relationships (Jeremiah 29:1-32) Trusting Those Who Really Care

(Jeremiah 29:1-32) 

Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 (This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the high officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalworkers had departed from Jerusalem.) 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, 4 “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and father sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may give birth to sons and daughters; and grow in numbers there and do not decrease. 7 Seek the prosperity of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord in its behalf; for in its prosperity will be your prosperity.’ 8 For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst or your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to their interpretations of your dreams which you dream. 9 For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.

10 “For this is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will let Myself be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

15 “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon’— 16 for this is what the Lord says concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who live in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile— 17 this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine, and plague; and I will make them like rotten figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. 18 I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with plague; and I will make them an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and an object of horror and hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them, 19 because they have not listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the Lord. 20 ‘You, therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

21 ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you falsely in My name: “Behold, I am going to hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your eyes. 22 Because of them a curse will be used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, ‘May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,’ 23 because they acted foolishly in Israel, and committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and falsely spoke words in My name which I did not command them. I am He who knows, and a witness,” declares the Lord.’”

24 Now you shall speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, 25 “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying, 26 “The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the overseer of the house of the Lord for every insane person who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and in the iron collar. 27 So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who prophesies to you, 28 seeing that he has sent word to us in Babylon, saying, ‘The exile will be long; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce’?”’”

29 Now Zephaniah the priest read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 31 “Send word to all the exiles, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: “Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has made you trust in a lie,” 32 therefore this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants; he will not have anyone living among this people, and he will not see the good that I am going to do for My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has spoken falsely against the Lord.”’”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

People will tell us things in order to make us hate, fear and distrust those who are telling the truth.  At the same time, they will tell other lies that they think people want to hear, not because they care, but because they want the glory and the control.  Those who do good and strive to tell us truth (even though it might not be how we want to be told, or what we want to hear) are typically the ones who actually care, and the ones we can trust.  Now, consider the Lord God who loves all people, and cares more for us than all friends, family and spouses in the world put together!  Also, the Lord God is truth!  Therefore, how can we NOT trust Him and His word?

The Israelites were taken out of their homeland to a strange country.  And in captivity, they had to serve another king.  But God's instructions and advice was really clear and simple - continue living as you should!  And in doing so, God was going to bless them.  Part of His instructions were to pray for the city where they were deported, because if that city did well, that would help them do well.  

If we are living in a place, and we hope that that place experiences unrest, and we don't do anything to make that place any better, how is that going to help us or be good for us?  And how does that demonstrate that we care for anyone?  It does not.  Even if we don't agree with what is happening around us, if we add to the problems, we are only making things worse.  

No matter what happens around us or to us, if we have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, we do not have to worry, we do not have to give up or hide, and we certainly should not abandon our walk with the Lord.  Part of trusting God is to follow through on what He asks of us... keep doing as we should, while praying for God to continue working in our lives, trusting that He will make things work out for good, because He cares!

We do not know why God allows certain things to happen, because we cannot see all the details or the future, but God can.  He not only knows what the future holds, but He is Sovereign and in control.  Therefore, He will see to it that His plans are carried out.  Therefore, we can trust Him above all else!  Whoever seeks Him with their whole heart, will find Him!  Whoever follows Him and trusts Him with their whole heart, will be blessed!

relationships (Jeremiah 28:1-17) Guilt, Shame and Freedom

(Jeremiah 28:1-17) 

Now in the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah the prophet the son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me at the house of the Lord in the sight of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I am going to bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from this place and brought to Babylon. 4 I am also going to bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

5 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the sight of the priests and in the sight of all the people who were standing at the house of the Lord, 6 and Jeremiah the prophet said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place. 7 Yet hear now this word which I am going to speak so that you and all the people can hear it! 8 The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times also prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms regarding war, disaster, and plague. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.”

10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. 11 Hananiah spoke in the sight of all the people, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Even so within two full years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” Then Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 13 “Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but in their place you have made yokes of iron.” 14 For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. And I have also given him the animals of the field.”’” 15 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah: the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to die, because you spoke falsely against the Lord.’”

17 So Hananiah the prophet died in the same year, in the seventh month.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

I have a friend who proclaims that it's okay for everyone to believe and do just as they want and that there isn't any punishment.  According to her, everyone is going to heaven.  And even though she doesn't call herself a Christian, she sure has very strong opinions as to what Christianity should and shouldn't be.  While she herself embraces the need to show "compassion" and "love", she also adheres to the notion that dwelling on sin is a bad thing which keeps one from seeing the "divine".  She is right in a sense, but her solution is to ignore sin, and deem certain sins as NOT being sin.  Anyone who boldly "speaks for God" and twists what He says, doesn't have any understanding of God's power or who He is.

From birth, our sin nature comes with a physical and spiritual death, which separates us from God.  The only way to have a relationship with the Lord is to humbly seek the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ.  Once a Christian, we have eternal security, and freedom from sin and shame!  No matter what we do or don't do, we cannot lose our salvation, but our unconfessed sin will impede our relationship and prayers to the Lord.  

We are to keep confessing sin - which is like an apology to God - because our sin is an offense against Him.  If we say we love our parents, but we keep stepping on their toes or slapping their face without apology or desire to change, we will still always be their child, but they won't be very pleased with us.  If we truly love and have compassion, we would feel shame regarding our sinful behaviors.  But don't stay in that sin, giving excuses or trying to justify it that it is somehow okay... confess it!  If we truly love God, our desire will be to get to know Him better and listen to what He actually says. 

Unconfessed sin also hurts ourselves and others.  This is why God has given us directions to follow;  so that we can live a better life, and find a much better way, because He loves and cares about us!  So, the better we know the Bible and God's truths, and the more obedient we are while asking for God's strength and guidance, the closer our relationship will be with the Lord!  

To search our hearts and recognize any sinful behaviors, is not to focus on sin or continue on in shame!  If we are guilty of something, we were created to feel shame, so in that, we can then seek God's forgiveness and freedom.  So, in confessing our sins, we are giving to the Lord our struggles, so that He can change us from the inside out.  Therefore, this is not to dwell on sin, but to rid ourselves of sin so that we can focus on the Lord, His love, joy, peace and righteousness.  

The closer we are to the Lord, the more He will help us grow and mature, so that we will become more and more like Him.  And in this, we will know enough to speak His truth accurately, to better equip ourselves and others, so that we can enjoy living in the spiritual freedom of the Lord!

relationships (Jeremiah 27:1-22) Choosing Our "Captivity"

(Jeremiah 27:1-22) 

In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying— 2 this is what the Lord has said to me: “Make for yourself restraints and yokes and put them on your neck, 3 and send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the sons of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon by the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 Order them to go to their masters, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “This is what you shall say to your masters: 5 ‘I have made the earth, mankind, and the animals which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight. 6 And now I have handed all these lands over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have also given him the animals of the field to serve him. 7 All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will make him their servant.

8 ‘And it will be that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with plague,’ declares the Lord, ‘until I have eliminated it by his hand. 9 And as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers who talk to you, saying, “You will not serve the king of Babylon.” 10 For they are prophesying a lie to you in order to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you away and you will perish. 11 But the nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let remain on its land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and they will cultivate it and live in it.’”’”

12 I spoke words like all these to Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live! 13 Why should you die, you and your people, by the sword, famine, and plague, as the Lord has spoken to the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 So do not listen to the words of the prophets who talk to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying a lie to you; 15 for I have not sent them,” declares the Lord, “but they are prophesying falsely in My name, so that I will drive you away and that you will perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

16 Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”; for they are prophesying a lie to you. 17 Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city become a place of ruins? 18 But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, have them now plead with the Lord of armies that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord and the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem do not go to Babylon. 19 For this is what the Lord of armies says concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the kettle stands, and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he led into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21 Yes, this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, says concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: 22 “They will be brought to Babylon and will be there until the day I visit them,” declares the Lord. “Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.”’”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

"You're fine.  What you are doing is not a sin.  There are different ways you can interpret that verse.  God won't punish you for that.  He will still bless you."

These are words we can hear in our society today.  But God does not say one thing, and then say another.  And He is very clear on all the things that we need to know, therefore there is no trick to interpreting something.  So when we hear any kind of doctrinal proclamation, we do need to see if it aligns with the Bible, which is God's infallible word, truth, and our final authority... 

Therefore, we should keep everything in context!  And the truth found in this passage is that God will not bless sin.  If there is sin in a person's life, there will be eternal punishment, unless a person turns to God and becomes a believer.  As for Christians, when we sin, there will be consequences (here on earth).  God will discipline us to get our attention to turn back to Him.

Therefore, another truth found in this passage is that God loves us and wants to deliver us all from sin.  And when we live in obedience, He will bless us.  Notice how the Lord gave the Israelites a choice, to listen to Him and go into captivity where they would remain safe, or they could try to survive elsewhere on their own and die.  God knows the future, and knew that eventually another king would take over and help Israel rebuild.  

Even if the Lord had told the Jews every little detail, some of them would still have disobeyed, because some people just don't want to trust God and His word.  But for us believers... for those who know that God cares for us, and for those who do trust Him and His word, the decision should be a no-brainer then for us to strive to obey. Even when we are doing the right things, God will still sometimes allow us to go through hardships.  But in these things, no matter what we are going through, when we look to the Lord, we will mature and grow in our faith in Him.  As well, we will be a testimony to others!  Otherwise, how could we ever say, "The Lord is always there for us, to work things out for us" if we never go through anything?  

Understand that there are many different types of "captivities".  The first big one is that we are all born into sin.  We are captive for all eternity and slaves to sin, unless and until we accept salvation through Jesus.  In His forgiveness, we are then free from sin!  Now we have daily decisions as to whether or not we want to be "slaves" for God!  This is a very excellent thing!

Just like with marriage, if one remains in their sinful state, or if as a believer we choose to put ourselves into some sort of sinful pattern (a sinful captivity of our own making)... this would be like getting stuck in a very bad and miserable marriage.  But when we embrace a close relationship with the Lord Jesus... this would be like the greatest marriage in the world for all eternity!  As a husband and wife are one flesh, and we are to work together as a team, to the glory of God... we are one with Christ, working together to His glory.  The difference is that God is perfect.  Everything He suggests that we should do will work, and we can trust and rely on Him, 100%!  In doing so, we will see, and others will see, how the Lord cares for us, provides for us, and works in us, through us, and for us.

relationships (Jeremiah 26:1-24) Be Open to the Truth

(Jeremiah 26:1-24) 

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have come to worship in the Lord’s house all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. Do not omit a word! 3 Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, and I will relent of the disaster which I am planning to inflict on them because of the evil of their deeds.’ 4 And you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “If you do not listen to Me, to walk in My Law which I have set before you, 5 to listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you again and again, but you have not listened; 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.”’”

7 The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 Yet when Jeremiah finished speaking everything that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You must die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh and this city will be in ruins, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered to Jeremiah at the house of the Lord.

10 When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. 11 Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied against this city, just as you have heard with your own ears!”

12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. 13 Now then, reform your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will relent of the disaster which He has pronounced against you. 14 But as for me, behold, I am in your hands; do with me as is good and right in your sight. 15 Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city and its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words so that you hear them.”

16 Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “No death sentence for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” 17 Then some of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, 18 “Micah of Moresheth used to prophesy in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies has said:

     “Zion will be plowed like a field,
     And Jerusalem will become heaps of ruins,
     And the mountain of the house like the high places of a forest.”’

19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah actually put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and plead for the favor of the Lord, and the Lord relented of the disaster which He had pronounced against them? But we are committing a great evil against our own lives!”

20 Indeed, there was also a man who used to prophesy in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land words similar to all those of Jeremiah.  21 When King Jehoiakim and all his warriors and all the officials heard his words, then the king sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard about it, and he was afraid, so he fled and went to Egypt. 22 Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him, to Egypt. 23 And they brought Uriah from Egypt and led him to King Jehoiakim, who killed him with a sword and threw his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

24 But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was not handed over to the people to put him to death.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

When a group of people get all worked up with emotions of self-righteousness, fear and anger, reasoning can go right out the window.  It was with this kind of a mob-like-mentality that the Israelites demanded and yelled, "Crucify Him!" regarding the Lord Jesus.  But should Christians live in fear of accidentally saying something that might be misunderstood or taken out of context?  

Even the gospel message can be very offensive to people, even though it is GOOD NEWS!  Very good news!  News that sets people free from sin and comes with eternal life!  Notice in verses 9 and 13, the people reacted to the negative part of Jeremiah's prophecy, instead of hearing the part where - if they would listen and obey - it would go well for them.

A lot of people will hate God's word enough to want to "kill the messengers."  Even with today's cancel culture, if not to literally kill someone, people will still try to silence a person somehow, if and when someone appears to say anything that doesn't support their cause.  And while some say they are fighting for things like equality and respect, they have no compassion or respect for the person they are cancelling and/or persecuting.  

Even for us, once we are believers, if someone says that what we are doing is against God's word, and destructive to our lives and those around us, whatever it is, and even if it isn't delivered in the nicest way... it is to our benefit to listen and consider it.  Is there something I'm doing wrong that I need to confess and change?  If not, then we can move on.  Even if we are persecuted for doing the right thing, this is far better than suffering the consequences for doing the wrong thing!  We can know that God is looking out for us.  And even if we die, we can be confident that God deemed it as the right time for us to go home.

Knowing that God is in control of how and when I live or die helps me not to fear anything or anyone.  We can trust and rely on the Lord, knowing that He is omniscient and omnipotent.  We need to keep striving in His will, being confidently obedient, and prepared and willing to share the gospel message whenever He gives us opportunities.  As we fear God and go to Him for help, He strengthen us, protects us, and gives us courage and the right words to speak.  We do not know when or how someone is going to choose to believe in the Lord and become a child of God, but God certainly does!

relationships (Jeremiah 25:1-38) When There is Love...

(Jeremiah 25:1-38) 

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 the word which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, 3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty-three years the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. 4 And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear, 5 saying, ‘Turn now, everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the land which the Lord has given to you and your forefathers forever and ever; 6 and do not follow other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, then I will do you no harm.’ 7 Yet you have not listened to Me,” declares the Lord, “in order to provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.

8 “Therefore this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, 9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and hissing, and an everlasting place of ruins. 10 Moreover, I will eliminate from them the voice of jubilation and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This entire land will be a place of ruins and an object of horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.

12 ‘Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the Lord, ‘for their wrongdoing, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation. 13 I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14 (For many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.)’”

15 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to me: “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and give it to all the nations to whom I send you, to drink from it. 16 Then they will drink and loudly vomit and act insanely because of the sword that I am going to send among them.”

17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and gave it to all the nations to whom the Lord sent me, to drink from it: 18 To Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, and its kings and its officials, to make them places of ruins, objects of horror, hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; 19 To Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people; 20 and to all the foreign people, all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines (that is, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod); 21 To Edom, Moab, and the sons of Ammon; 22 and to all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are beyond the sea; 23 and to Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who trim the corners of their hair; 24 and to all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who live in the desert; 25 and to all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; 26 and to all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the earth which are on the face of the ground; and the king of Sheshach shall drink it after them.

27 “And you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall down, and do not get up, because of the sword which I am sending among you.”’ 28 And if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “You shall certainly drink! 29 For behold, I am beginning to inflict disaster on this city which is called by My name, so should you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares the Lord of armies.’

30 “Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them,

     ‘The Lord will roar from on high 
     And raise His voice from His holy dwelling;
     He will roar forcefully against His fold.
     He will shout like those who tread the grapes,
     Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 A clamor has come to the end of the earth,
     Because the Lord has a controversy with the nations.
     He is entering into judgment with humanity;
     As for the wicked, He has turned them over to the sword,’ declares the Lord.”

32 This is what the Lord of armies says:
     “Behold, evil is going out 
     From nation to nation,
     And a great storm is being stirred up 
     From the remotest parts of the earth.

33 “Those put to death by the Lord on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried; they will be like dung on the face of the ground.


34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;
     Wallow in the dust, you masters of the flock;
     For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions have come,
     And you will fall like a precious vessel.
35 There will be no sanctuary for the shepherds,
     Nor escape for the masters of the flock.
36 Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds,
     And the wailing of the masters of the flock!
     For the Lord is destroying their pasture,
37 And the peaceful grazing places are devastated 
     Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 He has left His hiding place like the lion;
     For their land has become a horror 
     Because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword 
     And because of His fierce anger.”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

As we have seen throughout the Old Testament, the Lord (Jesus) sent prophets to let the Israelites know God's word, and His desire to have a personal relationship with them and all people.  As well, the Israelites got to hear many times the Lord's instructions and direction, because the Lord wants to bless them.  And because they have refused to accept and believe, the prophets were sent to warn them, many, many times, but they still refused to hear.  Just as they refused to hear when the Lord Jesus came in flesh, to tell them in person, and to demonstrate His gracious and amazing love, right before their eyes!  

How many times did Jesus tell them, "For those who have ears to hear"?  A lot!  You'd think that more Israelites would have recognized this analogy, and then said to themselves, "Oh yeah, this sounds familiar, maybe I should listen, pay attention, and take to heart what is being said."

No matter how many times God has to tell us something, if our inclination is to shut our ears or think maybe it can wait, we need to wake up and realize that the time to listen is "now".  Why wait?  Why wait until things get bad?  Classic human nature is to blame God for when things get bad, because then that can become one's excuse to continue on in ignoring God and His word, even if it leads to their own death and destruction.  

As verse 7 tells us, when we disobey, we are only working towards our own harm.  So, we must also realize that if God is telling us something many, many times, it must be very, very important.  And just because God is warning us so many times, we should realize that it is because He loves us and cares for us so very much!  So, when we realize God's great love for us, and choose to love Him back, we will desire to be with Him and crave to hear His every word.