLord.
“It is an enduring nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose language you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.
16 Their quiver is like an open grave,
All of them are warriors.
17 They will devour your harvest and your food;
They will devour your sons and your daughters;
They will devour your flocks and your herds;
They will devour your vines and your fig trees;
They will demolish your fortified cities, in which you trust, with the sword.
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not make a complete destruction of you. 19 And it shall come about when they say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Just as you have abandoned Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21 ‘Now hear this, you foolish and senseless people,
Who have eyes but do not see,
Who have ears but do not hear.
22 Do you not fear Me?’ declares the Lord.
‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal limit, and it will not cross over it.
Though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, they will not cross over it.
23 But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
They have turned aside and departed.
24 They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the Lord our God,
Who gives rain in its season,
Both the autumn rain and the spring rain,
Who keeps for us
The appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25 Your wrongdoings have turned these away,
And your sins have kept good away from you.
26 For wicked people are found among My people,
They watch like fowlers lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch people.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.
28 They are fat, they are sleek,
They also excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, so that they may be successful;
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
29 Shall I not punish them for these things?’ declares the Lord,
‘Or shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?’
30 “An appalling and horrible thing
Has happened in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule on their own authority;
And My people love it this way!
But what will you do when the end comes?
The Coming Destruction of Jerusalem
6 “Flee to safety, you sons of Benjamin,
From the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow a trumpet in Tekoa
And raise a warning signal over Beth-haccerem;
For evil looks down from the north,
Along with a great destruction.
2 The beautiful and delicate one, the daughter of Zion, I will destroy.
3 Shepherds and their flocks will come to her,
They will pitch their tents around her,
They will pasture, each in his place.
4 ‘Prepare for war against her;
Arise, and let’s attack at noon.
Woe to us, for the day declines,
For the shadows of the evening lengthen!
5 Arise, and let’s attack by night
And destroy her palaces!’”
6 For this is what the Lord of armies says:
“Cut down her trees
And pile up an assault ramp against Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished,
In whose midst there is only oppression.
7 As a well keeps its waters fresh,
So she keeps fresh her wickedness.
Violence and destruction are heard in her;
Sickness and wounds are constantly before Me.
8 Be warned, Jerusalem,
Or I shall be alienated from you,
And make you a desolation,
An uninhabited land.”
9 This is what the Lord of armies says:
“They will thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel like the vine;
Pass your hand over the branches again
Like a grape gatherer.”
10 To whom shall I speak and give warning,
That they may hear?
Behold, their ears are closed
And they cannot listen.
Behold, the word of the Lord has become for them a rebuke;
They take no delight in it.
11 But I am full of the wrath of the Lord;
I am weary of holding it in.
“Pour it out on the children in the street
And on the gathering of young men together;
For both husband and wife shall be taken,
The old and the very old.
12 Their houses shall be turned over to others,
Their fields and their wives together;
For I will stretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord.
13 “For from the least of them to the greatest of them,
Everyone is greedy for gain,
And from the prophet to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.
14 They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.
15 Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done?
They were not ashamed at all,
Nor did they know even how to be ashamed.
Therefore they will fall among those who fall;
At the time that I punish them,
They will collapse,” says the Lord.
16 This is what the Lord says:
“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths,
Where the good way is, and walk in it;
Then you will find a resting place for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 And I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
18 Therefore hear, you nations,
And know, you congregation, what is among them.
19 Hear, earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,
The fruit of their plans,
Because they have not listened to My words,
And as for My Law, they have rejected it also.
20 For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba,
And the sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable
And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”
21 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
“Behold, I am placing stumbling blocks before this people.
And they will stumble against them,
Fathers and sons together;
Neighbor and friend will perish.”
The Enemy from the North
22 This is what the Lord says:
“Behold, there is a people coming from the north land,
And a great nation will be stirred up from the remote parts of the earth.
23 They seize bow and spear;
They are cruel and have no mercy;
Their voice roars like the sea,
And they ride on horses,
Lined up as a man for the battle
Against you, daughter of Zion!”
24 We have heard the report of it;
Our hands are limp.
Anguish has seized us,
Pain like that of a woman in childbirth.
25 Do not go out into the field,
And do not walk on the road;
For the enemy has a sword,
Terror is on every side.
26 Daughter of my people, put on sackcloth
And roll in ashes;
Mourn as for an only son,
A most bitter mourning.
For suddenly the destroyer
Will come against us.
27 “I have made you an assayer and an examiner among My people,
So that you may know and put their way to the test.”
28 All of them are stubbornly rebellious,
Going about as a slanderer;
They are bronze and iron.
They are, all of them, corrupt.
29 The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
In vain the refining goes on,
But the wicked are not separated.
30 They call them rejected silver,
Because the Lord has rejected them.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
As we read in today’s passage of scripture, the Israelites treated God like He was a passive God, a God who would allow them to commit evil and would look the other way. Eventually, they learned the truth: that God is not a passive God; and we must learn from their example. If we choose to play religious games with the Lord, we choose a life of lies, lack, and annihilation. The “lies” are a natural consequence of walking away from a right relationship with the Truth.
While the “lack” that comes from serving God half-heartedly may not always show its ugly head right away, how can we truly prosper while disconnected from our Provider? Annihilation always comes swiftly and in the form of complete desolation. We cannot afford to be like the Israelites who did not see God for who He truly was.
Simply attending church, studying the Bible, or even flipping through this devotional will not matter much in the face of our holy God. He craves for us to delight in His Word, His ways, and His Holy Spirit. We must not bring the unacceptable offerings of stale, religious service to God; we must bring Him deep devotion, sincere service, and longing love. He is our Lord, our Husband, and our Friend. We must be passionate about our life with Him, and treat Him and His love like an extraordinary gift.