Jeremiah 7

As we can see by now that there is a reoccuring message in the Book of Jeremiah. There are more cause and effect Scriptures to serve as warnings for us. There is more of the wrath of God being poured.

vs. 3
If - 'Amend your ways and your doings'
Then - 'I will cause you to dwell in this place'

vs. 23
If - 'Obey My voice'
Then - 'I will be your God and you shall be My people'
If - 'walk in all the ways that I have commanded you'
Then - 'it may be well with you'

It is illustrated so clearly what the Lord's hope is for us. The Lord's request from us is clearly stated. His reward is clearly stated. What is 'this place' in vs. 3 that the Lord has to give us? If we read back to vs. 2, we will find out that 'this place' refers to 'the Lord's house', which we know is the Heavenly Kingdom. What much more can the Lord give us but part of His kingdom? What are we waiting for? 'Amend our ways'!!!

There is one thing that frightens me in this chapter, and that is vs. 16. How dreadful it would be if all intercession made to the Lord is futile? What happens if the Lords shuts His ears to our cries and our prayers (vs. 16)? Nothing will be amended at that time. Therefore, let us not fall into that trap. You may ask how we can avoid the trap. It is clearly stated in vs. 13 how they plugged up the Lord's ears. The Lord says, "because you have done all these [wicked] works, and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer" (vs. 13). Do not let the plugging of our ears lead to the plugging of God's ears. If we can only incline our ears to His voice, then we will go forward and not backward (vs. 24). It's time to make some progress. Don't falter any more.

Jeremiah 6

More cause and effect is being described to us in this chapter. This, again, serves as a warning and caution for us. We must examine history closely and learn from the mistakes of our forefathers who have done wrong in the eye of God. Not only must we examine their deeds, we must also depart from their mistakes and prevent from repeating them in this generation.

It is the utmost danger when the Lords declares, "To whom whall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of othe Lord is a reproach to them; they have no delight in it" (vs. 10). If the Lord hesitates to correct our wrongs, we are in danger of slipping away from the protection of God. Reproach will only be given by the Father to His child. If we are no longer considered a child of our parents, then our parents will cease to discipline us. It is similar to our relationship with God. If God stops His chastisement against us, then we are in danger of not being considered a child of God. Therefore, while God still admonishes us, we must take heed of His words and correct ourselves. That way, we can prevent from being forsaken by God.

Yes, God is love and mercy. But we should never test the love of God and always believe that He will never give up on us. If we are stubborn enough to harden our hearts time and again, He will eventually forsake us. Let's not let that happen. Let's heed the warnings God is giving us.

The chosen people are too fall because they were not ashamed of their abominations (vs. 15). Therefore, it is telling us that if we feel ashamed of our abominations, then we shall not fall. Another cause and effect warning for us to take heed.

Another cause and effect in a positive manner is given in vs. 16, "And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; Then you wil find rest for your souls." What is the old paths? The path that they tread within the Lords before the abominations took place. We must go back to our original faith, our original love when we first knew God. Do not forget those times and stray away from Him. Then, we will find rest.

Lastly, calamity will be poured upon the chosen people because they have not heeded God's words, but rejected it (vs. 19). Let that be a caution to us. Turn back to the words of God and prevent that calamity from being poured.

Jeremiah 5

Why must men be so foolish to refuse correction? Why must we harden our hearts and refuse to return to God knowing that calamity awaits us? Even after the Lord consumed them, the chosen people refused to change (vs. 3). But it is because they do not know the way of the Lord that they fall into unrepentance (vs. 4). If the punishment for the people who know not the judgment of God is so great, how much worse would it be for the people who know the way of the Lord and His judgment yet refused it? After all, those who are oblivous of their actions are punished less severely than those who know evil but carried on with it. I do not want to imagine the consequences of our punishment if we failed to follow the ways of God which once was stamped in our minds. Let's not become the object of God's punishment.

Let us not push the Lord away any longer and come to receive the good things which is stored up for us (vs. 25). If it is our sins that prevent us from receiving the good things, then let us confess those sins before God and be rid of them. Do not wait until the Lord says, "Shall I not punish them for these things?...Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?" (vs. 29). Let's not arouse the wrath of God and bring destruction upon ourselves. Be wise and return to His ways!

Jeremiah 4

Hope upon hope. This chapter reassures us even further the mercy God waits to pour upon us. That is, with conditions.

(vs. 1)
Hope - 'Return to Me'
'If' - 'you will put away your abominations our of My sight'
'Then' - 'you shall not be moved'

(vs. 14)
Hope - salvation
If - 'wash your heart from wickedness'
Then - 'you may be saved'

Yes, God's mercy abounds but not aimlessly. His mercy is there, but we must make the first move. Only 'if' we turn away from our wickedness, 'then' His mercy will pour upon us. Who makes the first move? It is us. God waits for our answer to the hope He gave. 'If' only we can stand up to Him and make the determination, 'then' He will help us through.

Shall we continue to be 'silly children' that 'have no understanding' (vs. 22)? Surely not!

Instead of being wise to do evil, we should strive to acquire that knowledge to do good. Because God is source of all good things, we must draw close to Him and learn from His example. We must meditate upon His Words day and night to prevent any bad thoughts from bombarding our mind. We must be conscious of our mind and cast out any hint of evil before it has a chance to grow. Because, 'when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death' (James 1:15). This is severe, death! Let us not fall into the death trap of Satan. Let us holdfast to our Father of life.

In order for that to happen, we must 'break up [our] fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns' (vs. 3). We must loosen our heart to God and not mingle with the sins of this world. We must 'circumcise [ourselves] to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of [our] hearts' (vs. 4). We must return to the Lord and remove our sins completely. If not, '[His] fury [will] come forth like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of [our] doings' (vs. 4). Yes, the punishment is great. But, He has already warned us firsthand. Why are we so foolish to turn away from His warnings and fall right into the trap? Let us stand up and make our move to 'return'. Do not linger any longer.

Jeremiah 3

What a heartrending and eye-opening chapter. The Lord's love and jealousy can be felt throughout His call for the chosen people's return. How foolish the people were to reject the mercy of God to return to Him after playing the harlot (vs. 6,7)? How often do we fall into the same pit? Is it because of mere oblivion or is because of shame that we fail to accept His mercy? If it is mere oblivion, then we must examine ourselves and reveal to ourselves the harlot that is covert. If it is shame, then we must wake up and ask the Lord for courage to face Him once again. Would not the Bible be written in vain if the denouement of it all is for us to falter away because we are ashamed of our deeds? And because of it, feel the unworth to face the Lord? Which ultimately makes us a repudiator of God's mercy and love and His sacrifice.

If the denouement of our story is for us to fall away because of sin, then why would Jesus have to die for us? Wouldn't the ending be accomplished without such a great sacrifice? Wouldn't we have died because of sin anyway? Now, Jesus came to sacrifice Himself to change our fate. That is, to give us the hope of life after sin. Then, why are we refusing His call to 'Return'?

It is foolish for human beings to reject God, but it is even more foolish when one falls right after seeing his companion fall. Isn't the sole purpose of history to serve as a warning for the present? Then why is it that Judah, after seeing Israel play the harlot and was put away by God went on to play the harlot also (vs. 8). Pondering upon that verse, Judah is definitely foolish and worthy of reproach. But to see it in perspective, aren't we following in Judah's footsteps? Aren't we falling into sin anyway after seeing one of our brethrens fall? Did their story serve as a warning for us or merely a story in the ear? Why must we have the same ending as Judah and not wake up after seeing Israel's 'certificate of divorce'?

Yet, even with all the faults of the chosen people, God calls out to them ,"Return, backsliding Israel...And I will not cause My anger to fall on you; For I am merciful...And I will not remain angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the Lord your God" (vs. 12,13). Doesn't your heart break after reading this verse? Even after we've 'cheated' on God, He still waits for our return. Shall we shy away from the love of God now? If we do, who else can help us? Isn't God the only one who gives life? If we are then dead because of sin, would we not need the fountain of living waters, that is God? What is it we are waiting for?

The Lord went on to tell His fallen people, "Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings" (vs. 22). How persistent is His love? Can anyone ever match it? Time after time we have transgressed against Him and played the harlot with the lusts of this world, yet, He awaits us to heal us. How long will we keep Him waiting? Isn't it time to make the determination to return to His shelter and protection? Isn't it time to answer the Lord's loving call for our return?

Jeremiah 2

The more I read Jeremiah, the more I can identify with those Israelites. Before, I can stand and say, "how dare those Israelites do that to God". But now reading closely, I'm really not any better. It is indeed a pity that we were once betrothed to God, but we chose to play the harlot. It is quite foolish of us to choose the finite cistern instead of the infinte fountain (vs. 13). When we can find everlasting life in the fountain of living water, we chose the broken cistern that will not only run dry but will not refill itself and will certainly not bring us life but death. Why must we continue to dry out and wither? Why don't we return to the living water?

Humans are foolish in that we only remember God in our troubled times. After the troubles are terminated, we go back to living our sinful lives. It is so true in vs. 27 when it states, "For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they will say, 'Arise and save us'". Isn't that so true? We will forsake God when we don't need Him, but call out to Him when we are in need. We must break this cycle of being 'backsliding children'. We must return to Him fully and remember Him daily and not only when we need Him. We must 'Return' to be His children. The relationship between a child and a Father is one that is intimate. It is one where communication is exercised daily. We must draw closer to our heavenly Father, because He wants to draw close to us. But "He who called [us] is holy, [we must] also be holy in all [our] conduct" (1 Peter 1:15).

God calls out to us only hoping that we admit our iniquities. He will only 'plead His case against us' if we say, 'I have not sinned' (vs. 35). But today, as we admit our wrongs and return to Him, He will await us with His abundant love and mercy that is sealed with an everlasting covenant. He says, "Return to Me..." Just what else are we waiting for?

Jeremiah 1

The calling of Jeremiah to take up the work of God can serve as a reminder for us. After the Lord came to Jeremiah telling him of His predestination of Jeremiah becoming a prophet, Jeremiah declined by saying 'for I am a youth' (v. 6). But the Lord rebutted by telling Jeremiah that "Do not say, 'I am a youth'" (v. 7), instead He insured Jeremiah that "I am with you" (v. 8).

Likewise today, we are each made a vessle for God. We are each 'called according to His purpose' (Rm 8:28) to perform our duties as Christians. Therefore, we must not give excuses to the Lord stating our unworth. We must not be like Jeremiah pushing away the responsibilities because we believe ourselves to be unfit. God told Jeremiah that "I am with you" (v.8). God will also tell us the same if we are striving to accomplish His work. If God is with us, then what is impossible will become possible. Afterall, we are doing everything for the glory of God and not our own. Because we are unfit, we come to see the power of God work within us. Because of our unworth, we will feel the honor to serve the Lord. If we were fit, we would've believed we accomplished the work with our own hands and became proud. If we were worthy, we would've became self-righteous. Therefore, it is through our weaknesses that God will make us strong. Therefore, only strive to do our best with the Lord's help.

Secondly, Jeremiah's mission is to 'root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant' (v. 10). Because the chosen people have strayed far from God, they must be plucked and destroyed before they can be built up again. This tells us that in order for us to be rebuilt as the chosen people, we must be rooted out first. It also gives us the hope that even if we were destroyed, because we are the chosen ones, we will one day be rebuilt. If we were to be one of the non-chosen people (e.g. Babylonians), we will never have the chance to be rebuilt after being destroyed. Therefore, we must not take advantage of this hope God has given us and linger any longer. We must come to be rooted in God and be 'planted by the rivers of water' (Ps. 1:3) so we can draw life from Him. It is only then that we will cease to stray away from God, and it is then that we will cease to wither away.