Sonshine's Journal

God in His everlasting mercy reveals His plans for Ammon and Edom. Their nations will be ravaged until there is nothing left except for the widows and orphans. How hard it is to read these chapters when you realize that death and destruction are allowed by God which is totally contrary to what the world says. They will be destroyed and their destiny is assured. God has demonstrated mercy long enough. People today say, God is love and He loves and no matter who you are or where you live or what you have done, your destiny is assured as heaven. These chapters in Jeremiah contradict that philosophy in spades! Yet, listen to the words of Jeremiah to those who are left behind as the enemies scourge the lands.

God is a God of hope for the most precious of people, the widows and orphans. James reminds us what true religion is, to visit the widows and orphans in their distress. Here in Jeremiah we read: “Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive: Here was a glimmer of hope for Edom, even with the devastation to come. God invited the remnant remaining – made up of fatherless children and widows – to trust in Him.”

How hard it is to trust when you experience such devastation but God is the God of hope both then and now. If you are a widow or an orphan, trust God to preserve you for His work. 

God gave Jeremiah a picture of the nations that surrounded His people. They would rise but in later times they would each fall victim of their own sins. First, God showed Jeremiah about Babylon, then the Philistines and lastly Moab. Each of these cultures were wicked and idolatrous. They presented the Israelites with a temptation to give up the Sovereign Lord and worship idols. Unfortunately, the Israelites fell for that temptation and their nation suffered at the hands of these wicked nations. There is a lesson here for us that comes straight out of James where he tells the Israelites who were dispersed throughout the remnant of these nations. The lesson is this: temptations come and offer what sounds and looks good. We are drawn to them and enticed by them. We often blame Satan for the outcomes, but in reality it is our own wicked hearts that draw us away. We have only to look at our hearts and see this and the blame lies directly on us and Jeremiah reminded the Israelites of that fact. Our hearts are desperately wicked and in need of a spiritual change. 

When we read chapters such as these, we should stop and consider if we are convicted or is our heart so wicked it blames others for our sins. God alone can change the heart. The Israelites were unwilling to repent and change, but how about us? 

Jeremiah the prophet has given the Israelites message after message of the destruction of Judah. All of what he has said has come true so now as we listen to some of the remnant who were not enslaved by the Babylonians we recall this warning from Moses. “Deu 18:22 whenever a prophet speaks in my name and the prediction is not fulfilled, then I have not spoken it; the prophet has presumed to speak it, so you need not fear him.” The people asked well how do we tell who is speaking from God and who is not? The NT churches also had that same question.How can we tell the true from the false? The clear test for the OT prophets is to listen and observe. A true message from God through an OT prophets must come true and Jeremiah’s words prove that he was truly sent from God for each word he spoke came true. 

So why is this chapter so important for us today? First, the remaining remnant did not stay in the land but went to Egypt even after Jeremiah told them not to.

Secondly, the remaining remnant came to him and asked him to pray for God’s direction. So we read: “Pray that the Lord your Godwill tell us where we should go and what we should do.” However, after God revealed to Jeremiah what to do how did they respond? Fast forward to chapter 43 we read the response of the people: “You are telling a lie! The Lord our God did not send you to tell us, ‘You must not go to Egypt and settle there.’

Are we like this? God says you must have faith to be saved but instead we say I have to do this work or that work. We decide to totally ignore what God has said in His Word and the consequence is the same for us as it was for the remnant. They died just as Jeremiah said and if we choose to ignore God’s Word, we too will die in our sins. 

How often do we we sit and ponder how we can voice our concerns to the Lord God Almighty. Habakkuk was a prophet and so because of that, he and the Lord had an awesome closeness. You may not be a prophet but you can pray just as he did. Let’s take a close look at his prayer and learn some details. Habakkuk chapter 3:

I am awed, Lord, by what you accomplished.

In our time repeat those deeds;

in our time reveal them again.

But when you cause turmoil, remember to show us mercy!

Steps to follow Habakkuk’s example: 

1. Adore God. Habakkuk praised God from all His wonders both in the physical realm and in the spiritual realm. 
2. Acknowledge God’s wonders! Habakkuk praised God for His wonderful deeds. 
3. Ask God. Habakkuk asked God to reveal His wonders once again and then for His mercy when times were tough. 

How is your prayer life today? Do you ask for these three things? Think about it. 

Today as we read the news of the destruction and evil workings in nations around the world we wonder how long will God be patient? However, this one thing we know, God is a patient and loving God BUT He is also just regarding sin and its consequences. Centuries have passed since God gave the Israelites the Mosaic Law with the stipulation that faithfulness to Him would be rewarded and disobedience would be punished. However, the Israelites wanted a king so they could be like the nations around them. Be careful what you ask for. God’s ways are the best ways, but He allowed the fruit of that wish to come true. The end result was that the nation was divided, and the kings for the most part were evil. Be careful what you ask for. 

The prophet Isaiah wrote these words to remind us of what God thinks of our decisions. “The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle and sinful people their plans. They should return to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.”  Today we need to heed these words more than ever for they are eternal from the Lord, not just for the kings and people of the past but for us now. 

Do you have a friend who you can count on to help you in tough times? We don’t know the background of Ebed-Melech, the Ethiopian living in Jerusalem, but it seems that in some way he has crossed paths with Jeremiah and became his friend. When the kings evil men put Jeremiah in a mud filled cistern he had not joined in their plan. Secondly, he not only had crossed paths with Jeremiah but also King Zedekiah who was a coward and people pleaser. All we know is that Ebed-Melech’s bravery is noted when he sought the king’s favor to get Jeremiah released. In tough times it helps to have a friend who is willing to stand against evil men’s plans and Ebed-Melech is that friend to Jeremiah. Who is yours? Who can you count on to rise up to help you when others want to end your life? 

Ebed-Melech bravely came to the king to give him orders to get Jeremiah out of that mud filled cistern. He not only gave him freedom to do that but also to gather 30 other men to assist him. Thus that is how Jeremiah was released and why we are given this history lesson of compassion and true friendship. Because of that event, God told Jeremiah to tell Ebed-Melech that his life would be spared and honored in the annals of history. 

Who is your compassionate friend that you could count on in times of adversity? Do you have a Ebed-Melech in your life? 

Sometimes God sends us a visual illustration to capture our attention so we understand His Word and His desire for us.  The story of the Rechabites is a good illustration of what it means to obey and to be steadfast no matter the pressure of the society around us. 

God again told Jeremiah to do something strange. Invite the Rechabites and offer wine to them. The Jerusalemites knew about the Rechabites and their obedience to their ancestor who forbid them to drink wine and live in houses. They must have wondered why were these nomads now residing in the city? Their leader spoke to Jeremiah and the leaders of Israel. We have obeyed our ancestor. Jeremiah challenged the leaders of Israel in Jerusalem. Do you see these people, how they obey? God wants you to follow their example but not obey a man but you are to obey God by keeping the Sabbath and honoring those who speak for God. Hear the word of the Lord. Because they have obeyed I will bless them. They only are now living in the city because of the Babylonians whom you and we fear. But, I will bless them for their obedience and never will they not have a man to stand before Me. 

The Rechabites are an example of obedience. What leader do we heed and obey: God or man? 

What does it take to be a prophet in the times of Israel? It takes fortitude and patience even when the skies are dark with enemies surrounding your beloved and chosen city and its people. That is where we find Jeremiah in this chapter. Incredible that God would tell him to buy a field that is in the hands of the enemy! How incredible that a fellow cousin would offer to sell Jeremiah a plot of land that he may never get to see or use! Yet, as Isaiah had said, the ways of the Lord are not our ways. “Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds,” says the Lord,  “for just as the sky is higher than the earth, so my deeds are superior to your deeds and my plans superior to your plans” Jeremiah knew and believed that thought and followed through with his cousin knowing full well the days ahead may be fraught with war, disease and death. 

At this time, Jeremiah was given a word of the Lord that he would restore the land. Would Jeremiah see it happen? God knows. But one thing we learn is Jeremiah knew and believed this about God: “Oh, SovereignLord, you did indeed make heaven and earth by your mightypower and great strength. Nothing is too hard for you!” 

When life is hard, how do you respond? Like Jeremiah or like the foolish king Zedekiah who did not believe Jeremiah’s words and in the end faced Nebuchadnezzar and was blinded by him as he sought to escape. 

Think about it. 

God promised the Jews that trouble was coming for their sins, but that is not the end of the story.Listen to what God says: “I Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will cause people and animals to sprout up in the lands of Israel and Judah. In the past I saw to it that they were uprooted and torn down, that they were destroyed and demolished and brought disaster. But now I will see to it that they are built up and firmly planted. I, the Lord, affirm it!”

What a beautiful promise to those who had been taken captive to Babylon. After 70 yrs God will restore His people. So what does that promise mean for us today? What God has said He would do He did and His promise is that He will restore us one day for He is a promise keeper. We were once far off and in sin but God called and we answered. God took our trespasses and hidden them in the deepest sea to be remembered no more. 

Are you still wallowing in your sin? God is calling you. What will be your answer?

The words of Jeremiah have come true, those in Jerusalem would be taken captive and escorted thousands of mile across the sands and waters between Jerusalem to Babylon. As Jeremiah witnessed this taking place, his heart was being torn apart for the very ones God had called,had turned against Him. Yet, in the midst of this, God spoke and reminded Jeremiah to tell the captives: “have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope,” God so loved His people that His plan was to restore them to wholeness after 70 yrs. In the meantime, they were to build houses, plant gardens, marry and give in marriage, have babies and lastly pray for the success of Babylon. 

Thinking back to this scene and then the Holocaust, what were the thoughts of the Jews? Did they see this captivity as a reflection of that verse or were they in denial? It is said that Corrie Ten Boom had secretly hidden a Bible and read it to the Jews in those barracks while they waited for the call to the crematoriums or to the work brigades. How many heard those words and clung to them as promises of God? How many heard but chose to deny that promise of God? How about you?