Tag Archives: Salvation

Day 203: Not Forsaken

Jeremiah 51:1-8

Yahweh says:
“Behold, I will raise up against Babylon,
and against those who dwell in Lebkamai, a destroying wind.
I will send to Babylon strangers, who will winnow her.
They will empty her land;
for in the day of trouble they will be against her all around.
Against him who bends, let the archer bend his bow,
also against him who lifts himself up in his coat of mail.
Don’t spare her young men!
Utterly destroy all her army!
They will fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
and thrust through in her streets.
For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, by his God,
by Yahweh of Armies;
though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

“Flee out of the middle of Babylon!
Everyone save his own life!
Don’t be cut off in her iniquity,
for it is the time of Yahweh’s vengeance.
He will render to her a recompense.
Babylon has been a golden cup in Yahweh’s hand,
who made all the earth drunk.
The nations have drunk of her wine;
therefore the nations have gone mad.
Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed!
Wail for her!
Take balm for her pain.
Perhaps she may be healed.

When I read this passage, I remember the words that Jesus said:

Matthew 7:2

For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you.

In this prophesy, God tells us that Babylon was to receive arrows just as they gave them out. They were also to receive battle against those who wear coats of mail, have their young men cut down, and be attacked by people from far away. God was going to give back to them what they gave to His people Israel, but the most amazing thing I read here is what God said after that.

God said: “For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, by his God, by Yahweh of Armies; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.” This may be the most clear and obvious passage that directly opposes replacement theology. That’s the belief that the Church replaces Israel and has now obtained all of her promises. The typical argument that I hear is that the Church has been given Israel’s promises because Israel was unfaithful to God. That argument is directly refuted here. God doesn’t give to Israel according to her deeds. God’s promise to be faithful to Israel does not depend on Israel’s performance. The reason that I bring this up over and over again, is because this is a Gospel issue. If God’s faithfulness depended on man’s performance, then salvation is based on man. The true and only Gospel teaches us that it is not by man’s performance at all, but by God’s faithfulness alone that we are saved.

The last few verses here should sound pretty familiar. That’s because something very similar is written again in the last book of the Bible. Many prophesies in the Bible have an immediate application as well as a future one. A surprising fact about the Bible is that Babylon is one of the biggest subjects. For a city that doesn’t even exist today, that’s kind of peculiar. Obviously, the old city of Babylon was destroyed many years ago, but what that nation started in the world is still alive and well. Babylon loved idols and was proud against God and it was eventually destroyed. It stands as a symbol of what is about to happen to all who have followed her ways.

Day 191: A Very Foolish Choice

Jeremiah 49:7-14

Of Edom, Yahweh of Armies says:
“Is wisdom no more in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom vanished?
Flee! Turn back!
Dwell in the depths, inhabitants of Dedan;
for I will bring the calamity of Esau on him when I visit him.
If grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave some gleaning grapes?
If thieves came by night,
wouldn’t they steal until they had enough?
But I have made Esau bare,
I have uncovered his secret places,
and he will not be able to hide himself.
His offspring is destroyed,
with his brothers and his neighbors;
and he is no more.
Leave your fatherless children.
I will preserve them alive.
Let your widows trust in me.”

For Yahweh says: “Behold, they to whom it didn’t pertain to drink of the cup will certainly drink; and are you he who will altogether go unpunished? You won’t go unpunished, but you will surely drink. For I have sworn by myself,” says Yahweh, “that Bozrah will become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. All its cities will be perpetual wastes.”
I have heard news from Yahweh,
and an ambassador is sent among the nations,
saying, “Gather yourselves together!
Come against her!
Rise up to the battle!”

Have you noticed that when Israel was being judged, it became a time of upheaval for all the nations surrounding it? Once Israel was judged, the hammer came down on the rest as well. It’s interesting that the nations were trying to destroy Israel, but what they were really doing was cutting off the branch of the tree that they were resting on. That’s how foolish it is to oppose God. Whenever we do that we destroy ourselves.

This passage is about God’s judgment of Edom which was the nation that came from Esau. A part of Edom called Teman was known for its wise sages. God mocks them here because they had rejected Him and by doing so, elected to destroy themselves. There’s nothing more foolish than that.

Here we read that God decided to destroy this people entirely. God mentions that under normal circumstances, attackers would leave some people behind when they’ve had enough, but God was going to cause them to be completely wiped out. There was one exception, however. God was going to save the widows and the orphans! The people who had no husband or father to protect them were going to continue to be protected by God Himself.

Once again, this passage reminds us of a Grand Theme of the Bible: God’s grace saves us by faith in His word. When we decide that we are strong enough on our own to oppose God, we become weak and are brought down by God Himself, but when we are weak and we trust in God for our salvation, God is gracious to us and saves us in the worst of circumstances. There is nothing more foolish than trusting in our own strength and failing to trust in God.

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 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.

Pastors are Avoiding Government Matters

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Why do pastors and leaders avoid talking about government matters? Thankfully, there are a few who do, but it appears that the vast majority in the United States avoid talking about the government.

This is not wise because the Word of God has things to say about what is going on in government today. Without the Bible being applied to government, government has a chance to go unchecked and become increasingly wicked. I believe that it is very likely that the reason we are seeing the horrific wickedness in government now is because we as believers have avoided our responsibility to apply the Great Commission to the government.

Jesus told us to go into “all the world” and to teach “everything” Jesus commanded. Jesus commanded that government is not to be wicked and is also to submit to Jesus. The Great Commission even says that “all authority has been given to me.” This means that even the Great Commission says that governments must all submit to Jesus. This is what we are to teach those in government so that they can be convicted of sin and accept the Gospel which saves them from their sin.

If we refuse to show people their sin, we are refusing to preach the Gospel. Here’s a message from one pastor who understands this issue. He’s also guiding his congregation to not take the vaccines. You can hear the reasoning in this video:

Day 144: Yahweh Our Righteousness Once Again

Jeremiah 33:14-16

“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will perform that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah.
“In those days and at that time,
I will cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up to David.
He will execute justice and righteousness in the land.
In those days Judah will be saved,
and Jerusalem will dwell safely.
This is the name by which she will be called:
Yahweh our righteousness.”

If this passage seems familiar, it’s because God already said something very similar back in Jeremiah 23:5-6. Although they are similar, they are actually different. It would appear that God is reminding Jeremiah, and us that He still intends for there to be a day when a Son of David will reign on earth in Jerusalem. At that time, He will “execute justice and righteousness in the land.” To Jeremiah, all hell was breaking loose as the current leadership in Israel was acting unrighteously and a foreign king was being allowed to destroy God’s city. I believe that it was very encouraging for Jeremiah to hear this. Isn’t it good to see how much God cares about our mental state when we are enduring persecution? Notice that He has no trouble repeating things if necessary.

I’d like to discuss one of the big differences between what is said here and what is said in Jeremiah 23. In the Jeremiah 23 passage, it says that there will be a King and He will be called “Yahweh our righteousness.” In this passage, it says that Jerusalem will be called “Yahweh our righteousness.” That’s one of those things that could seem like a contradiction, but it doesn’t have to be seen that way at all. When we assume that there were no mistakes here, all it means is that both Jesus and Jerusalem will be called the same thing. That is an amazing blessing don’t you think? It’s actually just a repeat of what God already said long before. Let’s look at that again.

Deuteronomy 12:11

…then it shall happen that to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the wave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which you vow to Yahweh.

So here we read that God told Moses that there would be a place that God would cause His name to dwell. So it makes sense the Jerusalem would be called by the Messiah’s name. This isn’t a hard thing for most of us to understand today either. What happens to a woman’s name when she marries a man? Traditionally, she is then called by his name. This is pretty neat because Jeremiah is reminded, by God, that when this future king takes over, Jerusalem will be called by God’s name and that must mean that, somehow, Jerusalem is made righteous again.

That brings up the biggest point of all about this name. How can we be righteous when we have already spoiled our lives by sinning? This passage reminds us to look at Jerusalem. Jesus is our righteousness, just as Jesus is theirs. They didn’t deserve it and they were better than most of us to start out with. The Messiah’s name reminds us that we are righteous because His righteousness is given to us. If it weren’t for Israel’s Messiah, there would be no hope for anyone because He is our righteousness.

Day 143: The Grand Finale

Jeremiah 33:10-13

Yahweh says: “Yet again there will be heard in this place, about which you say, ‘It is waste, without man and without animal, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without animal,’ the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, ‘Give thanks to Yahweh of Armies, for Yahweh is good, for his loving kindness endures forever;’ who bring thanksgiving into Yahweh’s house. For I will cause the captivity of the land to be reversed as at the first,” says Yahweh.

Yahweh of Armies says: “Yet again there will be in this place, which is waste, without man and without animal, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of him who counts them,” says Yahweh.

In the United States, we have Independence Day celebrations every year that include firework displays. These shows usually end with an unusual amount of fireworks going off all at the same time. We often call it “The Grand Finale.” When I read this chapter of Jeremiah, it seems like God’s Grand Finale about His intention to restore Israel to the land. He says it over, and over, and over again. If you compare each reminder to a rocket, it’s like they are exploding one after another in rapid succession.

Notice that both these statements say: “Yet again…” God is repeating over and over to Jeremiah while He’s in jail that things are going to be better. There will come a time when the Israelis are happy again and without concern. It’s obvious, as real rockets are launched into Israel today, that this day has not yet come. God also mentions the fact that they will be talking about bringing “thanksgiving into Yahweh’s house.” That can’t be Israel today because God’s house isn’t even there.

Those who say that God is finished with Israel today will have to deal with the Bible, though. Once again, it comes down to whether you are going to believe God or man. If you are going to believe man, why believe the Bible at all? There are plenty of other things that God says much fewer times in the Bible that you would have to reconsider if you are going to be consistent. The underlying issue is that if the Bible isn’t true about Israel, then it could be wrong about your everlasting life as a Christian. Thankfully, God repeats Himself in the Bible about Israel and our salvation. If we believe that we are saved, then the only consistent thing to do is to believe Israel will go on forever too. When we fight against the Bible in any area, we hurt ourselves and our witness to others.

If you are one of those Christians who believes that this is talking about the Church, then you are also calling your own salvation into question. If God is able to talk to Jeremiah, while he’s in jail about the Church, knowing that Jeremiah will believe that He’s talking about the Jews, couldn’t God do the same to you? Could it be that someone else will be saved and have eternal life other than you because God is only symbolically talking to you today? So you see, this is an important subject to us now and one that each Christian should settle in their minds.