JEREMIAH 14A
Message of the LORD to Jeremiah regarding famine verse 1
The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah – concerning the dearth
Description of the famine verse 2- 6
Judah mourns – and the gates thereof languish
they are black unto the ground
and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up
And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters
they came to the pits – and found no water
they returned with their vessels empty
they were ashamed and confounded
and covered their heads
BECAUSE the ground is chapt – for there was no rain in the earth
the plowmen were ashamed – they covered their heads
YEA – the hind also calved in the field – and forsook it
BECAUSE there was no grass
AND the wild asses did stand in the high places
they snuffed up the wind like dragons
their eyes did fail – BECAUSE there was no grass
People of Judah realize reason for famine verse 7- 9
O LORD – though our iniquities testify against us
do YOU it for YOUR name’s sake – for our backslidings are many
we have sinned against YOU
O the hope of Israel – the savior thereof in time of trouble
why should YOU be as a stranger in the land
and as a wayfaring man that turns aside to tarry for a night?
Why should YOU be as a man astonished
as a mighty man that cannot save?
YET YOU – O LORD – art in the midst of us
and we are called by YOUR name – leave us not
LORD responds to people of Judah verse 10
Thus says the LORD unto this people
Thus have they loved to wander – they have not refrained their feet
THEREFORE the LORD does not accept them
HE will now remember their iniquity – and visit their sins
LORD commands Jeremiah not to pray for people verse 11- 12
Then said the LORD unto me
Pray not for this people for their good
When they fast – I will not hear their cry
and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation
I will not accept them BUT I will consume them by the
sword – famine – pestilence
Jeremiah mentions false prophets verse 13
Then said I – Ah – Lord GOD BEHOLD – the prophets say unto them
You shall not see the sword – neither shall not see the famine
BUT I will give you assured peace in this place
LORD calls false prophets liars verse 14- 16
Then the LORD said unto me
The prophets prophesy lies in MY name – I sent them not
neither have I commanded them – neither spoke unto them
they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination
and a thing of nought – and the deceit of their heart
THEREFORE thus says the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy
in MY name – and I sent them not – yet they say
Sword and famine shall not be in this land
By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed
And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the
streets of Jerusalem BECAUSE of the famine and the sword
and they shall have none to bury them them
their wives – nor their sons – nor their daughters
for I will pour their wickedness upon them
LORD has a message for the false prophets ` verse 17- 18
THEREFORE you shall say this word unto them
Let MINE eyes run down with tears night and day – and let them not cease
for the virgin daughter of MY people is broken with a great breach
with a very grievous blow
If I go forth into the field – THEN behold the slain with the sword
and If I enter into the city
THEN behold them that are sick with famine
YEA – both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that
they know not
People of Judah pray for healing verse 19- 21
Have YOU utterly rejected Judah? Has YOUR soul loathed Zion?
Why have YOU smitten us and there is no healing for us?
we looked for peace and there is no good
and for the time of healing and behold trouble
We acknowledge – O LORD – our wickedness – and the iniquity of our fathers
for we have sinned against YOU
Do not abhor us – for YOUR name’s sake
do not disgrace the throne of YOUR glory
remember – break not YOUR covenant with us
People of Judah acknowledge power of the LORD verse 22
Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain?
or can the heaven give showers?
Are not YOU HE – O LORD our God?
THEREFORE we will wait upon YOU
for YOU hast made all these things
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 14 And the LORD said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Je 14:14.
Devotion: False teachers are a dangerous group of people that work tirelessly to spread their message and deception. Jeremiah interrupts God by reminding Him that false prophets were contradicting His message. Promising prosperity and peace instead of sword and famine was their message for the people of Jerusalem. Of course. which message would most people prefer to hear and heed? Reassuring words are can be a rallying point for people but when they are false the destruction is greater than the truth. Jeremiah was speaking truth but it was harsh and difficult to listen to. God would hold individuals responsible for their decisions and if the choices made are from listening to the wrong message they are responsible.
It is imperative that the truth be clearly presented even if the words are hard to hear. Faithfulness to God’s message will lead to difficult teachings but the faithful teacher and preacher must speak what God reveals. Anything else is falseness and compromise.
Application: These words contain a warning for today’s preacher or teacher that he must be careful not to cloak his own desires under the guise of being God’s desires. They also warn people to be responsible in discernment when listening to “prophetic” voices (John 4:1). Listen carefully to the speakers you are under. Ask questions and study independently to see if the message is in line with the Scripture. We are to be like the Bereans and search for the truth of God’s word. (Acts 17:10-15) (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee. (3045 "acknowledge" [yada] means to know, familiar with, answer, admit, be aware, declare, feel, be sure, and understand.)
DEVOTION: There was a famine in Jerusalem. There was an army coming to fight against Jerusalem.
The false prophets were telling the people that there would be peace. They tried to put a guilt trip on the LORD. They told HIM that they were HIS people even through they were not obeying HIM. They told HIM that HE was breaking the covenant because HE promise to always take care of them. They asked HIM not to leave them. They even tried to fast and pray for deliverance. IT was too late. It was done with the wrong motives.
The LORD told Jeremiah not to pray for them. They had reached the point of no return. The LORD is long-suffering. However, there is a limit even to long-suffering.
We can be familiar with our sin. We can admit we are sinners. The action the LORD wants is a change of direction. HE wanted the children of Judah to REALLY turn and follow HIM. HE didn’t want them to just come when it was convenient. HE wanted them to mean business with HIM. That was not the case. HE knew their hearts.
HIS desire for them and us is to keep short accounts with HIM. HE knows our hearts. When we confess, HE sees if we are just saying it because we got caught or if we mean business with HIM.
Remember that those that are not keeping short accounts have weakness, sickness and pre-mature death coming their way. IF we seem to get away with sin and the LORD doesn’t chasten us, then we may not be one of HIS children. It is time to truly turn our heart over to HIM. Whom the LORD loves HE chastens!!!
CHALLENGE: Admit your sins before the LORD. Don’t walk in the pride of your commitment to HIM and think that HE will let you get away with sin in your life because you are one of HIS children.)
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 21 Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake; do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us. (5006 “abhor” [na’ats] means despise, condemn, spurn, disdain, reject with contemn, scorn or blaspheme.)
DEVOTION: The children of Judah clung to the promises that the LORD had made in the wilderness with Moses and the children of Israel. The problem was in their memory of the event.
They thought that they had a free pass to do anything they wanted to and the LORD would continue to bless them. They didn’t think that HE would judge HIS people for their sins. They were wrong.
They also thought that if HE did judge them that HIS name would be blasphemed by the people of other nations. They brought this up to HIM, so that, HE would end their judgment. God’s name will always be supreme. HE will always be sovereign. Even the heathen nations knew what HE expected of HIS people.
The next excuse they used for God not to judge them was the fact that the Temple was in Jerusalem. It was the place of HIS glory. However, the heavens declare the GLORY of GOD. One city, even Jerusalem, could not declare all the glory of God. HE chose it because HE wanted HIS people to worship HIM but HE didn’t NEED their worship. HE wanted their obedience and they didn’t give it.
Finally, they told HIM that HE was breaking HIS covenant with them. This was a lie too. The false prophets were lying to them and they started to believe their lies. Some people think that just because they made a commitment to HIM, HE would have to honor them no matter how they acted. That is a lie from our enemy the devil. The actions of Judah and our actions have consequences. Those consequences were given in the wilderness if they didn’t obey the commands of the LORD. There were blessings AND cursings mentioned to the children of Israel in the wilderness.
Today, we need to remember the lessons that we can learn from the children of Israel. We have the Old Testament to give us an example of how God works with HIS people.
If the church honors and obeys the LORD, HE can bless it. If the church is teaching lies to the people that are not found in the Word of God and the people believe the lies they will be judged. There are some things that are different that are taught in some churches but they deal with no essentials. The essential doctrines of the church cannot be changed or ignored. The basic doctrines are mentioned in the doctrinal section of this devotional. If you have any questions regarding basic doctrine – write me.
CHALLENGE: Don’t throw Scripture at the LORD to get what you want if you are sinning and not confessing – HE will send judgment. HE wants us to be pure through the blood of Jesus Christ. Confession keeps our fellowship sweet with the LORD.)
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
- Chastity (Purity in living)
- Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
- Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
- Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
- Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
- Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
- Frugality (wise use of resources)
- Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
- Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
- Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
- Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
- Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Children of Israel confessed too late verse 20
- Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Children of Judah pray to the LORD verse 9
Jeremiah commanded not to pray for the people verse 11
LORD won’t answer prayer verse 12
- Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
- Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Burnt offering verse 12
Oblation verse 12
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word of the LORD verse 1
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 7, 9- 11, 14,
15, 20, 22
Word of the LORD verse 1
LORD’S name sake verse 7, 21
Hope of Israel verse 8
Savior verse 8
Judgement of Israel verse 12
Lord – Adonai (Owner, Master) verse 13
GOD – Jehovah verse 13
Lord GOD verse 13
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 22
LORD our God verse 22
Creator verse 22
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Stranger verse 8
Wayfaring man verse 8
Gentiles verse 22
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Iniquities verse 7, 10, 20
Backslidings verse 7
Sinned verse 7, 10, 20
Loved to wander verse 10
False prophets verse 13- 15
False peace verse 13
Lies verse 14
False visions verse 14
Deceit of their heart verse 14
Wickedness verse 16, 20
Vanities verse 22
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Hope verse 8
Savior verse 8, 9
Fast verse 12
Peace verse 19
Healing verse 19
Covenant verse 21
Wait upon the LORD verse 22
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Jeremiah verse 1
Judah verse 2, 19
Jerusalem verse 2, 16
Nobles verse 3
Plowmen verse 4
Israel verse 8
My people verse 17
Prophet verse 18
Priest verse 18
Zion verse 19
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
QUOTES
14:7–9Verses 7–9 contain a response to the desperate situation created by the drought. It is uncertain whether the people were confessing their sins or Jeremiah was confessing on their behalf and pleading with God for relief. If Jeremiah was speaking for himself, his words contain a strong accusation against God. That is not impossible since Jeremiah on other occasions spoke harshly against God (15:18; 20:7). However, here it is more likely that the words reflect a presumptuous attitude of the people. They believed they could call on God whenever they were in trouble (cf. 7:9–10). They were not as concerned about their “backsliding” (the same word in 2:19; 3:6, 8, 11, 12, 22) as they were about what they felt was God’s indefensible position. They taunted him that his honor was at stake so he must do something for the sake of his name, i.e., his reputation (cf. Ps 31:3; Isa 66:5; Ezek 20:9). (Huey, F. B. (1993). Jeremiah, Lamentations (Vol. 16, p. 151). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
7–10. The prophet knows that confession will result in forgiveness (cf. 1 John 1:9), and if the nation will not acknowledge its sin, Jeremiah will do so vicariously. Whereas the prophet thinks of God as a traveller who has no interest in the inhabitants of the land through which he is passing, God replies by insisting upon his covenantal rights. (Harrison, R. K. (1973). Jeremiah and Lamentations: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 21, p. 105). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
7 Expositors differ about whose confession this is. It is conceivably Jeremiah’s, but he usually expresses his intercession personally and uses singular pronouns. But the portrayal of the nation’s agony is incomplete if the people are not making their own confession. Some expositors think that the people are more concerned about the Lord’s not intervening on their behalf than about the gravity of their sins. There is, however, a good case for the contrary position. In this verse the people acknowledge their apostasy and sin, which deserve only death. But they plead on solid ground—viz., that the Lord’s honor may be exhibited to the pagan nations. Because there is no merit in Judah, the Lord’s work in the people’s behalf will reveal his nature as a God of compassion. (Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, pp. 468–469). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
14:7–9. The severity of the drought forced the people to cry to God for deliverance. While admitting their sins and their backsliding, they asked God to intervene and supply rain. By calling God the Hope of Israel (cf. 17:13) and the Savior, the people acknowledged God’s unique position as the only One who could deliver their nation from its current crisis.
Though God had the power to help, He did not answer the people’s pleas for rain. He was acting like a stranger or traveler who had no real concern for the country through which He was traveling. God’s failure to act reminded them of a man taken by surprise (one who had been ambushed and overcome before he could offer any resistance) or a warrior who was powerless. Because of God’s lack of action the people pleaded with Him not to forsake them. (Dyer, C. H. (1985). Jeremiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1147). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
The plea of the people (vv. 7–12). As people usually do when they’re in trouble, the Jews turned to God and prayed, but their prayers were insincere and not linked with repentance. Jeremiah had already confronted these pious hypocrites with their sins when he asked, “Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations?’ ” (Jer. 7:9–10, NKJV)
Because they couldn’t plead for help on the basis of their repentance and God’s covenant promise (Deut. 30:1–10; 2 Chron. 7:12–15), the people of Judah asked God to help them for His own name’s sake. “After all,” they argued, “it’s Your reputation that’s at stake, because we’re called by Your name.” The Hope and Savior of Israel was like a tourist in the land, unconcerned about either its present condition or its future destruction. The Lord was like a person shocked into paralysis or a warrior completely without strength.
When God disciplines us, it isn’t enough that we pray and ask for His help; anybody in trouble can do that. We must repent of our sins, judge and confess them, and sincerely seek the face of God. To weep because of the sufferings that sin causes is to show remorse but not repentance. “Rend your heart, and not your garments” (Joel 2:13) was the Prophet Joel’s counsel to the Jews during another time of great calamity; and David, when he sought God’s forgiveness, said, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise” (Ps. 51:17).
God responded to the people’s words, not by sending rain, but by announcing judgment! (Jer. 14:10) For the third time, He told His servant Jeremiah not to pray for the people (v. 11; see 7:16; 11:14). His long-suffering had run out, and He was determined to punish them for their sins. They could fast, pray, and bring sacrifices, but nothing would change His mind. The nation was destined for the sword, famine, and pestilence (14:12). The Babylonian army would bring the sword, and the results of its devastating invasion would be famine and pestilence. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Decisive (pp. 68–70). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
The language is most pathetic, the condition of the people heartrending. The children cried, with parched tongue and fever-cracked lips, for drink; but there was no water to be had. They went in vain, at the behest of the hopeless nobles, to the dry wells. There was no refreshment there. All farming operations were at a standstill. No rain meant no crops and no food. The very beasts of the field shared in the general desolation. The hind, tenderest of animals, forsook her offspring “because there was no grass;” the eyes of the wild asses failed as they looked for a few spears of herbage. (Ironside, H. A. (1906). Notes on the prophecy and Lamentations of Jeremiah (p. 65). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
7 ¶ O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.
The prophet having described their misery, both in the cause of it, the drought for want of rain, and the effects of it, he applieth himself to that God who he knew was he who alone could give the former and the latter rain; confessing that their sins and backslidings were very many, and testified against them that they had deserved God’s severe scourge, and God was righteous in what of this nature he had done against them. But yet, saith he, do thou it; that is, do thou what we desire, and what we stand in need of; give us rain; though not for our sake, we deserve no such kindness from thee, yet for thy name’s sake, thy word, or promise; or rather, hear for thine honour and glory’ sake. So Isa. 43:25; 48:11, where God promiseth them to show them kindness for his name’s sake; so as Jeremiah’s prayer is but a pleading of God’s promises, that he would fulfil his word. For our backslidings are many; for here signifies though, and might have been better so interpreted. (Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 2, p. 541). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.)
Ver. 7. O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, &c.] That we deserve such judgments to be inflicted on us; and that God is righteous in bringing them; and we are altogether undeserving of the favour now about to be asked. These are the words of the prophet interceding for his people, and confessing their sins and his own: do thou it for thy name’s sake; that is, give rain; which was the thing wanted, and which none but God could give, ver. 22 though we are not worthy to have it done for our sakes, do it for thine own sake; for the honour and glory of thy name, of thy goodness, power, and faithfulness: for our backslidings are many; and so had many witnesses against them; and which shews how unworthy they were, and that they had no reason to expect the mercy on their own account; and especially as it follows: we have sinned against thee; as all sin is against God, contrary to his nature and will, and a transgression of his law; and what aggravates it is, that it is against him as a God of goodness, grace, and mercy. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, pp. 480–481). London: Mathews and Leigh.)