Devotionals: Jeremiah Archives - Page 2 of 4

True Wisdom

By Andrew YoungOctober 17, 2018Devotionals: Jeremiah

“… but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me…” (Jeremiah 9:24) Bible Reading: Jeremiah 9:23-24 Scattered through Jeremiah are sayings that could well be found in the book of Proverbs or the wisdom writings of the Bible. They are words pointing out the way to live truly happy and prosperous lives. The verses before us are one such saying. “Thus says the Lord,” Jeremiah writes: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches…” (Jeremiah 9:23). […]

False Religion Useless

By Andrew YoungOctober 16, 2018Devotionals: Jeremiah

“Do not trust in these deceptive words… amend your ways and your deeds…” (Jeremiah 7:2, 3) Bible Reading: Jeremiah 7:1-29 In spite of their idolatry, God’s people in Jeremiah’s day kept up an outward show of the worship of the Lord. There were still priests and sacrifices, holy days and temple rituals. And people still looked to these things as a guarantee of the Lord’s favour. Jeremiah is given a message regarding this empty show of loyalty. He is instructed to “Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house” and speak out a message from the Lord to the “men […]

Prophets and Priests

By Andrew YoungOctober 15, 2018Devotionals: Jeremiah

“…the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction…” (Jeremiah 5:31) Bible Reading: Jeremiah 5:31; 6:13, 14 Leaders among God’s people bear a special responsibility for the spiritual state of those they lead. Repeatedly among the writing prophets, two classes of leaders in Israel come under fire – the prophets and the priests. In the verse before us, the two groups are described as follows: “…the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?” (Jeremiah 5:31). Prophets held an important […]

No Fear of God

By Andrew YoungOctober 14, 2018Devotionals: Jeremiah

“Do you not fear me? declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 5:22) Bible Reading: Jeremiah 5:14-31 From the fourth chapter of Jeremiah onwards, there is a change of tone in the prophet’s messages. No longer are there appeals to the people to repent to avert disaster, but warnings of judgments made inevitable by the hardness of the hearts of God’s people. Here is a sample of that hardness: “They have spoken falsely of the LORD,” Jeremiah says, “and have said, ‘He will do nothing! No disaster will come to us, nor shall we see sword or famine. The prophets will become wind; […]

Sowing and Circumcising

By Andrew YoungOctober 13, 2018Devotionals: Jeremiah

“Break up your fallow ground… Circumcise yourselves to the LORD…” (Jeremiah 4:3, 4) Bible Reading: Jeremiah 4:3-4 The early oracles in Jeremiah hold out hope still for the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. There is still time for them to repent, though the day of grace is rapidly coming to an end. Here, the call to repentance is presented in two images along with a severe warning to encourage people to act. The first of the images is agricultural. It is taken from the practice of sowing seed. “Break up the fallow ground, and sow not among thorns,” the Lord […]

True Repentance

By Andrew YoungOctober 12, 2018Devotionals: Jeremiah

“If you return, O Israel… to me you should return.” (Jeremiah 4:1) Bible Reading: Jeremiah 4:1-2 Twice, God has called faithless Israel to “return” to him (Jeremiah 3:12, 14). This is another way of saying they are to repent. And in these first verses of chapter four, we get a glimpse of what true repentance involves. It involves, first of all, a return to God himself. “If you return, O Israel, declares the LORD, to me you should return” (4:1). That is, they must return to a life of loyalty to the Lord. They were bound to him in a […]

Words of Remorse

By Andrew YoungOctober 11, 2018Devotionals: Jeremiah

“Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonour cover us.” (Jeremiah 3:25) Bible Reading: Jeremiah 3:19-25 These verses contain a mixture of the words of God and words of the faithless sons of Israel. God’s words express his grief over Israel’s ingratitude, while the words of his people express their remorse. It is to the latter we turn this morning. How do we “return to the Lord” when we have strayed from him? What words do we take with us as we come before him again? This is one of the passages in the Scriptures that help […]

Better Times Promised

By Andrew YoungOctober 10, 2018Devotionals: Jeremiah

“And I will give you shepherds after my own heart…” (Jeremiah 3:15) Bible Reading: Jeremiah 3:15-18 In these verses, we see the first hint in Jeremiah’s prophecies of the promise of restoration. If God’s wayward people will only come to their senses and repent, they will not only find him merciful (Jeremiah 3:12) but will be restored to their land and to a state of blessing and glory. This is how the Lord puts it here: “And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding” (v. 15). In its state of […]

Our Merciful God

By Andrew YoungOctober 9, 2018Devotionals: Jeremiah

“I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful…” (Jeremiah 3:12) Bible Reading: Jeremiah 3:12-14 These verses contain one of the great revelations of the character of God – his merciful nature. We noted yesterday that both the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel, Israel and Judah, had turned from the Lord to serve idols. In doing so, they had become like shameless prostitutes in the Lord’s eyes, well-deserving of his judgments. But in this dark and threatening situation, a ray of light and hope shines. Through Jeremiah, the Lord extends a call to “faithless Israel” to […]

Two Sisters Compared

By Andrew YoungOctober 8, 2018Devotionals: Jeremiah

“Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.” (Jeremiah 3:11) Bible Reading: Jeremiah 3:6-11 I had thought, after writing yesterday’s devotional, that it might be wise after a series so intensely focused on sin to look to something brighter and more hopeful. However, two regular readers both mentioned spontaneously how helpful this current series was. It was helping them see God in ways they had never done so before. Encouraged by their comments, we shall press on for another chapter or so in Jeremiah. The remainder of chapter three and early part of chapter four deal with the […]