Prophecy – Jeremiah 22-26

Reading Jeremiah is a pretty sobering task as we read warnings after warnings given by the prophet against the people of Judah.  But despite the severity of these warnings, we find that more often than not – the people, led by their king, chose not to heed them.

And there are times when you recognize certain things that the people did – because it is just like looking in a mirror. And it is very scary that we look and act just like them!

Bible Passage:  Jeremiah 22-26

The picture above quotes Jeremiah 22:29…

O earth, earth, earth,
Hear the word of the LORD!

Indeed – we will do well to hear the word of the LORD and not ignore it like the people of Judah.

Chapter 22 starts off with God telling Jeremiah to tell the king of Judah to execute judgement and righteousness.  But if they chose to ignore those words, then the house shall become a desolation.  But the Lord knew they would not listen and history shows how they were destroyed – because they forsook the covenent of the Lord and worshipped and served other gods.

Warnings were proclaimed agains kings Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin – all bad rulers who led the people astray.

The in Chapter 23 – attention is now turned towards the prophets.  Not just any prophet, but False Prophets.  Jeremiah deplores false prophets and God denounces the lying prophets.  If you read the whole chapter and start underlining all the evil and wicked things they did, your page will be filled with lines.  They mislead people with their own dreams and God now withholds His oracles from the people.

Chapter 24 contains yet another parable.  This time it is about 2 baskets containing figs.  One basket was filled with very good figs while the other had very bad figs.  The teaching and warning is clear.

But the invasion of Judah is certain (Chapter 25).  This chapter is a sobering chapter because it not only talks about the people of Judah being judged for not listening to God and will be exiled for 70 years, it also talks about God’s judgement of the world.

The reason is simple – God is the Creator and Sovereign Lord who revealed Himself to us through His prophets and people.  And just like what Paul said, also in nature that surrounds us.  But these people have chosen to ignore Him and worship and serve idols.  So all have sinned and deserve to die.

But like in many cases when we hear what we do not want or like to hear – the people reacted very negatively against Jeremiah (Chapter 26).

When the people heard what Jeremiah had to say, they were all up to their arms.

“Shoot him!”

Ok, they did not say that.  But they were saying, “This man deserves to die!  For he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.”

But Jeremiah was not afraid and continued to encourage them to amend their ways and to obey the voice of God.

Jeremiah was not killed but there was another who prophesied in the name of the Lord was.

This was the state of the people then.

Consider our state today.

I know today’s passage is our usual Tuesday long passage and we may not have the time to finish reading it today.  But never mind, you can always read part of it today and make sure you finish it tomorrow.  Because the chapters in the Gospel according to Mark are usually shorter

But there is two passages that caught my eye today:

Jeremiah 22:15-16

“ Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink,
And do justice and righteousness?
Then it was well with him.
He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
Then it was well.
Was not this knowing Me?” says the LORD.’”

We often hear people say that they “know God”.  What does this mean?

We usually say that we know God when we have a personal relationship with God.  His Words are written in our hearts and we know Him because of what He did on the cross to remove the barrier that separated us from God.

But in the verses above – “Knowing God”  has another dimension – in the sense of living a godly and holy life.

If we say we “know God”, then our actions should show it.  This was what Jeremiah challenged king Jehoiakim on.  His father, king Josiah had removed idols and in general led the people back to their correct worship of God.

But Jehoiakim was a totally different king.  He levied heavy taxes on his people because he wanted to build for himself lavish building projects.  He brought back the idols and even had a prophet of God killed.

So having a god fearing father is no guarantee that the son will follow likewise.  Having godly parents does not mean we know God ourselves,  especially in our actions.  Josiah obviously knew God because his words matched his actions – he actually did justice and righteouesness and not just talked about it.

This is something to seriously think about for those of us who have been in church a long time.  It is also for parents who are active in Church now.  It is also for the young amongst us who have attended the REU classes, the Bible Camps and all those theological seminars.

We all know God through His Words.  But do our actions match what we know?  Do we lead godly lives?  Do we serve Him as we should?  Do we live off the ‘glorious works’ of our parents?

Be careful that we are not like the foolish man who builds his house upon the sand (Luke 6:46-49).  We often read that parable and think that we must make sure we build our faith upon a firm foundation in Christ alone.  But we often missed the first part which says:

But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:

Why do you call me Lord and NOT DO the things which I say?

What did the Lord say?  Have we done them?