Jeremiah 23
Judgment coming for present leaders verse 1
Woe be unto the PASTORS that destroy
and scatter the sheep of MY pasture
says the LORD
LORD has future leaders who are faithful verse 2- 4
THEREFORE thus says the LORD God of Israel against the
PASTORS that feed MY people
You have scattered MY flock – and driven them away
and have not visited them – BEHOLD
I will visit upon you the evil of your doings
says the LORD
And I will gather the remnant of MY flock out of all countries
whither I have driven them
and will bring them again to their folds
and they shall be fruitful and increase
And I will set up SHEPHERDS over them which shall FEED them
and they will fear no more – nor be dismayed
neither shall they be lacking says the LORD
LORD announces future reign of Messiah verse 5- 6
BEHOLD the days come – says the LORD
that I will raise unto David a righteous BRANCH
and a KING shall reign and prosper
and shall execute judgment
and justice in the earth
IN HIS days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely
and this is HIS name whereby HE shall be called
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
New testimony to work of the LORD verse 7- 8
THEREFORE – BEHOLD – the days come – says the LORD
that they shall no more say – The LORD lives
which brought up the children of Israel out of
the land of Egypt
BUT – The LORD lives which brought up
and which led the seed of the house of Israel
out of the north country
and from all countries whither I have driven them
and they shall dwell in their own land
False prophets condemned verse 9- 10
Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets
all my bones shake – I am like a drunken man
and like a man whom wine has overcome
BECAUSE of the LORD
BECAUSE of the words of HIS holiness
For the land is full of adulterers
for because of swearing the land mourns
the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up
and their course is EVIL
and their force is not right
Priests condemned with prophets verse 11- 12
For both prophet and priest are profane
YEA – in MY house have I found their wickedness
says the LORD
WHEREFORE their way shall be to them as slippery ways
in the darkness they shall be driven on – and fall therein
for I will bring EVIL upon them
even the year of their visitation
says the LORD
Prophets as evil as Sodom and Gomorrah verse 13- 14
I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria
they prophesied in Baal
and caused MY people Israel to err
I have seen in the prophets of Jerusalem a horrible thing
they commit adultery – and walk in lies
they strengthen also the hands of evildoers
that none return from his wickedness
they are all of them unto ME as Sodom
and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah
LORD states judgment of prophets verse 15
THEREFORE thus says the LORD of hosts
concerning the prophets
BEHOLD – I will feed them with wormwood
and make them drink the water of gall
for from the prophets of Jerusalem is
profaneness gone forth into all the land
LORD tells people not to listen to false prophets verse 16- 17
Thus says the LORD of hosts
Hearken not to the words of the prophets
that prophecy to you
they make you vain
they speak a vision of their own heart
and not out of the mouth of the LORD
They say still to them that despise ME
The LORD has said
You shall have peace
And they say unto every one that walks after the
imagination of his own heart
No evil shall come upon you
LORD states that false prophets not seen HIM verse 18- 20
For who has stood in the counsel of the LORD
and has perceived and heard HIS word?
Who has marked HIS word and heard it?
BEHOLD – a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury
even a grievous whirlwind
it shall fall grievously
upon the head of the wicked
The anger of the LORD shall not return
until HE has executed
And till HE has performed
the thoughts of HIS heart
in the LATTER DAYS
you shall consider it perfectly
LORD states HE has not send them verse 21- 24
I have not sent these prophets – yet they ran
I have not spoken to them – yet they prophesied
BUT if they had stood in MY counsel
and had caused MY people to hear MY words
THEN they should have turned them from their EVIL way
and from the evil of their doings
AM I a God at hand -says the LORD
and not a God afar off?
Can any hide himself in secret places
that I shall not see him?
says the LORD
Do not I fill heaven and earth? – says the LORD
LORD states false prophets are liars verse 25- 27
I have heard what the prophets said
that prophesy lies in MY name – saying
I have dreamed – I have dreamed
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets
that prophesy lies?
YEA – they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart
which think to cause MY people to forget MY name
by their dreams which they tell every man
to his neighbor – as their fathers
have forgotten MY name
for Baal
LORD describes HIS word verse 28- 29
The prophet that has a dream – let him tell a dream
and he that has MY word
let him speak MY word faithfully
What is the chaff to the wheat? – says the LORD
Is not MY word like as a fire? – says the LORD
and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
LORD tells that false prophets are exchanging
Messages verse 30- 32
THEREFORE – BEHOLD – I am against the prophets
says the LORD
that steal MY words every one from his neighbor
BEHOLD – I am against the prophets – says the LORD
that use their tongues and say – HE says
BEHOLD – I am against them that prophesy false dreams
says the LORD
and do tell them – and cause MY people to err
by their lies and by their lightness
YET I sent them not – nor commanded them
THEREFORE they shall not profit this people at all
says the LORD
Jeremiah told to answer questions verse 33
And when this people – or the prophet – or a priest
shall ask you – saying
What is the burden of the LORD?
You shall then say to them
What burden? I will even forsake you
says the LORD
LORD says people use their own authority verse 34- 36
And as for the prophet –priest – people that shall say
The burden of the LORD
I will even punish that man and his house
Thus shall you say everyone to his neighbor
and every one to his brother
What has the LORD answered?
What has the LORD spoken?
And the burden of the LORD shall you mention no more
for every man’s word shall be his burden
for you have perverted the words of the
LIVING God of the LORD of hosts our God
False prophets warned to not use LORD’S name verse 37- 40
Thus shall you say to the prophets
What has the LORD answered you?
What has the LORD spoken?
BUT since you say – The burden of the LORD
THEREFORE thus says the LORD
Because you say this word
The burden of the LORD
and I have sent unto you saying
You shall not say
The burden of the LORD
THEREFORE – BEHOLD – I – even I – will utterly forget you
and I will forsake you
and the city that I gave you and your fathers
and cast you out of MY presence
and I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you
and a perpetual shame
which shall not be forgotten
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1–2 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the LORD. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). 7462 רָעָה, רָעָה [raʿah /raw·aw/] – to tend, pasture, to shepherd, ruler, teacher (fig), of people as flock (fig), shepherd, herdsman.
DEVOTION: Yahweh announced coming judgment on the leaders of Judah, kings and other leaders, who were harming His people rather than tending them like good shepherds care for sheep. Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003)
Jeremiah had in mind the kings and rulers of the people of Israel as he spoke these words, yet for the people of today often it is the pastors and spiritual leaders that are thought of as shepherds. The individual that are placed in authority over the people of God have a colossal responsibility and often that is forgotten by both the leadership and the congregation. God is looking for faithful people to be the leaders of His people. As Judah’s shepherds had not attend to the flock so God promised to attend to them.
God has promised to watch over and guard His people. He is also a punisher of those that abuse His people. In both ways He would provide what was necessary for His people to be nurtured, protected and cared for. He would assume responsibility for those things (Jer. 31:10; Micah 2:12; 5:4; 7:14).
CHALLENGE: Today there are many churches that are hurting and suffering under shepherds that have self-interest utmost in their focus. Instead of sacrificing and devoting themselves to the service of the body, they have a “me” first mentality. We need to pray for the leaders and churches that there may be a Christ-like mentality to the work of the Lord. Pray for your local leadership today. (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, say the LORD. (2865 “dismayed” [chathath] means break in pieces, terrified, confounded, struck down, discouraged, or cracked.
DEVOTION: The LORD gives us a picture of the present conditions of Judah and further in the chapter HE gives us a picture of the future condition of Judah. The LORD is omniscient regarding both the present and the future. HE knows the past. HE states that HE is omnipresent. HE is going to send a righteous Branch and a King in the future that will reign here on the earth for a thousand years. It has not happened yet but it is a promise from HIM. HE never lies. The prophets in Jeremiah’s day lied to the people.
The leaders of the people lied to the people. The priests lied to the people. The prophets lied to the people. The LORD condemned them for their lies. They were leading the people away from the LORD rather than toward HIM.
The people were being fed the wrong meal when they listened to these men. They were eating it up but it was causing them to be discouraged. The LORD is a God of hope not of discouragement.
The people were afraid at every turn because their leaders wanted them to fear. It was easier to lead a people who are afraid to go in their own direction. Some did follow the LORD but it was only a remnant of those who were in Jerusalem.
There was a lack of vision from the LORD given to the people. They were being scattered on purpose. The leaders didn’t want them organized against them. The people thought it was OK to worship Baal. They thought it was OK to just listen to their leaders instead of seeking the LORD on their own.
Jeremiah was there trying to instructed them but he was one against many false prophets. HE kept giving them the message of the LORD but it was being opposed on every side. Serving the LORD was work but serving the false gods could be done with little effort on the part of the people.
Today we face the same problem. Many leaders in society and in the church are trying to be politically correct instead of Biblically correct. There are pastors in churches who are afraid to take a stand against sin and cause their people to be afraid to take a stand against sin. The church is becoming an institution that is afraid to tell the world what the Bible really teaches. They are afraid of upsetting someone. They are afraid of losing people to churches that don’t preach against sin.
Our responsibility as believers is to meditate on the Word of God and then spread it to all those in our world. Our eyes should be on the LORD alone. If a leader makes us afraid to tell others about the truth of the Word of God, we need to find other leaders.
Jesus promised the disciples that there would be suffering involved in their service to HIM. That promise is true today as well. Many people in other nations are being put in prison, tortured and killed. That could happen here but we should be willing to have it happen. The LORD wants us to have HOLY BOLDNESS.
We are not to turn people off to our message but present it in a loving manner that shows we care for the individuals we are talking to about the LORD. They can tell if we love them or just want to condemn them. It is up to the Holy Spirit to convict them of their sin. We are to just show them the truth of the Word of God.
CHALLENGE: Listen to the LORD speaking to you regarding who you are to witness to regarding HIS truth. Then obey!!
__________________________________________________________
: 17 They say still to them that despise ME, The LORD has said, You shall have peace; and they say to everyone that walks after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. (5006 “despise” [na’ats] means provoke, abhor, blaspheme, spurn, to look down on with contempt, treat with contempt, reviled, to treat disrespectfully, or irreverently)
DEVOTION: We know that there are many people who claim to be followers of the LORD that are not genuine followers but people who want to deceive themselves or just deceive others.
There have been false prophets throughout time. Satan was the first one to tempt Adam and Eve and claim that he was speaking to them the way that the LORD would have wanted them to hear. His message was a lie and Adam and Eve believed him.
The enemy has many people who claim to be followers of the LORD that speak and preach things that are not what the Bible teaches. They sound good but it is just to tickle the ears of those who are listening.
Here we find that these individuals were around in the time of Jeremiah deceiving the people into thinking they were speaking for the LORD. The problem is that the people wanted to hear their messages because they wanted to do the things that made them happy even if it didn’t please the LORD.
Many churches today are centers of entertainment rather than preaching the truth of the Word of God. They attract many people but when they leave they are not challenged to obey the LORD in their every action. They are not encouraged to confess their sin and pray for the LORD to reveal HIS will for their life.
God wants HIS people to worship HIM in spirit and in truth. This means that we have to examine the teachings of anyone we listen to and check the Scriptures to see if they are teaching the truth.
However, this means that those who claim to be genuine followers of the LORD have to do research themselves into the teaching of the Word of God. We are not to just think that the person is Biblical in his or her teaching but check out the authors we read and the people we listen to.
We are to be individuals who are students of the Word. Yes, it takes time each day but if we are not studying we are losing some of the teachings of the Word of God with all the other voices we are listening to.
CHALLENGE: God wants us to be students of the Word. HE wants us to understand that there are genuine enemies to the cross and the only way to check them out is to study to show ourselves approved of HIM and HE will give us good instructions.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? says the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? says the LORD. (5641 “hide’ [cathar] means be absent, keep close, conceal, or secret.
DEVOTION: The LORD has omniscience. HE knows everything. HE is omnipresent. HE is omnipotent.
God is informing Jeremiah to tell the false prophets that there is no place they can conceal their presence from the LORD. HE sees through the darkness. HE is not a local God. HE created the world and reigns over it. HE is sovereign. HE is sending HIS son to reign in the future. Jesus Christ is a descendant of David. Christ will be called KING and a RIGHTEOUS BRANCH to reign and prosper in the future of Israel.
However, at the present time there was going to be judgment because of their sin. The pastors were not feeding their flocks. The pastors were not visiting the flock. In fact, they were scattering the flock. The LORD was going to gather them together again in the future. Not one of them was going to be lost.
The prophets were telling lies to the people. It was just mass rejection of the LORD and HIS word. They were telling the people that they were speaking for the LORD. They were informing the people that the LORD was sending peace their way. Lies!!
God’s people said they wanted to know the burden of the LORD. The LORD knew their hearts. HE knew they thought HE didn’t see what was going on in Jerusalem. They thought they could keep secrets from God.
Too often we think that God doesn’t see everything we do. HE is still omniscient. HE is still Sovereign. HE is still omnipresent. Nothing is concealed from the LORD.
There are still false prophet and false teachers in our world. We have to study and mediate on the Word of God to know the truth that it teaches. Then we will be able to hear teachers and discern if they are telling the truth. Don’t follow false teachers. Check out their teaching with the Word of God. Confront them as Jeremiah had to do in his time.
CHALLENGE: Realize that the LORD sees every moment of every day of our life. Nothing is concealed. HE states that what we hear in secret we should shout from the housetops. Let us do some shouting for 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)
Lack of submission by pastors verse 1- 4
Lack of submission by prophets verse 11- 40
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)
Prophets pervert words of Living God verse 36
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)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Priest’s are profane verse 11
LORD’s house contained wickedness verse 11
Priest verse 33, 34
____________________________________________________________
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Words of HIS holiness verse 9
Word of God like fire or hammer verse 29
Word of the Living God verse 36
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 2, 4- 9, 11, 12, 15- 20, 23, 24, 28- 38
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 2, 23, 36
LORD God of Israel verse 2
I will visit upon you the evil of your doings verse 2
I will gather the remnant of MY flock out verse 3
of all countries whither I have driven
them
I will set up shepherds over them which shall
feed them verse 4
I will raise to David a righteous Branch
and King verse 5
I have driven them verse 8
Words of HIS holiness verse 9
I will bring evil upon them (Israel) verse 12
LORD of hosts verse 15, 16, 36
Feeds false prophets with wormwood
and drink the water of gall verse 15
Mouth of the LORD verse 16
Counsel of the LORD verse 18
Whirlwind of the LORD verse 19
Anger of the LORD will be executed verse 20
HE has performed the thoughts of HIS heart verse 20
MY counsel verse 22
My words verse 22
God at hand verse 23
Not a God afar off verse 23
Omnipresence of the LORD verse 23, 24
fill heaven and earth
Omniscience of God verse 24
Is not MY word like as a fire? verse 29
Is not MY word like a hammer that
breaks the rock in pieces? verse 29
Against false prophet verse 30- 32
Burden of the LORD verse 33, 34, 36, 38
Punish man and his house that speaks falsely verse 33, 34
Living God verse 36
LORD of hosts our God verse 36
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Righteous Branch verse 5
King – reign and prosper verse 5
Execute judgment and justice verse 5
In HIS day Judah shall be saved
And Israel shall called
THE LORD OUR RIGHTOUSNESS verse 6
The LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS verse 6
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)
Land of Egypt verse 7
Sodom verse 14
Gomorrah verse 14
Neighbor verse 27, 30, 35
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Pastors that destroy & scatter LORD’S sheep verse 1, 2
Pastor not visiting sheep verse 2
Pastor not feeding sheep verse 2
Pastor who do evil to LORD’S sheep verse 2
False prophets verse 9, 15, 21
Drunken verse 9
Adulterers verse 10, 14
Swearing verse 10
Evil ways and doings verse 10, 12, 17, 22
Not right verse 10
Prophet are profane verse 11, 15
Priests are profane verse 11
Wickedness verse 11, 14
Slippery ways in the darkness verse 12
Folly in the prophets of Samaria verse 13
Prophesied in Baal verse 13
Prophets caused people to err verse 13, 32
Prophets commit adultery verse 14
Walk in lies verse 14
Evildoers verse 14, 22
None return from the wickedness verse 14
Like inhabitants of Sodom & Gomorrah verse 14
Profaneness verse 15
Prophets of Jerusalem = profaneness verse 15
Prophets make people vain verse 16
Vision of their own heart verse 16
Visions not out of the mouth of LORD verse 16
Despise LORD verse 17
Preach false message: No evil shall come
upon you verse 17
Walked after the imagination of his own heart verse 17
Wicked- whirlwind will fall grievously
on their head verse 19
Prophesy lies verse 21, 25, 26,
31- 34
Deceit of their own heart verse 26
Prophets cause the people to forget God verse 27
Replace Baal for true God verse 27
Steal God words from his neighbor verse 30
Prophesy false dreams verse 32
Cause people to err verse 32
Treat God’s word lightly verse 32
Perverted the words of the living God verse 36- 38
Perverting the words of God cause them to
be forsaken and out of HIS presence verse 39
Everlasting reproach verse 40
Perpetual shame verse 40
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Sheep of HIS pasture verse 1
Pastors that feed MY people verse 2
Visit the sheep verse 2
Remnant verse 3
Fruitful verse 3
Increase verse 3
Genuine shepherds verse 4
Feed the sheep verse 4
No more fear verse 4
Not be dismayed verse 4
Not lack verse 4
Saved verse 6
Dwell safely verse 6
Righteousness verse 6
Dwell in own land verse 8
Visons out of the mouth of the LORD verse 16
Stand in council of the LORD verse 18, 22
Hear the word of the LORD verse 18, 22
Marked word of the LORD verse 18
Turn from evil ways verse 18, 22
Perform thoughts of the LORD verse 20
Faithfully speak God’s word verse 28
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Sheep verse 1
Pastors verse 2
David verse 5
Judah verse 6
Israel verse 6- 8, 13
Children of Israel verse 7
House of Israel out of the north country
And from all countries whither
I have driven them verse 8
Dwell in their own land verse 8
Jeremiah verse 9
Mine heart within me is broken
because of the words of HIS
holiness
Year of Israel’s visitation verse 12
Prophets of Samaria verse 13
Cause people of Israel to err verse 13
Jerusalem verse 14
Prophets of Jerusalem – commit adultery verse 14, 15
Cannot hide in secret places verse 24
Prophet verse 33
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
In HIS days verse 6
The days come verse 7
In the later days verse 20
Everlasting reproach verse 40
Perpetual shame verse 40
_________________________________________________________
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org. Also, if you can support this ministry through your local church please use that method. Thank you.
_____________________________________________________________
QUOTES regarding passage
23:3–4 The Lord would assume the role of the shepherd and gather the remnant of his flock from all the places he had driven them. The remnant is a major theme in the Book of Jeremiah (mentioned nineteen times). It is mentioned frequently elsewhere in the OT (e.g., Isa 37:32; Ezek 5:10; Amos 5:15; Mic 2:12). The remnant is that part of Israel that will remain after God’s purging through punishment.
Attention has been called to a seeming conflict between 23:2 and 23:3. Jeremiah 23:2 states that the shepherds drove the flock away; 23:3 says the Lord drove them away. Both statements are correct. They describe Judah’s punishment from both human and divine perspectives. Compare 21:5, where God said he would fight against Judah, but it was the Babylonians who did the actual fighting. The Lord promised that the returnees would be fruitful and increase in number (cf. Gen 1:28; Deut 28:4). He would also “place shepherds [i.e., rulers] over them who would tend them” and protect them from danger. (Huey, F. B. (1993). Jeremiah, Lamentations (Vol. 16, p. 211). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
___________________________________________________
1–4. The shepherds were the false pastors of the flock who were allowing it to be dissipated and ultimately destroyed (cf. 2:8; 10:21, etc.). Bad leadership is the ultimate attributive cause of exile. The grazing sheep reflect a pastoral image found frequently in Scripture. God the Chief Shepherd is solicitous for the welfare of his flock, while Christ the Good Shepherd (John 10:11) showed in his death how far divine love was prepared to go in redeeming sinful humanity. In verse 2 the mt pāqad (attend) is used intentionally in wordplay, as in most evv, the second reference having the force of ‘punish’. As promised by the pre-exilic prophets, a remnant will return and repopulate the devastated land. None of them will go astray because responsible shepherds will attend (pāqad) to their welfare. (Harrison, R. K. (1973). Jeremiah and Lamentations: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 21, p. 122). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
_______________________________________________________
23:1–4. Jeremiah summarized the unrighteous kings as being like shepherds who were destroying and scattering God’s sheep. The shepherds deserved punishment because of the evil they had done (cf. Ezek. 34:1–10). But if God removed them, whom would He appoint to regather His sheep? Jeremiah gave a twofold answer. First, God Himself would gather the remnant of the people who were dispersed and would bring them back. He would assume responsibility for Israel’s regathering (cf. Jer. 31:10; Micah 2:12; 5:4; 7:14). Second, God would raise up new shepherds over them who would tend and care for the people the way God intended. (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. 1158). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
__________________________________________________________
Messiah the King—righteousness (23:1–8). Jeremiah denounced all the leaders (“shepherds”) of Judah for the ruthless way they treated the helpless people (vv. 1–4). Instead of leading the flock in love, they drove it mercilessly and exploited it. The shepherds didn’t visit (“care for”) the sheep, but God would visit the leaders with punishment. Because the leaders disobeyed the Law and refused to trust God, they destroyed the nation and scattered the flock among the Gentiles. God, however, promised to regather His people and transform the remnant into a nation. (The word “remnant” is used nineteen times in Jeremiah.) A remnant did return to Judah after the Captivity, rebuild the temple, and restore national life.
Jeremiah, however, promised a much greater regathering of the Jews—a greater miracle than their deliverance from Egypt (vv. 7–8; see 16:14–15). God will call His people from the nations of the world, gather them in their land, purge them, and then send them their promised Messiah (Jer. 30; Isa. 2:1–5; 4:1–6; 9:1–7; 11:1–12:6; Zech. 12–14). David’s “family tree” might have been cut down, but a “branch” (shoot) would grow from the stump and become Ruler of the nation (Isa. 11:1; 53:2). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Decisive (pp. 103–104). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
__________________________________________________________
23:4 shepherds … will tend them. Cf. Ezek 34:23–31. Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and others were small fulfillments compared to the consummate shepherding of the Messiah Jesus. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Je 23:4). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
___________________________________________________________
Israel’s pastors—that is, their kings—had to a great degree failed to use their exalted office for the blessing of the sheep confided to their care. The last four, especially, who reigned in Jerusalem were recreant shepherds, intent only upon enriching themselves, and caring nought for the flock. In the opening verses of the 23d chapter a “woe” is pronounced upon them for destroying and scattering the sheep of Jehovah’s pasture. “Ye have scattered My flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them; behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord” (vers. 1, 2). It is a pitiable thing when the leaders of the people of God cause the simple to err; when those who are set to guide and protect the flock lead them into by-paths and expose them to danger. Solemn will be the accounting when the Lord shall visit for these things. By referring to the 34th chapter of Ezekiel the reader will get a fuller description of the course of these evil shepherds. See especially vers. 1 to 6. Both there and here there are sweet assurances that, human pastors having so wretchedly failed, the Lord Himself will gather the remnant of His flock from all countries whither He has driven them, and will bring them again to their folds, where they shall be fruitful and increase (ver. 3). This has no reference to a conversion of Jews to Christianity. There is no fold now; but “one flock and one Shepherd” (John 10:15, R. V.). But this promise speaks of a still future and literal return of the Jews to their land after the present dispensation has closed, and the Church is removed to heaven. When thus restored to the home of their fathers, and to their King (whom they once rejected, saying, “We have no king but Cæsar”), He shall then “set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord” (ver. 5).
Twelve of these shepherds we know, for our Lord said to the apostles: “Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matt. 19:28). Judas, by transgression, forfeited his place, but Matthias was given the bishopric thus made vacant. Through the promised Messiah are these covenanted mercies of David to be fulfilled. “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and execute justice in the earth” (ver. 5). (Ironside, H. A. (1906). Notes on the prophecy and Lamentations of Jeremiah (p. 111). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
___________________________________________________________
Ver. 4. And I will set shepherds over them, which shall feed them, &c.] Good shepherds, rulers and governors, that shall rule them with wholesome laws, and protect and defend them; such as Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, and others, after the captivity: or Christian kings and princes, when the Gospel came to be published and established in many kingdoms and provinces, and the sheep of Christ were gathered out of them. Jerom interprets these shepherds of the apostles of Christ; and it may include other ministers of the Gospel, who feed Christ’s sheep with knowledge and understanding; see Jer. 3:15. And they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed; not the shepherds, as Jerom understands it, but the sheep. This looks as if this prophecy had respect to more future times than those immediately following the return from the Babylonish captivity; since the Jews were made to fear, and were dismayed by Sanballet and Tobiah, and, in after-times, by the Greeks and Romans; even to the times of Christ, and the Gospel dispensation; in which the saints receive not the spirit of bondage again to fear, but, through the blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, of Christ, have much spiritual peace and boldness of faith, and fear no enemy. Neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord; not one of the sheep brought back, or of the remnant gathered, shall be missing or lost; this is exactly true of Christ’s sheep, John. 10:28. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, p. 526). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
____________________________________________________________
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
______________________________________________________________
Through parables, Jesus gives instruction on the proper perspective of wealth.
INSIGHT
It’s hard to let go of the temporal and lay hold of the eternal. And the temporal world can hold on to rich and poor alike through money. Both the greedy and the envious live as if there were no eternal realm.
Jesus often speaks about a true and good perspective on money. Perhaps His financial teaching can be summed up by this: Our faith should be in God, not money. We must be careful always to trust God who supplies the money rather than to trust the money itself. (Quiet Walk)
__________________________________________________________________
GOD’S WORK THROUGH THE TRUTH
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John 17:17
Some teach that all we have to do, having told God that we want to be delivered, is to believe He has done it, and then we shall eventually find that it has happened. Now that teaching is also put like this: You must say to a man who is constantly defeated by a particular sin, “I think your only hope is to take it to Christ, and Christ will take it from you.”
But what does Scripture say in Ephesians 4:28 to the man who finds himself constantly guilty of stealing, to a man who sees something he likes and takes it? What am I to tell such a man? Am I to say, “Take that sin to Christ and ask Him to deliver you”? No. What the apostle Paul tells him is this: “Let him that stole, steal no more.” Just that. Stop doing it! And if it is fornication or adultery or lustful thoughts, again, stop doing it, says Paul. He does not say, “Go and pray to Christ to deliver you.” No. You must stop doing that, he says, as becomes the children of God.
My friends, we have become unscriptural. If you want further evidence, lest somebody thinks it is only the teaching of Paul, let me come to the teaching of the apostle Peter, which is exactly the same—it is the whole teaching of Scripture, which we seem to have forgotten. We read in 1 Peter 1:14-15, “As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.” It is something that you have to do. You must turn your back on these things because you are a child of God. Peter does not say, “Surrender it to Christ and ask Him to deliver you from it.” What he says is, “Realize who you are and stop doing it!”
A Thought to Ponder
You must turn your back on these things because you are a child of God. (From Sanctified Through the Truth, pp. 54-55, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
__________________________________________________________
Commitment to God
“Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:5)
Frustration must come as the saints of God battle with evil forces. The pain and pressure of torment are nonetheless real as these evil “devices” (Isaiah 32:7) take their toll on the people of God. The Lord will destroy the plans of the wicked (Psalm 33:10), but while those plans are active, they can cause much hurt.
Nevertheless, we must maintain trust in the Lord and commit our lives to Him if we are to be victorious. The unusual Hebrew word galal used here is more often translated as “roll on” or “roll with” something. It seems to imply a unity in the commitment, that the committed one is bound up in the actions or activities of the thing or person committed to—we “roll on” or “roll with” the Lord in our “way.”
Paul spends much of his letter to the Philippians describing the link between the Creator-Savior and the mind, heart, and lifestyle of the Christian who has given his life over to God. “Being confident of this very thing,” Paul says, “that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). We are to “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13).
While admitting that he had not yet “attained,” Paul was so focused on the work of the Kingdom that he was “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). God’s promise to “bring it to pass” is conditionedon our being committed to His sovereign will for our “way.” (HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
_____________________________________________________________
We now have a Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.