Jeremiah 35

Verse of the Week: V19 “Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before Me for ever.”

1.  The Obedient Man (V1-11)

V2 “Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.”

God commanded prophet Jeremiah to test the obedience of the men of Rechab by offering them wine to drink. The men of Rechab passed the test as they resisted the wine because they were commanded by Jonadab, their father or leader, not to drink wine! 

V6 “But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:”

2.  The Disobedient Man (V12-16)

V13 “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? Saith the LORD.”

Jeremiah contrasted the obedient men of Rechab with the disobedient men of Judah and Jerusalem. The men of Rechab consistently obeyed the commandments of Jonadab, by not drinking wine, while the men of Judah and Jerusalem consistently disobeyed the commandments of the prophets of God time and again.

V14 “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father’s commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.”

3.  The  Blessed Man (V17-19)

V19 “Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before Me for ever.”

God blessed the men of Rechab as every one of them was obedient to the commandments of Jonadab, their leader, and ultimately, the commandments of God. Let us be blessed of God as we delight in obeying and meditating the commandments of God day and night!

Psalms 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law doth he meditate day and night.”

Prayer of the Week

Dearest God, help me to be an obedient Christian.

Jeremiah 34

Verse of the Week: V17 “Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.”

1.  The Defeat (V1-7)

V2 “Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:”

God told prophet Jeremiah to speak to Zedekiah, King of Judah, that Judah shall be completely defeated, burnt and destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army because they had pretended to obey God when they had actually disobeyed Him.

2.  The Disobedience (V8-16)

V11 “But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.”

Do you know that partial obedience is disobedience? The people pretended to obey God by freeing their Hebrew servants and handmaids after 6 years of service. However, once they freed them, they actually forced them back to be their servants and handmaids.

V14 “At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.”

3.  The  Destruction (V17-22)

V17 “Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.”

Our secret sins are known of God. We can never hide anything from God. God sees and knows everything. The people in Judah thought they could hide from God but they were mistaken as God completely destroyed them.

V22 “... I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.”

Prayer of the Week

Dearest God, help me to completely obey You.

Jeremiah 32

Verse of the Week: V17 “Ah Lord GOD! Behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee:”

1.  God Can Do Anything (V1-17)

V17 “Ah Lord GOD! Behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee:”

Are we worried about our health? Career? Finance? Family? Church? Country?
Do you know that the Lord who makes the heaven and the earth, and who saves you from the pits of hell to the portals of heaven, can do anything for us, if it is His perfect will?
The main reason why we are going through the storms of our lives is that God allows the storms to increase our faith in Him and mould our character to be like Him in holiness, righteousness and perfection!

Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

2.  God Gives The Best (V18-25)

V22 “And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;”

God who gave the nation of Israel the promised land flowing with milk and honey shall also give the best to His children in this church age. Just like our earthly father who will give his best to bring us up the best we can be, our heavenly perfect Father shall certainly give us much more than our earthly imperfect father. We may not be healthy or wealthy or successful in man’s standard, yet God’s best is not in terms of material success, but spiritual success of love, joy and peace in our hearts, minds and souls.

Matthew 7:11 “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?”

3.  God Is Our God (V26-44)

V38 “And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:”

When we call upon God and acknowledge Him as our personal God, we shall never be disappointed with Him, as He shall never fail us, not even once in our entire human life, as well as through all eternity, world without end!

Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”

Prayer of the Week

Dearest God, thank You for being my God and giving me the best.

Jeremiah 33

Verse of the Week: V3 “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

1.  God Never Fails (V1-8)

V3 “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

The hardest thing for Christians to accept from God is when we have done our best and obeyed God yet bad things happen to us! Prophet Jeremiah had done his best and had obeyed God yet he ended up in prison and waiting to be executed. He must have asked God, “Why, why, why?” Let us remember that God shall never fail us and even though we go through crises and not fully understand them, we still trust God to the end!

V6 “Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.”

2.  God Gives Joy (V9-14)

V9 “And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.”

God never fails Israel, His chosen nation, yet time and again, Israel failed God. In spite of the failures, God continues to show His goodness and mercy to Israel and give them many opportunities to repent of their sins and return to Him so that one day He can restore their joy in Him.

V11 “… for the LORD is good; for His mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.”

3.  God Fulfills Promises (V15-26)

V15 “In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.”

God fulfilled His promise when He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins, that whosoever believes in Christ shall have eternal life through His righteousness. Trust God as He shall keep His promises now and forever!

Romans 5:21 “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Prayer of the Week

Dearest God, help me to trust You even when I cannot fully understand my crises.

Jeremiah 31

Verse of the Week: V3 “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

1.  God Loves and Loves (V1-21)

V3 “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

God expressed His everlasting love to His people, Israel. Though Israel sinned against God time and time again, God still loved them with an everlasting love. In fact, God has never forsaken Israel even until today though Israel has yet to acknowledge the Lord Jesus as their Saviour. Today, God is also expressing His everlasting love to His people, the Christians, who have believed and trusted in Him. Indeed, God loves, loves and loves!

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

2.  God Satisfies and Satisfies (V22-30)

V25 “For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”

Even though Israel had forsaken God, yet God invited them to come to Him in repentance and He shall satisfy their weary souls and replenish their sorrowful souls.

Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

3.  God Forgives and Forgives (V31-40)

V34 “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Have you heard someone said, “I can forgive this person but I can never forget what he had done to me!” Yet true forgiveness means bearing no grudges and forgetting the hurt.

Matthew 18:21-22 “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, How oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”

The Lord is not saying that you forgive the person only for 490 times, then by the 491st time, you can refuse to forgive. God commands us to always forgive, forgive and forgive!

Prayer of the Week

Dearest God, thank You for Your everlasting love.

Jeremiah 30

Verse of the Week: V11 “For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.”

1.  The child of God must stand to be corrected (V1-11)

V11 “For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.”

Prophet Jeremiah was arrested and put in prison because of his stand for God and His Word. Even in prison, God spoke to him to write to the nation of Israel and warned them of His judgments upon them if they refused to repent of their wicked ways. However, if Israel correct their wicked ways and turn to God, they shall be saved.

2.  The child of God shall never be an outcast (V12-17)

V17 “For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after."

Most parents if not all parents will never forsake their children because they are their parents’ flesh and blood. Similarly, the perfect heavenly Father will never forsake the nation of Israel who is His children. Even when the world treats Israel as an outcast, the perfect heavenly Father is still with them, and one day He shall restore Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, as the new and holy city of God, and also the bride of Christ.

Revelation 21:2 “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

3.  The child of God shall always be the child of God (V18-24)

V22 “And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

Once you are a child of your parent, you shall always be the child of your parent. Once you are a child of God, you shall always be a child of God. You who believe in Jesus Christ are called a Christian or the child of God, and even when you sin against God, you shall always be the child of God. However, just because you are a child of God, it does not mean that you have a license to sin, instead, when you sin, you shall be chastened of God and shall reap the consequences of your sins. Yet, count it all joy if you are chastened of God as it shows that you are His child because whom He loves He chastens!

Hebrews 12:6 “For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.”

Prayer of the Week

Dearest God, please help me to know that I am Your child and always Your child.

Jeremiah 29

Verse of the Week: V11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

1.  God Thinks Of You 

V11 “For I know the thoughts that I think of you, saith the LORD, ...”

Have you been thinking of someone? Most likely the person you are thinking of is close to your heart. How lovely when God assured prophet Jeremiah that He was thinking of Jeremiah. It must have been a great encouragement to Jeremiah as he led a holy and pure life in a world of sinful and wicked people.
   
Jeremiah 2:13 “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”

2.  God Thinks Of Peace

V11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, …”

What are you thinking today? What you think is what you are! Our Almighty God thinks of peace and indeed He is God of peace. Even the apostle Paul encouraged Christians to think of peace in the world of chaos, conflicts, violence and wars.

Philippians 4:8-9 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”

3.  God Lives Peacefully

V11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

Our loving God encouraged Jeremiah that through it all he would come forth with an expected or a blessed end. Christians shall suffer in this world but at the end of our lives we shall have an expected or blessed end in heaven with God forever. Let us love and encourage one and live peacefully with all men!

Romans 12:18 “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”

Prayer of the Week

Dearest God, please help me to live peacefully with all men.

Jeremiah 28

Verse of the Week: V17 “So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.”

1.  The Popular Prophet 

V3 “Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the LORD’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon.”

Everyone likes to be popular and even the preachers will compromise the truth in order to be popular and grow his church. People prefer to hear comforting lies than painful truth. The prophet Hananiah in order to please his king falsely preached that God shall return all the vessels of the Lord’s house which were taken away by the Babylonians. Instead of preaching repentance and turning to God, he preached a false sense of security and hope.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 “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; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

2.  The Unpopular Prophet

V14 “For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also.”

Alas, the truth hurts as prophet Jeremiah truthfully preached the bad news that the King of Judah and his people shall serve under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar.  The King of Judah and his people hated Jeremiah for the truth. Though Jeremiah was unpopular with his king and his people he could sleep peacefully as the truth of God shall set him free!

John 8:31-32 “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If you continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

3.  The Grave Consequence

V17 “So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.”

Every sin has its grave consequences and God took the life of Hananiah because he lied against God’s truth in order to be popular and to please his king and his people!

Galatians 1:9-10 “And we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”

Prayer of the Week

Dearest God, please help me to please You and You only.

Jeremiah 27

Verse of the Day: V5 “I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.”

Man thinks he is his own destiny, his own future and leads his own life. However, man fails to realize that there is a Creator who creates the heaven, the universe, the planets, the earth and every living creature in the air, on the ground and in the ocean.

1.  God is Creator 

V5 “I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, ...”

Prophet Jeremiah warned the people of Judah that God who made the earth, the man and the beast was the same God who set up and destroyed kingdoms, and there was nothing that they could do except to submit to God’s perfect plan and purpose.

V6 “And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.”

2.  God is Power

V5 “I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.”

However, the people of Judah refused to heed Jeremiah’s warnings and God severely punished them through wars, famine and diseases, and millions died because of their rebellion and disobedience.

V8 “And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.”

3.  God is I AM 

God is I AM WHO I AM. Whatever, whenever and whoever God determines, it shall be fulfilled and done! No man can stop God’s perfect plan and purpose and even when all things seem doom and gloom, God allows all things for His greater plan and purpose!

Exodus 3:14 “And God said unto Moses. I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

Prayer of the Week

Dearest God, please help me to submit to You as You are God.

Jeremiah 26

Verse of the Day: V14 “As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you.”

Faithfulness is a rare commodity. Look around us and we can see that people are no longer faithful in many aspects of our lives, especially faithfulness in our marriage vows and faithfulness in God and His church. In spite of man’s unfaithfulness, God is always faithful and has blessed us with faithful men and women in the Bible for our examples and encouragement and one of them was faithful Prophet Jeremiah.

1.  Faithful in Speech

V2 “Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD’s house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’s house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:”

Jeremiah was faithful in his speech as he spoke to the people of what the Lord commanded him. He never diminishes any word but preach all the words pleading with the people to repent of their sins otherwise God’s judgment shall be upon them.

V3 “If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.”

2.  Faithful in Submission

V13 “Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that He hath pronounced against you.”

Jeremiah was not only faithful in his speech but also faithful in submission to God. He never once questioned God even when he went through much rejection, persecution, sorrow and suffering while preaching God’s message of repentance and judgment. 

3.  Faithful in Sacrifice 

V14 “As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you.”

Jeremiah told the princes and the people that his life was in their hands and he was prepared to sacrifice his life for the sake of God’s plan and purpose.

Revelation 2:10 “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”

Prayer of the Week

Dearest God, please help me to be faithful to You in life and in death.