A remnant goes to Egypt, including the king’s two daughters. Even though scripture says that the words of Jeremiah end with Jer. 51:64 there are other writings that tell of Jeremiah and Baruch leaving Egypt with the king’s daughters. The significance of this will be discussed later.

Jeremiah warns the Hebrews living in Egypt that God will bring disaster on them if they continue in their evil ways. The response of the people goes far beyond impudent! They were mocking God. They suffered the consequences.

Gal 6:7
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

Even though much of Jeremiah’s lamentations are indeed expressions of grief, he includes this most wonderful of Scriptures.

Lam 3:22-23
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

What a great verse for us to ponder.

The following words of Jeremiah are echoed later in the words of Paul.

Lam 3:40
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.
2 Cor 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-- unless, of course, you fail the test?

Earlier God had told the people that there would come a time that He would not listen to them.

Lam 3:44
You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through.

How have we as Christians “covered ourselves with a cloud”? If so how have we done that?

Over the next several chapters in Lamentations, Jeremiah lives up to his reputation as a “weeping prophet”. He is weeping over the fall of Jerusalem.

The book of Lamentations is a perfect example of prophetic foreshadowing. In the last days, the apostate and false church can be substituted for Jerusalem. Read today’s reading again and see how it sounds with that substitution placed.

Lam 2:14
The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading.

The people of Jeremiah’s day listened to the false prophets who did not expose their sins. As a result the people went into captivity. If we are listening to prophets who do not expose sin, what happens to us?

We as Christians have a responsibility to listen to God’s Word and the teaching of the Holy Spirit and not words of false prophets.

Earlier Ezekiel related this prophecy concerning King Zedekiah. He said that Zedekiah would not “see” captivity.

Ezek 12:13
I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die.

Jer 39:7
Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.
Zedekiah did not “see” captivity.

In the listing of the treasures in the temple in Jerusalem that were taken by the Babylonians, notice the ark is not listed. But something as insignificant as wick trimmers are listed. When did the ark leave?

Cherubim were angels who guarded the holiness of God. Cherubim were fashioned on top of the ark. Ezekiel’s earlier vision the four creatures were cherubim. When God’s glory left from the mountain east of Jerusalem (the Mount of Olives) cherubim were beneath His glory. Did the ark leave when God’s glory left?

“…The land enjoyed its Sabbath rests…”
They had violated the Sabbath and God is collecting.

Jeremiah certainly is given reason to be called “the weeping prophet” considering all the things that happened to him. One man (Ebed-Melech, a Cushite, an official in the royal palace) was filled with compassion for Jeremiah and was brave enough to go to the king on Jeremiah’s behalf.

Jer 38:9-10
"My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread in the city." Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Cushite, "Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies."

Ebed-Melech was later rewarded for his trust in the Lord.

Jer 39:16-18
"Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite, 'This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city through disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes. But I will rescue you on that day, declares the LORD; you will not be handed over to those you fear. I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD.'"

When we trust in the Lord, He rewards us too!

Ezekiel was looking at the king of Tyre but speaking to Satan. Satan entered the king of Tyre as he entered into Judas.

Ezek 28:12-17
"Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "'You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.
This scripture tells us that Lucifer was perfect, even anointed as a guardian angel. He lived in Eden, a garden paradise. Imagine all the precious stones surrounding him with the glory of God shining through those rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and other stones. Because of all of this splendor and his elevated status, pride got hold of him and corrupted him. Widespread trade means he solicits followers and entices them to follow him. He merchandized in bribes, enticing one third of the angels to follow him by promising them untold things.

Rev. 12;7
And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.
Michael was an archangel – a warrior angel. The dragon is Satan.

Rev 20:2
He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

Isa 14:12
How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!

Luke 10:18
He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

God, the Father and God the Son saw Lucifer fall out of heaven like a lightning bolt flashes out of the sky.

In the judgments against Judah’s many oppressors, there is a very specific judgment against Egypt.

Ezek 29:9-11
Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the LORD. "'Because you said, "The Nile is mine; I made it," therefore I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste from Migdol to Aswan, as far as the border of Cush. No foot of man or animal will pass through it; no one will live there for forty years.

At a place called Aswan in southern Egypt there are two large dams on the Nile River. During the last days the Aswan dams will be broken down whether by bunker busting bombs that may be released by the Antichrist in his war against Egypt or by earthquake, etc. Whatever the method may be, the Bible indicates that these dams will be destroyed. The people living in the floodplain will be killed by the rushing water and the silt currently being held back by the two dams. The floodplain area will be buried under a sea of mud. Egypt will be left a desolate land that will extend 40 years into the millennium. The desolate Egypt will stand as a monument (just as we have Sodom and Gomorrah today) to show how God will deal with sin.

It seems as if Scripture is absolutely FULL of the promises of God. The following one is a promise of restoration of the remnant in the millennium.

Jer 23:4
I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the LORD.
In the millennium, there will be no “hired hands”, only “good shepherds” to tend the “flock”.

Jer 33:20-21
"This is what the LORD says: 'If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, then my covenant with David my servant-- and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me-- can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne.

God is saying, He keeps His promises of a descendant of David to be on the throne. There will come a time however when day and night no longer come at their appointed time (at least as we know it now). In the millennium there will be a unique day.
Zech 14:7
It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime-- a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light.

In eternity, there will be no need for the night and day to come at their appointed times.
Rev 21:23
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

Another glimpse into the millennium…
Jer 31:34
No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

Hebrews 8:11
No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.

Habakkuk 2:14
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Just imagine….ALL people will know the Lord in the millennium and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of His glory.

Rev 22:20b
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Jer 33:11b
" For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the LORD.

This little sentence speaks volumes concerning God’s promises! He promises to restore the fortunes of the land “as they were before…” Which “before”? Could it be that He is promising to restore things as they were in the Garden of Eden? Is this a promise for the millennium? Read on and it will be obvious!

Jer 30:3
The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess,' says the LORD."

If we go all the way back to the original “forefathers”, it takes us back to the Garden of Eden.

While these Scriptures certainly speak of a literal fulfillment during the days of the Biblical writing, it also is a layered prophecy that speaks of a fulfillment yet in our future. That’s what makes this His “living” Word!

Jer 30:21
I will bring him near and he will come close to me, for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?' declares the LORD.

Our prayer is that all of us will devote ourselves to be close to HIM!

Isn’t it audacious that King Zedekiah asks the following of Jeremiah?
Jer 21:2
"Inquire now of the LORD for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the LORD will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us."
This Lord “who performs wonders” is the same Lord to whom the kings and the people were continually disobedient, defiant, and rebellious.

God gave the people an option. Whoever surrenders lives. Whoever does not surrender dies.
Jer 21:8
"Furthermore, tell the people, 'This is what the LORD says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.
He gives us this same option today. Surrender to Him, accept Jesus as Savior and live eternally.

God is very clear how He feels about sacrificing children in the fire. Does that apply to us today? How might we “sacrifice children in the fire”?

What a great promise of restoration found in Jeremiah 32 and a great secondary promise in Jeremiah 33. Our ever faithful and loving God continually promises!

God asks His prophets to do many unpleasant things in order to get the attention of His people. But Ezekiel is asked to refrain from mourning the death of his wife in order for God to make a point. What obedience from Ezekiel! He did exactly as the Lord directed.

Earlier the prophet Hosea was told to take an adulterous wife. We asked the question, would any of us be as willingly obedient. We ask a similar question now; would we be as willingly obedient as Ezekiel?

If ever there was any doubt of the spiritual marriage relationship between God and His people, Ezekiel’s words in Chapter 23 put that doubt to rest! In this allegory the two nations of Israel and Judah (Oholah and Oholibah) have taken all aspects of a marriage relationship and abused it in every conceivable way including adultery and prostitution.

These words to our tender ears may appear offensive but it illustrates the extent of the damage to this spiritual marriage relationship. This is God speaking to make His point.

So what does that have to do with us today? Do we as Christians (the bride of Christ) commit spiritual adultery and prostitution? If so how?

An attitude of false teaching and false prophecy was a condition that existed in the days of the prophets of the Old Testament and is written to give us warning for what will happen as time draws closer to the last days.

Ezek 22:25-30
There is a conspiracy of her princes within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her. Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says'-- when the LORD has not spoken. The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice. "I looked for a man (an individual – you, me???) among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.

The previous verses in Ezekiel show us that the princes, priests, officials, and prophets were leading the people astray by their ungodly leadership. The people were looking to their leaders for the example. The leaders were not teaching them in a God-directed way. The leaders accepted as normal some practices that were strictly abhorred by God, telling the people that it was okay. That same attitude can be found today in many church congregations. New Christians expect church leaders to be theologically sound in doctrine and well versed in God’s Word. If these church leaders are not teaching them Biblically based doctrine the new Christians may be led astray. But praise God there are some godly teachers and pastors who are speaking, preaching, and teaching Biblically based doctrine. They CAN be found!

Matt 7:7
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

In Ezekiel 16 God compares His relationship to His people as a marriage. God takes care of the woman in the analogy from the time she is an infant providing everything for her until she becomes His bride, yet she commits adultery then turns to prostitution. It applies to Judah and most specifically to Jerusalem and was fulfilled in Ezekiel’s time. It compares the infant in the analogy to the first century church and the prostitute in the analogy to the false church of the last days.

Ezekiel 16:15-19
"'But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his. You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places, where you carried on your prostitution. Such things should not happen, nor should they ever occur. You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them. And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense before them. Also the food I provided for you-- the fine flour, olive oil and honey I gave you to eat-- you offered as fragrant incense before them. That is what happened, declares the Sovereign LORD.

The woman has taken all the things that have been lovingly provided for her and turns them into something corrupt.

Ezekiel 16:20 "'And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough?

The question is answered in the following. No, her prostitution was not enough.

Ezekiel 16:33
Every prostitute receives a fee, but you give gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.

She was worse than a prostitute receiving a fee. She was bribing her lovers to come to her. This prophetic analogy will be applied later to the apostate and false church actively working against the basic foundations of the Christian faith.

However, as always, God gives us this promise.

Ezek 16:63
Then, when I make atonement for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign LORD.'"

Praise God, He made atonement for us through Jesus!

Interesting little twist in the following verse…was Ezekiel speaking of Zedekiah when he says the prince will not see the land of the Chaldeans?

Ezek 12:13
I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die.

Jer 52:11
Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.

If it was indeed Zedekiah, he certainly didn’t “see” it.

The reference to “whitewash” has connections in the New Testament as well as today.

Ezek 13:10
"'Because they lead my people astray, saying, "Peace," when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,

Matt 23:27
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.

God is pretty specific and descriptive in how He feels about whitewash! What connections can we make today concerning whitewash and prophets and teachers?

When Ezekiel was taken in vision to see the idolatry in the temple he was truly incensed. There were many disgraceful and detestable things being done there. Tammuz was worshiped as a Phoenician sun god, the husband of Ishtar (from where the name Easter originated)– one of the goddess of fertility and sex. The weeping for Tammuz was for an annual lamentation over his death and later a celebration of his “resurrection”. His death was to typify the long dry summer and his return to life is symbolized in the new life of spring. It was because of all of the detestable practices being done in the temple in Jerusalem that the glory of the Lord left the temple.

Ezek 11:12
And you will know that I am the LORD, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you."

Again God reminds them about conforming to the standards of the nations.

God calls us as Christians to be different from the standards of the world. He calls us to be transformed.

Rom 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Ezek 11:23
The glory of the LORD went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it.

The mountain east of Jerusalem is the Mount of Olives. It is here that the glory of the Lord departed and it is at this same place that Jesus will return.

Ezekiel…what a prophet!

What a vision!

We found some interesting connections with some of the images Ezekiel saw. It seems that others have seen similar images, namely Moses and John.

Ezek 1:26, 28
26 Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.

28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

Exod 24:9-10
Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself.

Rev 4:2-3
At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.

Ezekiel is given some timely advice, something that is relevant today as well.
Ezek 2:5-7
And whether they listen or fail to listen-- for they are a rebellious house-- they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.

We live in a world figuratively full of briars, thorns, and scorpions. As Christians we are as lambs among wolves. Many times we may be called to witness or speak out for Him. It really shouldn’t matter to us whether or not people listen. The important lesson to learn is obedience to Him. He’ll take care of the rest.

Why do you think the scroll tasted sweet to Ezekiel? It was full of words of lament, mourning, and woe.

What strange things God asked Ezekiel to do! What is significant about the number of days?

Jer 51:9
"'We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to his own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the clouds.'
Interesting that this Scripture is reminiscent of the Tower of Babel where men built a tower to try and reach heaven. Now judgment is prophesied to come upon Babylon.

In Judgment against Elam, Jeremiah mentions four winds and four quarters of the heavens.
Revelation 7 mentions four corners of the earth and four angels holding back four winds.

God makes it pretty clear what He thinks of covenant breakers in Jeremiah 34. Makes a person want to honor any covenant made with the Lord.

Jeremiah relates God’s judgment on Babylon- a prophecy fulfilled. Babylon is now a ruin. Gates were found during excavating that are four stories high and more than 20 feet thick, now in a British museum. Excavations are no longer allowed.

Jer 50:24
I set a trap for you, O Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it; you were found and captured because you opposed the LORD.

Daniel (in Daniel 5) deciphered the mysterious handwriting on the wall that was foretold by this passage in Jeremiah. King Belshazzar was killed while he and his nobles were having a drunken banquet. They were caught before they knew it, just as Jeremiah had prophesied.

Jeremiah also tells Judah and Israel that the Redeemer will defend their cause.

Jer 50:34
Yet their Redeemer is strong; the LORD Almighty is his name. He will vigorously defend their cause so that he may bring rest (salvation) to their land, but unrest (damnation) to those who live in Babylon.

In the great deportation, Nebuchadnezzar took the skilled, educated and fighting men leaving only the poor of the land. These who were left worked the land and kept the buildings repaired.

Under Zedekiah’s reign, the leaders and the priests became more and more unfaithful following the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord. And yet, our ever faithful God sends them messengers because He has pity on them and on His dwelling place.

2 Tim 2:13
if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

God continues to give us chance, after chance, after chance.

Jeremiah relates some harsh words directed at the prophets.

Jer 23:16
This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.

Sounds like some “powder puff preachers” today.

God says the false prophets have not stood in His council. They have spoken words in their own power. How do we know when spiritual leaders speak words from the Lord? We must be a Berean.

Acts 17:11
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

If the Bereans checked to see if what Paul said was true, shouldn’t we check to see if spiritual leaders are speaking the truth? We must however be familiar with the Monument of Truth, God’s Word, His entire Word!

We hear verse 11 in Jeremiah 9 quoted often. The only problem is people don’t want to read the verses prior to verse 11 or after verse 11. While God certainly does have plans to prosper us, plans to give us hope and a future, He tells the people of Judah that they will go into captivity (70 years to be exact). Sometimes God sends us places that are uncomfortable and unpleasant. Verse 13 says we need to seek Him. How exactly are we supposed to do that? What does it look like to seek Him?

Jer 29:11-13
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Hananiah foretells a portion of the truth. He soft pedals and tells Judah that they will only be in captivity for two years. He was trying to soften the blow. God calls this rebellion against Him. That should tell us something about how God feels about false prophecy and false teaching. Often there is an element of truth. False teachers tell enough of the truth to make it believable and enough lie to make it wrong.

In all the judgments against the enemies of Judah we have this verse.

Jer 48:10
"A curse on him who is lax in doing the LORD's work! A curse on him who keeps his sword from bloodshed!

A curse, you say? Oops. Makes us want to not be lax in doing the Lord’s work, whatever that may be.

Many times in Scripture, the sword is used figuratively for the Word of God. When we use the sword (the Word of God) properly, sins are amputated (ouch), often causing trauma, which can only be relieved by submitting to...the Word of God and His authority.

Heb 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Did you catch the qualifications for the young men chosen to enter the king’s service in the first part of the book of Daniel? Daniel and his friends had some pretty impressive credentials. And as if these weren’t enough, God gave them some additional abilities.

When Daniel was taken to the king to interpret the dream, he goes with a very humble attitude. This dream has such profound and significant meaning. The destruction of the statue in the dream is representative of the destruction of the earth when Jesus (the rock) returns.

Dan 2:35b
The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
This verse ties in beautifully with the following.

Isa 11:9
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
After the destruction will be the Millennial Kingdom. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord just as the rock became a huge mountain.

Dan 2:44
"In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.

Once the Millennium starts, it will never be destroyed and will continue on into the eternal kingdom.

When the scribe Baruch read the scroll that he had dictated from Jeremiah the people responded with repentance and fasting. The officials however were afraid of what the king might say and reported the reading of the scroll to him.

Of course what followed was the burning of the scroll because there were words there that the king didn't want to know about. Ever feel that way sometimes? Some words of Scripture that we just don't want to be reminded of? Seems as if some words of Scripture are so convicting that we want to delete them or simply not read them.

Then poor Baruch, he had to redo the tedious writing of the scroll. Ever think about service to the Lord as being tedious?

What if Baruch hadn't rewritten the scroll? Look what we would have missed!

The wrath of God is prophesied in many of the writings in the Old Testament including the writings of Jeremiah, the prophet.

Jeremiah 25 CUP OF GOD'S WRATH

The wrath of God is not a very popular topic. We hear a lot about His love but not His hate, His grace, but not His wrath. To fully understand His love and grace we must understand His hate and wrath. God hates the sin with as much intensity as He loves the sinner. Because the wrath of God is seldom taught, this phrase may sound strange to many.

During the last days the believers will be protected from the wrath of God. Paul explained this to the church in Thessalonica.

II Thessalonians 1:9b-10
They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead-- Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

The believers will have no reason to fear the wrath of God because they are saved. We hear that word a lot…saved. What does it mean exactly? We are saved from what? We are saved from the wrath of God. Jesus saved us from the wrath of God. That is why we as believers have no fear of the CUP OF GOD'S WRATH.

A line from the Chronological Bible commentary is … “evil, wherever it is found, always bears within it the seeds of its own destruction.”

In reading the book of Habakkuk one thing comes through loud and clear. God allows some terrible things to happen to fulfill his purposes. But He continually gives humanity a choice. How are we to choose if there is only good and no evil from which to choose?

The process of winemaking illustrates the point. A vintner will pour the juice of crushed grapes into a clean container. According to his recipe he will add a certain amount of sugar to the grape juice. If nothing else is added to the recipe there will be no wine. It will eventually be only vinegar. In order for the grape juice to make wine, another element must be added to the recipe and that element is yeast. Yeast is an agitating force in the making of wine just as evil is an agitating force in the human condition. The vintner separates the dregs from the good wine at the end of the winemaking process. Our struggles between good and evil on the earth are nothing more than the fermentation of the plan of redemption. Whether we live in a condition of eternal death or eternal life depends on how we react to the yeast that God puts into our lives. God gives us the choice. What will we choose?

Jeremiah warned about a physical battle. It also applies to the spiritual battle for us. How can we apply the following Scripture to our lives today?

Jer 46:3-5
"Prepare your shields, both large and small, and march out for battle! Harness the horses, mount the steeds! Take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears, put on your armor! What do I see? They are terrified, they are retreating, their warriors are defeated. They flee in haste without looking back, and there is terror on every side," declares the LORD.

Paul tells us about this spiritual battle in Ephesians 6. (Eph 6:11-17) Paul calls the shield a shield of faith. According to Jeremiah 46 we prepare our faith, both large and small. Jeremiah tells us to put our helmets on. Paul calls it the helmet of salvation. Jeremiah tells us to polish (that word means sharpen) our spears. Our spears according to Paul are our swords, the Word of God. If we polish our spears, we hone our knowledge of God’s Word. Jeremiah and Paul tell us to put on our armor and take up our positions and stand firm. Look what happens. Our enemy will flee. He is, after all, already defeated. The people in Jeremiah’s day were told to be physically prepared and armed. They didn’t even have to fight. Our struggle, as stated by Paul, is not against the physical flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Put on the full armor of God and maintain a firm stand.

Why on earth did Josiah march out to meet the king of Egypt in battle?

We’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah. Their prophecies were fulfilled many years after they were made. Why? Why were the prophecies not fulfilled sooner? Could it be because some of the people really did listen and heed the warnings of the prophets? Did God delay the captivity? Did He withhold His hand of discipline because some of the people listened and obeyed?

We’ve also been thinking about the power of one person in bringing about a change in attitude. What if one powerful spiritual leader were to take to heart the words in Psalm 18 or the words in 2 Chronicles 7 or the words of the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah?

Another thought, could an ordinary person also bring about a change in attitude? You know God has a way of taking the ordinary and turning it into the extraordinary. How about joining with us to pray for our powerful spiritual leaders that they would truly take to heart the words of Scripture and take a stand for Him? Let’s also pray for each other, that we each may take to heart the words of Scripture…who knows what might happen! We may just change the world!

Ps 81:10-14
I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. "But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. "If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!

When the Hebrew people came out of Egypt, they were told to go in and take the land. All they had to do was figuratively “open wide” their mouth and God would “fill it”.

But the people didn’t listen so what happened? God “gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices”. But if only they would listen, God promised to “subdue their enemies”.

2 Chr 7:14
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

This is a verse that has been quoted often lately. Keep in mind that it is the people who are “called by my name” that need to humble themselves, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways. It doesn’t say that we are supposed to pray that the other guys must turn from their wicked ways. Takes on a whole new meaning then doesn’t it???

Jeremiah’s preaching must have had some effect. Six years earlier Josiah had purged the land of the idols and altars surrounding Jerusalem. In today’s reading he begins purging the temple.

What a refreshing concept is recorded in the following verse concerning the workers at the temple.
II Ki 22:7
But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are acting faithfully."

Can’t you hear the excitement in the voice of Hilkiah when he found the Book of the Law!
II Ki 22:8
Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD." He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.

Apparently the words spoke volumes to Josiah because look what happened next. He had the law read to the people, and then the covenant was renewed. Sounds like a modern day rededication of lives to Jesus.

Notice the Asherah worship was inside the temple. Josiah also got rid of the mediums and spiritists. Does this tell us how God feels about those things?

What a great Passover celebration ordered by Josiah! He did things the way God said to do things. Good example for us too, don’t you think?

Jer 18:2-4
"Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Jeremiah’s message from the potter was a bit different from Phil’s message. The message Phil received was; No matter how marred you are, how useless and inadequate you may feel- or even how blind you are – God shapes what you are into a shape that is pleasing to Him.

Jer 20:9
But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
If God’s Word is in our heart like a fire, we should not be able to hold it in.

Jeremiah again in today’s reading feels self pity and betrayal, even curses the day he was born, and yet he praises God. Good example for us wouldn’t you say?