God called Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations. So, it is fitting that Jeremiah ends with an extensive call to the nations to know the Lord and to walk in His ways. The Book of Jeremiah is no mere sorry tale of the demise of an ancient kingdom. But it is a constant refrain of grace, sung out to men who are utterly undeserving of it. It is a reminder that God’s promises are not for some particular tribe, language, nation or people, but for “every creature under heaven.” And most importantly, for you. You are not beyond God’s grace. You are not excluded from His offer. In John 6:37, Jesus says, “whoever comes to me, I will never cast out.” In Jeremiah 46-51, God calls the nations to turn back. In some of the Scripture’s most remarkable poetry, the Lord calls those who are far from him to return home. Join us as we see that God calls us to return as well.
Tag Archives: Jeremiah
Can You Hear Me Now?
My first mobile phone came in bag. The size of a lady’s purse, except with an antenna, it made me extremely self-conscious. Like a cross between a European tourist and a secret service agent, I felt sure everyone was staring. This phone was for emergencies only. No casual calling. No mobile internet. And coverage was as spotty as spotty could be. Only outbound calls made sense. After all, no one could reliably reach me. What about texts or voicemail, you ask? They were still in the future. My beeper is what alerted me to find for that rare place on earth with a signal.
In those heady days, the expectation of finding coverage was low. But today, we are indignant if we can’t get 5G at every remote Ozark swimming hole. We expect coverage and internet everywhere. And we expect it for free. Few and far between are those places which have ‘no service.’ And, between manned space launches, Elon Musk is working to drive those areas to near zero with Starlink. Perhaps one day concepts like ‘no service’ will be as foreign to our grandchildren as mobile phones that came in a bag.
But this is a distinctly human problem. God has no such limitations in his communication with his creation. God has always had a reliable network with coverage so vast there is no place where he must ask, “can you hear me now?” Problems hearing from God are never a network problem. God’s speaking is “living and active.” Always on. He is always speaking. He “speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting… he does not keep silence.” (Psalm 50:1, 3) And there is no place where you are out of coverage from his call. As Psalm 19 so memorably puts it.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
Psalm 19:1-4
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
God speaks – and not just to a few select creatures. His Word, his promises, his mercy are not just for a particular culture, tribe, or spot on the earth. He is no regional or racial deity. He is the Lord over all the earth. People from every “tribe and language and people and nation” are the objects of his steadfast love and care. This is one of the remarkable things about Christianity. Other religions import cultural distinctives such as forms of dress, dietary restrictions, and particular sacred languages which become prerequisites for piety. But Christianity permeates and transforms every tribe, language, people and nation through a unity that produces remarkable diversity.
The repeated error of the people of Israel was to believe that God was theirs alone — their private higher power. A God who loved only them and those like them. A God who blessed them and cursed their enemies. A God who served their interest. And ironically, this ‘pagan view’ of the true God caused them to abandon Him for all the false gods of the nations. God set his love upon them to display the beauty of the Covenant of Grace to the whole world. Their faith was intended to call nations, far and near, to abandon false gods. But in their unfaithfulness, they abandoned the true and living God. They were called to be a missionary people. But if they would not willingly testify to God’s grace through faithfulness, they would unwittingly testify to it through unfaithfulness and judgement.
The Apostle Paul makes this point in his letter to the Romans.
So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
Romans 11:11-12
Jeremiah, the longest book of in the Old Testament, is filled with dire warnings of judgment. For four decades, the prophet called the people of Judah to turn back to God. He outlined their unfaithfulness in every area of life. He warned of the consequences of living with their backs to God. And he stayed with them in every descending step into God’s judgment of them as a nation.
But from the beginning, God called Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations. And through his preaching, God’s Word to Judah becomes a word to the nations and to us. It shines through, time and time again. In every oracle of judgment, there is an offer of grace. So, it is fitting that Jeremiah ends with an extensive call to the nations to know the Lord and to walk in His ways. This book is no mere sordid history of an ancient kingdom’s demise. But it is a constant refrain of grace, sung out to men who are utterly undeserving. It is a reminder that God’s promises are not for some particular tribe, language, nation or people, but for “every creature under heaven.” And most importantly, for you.
You are not beyond God’s grace. You are not excluded from His offer. In John 6:37, Jesus says, “whoever comes to me, I will never cast out.” Jeremiah is filled with the threatened judgment, but more than that, with promised mercy. Are you headed toward judgment? God’s call is to turn back and find mercy. In Jeremiah 46-51, God calls the nations to turn back. In some of the Scripture’s most remarkable poetry, the Lord calls those who are far from him to return home.
Join us as we see that God calls us to return as well. We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship. Get directions here or contact us for more info. Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube. You can also download the order of service.
11/22/2020 | “Following Through” | Jeremiah 39-41
We have all seen the threatening-repeating parent — warning the disobedient child of a judgement that never comes. For hundreds of years, God sent prophets to warn the children of Israel and Judah of judgement for their sin. Persistently, He called them to repent, but unlike the threatening-repeating parent, God always follows through. Beginning in Jeremiah 39 we see the terrible picture of God’s judgement, a picture that warns us not to presume upon God’s grace. The Bible warns us that today is the day of salvation. How urgently have you heeded God’s call to turn back to Him? Join us as we examine Jeremiah 39-41 and consider the urgency of God’s call to turn back.
Follow Through
[Parent in a Store:] “I’m counting to three!”
[Child:] (feigning deafness) …
[Parent:] Don’t let me get to three! (getting louder) I mean it.”
[Onlookers:] (thinking… “No You don’t”)
[Child:] crickets…
We have all played the part of the onlooker – or perhaps the parent or the child. We know how this plays out. The parent gives the impression of parenting without actually doing any parenting. And no one is fooled. Not the onlookers. And certainly, not the child. No one ever really gets to “three.” Cardinally, perhaps, but consequentially, never. The fact that a parent employs this tactic indicates that he or she is in no way prepared to be inconvenienced enough to offer a consequence.
Every child knows that “counting the three” is a disciplinary free pass. And every consistent parent knows that obedience never counts past “one.” The oft-repeated role-play above is just that – role-play. The unwillingness of the child to obey and the unwillingness of the parent to require obedience is paradigmatic. Parenting experts call this “threatening-repeating” parenting. Lots of sound and fury, but no follow-through. We have all seen it — the threatening-repeating parent, warning of a judgement that never comes.
But our heavenly Father paints a very different picture. He is a perfectly consistent parent — no shadow of turning, no promise broken, no threat unrealized. Whatever He promises, He does. For hundreds of years, God sent prophets to warn the children of Israel and Judah of judgement for their sin. Persistently, He called them to repent, but unlike the threatening-repeating parent, God always follows through. Beginning in Jeremiah 39 we see the terrible picture of God’s judgement, a picture that warns us not to presume upon God’s grace.
Peter warns us not to confuse God’s patience with overlooking our sin.
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
2 Peter 3:8-10
God always follows through, both in mercy and in judgment. His threats are not idle threats. His call to repent is urgent. The author of Hebrews expresses this urgency.
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Hebrews 3:12-13
And Paul echoes this urgency.
For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
2 Corinthians 6:2
God’s judgement against Judah in the days of Jeremiah and Zedekiah is a glimpse of the final judgement we will all face.
Jeremiah 39 stands as a warning against every naïve hope of escaping the judgment to come…. The saddest thing about the final chapter in [King] Zedekiah’s tragic story is that the king could have written a happy ending. Right up until the very end, God gave him every opportunity to repent for his sins. Jeremiah repeatedly went to Zedekiah and pleaded with him to turn to God in faith and repentance. But the king rejected every last entreaty.
Phil Ryken, Jeremiah and Lamentations, From Sorrow to Hope.
Zedekiah, like Pilate, Judas, and the impenitent thief resisted call after call to turn back. Their stories could have been quite different. They did not believe that God would follow through. Like men today, they scoffed at divine justice and condemnation. But what about you? How urgently have you heeded God’s call to turn back to Him? Why are you waiting? Zedekiah was a waffler, always hesitating. Always on the verge of grace, but always procrastinating – turning away from turning to Christ. Until, finally, it was too late. What about you?
Join us as we examine Jeremiah 39-41 and consider the urgency of God’s call to turn back. We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship. Get directions here or contact us for more info. Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube. You can also download the order of service here.
11/15/2020 | “Eradication” | Jeremiah 36
In Jeremiah 36 we find the terrible picture of Judah’s King Jehoiakim, burning the words of the Prophet Jeremiah. He was not open to what God’s Word had to say. But he was not the only one. The people of his time neither listened, nor inclined their ears to hear God’s word through the prophets.
When God’s people have little concern for God’s Word, disaster cannot be far behind. The people of Jeremiah’s day only wanted positive messages. While Jehoiakim’s Bible burning shocks us, what should shock us more is that the people who heard all these words were not afraid, nor did they think God’s Word applied to them. What about you? We profess to be a ‘people of the book,’ but is the Bible authoritative and sufficient in your life? Join us as we examine Jeremiah 36 and consider faithful and unfaithful responses to God’s Word.
11/08/2020 | “Cathedral Builders” | Jeremiah 35
It is rare in scripture when men are commended by God for their faithfulness. Yet, Jesus commends a Centurion in Matthew 8:10, saying, “truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.” And in Jeremiah 35, the Lord commends to Jeremiah the example of the Rechabites – not for the particulars of their vow, but for their faithfulness in keeping it, generation after generation. In faithless Judah, they are a remarkable example of steadfast commitment. The Rechabites illustrate the power of one generation discipling the next. Join us this Lord’s Day as we examine Jeremiah 35 and consider the power of multi-generational faithfulness.
11/01/2020 | “Signs and Seals” | Jeremiah 32
In Jeremiah 32, the prophet is in a hopeless place. It’s the eleventh hour. Jeremiah’s prophecies of doom and judgment are at the door. The Babylonian army has laid siege to Jerusalem. Jeremiah has been imprisoned for treason. But God gives a personal, yet puzzling, word to Jeremiah. He is instructed to purchase the plot, seal up the deed, and store it away for safe keeping. Nothing about this deal makes any sense. Jeremiah obeys, but struggles with the ‘why.’ Yet in this simple act, God offers a sign and seal that grace, not judgment, is the last word. Join us this week as we examine Jeremiah 32 and consider the importance of signs and seals as a means of grace for us.
10/25/2020 | “What’s New About the New Covenant” | Jeremiah 31:31-40
When we hear that something is “new and improved,” we would do well to ask hard questions and exercise discernment. Especially when considering theological truth. In the midst of Jeremiah’s Book of Consolation in Jeremiah 31:31-34, God promises a New Covenant – a promise formative in the history and theology of the Church. But just what is ‘new’ about the New Covenant? How ‘new’ is it? And why was something ‘new’ needed? Listen to “What’s New About the New Covenant,” as we examine Jeremiah 31:31-40 and consider what is ‘new’ about the New Covenant and why it matters.
10/18/2020 | “Taking Comfort” | Jeremiah 31:1-30
Jeremiah spent four decades warning of Judah of judgment and exile. Through warning after warning, God called the people to turn back to Him, but they would not. They sought comfort down every path except the path of faith and repentance. But God did not forsake them. When hope seemed lost, God gave the prophet Jeremiah a word of comfort for the people. But to take comfort from God’s promises, we must receive them. We must believe them by faith. We must turn back to Him. We must rest in the assurance that Our Father has it all together.
Listen to “Taking Comfort,” as we examine Jeremiah 31:1-30 and consider how God calls us to receive and experience the comfort He offers.
Taking Comfort
Children can get comfortable in virtually any circumstance. Alone or in a crowd, stretched out on their bed or cramped in a car seat, circumstance seems to have little to do with their comfort. For children, comfort is rooted in assurance, not surfaces or society. If they trust that dad and mom have everything well in hand, they can sleep anywhere and everywhere. Parenting experts have long pointed out that when children have trouble going to sleep or staying in bed, they are often anxious that dad and mom don’t have it together. Without assurance, they take no comfort. With assurance they find comfort everywhere.
Adults are quite a different matter. We are good at crafting comfortable circumstances — softer fabrics, ergonomic chairs, and bags of meds and supplements that eclipse Santa’s pack. And spend our time, energy and brass seeking comfort, but little time being comfortable. If comfort could be acquired, we would have palliated long ago. Our lives are littered with the right pills and the right pillows. We have therapeutic socks and smart mattresses. We have more advanced and available health care than most of the world, but poorer health. And with 5% of the world’s population, the United States consumes 95% of the world’s opioids. We are comfortably numb, but devoid of comfort.
Perhaps what we know about our children, we have failed to learn about ourselves. Maybe comfort is derived more from assurance than circumstance. Children gain assurance easily. They have an unshakable faith in their parent’s wisdom and power. Even when that faith is misplaced and disproven time and time again. The willingness of children to rest in their parent’s word is remarkable.
But as adults we are leery of trusting anyone but ourselves. And often, we don’t trust ourselves. Experience has jaded us. We have been burned. We have learned never to be at ease. Even when our mattress is perfect, our medications potent, and our climate control pleasing, rest eludes us. Real rest. Soul rest. The best we can do is to become comfortably numb. If only we could trust that Our Father has it all together, that His promises and power could be trusted, that his love for us was real.
Jeremiah spent four decades warning of Judah of judgment and exile. Through warning after warning, God called the people to turn back to Him, but they would not. They sought comfort down every path except the path of faith and repentance. But God did not forsake them. When hope seemed lost, God gave the prophet Jeremiah a word of comfort. In the midst of the longest, and most sorrowful book in the Bible, we find bright promises of God’s grace. Jeremiah 30-33 is often called the ‘Book of Consolation.’
Last week we examined Jeremiah 30 and considered how God consoles us in the midst of judgement. But to take comfort from God’s promises, we must receive them. We must believe them by faith. We must turn back to Him. We must rest in the assurance that Our Father has it all together. The Heidelberg Catechism underscores this as it begins its summary of Christian doctrine with the question.
What is your only comfort in life and in death?
That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him.
Heidelberg Catechism, Question 1
With this assurance, we find comfort no matter what, whether in life or in death. Join us this week as we examine Jeremiah 31:1-30 and consider how God calls us to receive and experience the comfort He offers.
We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship. Get directions here or contact us for more info. Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP
Pottsville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church 