Jeremiah 12

Well, good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning, we're going to go to Jeremiah chapter 12. Jeremiah's got a question for the Lord, and the Lord's going to answer him. So, let's have some coffee. We'll pray and we'll get into God's word. >> Nope. Didn't even leave your lips. Are you sure? >> Nope. Didn't even need to leave your lips before I said. >> Okay. Okay. Well, someday someday you'll want a cup of coffee with me. >> Let me tear coffee. >> Okay. Do you want to pray or do you want me to pray? >> You can pray. >> Okay. Lord, thank you so much for time that you've given us together. Thank you for your word and God, we pray that we would read it and understand it and that would actually impact our lives that we would be changed by the reading of your word. We know that this is only something you can do by the power of your holy spir spirit. So please help us Lord in Jesus' name. Amen. Here we go. Jeremiah 12. And we'll just go kind of paragraph by paragraph. Okay. So, righteous you are you, oh Lord, when I plead with you. Yet, let me talk with you about your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? You have planted them. Yes, you have. Yes, they have taken root. They grow. Yes, they bear fruit. You are near in their mouth, but far from their mind. >> Let you, oh Lord, know me. You have seen me, and you have tested my heart toward you. Pull them out like sheep from the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter. along where the land mourn and the hogs of the field wither. The beasts and barbs are consumed for the wickedness of those who dwell there because they said, "He will not see our final end." >> All right. So, I mean, he's he's got a pretty tangible, palpable question. What is it? He's looking around him and what does he see? >> The wicked prosper. He sees the wicked prospering. They ask him why, Lord, right? They they they got you in their mouth. They'll make, you know, lip confession to you, but you're not actually in their minds. You're not in their hearts, right? They don't think about you. They don't honor you. And so, what's he ask of God for them? >> What are you going to do about them? >> Yeah. But he compares himself and he says, "Look, Lord, you've seen me, right? These are enemies of his. I think this is specifically talking about uh people of Anthos, uh other priests who are threatening Jeremiah's life and he's he's asking for God to tear him down. Okay. Well, verse five, I'll read 5 through 5 through9. >> Will he all of chapter 12? >> Mhm. If you have run with the footmen and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace in which you trusted they wearied you, then how will you do in the flood plane of the Jordan? For even your brothers, the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you. Yes, they have called a multitude after you, do not believe them, even though they speak speak smooth words to you. I have forsaken my house. I have left my heritage. I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of their enemies. >> My heritage, what's that? Of her enemies. Yeah, sorry. My heritage is to me like a lion in the forest. It cries out against me. Therefore, I have hated it. My heritage is My heritage is to me like a speckled vulture. The vultures all around are against her. Come assemble all the beasts of the field. Bring them to devour. What's What's the Lord getting at there? >> They might lost me on like >> Okay. Well, yeah. So, right. This is this is why we read and we ask what it's about, right? Cuz this helps us. So, so the Lord is essentially like, "What's worn you out, man?" Right? Like they threaten your life and you're already getting tired. That's what he's getting at in verse five, right? If you have run with the footmen and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? He's saying like the battle is coming. The battle is coming and you're tired now. There's real real enemies coming. Babylon is going to destroy the city. >> He's talking about this is the Lord talking to Jeremiah. >> Yeah, this is the Lord talking to Jeremiah now. >> He's basically just saying like suck it up so it can't happen. >> Yeah, maybe. Yeah, he's maybe he's preparing him in a loving way, right? And it says they have they've dealt treacherously treacherous treacherously with you. They have called a multitude after you. Do not believe them even though they speak smooth words to you. Right? He's saying don't believe anybody who comes and they're trying to tell you smooth things. Don't believe them when they come and they're and they're trying to come after you. >> This is Jeremiah. You know, this is the Lord still speaking to Jeremiah. And then he speaks of the judgment against his own house, right? His own people, telling them that he's left them. He's forsaken his house. He's given them the dearly beloved of my soul into the hands of her enemies. Right? This is God handing over his own people because of their covenant unfaithfulness. Right? So, so that's what that section is about. God speaking to Jeremiah about all that. So, you go ahead and read verses 10 through13. Many rulers have destroyed my vineyard. They have trott in my portion and a foot. They have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. They have made it desolate. Desolate it bond. It bonds to me. The whole land is made desolate because no one takes it too hot. The plungers have come on all the desolate heights in the wilderness. For the sword of the Lord shall devour. For from one end of the land to the other end of the land. No flesh shall have peace. They have sown wheat but reaped thorns. They have put themselves to pain but do not profit. But be ashamed of your harvest because of the fierce anger of the Lord. >> Okay. So, what is that section getting about? What's the Lord saying about the people there? >> He's saying he's tired and he has to yawn. He woke up at 5:00 a.m. to make breakfast and do work. >> Let's see. >> Basically, like is this the Lord speaking or am I speaking? Yeah, this is the Lord speaking. That's actually one of the one of the fun but difficult parts of Jeremiah is it smoothly moves from >> Jeremiah to the Lord's voice and the Lord's voice into Jeremiah. >> It almost sounds like Jeremiah talking to himself, but it's actually like the Lord talking with Jeremiah. >> Jeremiah talking to himself. >> Yeah. So, so this is the Lord speaking, right? So, he says that many rulers have destroyed his vineyard. The Lord says that those people have destroyed or trod in his portion underfoot. They've walked all over them. He said that they they have made please don't they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. He's saying they're they're spoiling my people, spoiling the land. Uh right, they have made it desolate. Desolate. It mourns to me. The whole land is made desolate because no one takes it to heart. He's saying even though they've done all of this, it keeps happening. Why? because they're saying they're basically saying like, "Sure." Yeah. Okay. God will obey. And then they turn around to do the same thing. >> Yeah. They're stiff necked, right? They keep turning away from the Lord. Keep going away from his covenant. Keep not doing his commands. Didn't God also tell them at like one of the reasons he sent them to Babylon was because every six years they were supposed to take a whole year of rest. >> Well, every seven years. Yeah. But like Yeah. There was supposed to be the year of Jubilee, the year in the year of release, right? So there was supposed to be all these different right the the rest of the land, the rest of the people cancelelling out of debts, releasing of slaves, all these different things, right? But never married. >> No, actually Jeremiah, we'll see that one time Jeremiah tells them they've been wrong with this. They repent and then they turn around and they bring back their slaves. But right, so this is what the Lord is saying. Uh that they're they won't take it to heart. Uh and so they have sown wheat but reaped thorns. They have put themselves to pain but do not profit. But be ashamed of your harvest because the fierce anger of the Lord, right? You shouldn't be proud of your harvest, right? Your your harvest is nothing more than a bunch of thorns, but it's because of your sinfulness. >> Do you think that still applies to us? >> What do you mean? Do you think it still applies that if we every seven years we should or do you think that because we're every seven days we >> Yeah. So uh I don't think that we're still under the same uh laws as Israel was. Right. We're not the Israelite nation slaves. >> Those were the Yeah. we well we don't own slaves for a reason, right? But the point is those were part of the whole ceremonial rituals and now they were still good, right? I still think holding people in perpetual servitude and bondage isn't right. Um I still think it's good to rotate crops and give give the land sometimes sometime just to go. Uh I think it's wise to not take out loans for long periods of time. I think there's still some general equity in a lot of these things, right? Not charging undue interest towards people being free with people who ask for money, right? Like there are many times in which your mom and dad have somebody's come and they've asked for stuff and we'll just give it to them. That and that's a good thing. >> Yeah. >> Right. Um but I don't think we're bound to it in the same way cuz we're no longer the nation of Israel in the same way here. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Uh well, let's go ahead and finish up this last part. 14-17. Thus says the Lord against all my evil neighbors who touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit. Behold, I will pluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah among them. Then it shall be after I've plucked them out that I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. And it shall be if they will learn carefully the ways of my people to swear by my name as Jehovah lives as they taught my people to swear by Baal. Then shall they shall be established in the midst of my people. But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, says Jehovah. So, what do you think he's getting at there? Um, he will So think about what he would do with Nehemiah and Ezra in that era. What did he do with the people after their 40 years in exile? >> He saved them. >> What do you mean he saved them? Normally there would be either there was a prophet that would rise up and do that or God would somehow release his people. >> I don't remember. So they go into exile. They go to Babylon. They end up under the rule there. But then Ezra, Cherubabal, Nehemiah, they're brought back to the land. There's a remnant who are brought back. And God is showing them essentially a second chance, right? >> Multiple second chances. >> Yeah. But the point here is, right, if they're going to come back, can they do whatever they want? Nope. >> No. Right. Will they keep my commandments? Right. Will they remember the name of the Lord? If not, if not, what does he say? But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation. Which is what I think happened in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the temple, ruined the nation. I think that's one of the things that Jesus was prophesying with the sermon on the mount with its near reference. >> It was something Oh, yeah. I mean it's something that like it's nuts like we think of like like Israel and it's just amazing to me how still you can see like Israel and you like we just like automatically think of this like as big as like some other countries and like how the Lord has walked in that country still. >> You're talking about the nation of Israel as it stands today. is >> you know the nation of Israel is a secular country. >> What is a secular country? >> Meaning they're not the theomic or the theocratic nation that they were here. They're ethnically Jews, >> but they're not >> many of them are not religiously Jewish. >> Many of them do not keep the Sabbath laws. They don't keep the Passovers. They don't keep the dietary restrictions. many of like there are a lot of ultraorththodox who live there too, but it's more about the genetic line than about the religious line for many of the people in the Jewish nation of Israel today. >> Yep. >> So, it's there there's a lot of nuance there. I don't want to get into Zionism and stuff like that with Israel, but the point being is that this is what God was telling Jeremiah. Why are they prospering? Lord is essentially saying they're not going to prosper long. The enemy is coming, but I'm going to give him a second chance. >> All right. So, what do you think is the best verse to summarize this section? What would you underline? >> There's a lot of verses. >> This is one of those smaller chapters. >> Oh, we spent a long time on it even though it's small. So, >> yeah. Let's see. me was five. >> Okay. You like verse five? All right. Uh I have verses uh 15, 16, and 17. I specifically have 16 and 17 double underlined in my Bible. Maybe you guys would underline something else. Feel free to write down in the comments what you would underline. Uh okay. So, see calling. So, how does this apply? Should we all move to Israel and be Zionists and go uh get citizenship with the nation of Israel? [Music] >> Well, you're not going to be able to anyways, but you're not Jewish. So, what are you called to do then? How's this apply to you? Right? cuz you you went to that direction like maybe we should keep the ceremonial laws about the Sabbaths and stuff. >> Couldn't think about it again. Some of those laws are just one of the things that I forget somebody said that just because God made a law doesn't mean he like just because he made a law about slavery doesn't mean he likes slavery. >> Okay. Well, yeah, but uh there's all sorts of laws like Okay. So, this cot this is some polyester woven into it. Well, that's against the the law. You shouldn't be wearing cotton polyester uh right here. I'm seeing your hair. You need a haircut. So, I'll tell you what. We'll cut up here and we'll cut back here, but we won't cut the corners of your hair. We'll let it grow nice and long. I I'll stop I'll stop cutting the corners of my beard. I'll let the corners of my beard grow really long. Why would you do that? >> Well, that's in the law. Those are the ceremonial laws. Is that what he's telling us to do as New Testament Christians? >> But do we follow the law of Christ? >> Do we still call upon the name of the Lord? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Right. Jesus fulfilled all those ceremonial laws. Jesus now because of his holy spirit being in us because of the water of baptism he has separated us made us holy now we conform our lives to the law of Christ right we we turn our lives away from the bales away from the idols of our heart away from the things that the culture would teach us and we do go to God's word and say what was the principle behind those things and how do we live it out in our lives but we don't need to keep the dietary laws anymore what God has called clean let no man all unclean, right? So, we can have bacon. We can make pizza and we can have pepperoni and cheese on it and it's okay. Because that's not what it's about. It's about being thankful to the Lord for every good thing that he comes from his hand and living our lives for his glory. And so, why do the wicked prosper? God says they won't always. Just be patient. You don't grow weary. You run after me. Profess my name. Yep. >> You ready to pray? God, we pray that we would have endurance, run our race to finish it well for your glory. Thank you for the time that you've given us together. Lord, we pray that you would please let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, our perfector of our faith. In Jesus's name we pray. Amen. May the Lord bless you. May you call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. And we'll see you next time. Bye. >> Bye.