Jeremiah 14
God brings a drought
» Judah wilts, her businesses have ground to a halt. (a withholding of God’s blessings
and provision)
» All the people sit on the ground mourning. (economic suffering)
» All the wells are dry. (the living water was rejected)
» The servants are confused and desperate, covering their heads in grief. (unable to fulfill
the commands of their masters...no resources; without the resource of the Holy Spirit,
we cannot fulfill God’s commands for our lives)
» The ground is parched and cracked for lack of rain. (Our spiritual lives can become
parched, too)
» The farmers are afraid and cover their heads. (Too much dependence on self)
» Animals are starving and unable to care for their young. (Without the Lord, we can’t
meet the spiritual needs of our children. We must know the Word in order to teach it
and, we must live the Word in order to make the Lord real to our children.)
The people cry out
» Our wickedness has caught up with us. (Full awareness of spiritual condition)
» We have sinned against God. (Full knowledge of who they sinned against)
» Lord, help us for the sake of your own reputation. (Do not see their sin as God sees it)
You are our savior in times of trouble. Why are you like a stranger to us? (act as if
God owes them something) Are you confused? Are you helpless to save us? You are
right here among us Lord. We are known as your people. (Each person must assume
responsibility for their own spiritual development. Simply being born into a Christian
family or belonging to a church is not enough.) Please don’t abandon us now. (It is us
who abandons God.)
God replies
» You love to wander far from me and do not follow in my paths. Now, I will no longer
accept you as my people.
» I will remember all your wickedness and will punish you for your sins. (Compare this
to the new covenant in which we have forgiveness of sin, cleansed by the blood of
Christ and declared justified and righteous before God.)
God forbids Jeremiah to Intercede
» Jeremiah, don’t pray for these people any more. I won’t pay attention to their
fasting.
» I will not accept their offerings.
» I will give them only war, famine, and disease.
Jeremiah replies
» O Sovereign Lord, your prophets are telling them all is well and that no war or famine
will come. (Being led astray by deception) They say that you will surely send peace.
(The false prophets are not in tune with God’s heart and doubt God’s power and truth.)
God speaks to Jeremiah
» These prophets are telling lies in my name. I didn’t send them or tell them to speak.
I didn’t give them any messages. They prophesy visions and revelations they have
Never seen or heard (self-seeking). They speak foolishness made up in their own lying
hearts. (The Bible says to test the spirits...knowing scripture will help us discern).
» I will punish these prophets. They and their people will die by war and famine.
Husbands, wives, sons and daughters all will be gone. For I will pour out their own
Wickedness on them.
God gives a message for his people
» Night and day my eyes overflow with tears. (Just as parents cry for the sinful hearts of
their children) I cannot stop weeping, for my virgin daughter (pure) – my precious
people, has been run through with a sword and lies mortally wounded on the ground.
slaughtered and starved bodies are everywhere. (We are God’s chosen, precious people
whom He called to be set apart, seeking to live purely before Him.)
» The prophets and priests continue with their work, but they do not know what they are
doing. (They have lost their authority.)
Jeremiah’s prayer
» Lord, have you completely rejected your people?
» Do you really hate them?
» Why have you wounded us past all hope of healing? (The Bible says that whom the
Lord loves He chastises.)
» We hoped for peace, but no peace came.
» We hoped for a time of healing but found only terror.
» Lord, we confess our wickedness. We all have sinned against you.
» For the sake of your own name, Lord, do not abandon us. Do not disgrace
yourself and the throne of your glory. Do not break your covenant with us.
Please don’t forget us! (Jeremiah knows that without God He is nothing.)
» The foreign gods can not send us rain, It doesn’t fall from the sky by itself.
(All good things come from the Lord.) God, only you can do such things.
(only God has such power) So, we will wait for you to help us. (Jeremiah
knows that God has a plan that will bring the heart of His nation back to Him.)
Jeremiah 15
God declares Judah’s doom
» The Lord told Jeremiah that even if Moses and Samuel pleaded for the people, He
wouldn’t help them.
» Away with them. Get them out of my sight. (God is serious about sin! Obedience is
not an option.)
» Some are destined for death, some for war, some for famine, and some for captivity.
» I will send 4 kinds of destroyers against them: the sword to kill, the dogs to drag them
away, the vultures to devour, and the wild animals to finish up what is left.
» Because of the wicked things they did, I will make my people an object of horror to
all the kingdoms of the earth. (Are you a blessing or a horror to everyone around you?)
» Who will feel sorry for you?
» Who will weep for you?
» Who will even bother to ask how you are?
» You have forsaken me and turned your back on me.
» I will raise my clenched fists to destroy you.
» I am tired of always giving you another chance.
» I will take away everything you hold dear.
» I will destroy my own people, because they refuse (choice) to turn back to me from
all their evil ways. (sinful lifestyle)
» There will be more widows than the grains of sand along the seashore.
» I will bring a destroyer against the mothers of young men. Anguish and terror will
come upon them suddenly. Those who are left, I will hand over to the enemy to be
killed. (our enemies can overtake us before we know we are in danger)
Jeremiah complains
» Oh, that I had died at birth! I am hated everywhere I go.
God replies
» All will be well with you, Jeremiah. (God strengthens our hearts and does not give us
more to bear than we are equipped to handle.)
» Because of my people’s sins against me, I will hand over their wealth and treasures
as plunder to the enemy. (What are your treasures?)
» I will tell their enemies to take them as captives to a foreign land.
» My anger blazes forth like fire, and it will consume them.
Jeremiah answers God
» Lord, you know I am suffering for your sake. Punish my persecutors.
Don’t let them kill me! Be merciful to me and give them what they deserve!
» Your words sustain me, Lord. They bring me great joy and are my heart’s
delight for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty.
» I never joined the people in their merry feasts. I sat alone because your hand
was on me. (Jeremiah was set apart from the things of the world. God promises
to give us the power, through His Spirit, to resist temptations and to flee from
the devil….to resist the urge to join the crowd in sin.)
» I burst with indignation at their sins. (He didn’t try to justify their sinful actions.)
» Why then does my suffering continue? (We don’t always understand God’s ways.)
» Why is my wound so incurable?
» Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook. It is like a spring that has gone
dry. (Jeremiah allowed himself to think wrong thoughts…Phil. 4:8)
God replies
» If you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me.
» If you speak words that are worthy, you will be my spokesman.
» You are to influence them; do not let them influence you! (Obedience makes us
useful to the Lord.)
» They will fight against you like an attacking army, (warning)but I will make you as
secure as a fortified wall. They will not conquer you, for I will protect and
deliver you. (promise)
» I will certainly keep you safe from these wicked men. I will rescue you!
Next
Jeremiah 1-2
Jeremiah 3-4
Jeremiah 5
Jeremiah 6
Jeremiah 7
Jeremiah 8
Jeremiah 9
Jeremiah 10-11
Jeremiah 12-13
Jeremiah 14-15
Jeremiah 16-17
Jeremiah 18
