Day 14: Remembering the Multitude of his Loving Kindnesses

Lamentations 3:28-39 :

Let him sit alone and keep silence,
because he has laid it on him.
Let him put his mouth in the dust,
if it is so that there may be hope.
Let him give his cheek to him who strikes him.
Let him be filled full of reproach.

For the Lord will not cast off forever.
For though he causes grief,
yet he will have compassion according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.
For he does not afflict willingly,
nor grieve the children of men.

To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth,
to turn away the right of a man before the face of the Most High,
to subvert a man in his cause, the Lord doesn’t approve.

Who is he who says, and it comes to pass,
when the Lord doesn’t command it?
Doesn’t evil and good come out of the mouth of the Most High?
Why should a living man complain,
a man for the punishment of his sins?

It may be that man’s most significant problem is that He keeps trying to supplant God. An amazing thing that Lamentations shows us is that we can do this even while undergoing suffering. God Himself may be disciplining us, and we will still try to do something to make things better for ourselves. Jeremiah reminds us, here, that the best thing we can do is to “sit alone and keep silence.” He isn’t saying this because all is lost. In fact, the exact opposite is true. “For the Lord will not cast off forever.” Instead of trying and trying to solve our own problem, it’s time to return to simple faith.

So what is the fact that we should consider as we keep our silence in our suffering? Here it is: God “does not afflict willingly.” Eventually, He will save us. Besides, “Why should a living man complain… for the punishment of his sins?” That’s what we are really doing when we get all upset about our suffering for our sin. We are complaining about our punishment, all the while failing to remember that God doesn’t want to be punishing us in the first place! I do recognize that there are times when we suffer when we did not sin, like Job did, but even then, we can trust that God has something good in mind, like Job came to understand.

The simple fact that we can rest our faith on, is that God intends to “have compassion according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.” May we remember this when we suffer.

Day 6: Cut Off

Lamentations 2:1-4 :

How has the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger!
He has cast the beauty of Israel down from heaven to the earth,
and hasn’t remembered his footstool in the day of his anger.

The Lord has swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob
without pity.
He has thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah.
He has brought them down to the ground.
He has profaned the kingdom and its princes.

He has cut off all the horn of Israel in fierce anger.
He has drawn back his right hand from before the enemy.
He has burned up Jacob like a flaming fire,
which devours all around.

He has bent his bow like an enemy.
He has stood with his right hand as an adversary.
He has killed all that were pleasant to the eye.
In the tent of the daughter of Zion, he has poured out his wrath like fire.

It’s pretty obvious who the subject of this poem is. Eleven lines start with the word “He” and one starts with “The Lord.” God’s actions against Israel are clearly being contemplated in this lamentation. There are those who believe that God wouldn’t punish anyone. They refuse to talk about punishment or Hell, but as you can see, when you read the Bible for yourself, it’s impossible to ignore the wrath of God. If you are walking along with me as a devotional doing one episode a day, you have been reading about God’s wrath almost every day for over a year. That’s a small sample of how much the Bible talks about it. Those who choose to ignore it are doing it at the expense of telling the truth about what the Bible says. If they don’t believe that they need to be saved from it, they are at risk of experiencing it.

If we learn nothing else about the wrath of God as we read through these books of the Bible, I hope we all learn that it’s something to avoid. If God didn’t spare Israel, He definitely won’t spare the Gentiles. That’s not just an assumption. Here’s what Paul wrote into the Bible:

Romans 11:19-21 :

You will say then, “Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.” True; by their unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by your faith. Don’t be conceited, but fear; for if God didn’t spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.

To be clear, this doesn’t mean that you might lose your salvation if you sin. This means that if you don’t recognize your own sin, but instead believe that it was by your goodness that you are saved, you never had salvation. You are a dead branch because you aren’t taking life from Jesus. You are still trying to live independently. A branch has to live off of the tree to live. In the same way we must have faith in Jesus in order to live the Christian life. If we are to avoid the wrath of God, we must trust in Jesus for our salvation. This goes for the Jews and for the Gentiles.

Day 213: A Lesson from King Zedekiah’s Life

Jeremiah 52:1-11

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign. He reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For through Yahweh’s anger this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence.

Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. In the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about. So the city was besieged to the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

In the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was severe in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled, and went out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden. Now the Chaldeans were against the city all around. The men of war went toward the Arabah, but the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. Then they took the king, and carried him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he pronounced judgment on him. The king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. He also killed all the princes of Judah in Riblah. He put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison until the day of his death.

Zedekiah’s story is a sharp rebuke to all of us. He was the one who allowed Jeremiah to be thrown in jail, only to secretly let him out when no one was looking. He was more afraid of men than of God. Here we see where that kind of behavior took him in his life. He ended up being the king who went down in history as the one that lost Jerusalem. He is the one that God brought down His final judgment upon.

While Zedekiah was in Jerusalem, Jeremiah was afflicted. Remember that he was thrown into a muddy well and then confined in jail. When we read those things it seemed so unfair and it was, but in the end, Jeremiah won. Zedekiah was taken captive into Babylon and Jeremiah was allowed to go wherever he wanted and He chose to stay there in Judah. Zedekiah’s punishment was severe. His eyes were put out after watching his children be put to death. This shows us what God thinks of it when His prophets are mistreated. Zedekiah was always expecting God to save Him, but refused to listen to or believe in God’s words.

Even if you are sometimes nice to Christians and pray, it doesn’t mean that you will be saved from Hell. The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. Zedekiah did some good things but the most important thing was missing and that was faith in God’s word. God warned him over and over that Babylon was coming. He even told him that it was possible to surrender and avoid destruction, but Zedekiah would not believe God. He chose to do things his own way. May unbelievers be given eyes to see and turn to the truth and be saved, and may we as Christians continue in faith every day and avoid being foolish like Zedekiah was.

Day 171: God’s Plan of Salvation

Jeremiah 42:7-18

After ten days, Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah. Then he called Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, and said to them, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your supplication before him, says: ‘If you will still live in this land, then I will build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I grieve over the distress that I have brought on you. Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Don’t be afraid of him,’ says Yahweh, ‘for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you, and cause you to return to your own land.

“ ‘But if you say, “We will not dwell in this land,” so that you don’t obey Yahweh your God’s voice, saying, “No, but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we will see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there we will dwell;” ’ now therefore hear Yahweh’s word, O remnant of Judah! Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘If you indeed set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to live there, then it will happen that the sword, which you fear, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are afraid, will follow close behind you there in Egypt; and you will die there. So will it be with all the men who set their faces to go into Egypt to live there. They will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. None of them will remain or escape from the evil that I will bring on them.’ For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and my wrath has been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you, when you enter into Egypt; and you will be an object of horror, an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach; and you will see this place no more.’

One thing that I am continually reminded of as I study Israel’s history is my own need for God to open my mind to His truth. God gives us many amazing promises, but I find that I will run right by them as if they don’t exist and continue to follow my fear. In this passage, God gives His amazing promise to the remnant of Judah, but first He makes them wait for 10 days. Isn’t that the way it goes sometimes? When we confess our confidence in God, we might be thinking that God is so happy to have us that He will respond to us instantly, and sometimes that is the case, but in this case, God chose to make them wait for an answer.

The wonderful thing is that God’s answer came with a promise of protection. If these people were willing to go back to Israel and stay there, God would make sure that Babylon wouldn’t harm them, but God knew their hearts. He exposes them here when He says: “Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Don’t be afraid of him.” If we put ourselves in their position, we would have to consider the fact that they just watched as Babylon desimated Jerusalem, killing people burning the city and removing their neighbors. This would take complete faith, not in what they saw but in what God was saying. God promised protection if they would stay in Israel, but He also made another promise.

He told them that if they wouldn’t stay and, instead, decided to move to Egypt where they felt safer, God would make sure that trouble would track each and every one of them down and kill them all. The choice was theirs. Either believe in God’s word and be saved, or trust in yourself and suffer. Where have we heard that before? It sounds a lot like John 3:16 doesn’t it? You can’t get away from this message, whether you read the Old Testament or the New. God will allow circumstances to make it seem like something that God says is impossible. We need God’s help to keep us focused on God’s word so that we won’t suffer the consequences of disobedience. We need God to open our minds to the reality of the world from His perspective, not our own. May He continue to build our faith as we live our lives for Him today.

Day 169: What Can We Learn from This?

Jeremiah 41:11-18

But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon. Now when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, then they were glad. So all the people who Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned about and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the children of Ammon.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces who were with him took all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after he had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—the men of war, with the women, the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon. They departed and lived in Geruth Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor over the land.

Everything that happens, and everything God has written into His book, is done for a reason. One of the mysteries for me is attempting to discover what those reasons are. In this passage we are told that Johanan was able to go after Ishmael and recover the Jews and others he had kidnapped. That is great, but why did God want us to know all of this? Why did he put this strange set of events into the Bible for all of us to read?

One thing that this reminds me of is that anything can happen. Some important and life-changing events cannot be planned for. I have noticed that my world tries to convince me that my destiny is my choice, but it really isn’t. I think that the poorer we are the less we believe in the idea that we make our own destiny. Perhaps age helps too. The only way to successfully plan your own future is to trust in God and what He says about us. I think that this is probably the reason why God is telling us these things. As we study these events in Jeremiah, we will find that it leads to a faith issue. Does this remnant really believe in God’s word and what He says about them, or are they still trying to make their own way?

Our fears often expose our faith. After Johanan retrieved his people from Ishamael, he was too afraid to go back tho Mizpah. He was afraid that Ishmael’s assassination of Gedaliah had harmed his relationship with the Chaldeans. We are told here that he was staying near Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt. It would appear that he was thinking that Egypt would protect them from Babylon. Do you see a problem with this? Where’s God in all of this? Could it be that this is one reason that God has these events in the Bible for us today? I think you will probably agree that it is as we go on.

Day 164: Saved by Faith

Jeremiah 39:15-18

Now Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard, saying, “Go, and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will bring my words on this city for evil, and not for good; and they will be accomplished before you in that day. But I will deliver you in that day,” says Yahweh; “and you will not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely save you. You won’t fall by the sword, but you will escape with your life, because you have put your trust in me,” says Yahweh.’ ”

Now we know why Ebedmelech the Ethiopian tried to save Jeremiah. He did it because he actually believed that what Jeremiah was saying was coming from God Himself. God makes it clear that Ebedmelech had put his trust in God. As I mentioned before, Ebedmelech’s life was crumbling around him as Jerusalem was under attack.

God makes it clear that because Ebedmelech trusted in God, he would not die like the others. This is God’s pattern and it is obvious by how He has dealt with us. Because we have believed in God’s message and put our trust in Him, we have been given life too.

I believe that it’s important to for us to take note of the fact that Ebedmelech’s faith wasn’t merely an internal affair. He didn’t privately believe on the inside and pretend to not believe on the outside. His faith in the inside turned into action as he did all he could to save Jeremiah from dying in the well. Even though it was his faith that saved him, his faith was real and it eventually became obvious by the good works that he did. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have faith if we sin, but it does mean that our faith will be made evident by what we do eventually. That’s because we act on what we actually believe in. It’s important to understand, however, that it wasn’t Ebedmelech’s good works that saved him. It was his trust in God.

Day 136: God’s Dark Comedy

Jeremiah 32:1-5

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. Now at that time the king of Babylon’s army was besieging Jerusalem. Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah’s house.

For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you prophesy, and say, ‘Yahweh says, “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will take it; and Zedekiah king of Judah won’t escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but will surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes will see his eyes; and he will bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” says Yahweh, “though you fight with the Chaldeans, you will not prosper?” ’ ”

There’s a sense in which God has a dark sense of humor and I believe we are reading about one of those times in our passage today. The end of Jerusalem was at hand and Jeremiah had clearly shown himself to be a prophet of God. Here we learn that king Zedekiah of Judah didn’t like what Jeremiah was saying about him and the kingdom and decided to lock him up. That’s not funny at all, but what is funny is how God tells us about these things.

Doesn’t it strike you as a bit sarcastic that God would record in His book for all the world to see, king Zedekiah’s own words about the events. He clearly states Jeremiah’s message while explaining why he decided to lock him up. These words are so clear that you and I can read them and know exactly what happened. Jeremiah obviously did his job perfectly and king Zedekiah clearly understood his words enough to complain about them. All God had to do was record the king’s complaint. Now it serves as an obvious record that the king heard God’s word and purposefully chose to fight against it and even decided to persecute His messenger. God simply records the words and allows us to see that what Jeremiah said happened exactly as he said it would.

God hates faithlessness. The Bible tells us that He mocks the mockers and that’s what we experience as we consider this passage. God will also avenge those who take persecution for Him. It would be funny if it wasn’t so serious. Let this serve as a warning to us all. When God says something, let’s wise up and simply accept it, and when mockers think they are mocking God, they should beware because they are probably being used by God to destroy themselves.