Jeremiah 18 - 22 (12th August) - Vivien

Jeremiah 18
Are you moldable? In this chapter, God revealed to Jeremiah a revelation through a potter shaping clay. God is our potter. He already has a good plan in mind how He wanted to shape us. However if you choose to be rebellious, He can put all good things to an end. Thank God, that He always gives second chances.

In verse 8, “and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.”
But in verse 10, it says that if we do evil in His sight and disobey Him, He will reconsider His good intention for us.

The Israelites actually made plans against Jeremiah, because the words that Jeremiah sent to them were unpleasant to their ears.

Come to think of it, it really takes a lot of boldness and faith to be a prophet, especially for Jeremiah. Jeremiah was just a messenger of God, but the people of Israel choose not to deny what he has said and intend to get rid of him. Servants of God, persevere! Do what pleases God and not Man. This kind of reminded me of the Korean Christians who were martyred. Like Stephen in Acts 7:58 though he was stoned for no good reason, that had impacted Apostle Paul in some ways, so similar I believe that they will not die in vain, God has a plan and the “Apostle Paul” effect will come next!

Here is something that may be more relevant to us. Do we run away or reject or find excuses to deny teachings that you know is for our good, but it requires you to sacrifice something. For example, your leader tells you that it does not please God when you stop attending cell group because of work. So are you going to be obedient and stop work immediately on Sundays? Or are you going to ignore and deny that you are doing fine without attending cell since you have been attending service faithfully every Sunday? Are we going to choose to be like the Israelites?

Verse 19 –23: Jeremiah must have felt rejected and fed up with the reaction of the people. So he cried out to God to stand with him, in anger and despondency I guess.

Jeremiah 19 - 20
God responded to Jeremiah’s cry, and instructed him to buy the clay jar and declare to the people the bad news to them. What happened next? He was beaten up and locked up for a day. When he was released, Jeremiah continued to prophesize, not being afraid that he would be beaten up again.

It’s not easy to be a Jeremiah. After the accusations and beatings that he had gotten he complained to God, saying that God has tricked him and he had let God tricked him. He was nearing to throw in the white flag. But he didn’t. He knew that he is weak but God is strong, and he chose to continue to praise God. He cursed his birth, instead of blaming his tragedy on God. God knows our limit, and every thought matters to Him. He understands that we need to complain to not drive ourselves crazy. And so Jeremiah’s Complaint was recorded in the Bible. However, after complaining we need to come back to God and surrender whatever problems we are facing, and recognize that He is in control.

Jeremiah 21
When trouble came for Israel, King Zedekiah called for Jeremiah to inquire of the LORD, hoping that God would perform some miracles. Gosh… what kind of attitude is this! King Zedekiah was just trying his luck to see maybe God could perform magic for Israel… v2b“… Perhaps the LORD will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he [Nebuchadnezzar] will withdraw from us.” Is this the kind of respect for God?

God is really slow to anger. How did God react? Read carefully the words used. v4: “… I am about to turn against you…” & v8: “… See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.” & v12: “… ‘Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire…’” God is still giving second chances…

Thank you God, for you are merciful. We should be like Him too. Always leave a second chance for others, and if others don’t grab the second chance we know that they are courting their own trouble.

Jeremiah 22
God reminded the king of Judah the role of a king. And God might love him, but if he has done evil in the eyes of God, God would still punish.

“As sure as I am the living God ‘-God's Decree-’ even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were the signet ring on my right hand, I'd pull you off and give you to those who are out to kill you...” v24-25 (The Message)

This is how just and fair our God is.

Ultimately, God’s heart is with the weak. God never forgets them, so we should not too!