Quick Note – Jeremiah 31:22 – Waver No Longer

Jeremiah 31:22a – How long will you waver, O faithless daughter?

The book of Jeremiah is mostly focused on prophecies against the people of Israel.  Because they had worshipped other gods, sacrificed to idols, and abandoned the commandments of the LORD, God had Jeremiah prophesy punishment to them.  They were told that they would be sent into exile in Babylon for seventy years.  They would suffer from pestilence, sword, and famine.  They would experience the consequences of their sins.  However, even while disciplining them, God still loved them, so He had Jeremiah also share prophesies that promised their restoration and return to glory.  Jeremiah 31 is one of those chapters.  It describes how they will be brought back from all the nations from which they were exiled, how they would enjoy bountiful harvests, how they would sing and dance for joy, and how God would make a new covenant with them where He would put His law into their hearts. 

Interestingly though, in the midst of describing all these future blessings, there is a call to repentance in Jeremiah 31:22, where God asks the Israelites, “How long will you waver, O faithless daughter?”  The people of Israel always had a hard time deciding between whether they would worship the Lord their God or the false gods of Egypt, Canaan, and the nations that surrounded them.  They constantly wavered between serving God or giving in to the desires of their flesh – their sin.  This is why God called them out and asked them, “How long will you waver?  How long will you sit on the fence trying to decide whether you will serve me or this world?”  It was time for them to choose to follow the Lord their God.  It was time for them to commit.  It was time for them to repent. 

The same question is being asked to you today – How long will you waver?  How long are you going to go back and forth, trying to decide whether you will give your life fully over to the Lord your God?  God has been waiting and knocking at the door of your heart for years now.  He has been trying to call out to you and get your attention.  Why are you still wavering?  Why are you still contemplating a decision?  When God has showered His love on you, showed you His mercy and grace, and has held His arms open waiting for you to run in, why are you still lingering and not returning to Him?  Go and run into those powerful arms – those arms looking to restore a loving relationship with Him.  Stop wavering between the world and God.  Instead give yourself fully over to Him.  Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).    

Quick Note – Jeremiah 22:15-17 – Not Kings of Cedar

Jeremiah 22:15-17 – Do you think you are a king because you compete in cedar?  Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness?  Then it was well with him.  He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well.  Is not this to know me? Declares the LORD.  But you have eyes and heart only for your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence.

In this world, greatness and success is measured by money, power, and fame.  The people who have attained leadership roles like presidents, congressmen, and judges are considered successful in power.  People who have amassed riches like stock market gurus and Fortune 500 company CEOs are considered successful in money.  And people who have amassed a following of fans like YouTube stars and celebrities are considered successful in fame.  The world believes that they are successful – that they are kings and queens that should be admired, because they can compete in these aspects of life.  They are considered the winners of this rat race called life. 

However, these things are temporary.  They have no lasting value and can disappear in the blink of an eye.  One day these men and women are respected and loved but the next day hated and scorned.  Because of this, we should ask, “Why we seek after these things?  Why do we look for the temporary?” 

The kings of Judah also had this same problem.  They thought that what made them great kings were their abilities to compete in amassing riches.  They would gather gold, silver, and precious wood like cedar, because it represented power, prestige, and wealth.  Cedar was specifically noted here in Jeremiah 22:15, because it was a precious, high-quality wood that could be used to build palaces.  It was considered the best of the best.  That is why kings sought it out.  That is why kings who had a lot of it were respected. 

However, God did not measure a good king by the amount of cedar he had in storage, but by something else – by their ability to do justice and righteousness.  God rebuked the king of Judah for thinking that his kingship was measured by his wealth.  Rather his kingship was measured by his obedience to the commandments of God.  For this reason, God punished the king of Judah and his people for their sins of corruption, murder, and violence.  They weren’t great kings, because they weren’t righteous. 

We as Christians, disciples of Jesus Christ, must be careful not to get caught up in how this world measures success.  We must be careful not be obsessed with gaining riches, power, and fame.  We must not seek the things of this world.  Rather, we should be seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  God is not pleased by the things we accumulate, but He is pleased by those who faithfully follow His commands.  It is only by seeking His will and walking in His way, that we will hear the words, “Thou, good and faithful servant.” Let us not seek to be kings of cedar but servants of God.

Quick Note – Isaiah 59:1-2 – Blocked Prayers?

Isaiah 59:1-2 – Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

When the Israelites would suffer from trouble and hardship, when they would be captured and exiled to another country, they would complain about how God did not protect them, about how God did not hear their prayers.  They felt like He wasn’t listening, like He didn’t care, like He was a deceiver who promised them love, safety, and protection but gave them pain and destruction instead.  However, God was always ready to listen, always ready to rescue, always ready to save.  The broken relationship did not come from God’s desire to separate Himself from them, but the Israelites desire to sin.  Their sins were separating them from God; their sins were a barrier between them and God.  Because God is holy, He cannot dwell in the presence of sin.  Because God is just, He must punish it.  So when sin was present, He had to leave and separate Himself from them.  This is why Isaiah told the people, “…Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”  Sin was the divider that kept them away from God and His blessings. 

The same principle applies to us today.  When you feel like God is not listening to your prayers, when you feel like God is not present in your life, when you feel like God has abandoned you, ask yourself is there sin in my life?  Most likely, you will find that you have been holding onto some iniquity, some wrong, some sin that God has been trying to get you to let go of.  You will find out that what has been keeping your prayers hindered is your sin.  So rather than blaming God for the trouble, turn in repentance to Him, lay your sins at His feet, ask Him for forgiveness, and restore that relationship with Him.  When we feel like God is far away, it is not because He has drifted away, but because we have gone astray.  Like the prodigal son, we ran away from home and our loving Father.  Like the lost sheep, we wandered out of the watch of our Shepherd.  Let us repent of our sins and come back to Him, for our God is willing, capable, and ready to save. 

Quick Note – Isaiah 53:4-5

Isaiah 53:4-5 – Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

While reading these two verses in Isaiah 53, I was reminded that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ knows and bears our griefs and sorrows. He takes our burdens upon His shoulders and carries them alongside us. So when I am struggling with pain or sadness, hardship or depression, I can trust that He will lift me up and give me strength. These verses though specifically talk about how Jesus Christ bore the griefs and sorrows that come with our sin. He bore the punishment that we could not bear in our place, for “he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities…” Jesus Christ carried the grief that we could not bear, suffered the pain that we could not endure, and was punished for the sins that we could not pay. How loving and great a Savior we have! If He was willing to endure all of this for us, while we were yet sinners and enemies of His, how could we worry that He would not bear with the hardship we are enduring today! Let us trust Him to bear our griefs and carry our sorrows today!

Quick Note – Isaiah 46:3-4 – Care for All Your Life

Isaiah 46:3-4 – Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you.  I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

Because of the sin and idolatry of the people of Israel and their tendency to worship false gods who were nothing else but burdens to them, God spoke these words in Isaiah 46:3-4.  He wanted them to realize that He was the true and living God – the only One that cared for them.  This is why He told them that He had borne them from before their birth, that He carried them from the womb, and that He would continue to do so until their old age.  He carried them in the past, carries them in the present, and will carry them in the future.  By making this statement, He was letting them know that He would love and treasure them for the entirety of their lives unlike the idols of wood, gold, and silver. 

We, as Christians and members of the family of God, should also take these verses to heart.  God knew us even before we were born (Jeremiah 1:5).  He shaped and formed us while we were in the womb (Psalm 139:13).  He directs and plans for every day of our lives, and He made those plans even before we were born (Psalm 139:15).  And He continues to watch over us even until the day of our deaths.  He has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).  God does all of these things because He loves us.  He loved us so much that while we still sinners, worshipping false gods of money, power, fame, and our own selves, He died for us (Romans 5:8).  Knowing this love and care, we should bring Him the worship, praise, and respect He deserves.  We should not turn to the things of this earth that cannot bring us satisfaction and care, but instead, we should give our lives to Him.

God cared for us before we were born (so how can we say that life does not begin in the womb?).  God cares for us every day of our lives (so how can we value another person’s life less?).  God will continue to care for us even when we are old and gray (so how can we treat the elderly without respect?).  No matter the season in your life, God loves you.  If God loves and cares for you this much, shouldn’t you love and worship Him in return?