THROUGH THE BIBLE IN THREE YEARS
This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you miss a day, you may go to the archive below and find it.
Bruce McGee, Pastor
205 Adams
Columbia, LA 71418
We have a great friend in Gary Godard. He has set up an archive page. To view ALL the prior devotions by Scripture, just clik
Bro. Bruce's commentaries for
the books of Genesis through 2Kings are
now available in hard copy for $7.50. Just mail your request for
COMMENTARY ON (BOOK NAME) to the address above.
Jeremiah
CHAPTER 23
1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. 2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; 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.
This chapter is about "pastors." Pastors, originally were shepherds who cared for flocks. But the word "pastors" became a synonym for those who were priests and leaders of synagogues. Their responsibility was to feed the "sheep" of God's "pasture" (verse 1).
This chapter also applies to Fathers and Mothers. Their responsibility is to feed the children the real Word of God.
The word "visited" in verse 2 is translated from the Hebrew word "paqad" which means "to care for," or to "oversee." It is the responsibility of pastors to care for and feed the people of God.
In Jeremiah's day, the priests and leaders of synagogues were NOT feeding the Word of God to the people of God. As we read on in the chapter, we find out what they WERE feeding the people. And I might say that it is interesting, because many of God's people are being fed the same stuff today!
3 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. 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, saith the LORD. 5 Behold, the days come, saith 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. 6 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. 7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
First, God promises that there will come a day when the people of God will be fed properly by the "Righteous Branch."
One day the people of God will not be "dismayed" because they are "lacking" in the real Word of God (verse 4). The King will be sure that the people are given the Word of God (verse 5).
This passage of Scripture speaks of the millenium when Christ Himself will be the King. He will institute "just judgment and justice in the earth" (verse 5).
In the years before Jeremiah, the people of God were referred to as those who had been "brought up ...out of the land of Egypt" (verse 7) by the Lord Himself. But when the "Righteous Branch" sets up the millenial kingdom, they will be referred to as those who were RETURNED (verse 8).
Today, I am amazed at how governmental leaders "downplay" the Word of God. Former presidents and leaders (Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Clay, Madison, etc) demanded that the Word of God be in the forefront.
God's promise here is very clear. When a leader executes righteous judgment and institutes justice in a land, he will be SURE that people are fed the WORD OF GOD!
The mark of a good leader in God's eyes is one that keeps the Word of God close to him and applies it in all that he does (Deuteronomy 17:15-19).
9 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 hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness. 10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.
As Jeremiah looked across the land, his heart was broken because of what he saw in the leaders. The prophets and leaders were corrupted by desire for personal gain. They were not genuinely concerned for the people.
The land was full of "adulterers" and "swearing." The people were seeking sensual pleasures and their communications were filthy. Does that not speak to America (and most other nations) today?
BECAUSE of their lifestyles the land mourned! When people are constantly seeking sensual pleasures, they are not concerned with the consequences. Many of our forests have been taken away because people were wanting to make money. They didn't consider that when trees are cut down, trees need to be replanted. Therefore the "pleasant places" are ruined (verse 10).
Seeking sensual pleasures leaves devastating effects!
11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. 12 Wherefore their way shall be unto 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, saith the LORD. 13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. 14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. 15 Therefore thus saith 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.
The priests and prophets were corrupt! They were not living the Word of God, and were not teaching the Word of God. God said it was a "horrible thing" (verse 14) because they committed "adultery" by living "lies."
The Word of God is the standard of righteousness. When the Word of God is put to the forefront of life, the standard will hold men accountable for their actions. Conversely, when the Word of God is NOT put in the forefront, there is no standard for which men must be held accountable.
God said that because they would not teach the Word of God properly, He would feed them "wormwood," or bitterness.
Friends, when there is no standard for which men are held accountable, then people will do what they WANT to do. And when people do as they WANT to do, there is bitterness because people are SINNERS and need instruction and correction from the standard!
16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. 17 They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
The leaders were NOT teaching the Word of God, and they WERE teaching "vain" things (verse 16) out of the "imagination" of their own hearts (verse 17).
The prophets and priests were teaching that God had saved them and would never let them lose their land. They believed it was God's responsibility to maintain their safety regardless of how they lived!
Mankind is free to make choices, but he is NOT free to choose the consequences of those choices. The consequence of sowing corruption is to reap corruption!
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." (Galatians 6:7-8)
18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? 19 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. 20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. 21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22 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.
God says that if those false prophets and priests had really heard HIS Word, then they would not have been living corrupt lives (verse 22). And they would know that the Word of God says that sin brings consequences like a "whirlwind" (verse 19) upon those who determine to be "wicked."
If a person is truly surrendered to God for salvation, then he/she will strive to learn the Word of God and live accordingly.
23 Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
God is certainly "at hand" for those who are seeking Him. But God is "afar off" to those who are seeking to please self and not live by His standard.
No one can "hide" from God. He is omnipresent, or everywhere at all times.
The little boy climbed up and got the cookies out of the jar. He ate them. Then his mother found that they were gone. She said, "Son, don't you know that God SEES you when you do bad things." The boy said, "Well, He may have seen me TAKE the cookies, but I hid under the table when I ATE them!"
Where can one go to "hide" sin from God? NOWHERE!
25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26 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; 27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. 28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.
God has revealed in His Word all that we need to know about salvation and living according to his will. There is no NEW revelation.
God had revealed through Jeremiah that the nation of Judah was about to be beaten and captured. His true prophet spoke the true Word from God. But others were saying they "dreamed" that God was bringing peace to the land and not war. If you had been there in that day, WHICH of the prophets would you believe? The TEST of the true prophet is if his prophecy lines up with the Word of God!
God had already told these people dozens of times that if they became corrupt He would take their land away from them and they would again serve in bondage. Jeremiah came showing them their sinfulness, and prophesying what God had already said. That lines up with the Word of God!
The other prophets were trying to introduce a "new revelation." God will not have His Word "added to" by someone else.
Recently, there's been a "new thing" introduced into the Christian church. It is called "slain in the Spirit." Let me just say that NOWHERE in Scripture will you find such a thing. And God will NOT have His Word "added to" by some dreamer!
29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. 32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith 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, saith the LORD.
Why do I study the Word of God so much? Because it is like a "fire" (verse 29) and consumes me. God's Word takes precedence over all that I am and teaches me correctly what I ought to be. His Word burns when I do wrong and engulfs me in the flames of His righteousness.
God's Word is like a "hammer" (verse 29) in that it breaks my heart for sinfulness and then draws me back to the "potter's house" (See Jeremiah 18) for remolding according to God's will.
God's Word is not pampering or petting. It states TRUTH - ABSOLUTE truth. It is the "Sword" of God to cut beyond flesh and bone and determine the intent of my heart (Hebrews 4:12).
There is no "word" from God in the Scriptures which excites our physical senses. Neither is there a "word" from God which tells us that an encounter with Him ought to be an inflation of our ego.
Any "word" like that is a FALSE word!
33 And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD. 34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house. 35 Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken? 36 And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God. 37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken? 38 But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD; 39 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: 40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
Because of the above truth, many of the people mocked Jeremiah about the "heavy word" from God. And many people today say that the Word of God is "burdensome" and too hard to understand.
But God's message to those prophets and leaders is the same to us today. His message here, in essence, through Jeremiah was: "If you don't pay attention to My Word, you will be forsaken!"
God's Word breaks my heart because through His Word I understand that I am a sinner.
God's Word brings joy because through His Word I find that there is salvation through surrender to Jesus.
And above all, God's Word is profitable because it teaches God's truths which correct and guide in living for His glory (See 2Timothy 3:16).
The whole point of this chapter is that God's people (sheep of His pasture) were not fed the Word of God. They were dying from malnutrition! They had been fed lies, hypocrisy, dreams and sensual pleasures. And it had been going on so long that when they heard the TRUTH, they refused it as truth!
Let me close this section today with a quote from God's Word.
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Colossians 3:16)
PLEASE CONTINUE IN BIBLE STUDY WITH US TOMORROW.