Jeremiah 33 “The Gracious Promise”

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the gracious promise that I have spoken to the house of Israel and the house of Judah:
      ‘In those days and at that time
       I will cause to grow up to David
      A Branch of righteousness;
      He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
      In those days Judah will be saved,
     And Jerusalem will dwell safely.
     And this is the name by which she will be called:
     THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’ (vv.14-16)

This is the “Gracious Promise,” the prophecy about the second coming of Jesus Christ. A descendant of David (Jesus Christ, see Matthew 1:6-16) will reign on the throne forever (Revelation 11:15). He will execute judgment and righteousness in the earth (Isaiah 9:7). Furthermore, Jerusalem will dwell in safety (Zechariah 2:4, 8:4, 8:8).

In His second coming Jesus will fulfill all the prophecies of His “Gracious Promise” and reign over all the earth. Be watchful, be ready, "For he comes as a thief in the night, when no man expects" (1 Thessalonians 5:2).

The Truth: “Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:7)

Jeremiah 32 “Jeremiah’s Act Of Faith”

‘You have said to me (Jerehiah), O Lord God, “Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses”—although the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ” (v.25)

Here in chapter 32 God is testing Jeremiah to see if he believes what he is proclaiming. For God had told Jeremiah that even though the city will be given into the hands of the Chaldeans that later, “Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land” ’ (v.15).

So Jeremiah bought the field of Hanamel (his Uncle’s son), which was in Anathoth, for seventy shekels of silver. He signed the deed, sealed it, called in witnesses, gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel his uncle’s son and told him to, “put them in an earthenware jar, that they may last a long time” (vv.9-14).

This faithful act in front of all these people represented Jeremiah’s belief that, even though they were about to be taken captive for 70 years, he believed God would eventually bring his people back to their land as He stated (vv.42-44). This speaks to us concerning how we should consider actions we may take in unclear circumstances. Jeremiah did not consider anything to difficult for God, he acted in faith, backed by conformation, and was obedient to God's call. Great example for us to follow.  

The Truth: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the gracious promise that I have spoken to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” (Jeremiah 33:14)

Jeremiah 31 “A New Covenant”

“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (vv.33-34)

At the heart of God’s relationship with Israel was the covenant, begun with Abraham and renewed through Moses and David. The story of the Old Testament reveals that Israel’s history was plagued with covenant disobedience. That theme of God’s covenant, and Israel’s inability to keep it, dominates today’s reading.

The crux of today’s reading, however, and of the book of Jeremiah, comes in verses 31-34, a “new covenant.” This promise is found nowhere else in the Old Testament. The need for a new covenant lay not in any defect in the old, but rather in the people’s inability to keep it. But now, declared God, He would address that internal problem by writing His law on their hearts and minds. Through this covenant, there would be a new, intimate relationship between God and people.

Jesus said to His disciples at the last supper He had with them before His death, “This cup which is poured out for you is the “new covenant” in My blood” (Luke 22:20). This was (is) a passage of hope for us. Ultimately due to His own redemptive work, God promises to restore us. Therefore, the story does not end with times of trouble, but with His act of everlasting love, which will keep us to the end.

The Truth:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” (v.3)
“We have been delivered from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not the old way of the written law.” (Romans 7:6)

Jeremiah 30 “Restoration, And Renewal”

“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. For behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it.’ ” (vv.2-3).

The prophetic Word of the restoration of God’s people (Judah and Israel) from idol worship should encourage us as to His “everlasting love” and “unfailing kindness” toward those who have fallen away. Just as God would act to restore and renew His people and His covenant with them, so He works in the lives of all His people, to restore and renew them back to Himself.

There is only one thing that can separate us from restoration and renewal with God, our refusal to repent and ask for forgiveness. In a word, “pride.” Therefore, if you find yourself in a place of separation from Him, you’ve gone your own way, done what was right in your own eyes, and you long for a renewed life, do something about it. For His desire is to have everlasting fellowship with you (see prayer to the right on this page). God Bless.

The Truth: “The LORD is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

Jeremiah 29 “Seek Peace”

“Seek the peace of the city where I caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.” (v.7)

All too often we allow the future to be colored by how we understand our current situations. We believers have a tendency to become so absorbed in our current difficulties that we forget how faithful God has been to us over the years we have served Him, and can't see the forrest through the trees.

In today’s Scripture reading, God told the people of Israel, who were held captive in Babylon, to “seek the peace of the city,” and to “pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace, you will have peace.” In other words, instead of sitting around lamenting their current circumstances and wishing they were somewhere else, they were to be faithful where He had them, pray for their surroundings, and look to His future promises (vv.10-14)

This speaks to us in that, while we can’t always choose our circumstances in life, we can be at peace in difficult situations by being faithful where God has us, and praying for peace in the current environment we find ourselves. This will change our attitude and thereby change the attitudes of those around us.  For He has "Good thoughts towards us, thoughts of peace not of evil, to give us a future and a hope" (v.11). All we must do is "seek peace."

The Truth: “Serve with good will, as unto the LORD and not to man.” (Ephesians 6:7)

Jeremiah 28 “Hananiah’s False Prophecy”

“Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Even so will I break within two full years the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” (vv.10-11)

God told Jeremiah to wear a wooden yoke on his shoulders to symbolize that Judah would be servants to Babylon. After about a year of wearing it, Hananiah, the son of a prophet from the priestly city of Gibeon, came with a very different message from the one God had given Jeremiah. He said, “God’s going to rescue us and all is well, and the breaking of this yoke symbolizes what’s going to happen to Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.” He then physically broke the wooden yoke off Jeremiah. That was exactly what the people wanted to hear, so they accepted the “positive message.”

Jeremiah then came back with a new message. Since they were ignoring God, it was going to be even worse than they had first heard; the wooden yoke was going to be replaced with an iron one (v.13), and Hananiah would die within the year for counseling rebellion against the LORD (v.16).

Never a good idea to lead God’s people astray, nor claim you are speaking in His name when you’re not.

The Truth: “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.” (Deuteronomy 18:20)

Jeremiah 27 “The Sovereignty of God”

“I have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight.” (v.5)

Today’s passage presents the sovereignty of God, that nothing is beyond His knowledge or control. God created all things, and “will give dominion of them to anyone He (I) pleases” (v.5). Even Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was not a freelance ruler moving about on his own, but is described by God as, “my servant” (v.6).

At God’s bidding Babylon would retain power for generations, but then it too would be subjugated to other powers. Everything that was happening to Judah, no matter how difficult, was still within God’s control. Submitting to Babylon was submitting to God, who had orchestrated Babylon’s rise, its conquering of Judah, and eventual demise.

We, like Judah, may not agree with all that comes our way, but one thing is clear, God is in control, and we must trust in His plan and control, even in the face of great difficulty.

The Truth: “Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one is like Me. I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: My plan will take place, and I will do all My will.
I call a bird of prey from the east,
a man for My purpose from a far country.
Yes, I have spoken; so I will also bring it about.
I have planned it; I will also do it.” (Isaiah 46:9-11)

Jeremiah 26 “Stand And Deliver”

“Now it happened, when Jeremiah finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You must die!" (v.8)

Messages of judgment in an age of tolerance are about as welcome as rain at a ball game. Yet Jeremiah, even with his countrymen threating to kill him, stood in the court of the house of the LORD, to speak to all the citizens of Judah the words the LORD commanded him to speak (vv.7-9). And the LORD protected him through the elders of the city who said, “This man does not deserve to die, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God” (v.16).

And so it may be with us when we “stand and deliver” the message God has placed on our hearts for others. While in this country no one will try and put us to death for delivering it (not yet anyway), we could face any number of negative reactions. Does that mean we should be silent and ignore the prompting of the Spirit in our lives? Absolutely not! For just as the LORD protected his servant Jeremiah from death, he will protect you and I from harm as well.

Therefore, when the Holy Spirit is prompting you, stand and deliver God’s message in love and do not be ashamed, for the LORD your God will be with you.

The Truth: “So shall My Word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)

Jeremiah 25 “Twenty Three Years of Warning”

“From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the Lord has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened.” (v.3)

For 23 years Jeremiah has been prophesying to the people of Judah of the coming judgment, and God has been faithful in His warnings, and longsuffering in His grace to allow repentance. But, they did no listen.

Now here in chapter 25 we see the prophesy of the Babylonian captivity which will last 70 years (v.11). One might think this to be some arbitrary number God pulled out of His hat. But, this is not the case. The seventy years was because they (Judah) had been dwelling in the land since the time of Joshua, some 490 years. And God had told them in the law that every seventh year they were to let the ground rest. Don’t plant the land, let it just grow of itself in the seventh year. Well, for 490 years they did not obey that command. And when you divide 490 by 7 you get 70.

God’s discipline is always just, never arbitrary; always out of love, never hate; always with the motivation to restore, not to abolish or neglect.

The Truth: “For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” (Hebrews 12:6)

Jeremiah 24 “God’s Restoration Through Discipline”

“Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them up and not overthrow them, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.’ (vv.5-7)

Here, in Jeremiah’s vision of the “good figs,” we find an important lesson about God’s discipline. Even when God does discipline us, His discipline does not mean abandonment. Just like those who were being carried off to Babylon did not realize it was “for their own good.” They probably thought: “God has forsaken us,” rather than “God has protected us.” But by being taken away, they were spared the terrible, prolonged siege on Jerusalem by Babylon.

Even in discipline, God has our good in mind, our restoration, and our protection. All we must do is learn from our sin, repent, and restoration will come.

The Truth: “All things work together for good to those who love God, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Jeremiah 23 “A Righteous King Is Coming”

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land.” (v.5)

Todays reading is an extended discourse of God’s anger directed toward false prophets who's lives were characterized by adultery and sinfulness (v.11,14). They proclaim a message of complacency toward sin instead of a right relationship with God (v.17), and claimed that their own opinions were really messages from God (vv.31-32).

God takes seriously the deception of these false prophets. Repeatedly throughout this chapter He reminds them of the judgment they will face for their arrogance and sin. At the end of the discourse God declares, “I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence” (v.39).

But in the middle of this angry denunciation of the false prophets, God also makes the promise of One in whom we can trust completely. A King Is coming who will, “reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land” (v.5), giving hope for us all.

The Truth: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Jeremiah 22 “Poor Leadership”

“Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness and his chambers by injustice. Who uses his neighbor’s service without wages and gives him nothing for his work.” (v.13)

Chapter 21 ended with Jeremiah bringing a message to the house of David saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Execute judgment in the morning; and deliver him who plundered out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my furry go forth like fire” (v.12).

This warning was repeated here in chapter 22, “Thus says the LORD, Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor” (v.3). It is pretty obvious that God felt the judicial system had become corrupted, that there was no true execution of justice, and He wanted to see that changed.

But instead of ruling over God’s people with righteousness, the kings had been taking advantage of them, using them as slave labor. One king in particular, Shallum, built a great palace for himself in a time of economic hardship in Judah. He was so despised, that when he fell in battle against the invading armies of Babylon, his body was left to rot in the fields.

God intended that the kings rule over the people with a shepherd’s heart. Not enslave them, abuse them, nor look down upon them as a taskmaster. They were to reflect God’s righteousness as a steward of the throne, not as a dictator accomplishing their own desires. This poor leadership would bring destruction down upon them, as it would any nations leader who governs in his own self interest.

The Truth: “Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will be the fool.” (Jeremiah 17:11)

Jeremiah 21 “ The Way of Life or Death”

“I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger and fury and great wrath . . . Now you shall say to this people, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.'” (vv.5, 8)

In today’s chapter, the king of Judah, Zedekiah, asked Jeremiah if the Lord would be on their side when the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, attacked (v.2). God’s response made it clear that He was about to use the Babylonian army as an instrument of His discipline (v.4). Not only would the Babylonians be against them, but God Himself would be as well (v.5).

It is never a good thing to have God against you in what you are doing in your life. It can take a while for some to figure this simple truth out, while others never will. But God desires to be our greatest support and advocate. However, if we go against His will, He will become our greatest foe and worst nightmare.

But in His glorious grace God still offers us a choice, just as He did with Zedekiah and the people of Judah here in our text, "the way of life," or "the way of death." For Zedekiah the way of “life,” obey the LORD and surrender to captivity and live, the way of “death,” do not obey, but stand and fight and be destroyed (vv.8-10).

Nothing has changed from Jeremiah’s day until today. Man still must make the choice, obey God or not, to follow Him into everlasting glory or turn from Him into everlasting torment. What's your choice?

The Truth: “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many (who believe) will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)

Jeremiah 20 “Jeremiah’s Lament”

“Cursed be the day when I was born; Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me!” (v.14)

Jeremiah has been called “the weeping prophet.” He may have had a sensitive disposition that was compounded by his heartbreak over God’s judgment on disobedient Israel. His capacity for sorrow was endless as exhibited here: “Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night!” (Jer. 9:1)

As if sorrow for his nation were not enough, Jeremiah was constantly persecuted for his prophetic message of judgment. In one instance, Jeremiah was imprisoned in a cistern filled with mire (Jer. 38:6). Such opposition to his ministry had gotten the great prophet stuck in a place of despair. Scripture bears out that God’s servants were sometimes so disappointed that they wished they had never been born. Job felt this way. Elijah did, too.

In today’s passage Jeremiah curses the day he was born. These are not the words of a backslider or someone with a shallow faith, but completely the opposite. His painful lament is a reminder that true worship is not a matter of putting on our best clothes and our Sunday smiles as we mouth pious words that we do not really mean. True worship is a matter of fearlessly approaching the throne of grace and bringing with us all our doubts, distress, our struggles, and our hard questions to God.

Like Jeremiah, Pastors today are on the front lines of all the struggles within their congregations. They see themselves as the responsible party to God for their flock. Which in some instances is true especially as far as teaching is concerned. But, just as God's people rejected the warnings of His prophets then, so congregants today often times reject similar warnings which can be internalized by the messenger.

Therefore, pray for your pastors for they are God’s mouthpieces as well. They carry with them the great responsibility of speaking His truth no matter the cost to themselves. And like the weeping prophet, they can also despair – for they are flesh and blood, and open to the attack.

The Truth: “But those who wait on the Lord, shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Jeremiah 19 “Reasons For Judgment”

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; “Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and whosoever hears it, his ears shall tingle. Because they have forsaken me and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and they have filled this place with the blood of innocents; They have built also the high places of Baal [altars], to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings.” (vv.3-5)

These are the horrible things that God’s people were doing, the sacrileges that they were guilty of, live sacrifices of their own children to Baal. God would never think of having a person make a live sacrifice of a child unto Him. Yet His people had fallen so far from reason and truth, that they accepted this lie as a form of worship.

Therefore, God through his prophet say unto them, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which can not be made again; and they shall bury them in Tophet until there is no place (room) to bury them” (Jeremiah 19:11).

Once again we see Jeremiah pronouncing God’s judgment upon His own people, because they refused to listen to His warnings. How far they had fallen, how great their deception, how complete their destruction. Why? Because they did not repent.

The Truth: “"Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:22)  

Jeremiah 18 “The Lesson of The Potter”

“And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.” (v.4)

Here in chapter 18, God instructed Jeremiah to go and watch a potter working at his wheel. As he watched the potter work, the soft clay became marred, so he smashed it and started over again. Perhaps there was a hard, foreign object in the clay that caused the marring, like a small pebble, or maybe the clay split; whatever the cause, the picture was clear. There was an imperfection, a sin, in the clay that damaged the vessel, even though it was still in the hand of the potter; so he had to break it down and start again.

God was showing Jeremiah a picture of how He works in our lives. We are created from the dust of the earth, and so we are quite literally like the clay in the potter’s hand. Clay is basically valueless until it is fashioned into something usable. And that’s why God, the Great Potter, is always at work in our lives. As the imperfections come to the surface, He reshapes us into something new, something of greater value, that He can use for His glory.

The Truth: “For we are God’s workmanship created in Jesus Christ to do good works, which God created in advance as our way of life.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Jeremiah 16 & 17 "Short Summaries"

Jeremiah 16
"Therefore, I will cast you out of this land into a land you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor." (v.13)

Chapter 16 is the same message we have been hearing for sometime now; sin brings consequences. In this case into captivity of both man and his pagan idols, with God's favor now turning from His own people to the Gentiles, who will turn from their idols and embrace the true and living God.

But verse 15 declares that God would extend His grace and mercy to the children and grand children of His people and eventually bring them back and restore them into the land.

Jeremiah 17
"Cursed is the man who trusts in man, but Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD." (vv.5-7)

Here is the bottom line which is true for both individuals and nations as well. What leads us astray is the heart, and the evil desires of it. For it is, "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" (v.9). God!

Therefore, God will test you and I through trial to reveal what is truly in us; love or hate, good or evil, truth or deception, rebellion or submission to His Lordship. Lord help us to pass the tests.


The Truth: "Those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth (no hope), for they forsake the LORD, the fountain of living waters (everlasting life)." (Jeremiah 16:13b)

Jeremiah 15 “Jeremiah’s Dejection”

“Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me as a man of strife and a man of contention to all the land! I have not lent, nor have men lent money to me, yet everyone curses me.” (v.10)

Here in chapter 15 we find Jeremiah dejected, questioning, complaining to God that everyone is against him, striving with him, contending against his message. Why? Because his message contained prophecies of destruction, along with a call for repentance, which made him an outcast among his own people, who no longer followed after the LORD their God.

But there is more to this story. Amid Jeremiah’s dejection there is encouragement. I see in all this the idea that, while we may complain to God or even question Him (like Jeremiah) in times of trial or uncertainty, He will restore us (as He did Jeremiah), and carry us through any hardship (vv.19-21). As we continue in His will, our weaknesses are made perfect in His strength and then all things become possible for us in Christ who strengthens us. We become renewed, refreshed, ready to carry on.

Therefore, remain steadfast in the LORD and to His calling on your life. For He who has begun a good work in you, will be faithful to complete it.  

The Truth: “For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

Jeremiah 14 “Distress Before Deliverance”

“For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers. Behold, I am going to send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will fish for them; and afterwards I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks. For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity concealed from My eyes. I will first doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable idols and with their abominations.” (vv.15-18)

Once again in today’s passages, we are met with the familiar theme of rebuke over sin and the warning of judgment. Like their forefathers, Judah had forsaken God, followed other gods, and remained in stubborn disobedience. Even the prophet’s plea for God’s mercy fell on deaf ears (vv.7-9). Jeremiah recognized Israel’s covenant faithlessness, but nevertheless turned to God, the “hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress” (v.8).

Yet in response, God reminded them of their unrestrained sin and their coming judgment. In Jeremiah 16, God handed them over to what they wanted: to worship false gods all day long, this time in a foreign land. It would seem that Judah’s sin had reached a climactic point of no return and God’s mercy was exhausted. Or was it?

Just when it seemed all hope was gone, we find within this dark message a new theme: grace. Briefly, but clearly, God hinted that after the imminent punishment, there would be a day of restoration to their land (Jer 16:14–15). Just as God once brought Israel out of Egypt, so again He would bring them out of the hands of the northern oppressors. Another example of God’s faithfulness to those He loves.

The Truth: “Do not loose heart when He rebukes you, because the LORD disciplines those He loves.” (Hebrews 12:5-6)

Jeremiah 13 “The Hardened Heart”

“Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.” (v.23)

The people of Jeremiah’s time had hardened their hearts and refused to heed his call to repentance. They had walked so long in wickedness that they had become used to, doing evil and had made a habit of sinning. And for them, breaking such deeply entrenched habits was out of the question, at this point, for they could not admit the depths of their sin.

Here in our text God was pointing out that both Judah and Jerusalem could not change their sinful natures any more than leopards could change their spots. They needed to follow Jeremiah's call to repent and come back to the LORD.  But, because of their refusal, God promised to, "Scatter them as stubble that passes away by the wind into the wilderness, because they have forgotten Him, and trusted in falsehood" (vv. 24-25).

The same is true for us, no matter how much we try to change ourselves, true change only comes from a changed heart. Jesus has that transforming power, He changes hearts and makes “all things new." But until one is willing to admit the depths of their sin, and becomes tired of wondering in the wilderness, the spots will remain.

However, if you are needing a true change from your hardened heart, surrender it to His Lordship and Mastery, by confessing and turning from your sin, and letting Him have complete control over your life today. (see prayer to the left on this page) You’ll never regret it!

The Truth: “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin, and cleans us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)