Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 28-30.

Today’s passage makes two separate points, but they are tied to each other.  First, Jeremiah condemns those who soft-pedal God’s judgement.  There are consequences to violating God’s commands.  Sometimes we have committed certain sins for so long that we cannot avoid the consequences of those sins, even if we repent, turn away from those sins and begin obeying God.  In this passage, the people of God had sinned so long that they were going to subject to being ruled by the Babylonians.  However, some of those who claimed to be prophets were telling them that they could throw off the yoke of the Babylonians and be independent.  In fact, they were telling the people that God was calling them to resist the Babylonians, even those who had already been carried off into captivity in Babylon.  Jeremiah says that those who prophesy good things, such as peace and prosperity, in the name of God have a higher “burden of proof” than those who prophesy disaster because God more often sends prophets to warn us of the coming consequences if we continue to sin.  Then we come to the other point which Jeremiah makes.  This point is one which we today often find easier to comprehend.  Jeremiah told those already exiled to Babylon to live their lives there, not to live as if they would be returning to Jerusalem or Judah momentarily.  This applies to us today.  We should not live our lives as if we need to take no thought to the future because Jesus will return presently.  Even though we live our lives as citizens of the Kingdom of God, we should seek the peace and prosperity of the society in which we live.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 28-30.

At the end of yesterday’s passage, Jeremiah prophesied that the people of Judah and Jerusalem should submit to the “yoke of Babylon.”  Today’s passage begins with a prophet named Hananiah telling Jeremiah in the presence of the people in the temple that God had told him He would break the yoke of Babylon and the captives would return, including Jehoiachin, who had been king.  To which Jeremiah replied, “May it be so, but God usually sends prophets to prophesy war, disaster, and plague.”  So, Jeremiah continued that prophets who prophesy peace and prosperity need to be taken with a grain of salt, they need to be held to a higher standard before being believed.  Prophets who prophesy war, disaster, and plague can be believed when they tell us these things will happen if we do not turn from our sins, even if the war, disaster, and plague do not come.  Because those things may not have come because enough people turned to the Lord.  But if a prophet prophesies peace and prosperity, we need to give it careful evaluation because peace and prosperity only comes when God is not calling us to change our ways.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 28-30.

In today’s passage, Jeremiah addresses false prophets in both Jerusalem and among those already exiled to Babylon.  Apparently, these “prophets” were telling their audiences that Babylon would fall in a short time; the prophet in Jerusalem whose prophecies were, at least partially, recorded here said that the power of Babylon would be broken within two years time.  Jeremiah responded that historically, the prophets whom God had sent prophesied war, disaster, and plague.  Therefore, he said, those who prophesy peace must be held suspect until their prophecies were fulfilled.  A corollary to the false prophecies of peace for Jerusalem was that those already exiled would soon return.

However, Jeremiah prophesied that those already exiled should reconcile themselves with remaining in exile because God was not going to bring them back until seventy years had passed.  Further Jeremiah told the exiles to seek the peace and prosperity of the city in which they found themselves, even though they were living in exile.  They were foreigners living in a land which was not their own, but God told them to seek the peace and prosperity of the land to which He had sent them.  In the same way, we who serve Christ are foreigners in a land which is not our own.  Yet we also should seek its peace and prosperity.

The final point I want to make is that the people in Jerusalem, and even the exiles themselves, thought that the exiles were abandoned by God.  But the message God gave them through Jeremiah said that nothing could be farther from the truth.  God had plans for them, plans for them to prosper and have a future.  God has similar plans for us.  He told the exiles that they would seek Him, and that when they did so with all of their heart, they would find Him.  So, God has plans to prosper us.  Seek Him, seek Him with all of your heart.  No matter how far you think you are from Him.  He is closer than you can imagine.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 28-30 .

Every year when I read this passage I find myself focusing on Jeremiah’s letter to those who were already in exile in Babylon.  This year will be no different.  Today, I think of the message in the context of the fuss over the use of the term “Christian nationalism”.   Jeremiah tells those already exiled to pray for the peace and prosperity of the land in which they find themselves, because the prosperity of that land will be their prosperity.  But Jeremiah also tells them that the land is not their home, their first loyalty lies elsewhere.  In His time, God will bring them to His land and His Kingdom.  So, we should seek peace and prosperity for the land in which God has placed us, but that land is not God’s country.

In that same letter to those in exile, Jeremiah speaks about those still living in Jerusalem.  Jeremiah tells them that God has sent prophets to the King and the rest of those living in Jerusalem, but that they have refused to listen to them.  Further, those in exile are also refusing to listen to the prophets whom God is sending, instead choosing to listen to those who tell them what they want to hear.  I conclude from this that while some of those who use the term “Christian Nationalism” may use it in ways that are consistent with God’s will for His people, we should not use that term because too many will interpret it to mean that our nation is God’s nation and that serving its interests is the same as serving God’s interest.  No earthly nation is God’s nation and we cannot determine what God’s interests are by looking at the interests of any specific nation.  So, seek peace and prosperity for the land and people among whom you reside, but never forget that it is not your home.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 28-30 .

I want to focus on Jeremiah’s message to the Exiles already in Babylon before the destruction of Jerusalem.  They were foreigners there, but Jeremiah tells them to settle in.  He tells them to pray for Babylon, and the Babylonians, because the prosperity of that land would be their prosperity as well.  He tells them to become a part of the land in which they live, but he does not tell them to be assimilated.  They are to remain God’s people and faithful to God. This message applies to us as well.  We should live as foreigners in the societies in which we dwell, but we should seek the best for those among whom we live.  Jeremiah goes on to tell them that God has plans for them, another message which I am convinced applies to us today.  God has plans for us to prosper, but those plans require us to call on Him and willingly serve Him.  Finally, Jeremiah gives them a message which I believe applies to everyone.  Those who seek God with all of their heart will find Him.  They will discover that He has plans for them to prosper as well.  We need to seek Him.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 28-30.

Jeremiah once again warns against prophets who lie in God’s name, prophets who claim to be speaking words from God but have not received any words from God.  Jeremiah points out that most prophets have a message of warning concerning war, disaster, and/or disease.  Any prophet who predicts peace and good fortune must be viewed skeptically until their prophecies come true.  God will punish those who prophecy lies in His name.  Those who use God’s name to serve their own interests will not escape God’s judgment.

Jeremiah’s message to the Exiles in Babylon carries meaning to me as a Christian in the world but not of the world.  The Exiles were in Babylon, but they were not of Babylon.  Nevertheless, Jeremiah told them to pray for the welfare of the city where they lived in exile, because their welfare was tied to the welfare of that city.  In the same manner, we should pray for the welfare of the city and country where we dwell, because our welfare is tied to the welfare of where we live.  Further, God has plans for us, just as He did for the Exiles.  Those plans are for good and not for disaster.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 28-30.

Before the final fall of Jerusalem many of the people of Judah had already been taken into Exile by the Babylonians.  They mourned being exiled from their homeland and wished to return.  God directed Jeremiah to write them a letter.  In that letter Jeremiah told them to accept their lives in this new location.  I want to focus on a small portion of that letter, but one which represents much of God’s message for all who love Him.

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord.

God has plans for us, and they are plans for good, not for disaster.  When we pray, God will listen.  If we look for God, we will find Him.  This is true for all people.  If you seek God with your whole heart, you will find Him.