Jeremiah 32-34 In my mind’s eye I can see and feel the terror of the people of Judah as the king of Babylon kept them under siege.  Land outside the walls was being captured and burned.  Destruction of property was everywhere to be seen. And yet the Lord used that time of chaos to show his people that this hard road would one day end.  There was a light at the end of that tunnel, he promised them. I’ve noticed that the Lord often had Jeremiah do object lessons for the people in order to help them understand a concept. … Continue reading Object Lessons

Jeremiah 30-31 Hope for the future is set out in these chapters.  The message the Lord gave Jeremiah went from one of woe and destruction to one of hope for those who turn back to the Lord. Jeremiah dreamed some of the message, and he wrote that his sleep was sweet.  No wonder!  His sleep until this time was filled with destruction!  How refreshing it must have been to hear of a brand new covenant promised from the Lord…a covenant that we know was fulfilled in Christ: “33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people … Continue reading A new covenant

Jeremiah 26-29 Nobody wanted to hear what Jeremiah had to say because it was tough love from the Lord.  Other priests and prophets ran around promising peace and goodness and prosperity without admonishing their people to turn from their wickedness.  Tough love is hard.  It hurts to hear that we’ve grieved our parents…how much more it hurts to hear that we’ve grieved our Creator! I had to be tough with my daughter today…but I am ashamed at the way I did so in anger.  We got up early and went to the ice rink so she could practice for tomorrow’s … Continue reading Ears to Hear

Jeremiah 23-25 Words matter to God.  They really do!  Many people know about John 1 — “In the beginning was the Word, and Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  But God speaks about the proper use of words in Jeremiah 23.  Apparently false prophets were spouting off all sorts of things that the people’s itching ears wanted to hear.  They claimed to be speaking “a prophesy from the Lord,” but the Lord objected so vehemently that he told people to stop saying that phrase altogether: 34 “If any prophet, priest, or anyone else says, ‘I have a … Continue reading In a word

Jeremiah 18-22 Anyone suffering from depression could learn a great deal from Jeremiah.  Jeremiah had a reason to be depressed in that there were people who hated him so much they wanted him dead…if ever an ancient prophet was a “marked” man, Jeremiah was it, and he knew it. In fact, he wrote that he wished he had never been born or that he had been born stillborn. What’s remarkable to me is that Jeremiah didn’t voice his complaints to anyone…except to God.  He did not hold anything back from the One who shapes us like a potter shapes clay. … Continue reading A mentor