God often says, "Wait."

God often says, "Wait."

Jeremiah 42

As a mostly impatient person, I couldn’t get over the sequence of events in this chapter. After the disturbing events of last chapter, all the people left in Israel came to Jeremiah to ask for counsel from the Lord. They were so eager to hear His word, they made an oath to obey: “Then they said to Jeremiah, ‘May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us. Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God.’” (vs 5-6)

God allows awful stuff to happen.

God allows awful stuff to happen.

Jeremiah 41

There’s just no getting around it—especially when you read a chapter like this. God allows awful stuff to happen in this world. He allows evil men and women to do evil things to innocent people for (apparently) no reason. He allows things to happen to His children that most of us think we would never allow our children to go through if we were in His shoes.

Or would we?

God is the way to freedom.

God is the way to freedom.

Jeremiah 40

I found it surprising that, after the Babylonian siege and the devastation of Jerusalem, Jeremiah was released by the commander of the Babylonian Imperial Guard to go wherever he wanted: “When the commander of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, ‘The Lord your God decreed this disaster for this place. And now the Lord has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him. But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists. Come with me to Babylon, if you like, and I will look after you; but if you do not want to, then don’t come. Look, the whole country lies before you; go wherever you please.’” (vs 2-4)

God's word is true.

God's word is true.

Jeremiah 39

So once again, we read about the fate that befell poor old Zedekiah. If only he had listened to God—perhaps he would have lived out the rest of his years with his sons in relative Babylonian comfort. Alas, the last thing he ever saw (before his eyes were gouged out) was his sons being killed by those Babylonians: “There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles of Judah. Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.” (vs 6-7)

God always tries to help.

God always tries to help.

Jeremiah 38

Well, in this chapter, Jeremiah found himself stuck in the mud because people didn’t quite like what he’d been saying: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague, but whoever goes over to the Babylonians will live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’ And this is what the Lord says: “This city will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.”‘” (vs 2-3)

God doesn't want you to be deceived.

God doesn't want you to be deceived.

Jeremiah 37

Poor Zedekiah. He was so deceived. He thought that making a military alliance with Pharaoh would help him. It didn’t. He thought if he asked Jeremiah to talk to God for him, he might get some good news. He didn’t. Somehow, in his mind, he thought there still might be a way out of his predicament. There wasn’t.

God can't be stopped.

God can't be stopped.

Jeremiah 36

When I was an impressionable teenager in the mid-90s, Doritos developed an advertising campaign for their tortilla chips that I still remember to this day. Maybe you remember it, too. The catchy slogan was, “Crunch all you want, we’ll make more.” I thought about that ad campaign as I read today’s chapter from Jeremiah. I could just hear God saying, “Burn all you want, I’ll make more.”

God will try anything.

God will try anything.

Jeremiah 35

I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again: what you see in the Bible at any given time is highly dependent upon your immediate context—that is, your current life’s circumstances that provide the “frame of reference” by which you relate to the world around you. For example, if you are currently a student, you may notice things about education or wisdom. If you are currently a farmer, references to planting and harvest will likely pique your curiosity.

God is a libertarian.

God is a libertarian.

Jeremiah 34

Alright, alright. I try to stay away from politics on the blog, because there is something in me that resists trying to put God into one of our many political boxes. But when I opened the Bible to my chapter for today, I was struck that yet again God is addressing the issue of freedom. This is the sixth time since we began Jeremiah that a blog is about freedom (or the power to choose), and I know there have been many other chapters that contained those issues, but I wrote about something else because I’m trying to provide some variety!

God is a rescuer.

God is a rescuer.

Jeremiah 30

At the beginning of this chapter, God relates a distressing scene to Jeremiah: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Cries of fear are heard—terror, not peace. Ask and see: Can a man bear children? Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor, every face turned deathly pale? How awful that day will be! No other will be like it.’” (vs 5-7)

God will give us what we want.

God will give us what we want.

Jeremiah 28

Prophet drama! If there had been a Jerry Springer Show on Israeli TV, this would certainly have been an episode. Jeremiah has already made waves by going around wearing a yoke on his neck to symbolize the enslavement of the Israelites to the Babylonians. Then, in a stunning turn of events in front of a packed house at the temple, a rival prophet sweeps the yoke from Jeremiah’s neck and breaks it to pieces:

God tells the truth.

God tells the truth.

Jeremiah 27

Several years ago, I had a very interesting discussion with friends on my Facebook page over the issue of truth (or reality) versus feelings. Not surprisingly, this issue has continued to become more and more relevant, as the tyranny of feelings grows the longer you let them control you (instead of the other way around). In any event, the original conversation came about because of a statement made in a blog over the issue of Christians lining up at Chick-fil-A to buy chicken sandwiches. The author of the blog said, “Whether or not hate actually existed is not the point; people felt hated.”

God is a parent.

God is a parent.

Jeremiah 25

I know, I know. The title of this blog: duh! Nothing new or earth-shattering here. One of the basics of knowing God is recognizing that He is the parent and we are His children. But how often do we stop to really flesh out all the applications and implications of that? If we know God is a parent, should it surprise us when He acts like one?

God's flock is always safe.

God's flock is always safe.

Jeremiah 23

This chapter begins with a warning to the shepherds of Israel: “‘Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!’ declares the Lord. Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: ‘Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,’ declares the Lord. ‘I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,’ declares the Lord.” (vs 1-4)