Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: Jeremiah 14-17
Jeremiah 14:11
Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.
God told Jeremiah to not even pray for Judah. That is sad. Judgment has come, and not even if Moses or Samuel stood before Him interceding on their behalf would the Lord hear (15:1). To grasp the full scope of doom Jeremiah prophesied the outline below is offered.
14:1-6 A description of the drought that would come upon Judah.
14:7-9 Jeremiah’s intercessory prayer.
14:10-18 God’s answer. Pray not for this people for their good.
14:19-22 Jeremiah’s renewed intercessory prayer.
15:1-9 God’s second answer.
15:10-21 Jeremiah’s grief and God’s assurance to him.
One of the caveats of this story is that while Jeremiah is faithfully preaching the truth of God there are other prophets doing the opposite. Consider Jeremiah 14:13-14 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. There are always, always have been and always will be, false prophets, preachers and teachers on this earth. Jeremiah is preaching doom, the others are preaching peace. Peace, peace, where there is no peace.
The human mind cannot conceive of the judgment and ultimate wrath of God toward sin, but all one has to do is read Jeremiah’s book. Or read chapter 16 of the book of the Revelation. Of a certainty, Ephesians 5:6 is true, Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. The wrath of God is an unpopular doctrine today, but there it is nonetheless. It is real, it is fearful, it is powerful, and it is coming.
In chapter 16 the Lord tells Jeremiah this: And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God? Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me: Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour. Jeremiah 16:10-13
These verses sum up the entire case that Jehovah God has against His people. They walked after other gods, served them, worshipped them, forsook Him, and did not keep His law. The generation to whom Jeremiah was sent did worse than their fathers by walking in the imagination of their own heart and not hearkening unto Him.
Yes, it was a sad day. But one of their own making.
Dr. William T. Howe
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