Good Morning, Siblings!
Today’s readings are Jeremiah 46-48

Click here to read today’s passages on BibleGateway.

Rabbit Trails

Jeremiah 46:1 begins with a statement which, in some translations, really makes you gasp.

The ESV says:
The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

But the KJV says
The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the nations.

A prophet against the nations. Man, I’d hate that to be my job description. It’s hard enough being a believer in the nations, much less a prophet appointed to speak against them. Also, notice this is against multiple nations. We’ll see in our reading that these judgements aren’t just against Judah. In fact, Judah is still shown grace through the judgments against her in that they are intended to bring her back. Judgement is also going to be shown to the rest of the nations.

While most of these prophecies we are reading about can be pointed to on historical timelines as having been fulfilled, they can also be considered cyclical prophecies as they establish the pattern by which YHWH will judge the world in the last days. We see proof of this when we read many of the statements from Jeremiah repeated in Revelation.

There has been much speculation and even proclamation about who Babylon is today. However, we have seen, historically, the tragedy of focusing so much on a person’s interpretation of a prophecy that they miss entirely the fulfillment of that prophecy because it does not meet their expectations to the letter. Therefore, it is important to focus our energy on knowing the Word, knowing what the prophecy says, and leave our minds open to the knowledge that YHWH will fulfill His prophecies how He sees fit, not how our fiction authors, screen writers, or human imaginations think it will happen.

Jeremiah 46:25 should make us stop in our tracks:

The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. Jeremiah 46:25

Did you catch that one thing there at the end? “…and those who trust in him.” this was not just an indictment against the rulers, but also against those who put their trust in those rulers. Psalm 20:7 reminds us who our trust should be in and it is so easy, so very easy, to drift away and begin trusting in human rulers instead.

Jeremiah 46:27-28 reminds the Israelites that although they are not being spared YHWH’s judgement for their actions, His intention for doing so with them is to bring them back to Him and His judgement is a just discipline meant for this purpose. Let us be careful not to rebuke the discipline that seeks to bridge the divide we have created between ourselves and the Father.

Jeremiah 47:6 references the sword of YHWH, as bringing judgement to the land. There is another meaning (in addition to this) to the sword of YHWH as we see moving throughout our reading and most especially in our time today.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Eph 6:17

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
 
What a tool and weapon His word is for those who choose to wield it! He shows us how to cut the binds of bondage from obedience to the world and how to free ourselves through following Him (obedience) and His ways. His truth is the ultimate bondage breaker.
 
Chemosh was the national god of the Moabites and was worshipped by the Ammonites as well. Judges 11:23-24
 
Jeremiah 48:11
 
“Moab has been at ease from his youth
    and has settled on his dregs;
he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
    nor has he gone into exile;
so his taste remains in him,
    and his scent is not changed.
 
There are a lot of lessons to glean from this passage. Moab had not suffered any punishment or correction for their behavior, they had been free to live as they want and were confident that would continue. However, as we see this reference to wine here, we learn more about what this did to them as a people. After wine was fermented impurities and sediment would settle at the bottom of the container. These impurities were referred to as the dregs. If they were left there, eventually it would spoil the taste of the wine. To avoid this, wine was carefully poured into another container so that the dregs would remain in the original container. This was done more than once in order to have the purest and best tasting wine.

In this passage we see that while Moab was complacent in their behavior, to the Father they were a people who had never been through the refiner’s fire. They had steadily become more and more impure until they were utterly spoiled.

Jeremiah 48:26 is, for me, just another reminder that we suffer the consequences of our own actions.

All of Jeremiah 48 (and most of Jeremiah) reminds us why the Father disciplines us- so that we do not come to this point. 

Return to me and I will return to you. 

Zech 1:3

Test everything, hold tight to what is good.~ 1 Thess 5:21

We are saved by Grace alone: Obedience is not the root of our salvation, it is the fruit!

May YHWH bless the reading of His Word!

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Christy Jordan
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