In this chapter, the Lord says that the people of Israel have circumcised bodies, but uncircumcised hearts, and we need to boast in knowing and understanding Him. Here’s the chapter in its entirety: “Oh, that my eyes were a fountain of tears; I would weep forever! I would sob day and night for all my people who have been slaughtered. Oh, that I could go away and forget them and live in a shack in the desert, for they are all adulterous and treacherous.” (Wow! Jeremiah cried often for the people of Israel, for they refused to listen.)
Judgment for Disobedience
“My people bend their tongues like bows to shoot lies. They refuse to stand up for the truth. And they only go from bad to worse! They care nothing for me,” says the Lord.
“Beware of your neighbor! Beware of your brother! They all take advantage of one another and spread their slanderous lies. They all fool and defraud each other, no one tells the truth. With practiced tongues they tell lies; they wear themselves out with all their sinning. They pile lie upon lie and utterly refuse to come to me,” says the Lord.
Therefore, the Lord Almighty says, “See, I will melt them in a crucible and test them like metal. What else can I do with them? For their tongues aim lies like poisoned arrows. They promise peace to their neighbors while planning to kill them. Should I not punish them for this?” asks the Lord. “Should I not avenge myself against a nation such as this?”
I will weep for the mountains and wail for the desert pastures. For they are desolate and empty of life; the lowing of cattle is heard no more; the birds and wild animals all have fled.
“I will make Jerusalem into a heap of ruins,” says the Lord. “It will be a place haunted by jackals. The towns of Judah will be ghost towns, with no one living in them.”
Who is wise enough to understand all this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it to others? Why has the land been ruined so completely that no one even dares to travel through it?
The Lord replies, “This has happened because my people have abandoned the instructions I gave them; they have refused to obey my law. Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshiped the images of Baal, as their ancestors taught them. (All because they wanted to worship a man-made image/god! Lord, give us wisdom.) So now, listen to what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Look! I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink. I will scatter them around the world, and they will be strangers in distant lands. Their enemies will chase them with the sword until I have destroyed them completely.” (Wow! Will this be our consequence if we keep worshiping our vehicles, our money, our hobbies, or anything else that pushes us away from the Lord?)
Weeping in Jerusalem
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Think about what is going on! Call for the mourners to come. Quick! Begin your weeping! Let the tears flow from your eyes. Hear the people of Jerusalem crying in despair, ‘We are ruined! Disaster has come upon us! We must leave our land, because our homes have been torn down.’”
Listen, you women, to the words of the Lord; open your ears to what he has to say. Teach your daughters to wail; teach one another how to lament. For death has crept in through our windows and has entered our mansions. It has killed off the flower of our youth: Children no longer play in the streets, and young men no longer gather in the squares. And the Lord says, “Bodies will be scattered across the fields like dung, or like bundles of grain after the harvest. No one will be left to bury them.”
This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man gloat in his wisdom, or the mighty man in his might, or the rich man in his riches. Let them boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who is just and righteous, whose love is unfailing, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Wow! What’s more important…knowing God or gloating in personal imaging/idols?)
“A time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit – the Egyptians, Edomites, Ammonites, Moabites, the people who live in distant places, and yes, even the people of Judah. Like all these pagan nations, the people of Israel also have uncircumcised hearts.” (Jeremiah 9)
Lord, thank you for your Word today! Help us pour ourselves into you! Plant a desire in our heart to know and understand you! Help us push our egos aside and our gloating nature, so we can fully worship you and not worship how grand and amazing we are. Lord, we love you!
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
….AND MAY WE ALL PRACTICE THIS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
Comments