Jeremiah 23:9-22.  After chapters of warnings yesterday we saw a ray of hope, God himself would gather a faithful group of the Jewish people back together and fulfill his promises to them.  But all of mankind can benefit from God’s involvement with the Jewish people because the ultimate fulfillment of this promise is found in Jesus.  Jesus will not only lead the Jewish people as their king but will rule over the whole world.  His kingdom will be filled with people from every tribe, tongue, and nation on earth.  And as I mentioned yesterday this was made possible because he accepted the punishment of penalty for each and every one of sins (disobedient and disrespectful acts) of every human being who has, is, or ever will live. (Revelation 5:9, 1 Peter 3:18, 1 John 2:2, you might also check out the posts on Isaiah).

Today’s reading is a little different, you could take it as warnings but it seems more like a diary entry by Jeremiah where he pours out his heart in sadness over the spiritual condition of the people of Judah and especially their leaders.  The very next book in the Bible, Lamentations (which means “to cry out loud”) was also written by Jeremiah and contains 5 poems where he is very sad over what happens to Jerusalem.  Jeremiah is called the “weeping prophet” by some Bible experts.  As you read today’s reading you might notice that the author (the person speaking) seems to change back and forth.  In verse nine the word “my” is capitalized in my Bible.  When this was originally written in Hebrew by Jeremiah there would have been no capitals (at all, they didn’t use them).  The reader would have to interpret things like that and that is what the translators have done here when they translated it into English.  But at the end of verse 9 the author talks about Yahweh (LORD) like he is another person.  Verses 18-20 are the same way.  On the other hand in verse 11 the person talking calls the Temple,  “my house”.  In verse 13 he calls the Jewish people, “my people”.  Also in verse 16 the author tells us that the following words are from Yahweh (LORD) and in that statement Yahweh talks about himself in the third person (like he is someone else).  I think we have to remember that a prophet was a spokesperson for God; they would bring messages from God to the people.  Most of these prophets needed to be in very close contact with God and I think most of the time that they wound up becoming very “wrapped up” in God.  There personal words and feelings would have become very close to God’s (at least most of the time, because we do find prophets, like Jonah for example< arguing and disagreeing with God).  So it can be very hard to separate their words into “this is Jeremiah speaking” and “this is God speaking” all the time.  I think in a section like we are reading today it doesn’t really matter because the feelings we are seeing belong to both Jeremiah and to God.  And remember that the words preserved for us in the Bible are from God (that doesn’t mean that all of them reflect God’s attitude, like when Jonah was arguing with God).  The words that Jeremiah wrote were not given to him word for word by God but God did motivate him and approved by God (so they are accurate).  It’s kind of like those commercials during election time where the candidate says, “I have seen this commercial and it is approved by me.”  The candidate inspired the commercial by his beliefs, politics, policies, etc. but the people who put the commercial together had an influence on the images and words in it.  In the end thought he candidate put his stamp of approval on the commercial telling those who viewed it that it accurately represented him.  Any way the feelings in today’s reading represent both Jeremiah and God.

Some Bible experts think that verse 10 is talking about literal adultery and that verse 11 links that particular sin (an action disobedient or disrespectful toward God) with the priests and other prophets in Judah (the southern half of the former nation of Israel).  Often in the Old Testament God uses the example of a cheating wife to describe how the actions of the people of Israel affect him.  Israel is like the cheater and he is like the Husband that has been cheated on.  In that example we would call the people of Israel “adulterers” whether or not their specific way of showing disrespect involved personally cheating on their spouse or was some other disobedience toward God’s words to them.

In verse 10 we see Jeremiah using the metaphor of the land crying.  The land could be talking about the literal land where Israel existed (See Luke 19:39-40).  In this case the land would represent an innocent victim of the actions of the people who live on it.  The land itself would suffer drought and unproductiveness because God wants to punish the inhabitants (see Romans 8:22).  On the other hand the “land” could be a way of talking about the people who live in it.  Either way we see that the sadness is because of the “adultery” and it has something to do with a “curse”.  This could be a reference to the curse when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:17-19) it is probably a reference to the curse described by Moses in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 (but see especially verses 23-24 and 45).  The curse in Genesis 3 related to all of creation (the Romans 8:22 verse above) but here in Jeremiah we are dealing with a more specific time of trouble that is related to the “adulteries” of the people, then and there.  So this is probable a reference to the specific curse (Deuteronomy 28:45) about those sorts of actions.

In verse 11 we see that the priests and prophets (generally the priests talked to God for the people and the prophets talked to the people for God) were polluted(some translations say “godless”, the word means “dirty”).  The way their were “dirty” was they were doing bad (wicked) things, even in the Temple (the place represented God’s presence and that is why it is called his “house”).  In most cultures the one place you certainly better not show disrespect for someone is in their own house, but here the religious leaders were doing just that, showing disrespect for God in his “house”.  According to verse 12 they were going to suffer for it, a slippery path is a dangerous place to walk, it usually result in falling and maybe even getting hurt.

In verse 13 God (or Jeremiah) brings up the “prophets of Samaria”.  Samaria was the name of a town north of Jerusalem.  After the reign of Solomon the nation of Israel was split into two kingdoms.  The southern kingdom is generally called Judah in the Old Testament (Judah was the name of one of the 12 tribes that formed the Israelite nation). The capital of the southern kingdom was Jerusalem where the Temple was.  The northern kingdom is often called Israel in the Old Testament (though that name is sometimes applied to the southern kingdom and was also the name of the nation before the split).  The capital of the northern kingdom was Samaria and sometimes that name was applied to the whole kingdom or the area where it was centered.  So the prophets mentioned here are prophets of the northern kingdom.  This kingdom consisted of ten of the tribes of Israel.  It’s first king realized that the people were very connected to Yahweh and he was afraid they would begin to visit the temple to honor him and would return their allegiance to the southern kingdom.  As a result he set up a new place to honor Yahweh in his kingdom.  God wasn’t really a part of this new place of honor and it eventually became a place where many false gods, including one named Baal, were honored.  Here in verse 13 God tells us that these prophets of the northern kingdom were offensive because they led the people away from him.  One more point about the northern kingdom, about 100 years before the time of Jeremiah that kingdom was completely taken apart by Assyrian invaders and the people were scattered throughout the Assyrian empire.  This was a direct result of their defection from Yahweh, it was their “curse” from him.

As bad or offensive as their actions were there was something worse than what the prophets of Samaria had done.  They openly led the people to false gods.  In verse 14 we learn that the prophets of the southern kingdom, right there in Jerusalem, right there in “God’s house” (v. 11) were misleading the people.  They were encouraging the people to do evil and not to turn back to God. According to verse 16 these false prophets in Jerusalem were making things up, saying God had spoken to them in a dream.  In verse 14 we are told that these guys were like Sodom and the people who listened to them like Gomorrah to God.  Those were two cities back in the time of Abraham (Abram, see “What’s in a Name”) that were destroyed because of their disregard for God’s standards (Genesis 13:13; Genesis 18-19).  The people of Judah would have understood that is was very bad to be compared to these cities.  In verse 15 God tells us that he is going to make these guys eat “wormwood” and drink poisonous water.  The word translated “wormwood” is related to a word that means “cursed”.  It seems to have the idea of something that is bitter and possibly even poisonous.  The word translated “poisonous” (for the water) has similar meanings.  It doesn’t seem like the idea here is deadly but very unpleasant in taste and effect; making the person very sick.  In verse 17 we learn that the false prophets are telling the people that no trouble is coming and that there will be peace.  Jeremiah’s true message has been just the opposite.  We also see God describing those false prophets as people who despise him and the people who listen to them as people who are “living in the stubbornness of their own hearts”.  Neither of these is a way you want God to see you.

The questions in verse 18 makes it very clear that these guys have not been listening to God (stood in the council of Yahweh) and that the people following them are not following God.  These are called rhetorical questions and the answer to them is supposed to be obvious, “No one has stood and no one has obeyed.”  Verses 19-22 make this very clear.  The result for all of these people is the opposite of peace, they will find them selves in a storm of Yahweh’s making, a whirling tempest (think tornado).  Then the people will understand that they have been listening to false prophets.  Verse 22 tells us that if these prophets had been faithful to God that the people would have turned back to God (and probably not suffered the “storm”).

In this reading we see a lot of sadness on God’s part.  The last part of the part we have read today show us the consequences of not listening to God and of going our own way, trouble, lots of big trouble. God does not ignore disobedience he deals with it.  There is hope though, if we listen there is an opportunity to turn back to God.  That is very cool.  Notice too that what happened in Jerusalem (the invasion and destruction) were part of a curse that the people had been warned about at the founding of nation.  God is always very clear, if we don’t hear him it is because we aren’t listening or are choosing to listen to false messengers.  It is amazing that God gives us so many chances, even the angels are amazed at God’s mercy on us (1 Peter 1:12).  We need to be careful to listen today and try to avoid the tornado of destruction God could send our way.

God help me listen to you.  Help me compare the message I get each day with your word.  Let me listen only to true prophets.  Let me be careful not to hear what I what to hear and do what I want to do.  Let my actions be pleasing to you each day.  Help me not be a source of sadness to you or to your servants. 

Jeremiah 23:1-8.  We have just spent several days reading warnings by Jeremiah.  Most of the book has contained warnings about the coming disaster at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.  We have also seen that Nebuchadnezzar was being used by God as a tool to deal with the rebellion and disrespect of the people of Judah toward him (sin).  More recently we have been reading warnings directed at the various kings of Judah who reigned near the end, just before Nebuchadnezzar took over (and while he was taking over).

Today’s reading starts out with more warnings.  Remember that the word “woe” means something like “look out”.  This warning is to the “shepherds”.  Shepherds are guys who watch sheep, usually the sheep belong to someone else.  In this case the sheep are the LORD’s (Yahweh, the personal name of the one true God).  In verse 2 we learn that God is not talking about literal sheep but about people.  The fact that he identified himself as the “God of Israel” in verse 2 tells us that the particular people he is talking about are the Jews (Israelites).  Shepherds are supposed to protect the sheep, keep track of them, and lead them wherever they need to go.  According to verse 2 these shepherds of Israel did just the opposite.  The people God is talking to were probably the priests and false prophets in the land; the religious leaders, but the reference could also have been referring to kings as well.  God says that because they have not attended to his sheep that he is going to attend to them.  That word “attend” means to “count, govern, punish, visit, look after”.  What God is saying is that these guys had not kept an eye on his sheep but he has kept and eye on them and now they are going to be dealt with.  And we are told that their deeds have been evil; they have been very very bad and now they are going to suffer for it.

In verse 3 we see a change in the message.  After chapters of warnings God gives a message of hope.  Since the guys God put in charge didn’t do their job and the people of Israel where scattered all over the place God himself would bring them back.  God had made promises to Abraham and David about a forever kingdom and he was not about to go back on his word.  Not everyone who was descended from Abraham would be a part of that kingdom, many had rejected God, and remember God won’t force us to be a part of his forever family.  But there were those who had been faithful to God (like Jeremiah) and God promises to bring back those who were. God then promises to raise up new shepherds who will take care of the sheep and the sheep will live in peace.  Like a lot of prophecy this could find fulfillment on several levels over a period of time.  After the Babylonian captivity the people were brought back to the physical land by Nehemiah and were encouraged to follow God.  The Jewish people, mostly, continued in their failure to wholeheartedly follow God.  But God was working a plan that was bigger than the Jewish people (see “The Old Testament Connection”).

In verses 5-6 we get a glimpse of this bigger plan.  In verse 5 God moves from talking about new and faithful shepherds to one leader in particular.  This leader is called the righteous Branch.  This is a way of saying that the person will be a descendant of David.  We are told that this person will be a good king and will bring security to the people who have been restored to the land.  This king will be called “Yahweh who makes us right”.  The Jewish people had been promised a forever kingdom ruled by a descendant of David and God is reassuring them that one day that will still happen.  It is interesting that Jesus name means “Yahweh is salvation” and that Jesus is the one who makes things right between us and God.  In Jesus’ day the Jewish people actually started to recognize him as the promised coming king but they were looking for a guy to kick Rome out of the land.  They were missing the “righteousness” part.  A kingdom is nothing but dirt without people so Jesus was about getting people right with God first.  The taking over the land part will come but right now God is gathering people for his kingdom.  So there is a definite fulfillment of part of the prediction in Jesus, in fact he becomes the ultimate fulfillment.

Followers of Jesus are also a  part of the fulfillment of this prediction by Jeremiah.  In Ephesians 4:11 we are told that God gave some as apostles (the word means “sent ones” like missionaries, some as prophets, some as evangelists (guys who mostly focus on how people can get right with God through Jesus) and some as pastor-teachers”.  The word “pastor: means the same thing as “shepherd”.  And we see from the following verses in Ephesians 4 that these guys really do take care of God’s people; they are faithful leaders.  So there is a sort of fulfillment of the prediction found in the church (a word that means chosen or picked ones).  Right new we are God’s chosen people and we have a job to do together of helping people understand who Jesus is, what he has done of all of us, and their need to turn to God through Jesus.

IN verse 7-8 we see a possible double fulfillment of the prediction.  70 years after the Babylonian Captivity some of the Jewish people started to return to the land.  The temple was rebuilt and the stage was set for Jesus to be born and serve the people.  Remember that Jeremiah referred to Nebuchadnezzar as being a king form the north because that was the route that he would take when invading the land.  But much later in history the Jewish people were scattered again and many wound up in Russia and Eastern Europe.  After World War 2 many of these people emigrated back to the land and the modern state of Israel was formed.  This may be again setting the stage for the second coming of Jesus, this time in victory over the land.  This part of the promise to the Jewish people is reconfirmed in the book of Revelation where we also see God raising up Jewish men to lead people to Jesus and ultimately we see Jesus conquering all invaders both physical and spiritual once and for all.

God is serious about sin, it will be punished.  The good news is that Jesus took that punishment for all mankind (1 John 2:2).  The sad part is that many will reject his offer; wanting to do it their own way they will suffer eternal separation from God.  God wants people in his kingdom and has gone to unbelievable extreme of having his son become one of us to suffer death for us.  Now God is giving mankind time to accept (or reject) Jesus.  One day he will return and gather all who are his own together, give us new forever bodies, and welcome us into his forever universe.  I hope all who read this will take God up on his totally cool offer.

God help me be a good shepherd of your sheep.  Help me gather people to you not scatter them.  Help me give them peace and remove fear from their lives.  Let them learn about you from my words and my actions.  Use me to lead them by still waters to great pastures.