eliminated idolatry

Posted on November 2, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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eliminated idolatry

Jeremiah 16:19-21 (JDV)

Jeremiah 16:19 Yahveh, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in a time of distress, the nations will come to you from the ends of the land, and they will say, “Our fathers inherited only lies, temporary idols of no benefit at all.”

Jeremiah 16:20 Can a man make gods for himself? But they are not gods.

Jeremiah 16:21 “Therefore, I am about to inform them, and this time I will make them know my power and my might; then they will know that my name is Yahveh.”

eliminated idolatry

Jeremiah envisions a time in the future when not only Israel and Judah know God, but all the other nations do as well. He sees a time in the future when all the nations recognize that they inherited a lie – that human beings can manufacture their own gods.

Are we living in such a time? Some would say yes. They think that humanity has outgrown idolatry.

Come with me to the cities in Asia and Africa, and I will show you that the idols are still there, to humanity’s shame.

Come with me to Europe and the Americas, and I will show you the same thing. What is that device in your hand? Idolatry is still alive and well. It cannot be outgrown. It must be eliminated.

But God promises a future when everyone who survives will know that Yahveh is God and there is no other.

Thank you, Lord, for the promise of a purified future.

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an undefiled land

Posted on November 1, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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an undefiled land

Jeremiah 16:14-18 (JDV)

Jeremiah 16:14 “However, notice, the days are coming” – this is what Yahveh declares – “when it will no longer be said, ‘As Yahveh lives who brought the Israelites from the land of Egypt,’

Jeremiah 16:15 but instead, ‘As Yahveh lives who brought the Israelites from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them’ because I will return them to their land that I gave to their fathers.

Jeremiah 16:16 “Notice, I am about to send for many fishermen” – this is what Yahveh declares – “and they will fish for them. Then I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and out of the clefts of the rocks,

Jeremiah 16:17 because my eye is on all their ways. They are not concealed from me, and their violation is not hidden from my sight.

Jeremiah 16:18 I will first repay them double for their violation and failure because they have polluted my land. They have filled my inheritance with the corpses of their repulsive and offensive idols.”

an undefiled land

The purpose of the exile was not for God to destroy his people utterly. He intended to bring a remainder of his people back to the land. So, why the exile? The land had become polluted by the idolatry which had been practiced by his people. It had to be cleansed, otherwise it would continue to be repulsive to the Lord.

Jesus wants to deliver us from our failures as well. He has procured an undefiled future for us (1 Peter 1:4). His death purchased our forgiveness, and his resurrection (which we will experience when he returns) will restore us to an undefiled land. That undefiled land is the new earth, and is just as certain as our salvation, because it too is God’s will for us.

Lord, thank you for the promise of a cleansed, undefiled inheritance.

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skipping the receptions

Posted on October 31, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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skipping the receptions

Jeremiah 16:5-13 (JDV)

Jeremiah 16:5 “Now – you see – this is what Yahveh says: Don’t come into a house having a mourning feast. Don’t go to mourn or show sorrow for them, because I have removed my peace from these people as well as my covenant faithfulness and comfort.” This is what Yahveh declares.

Jeremiah 16:6 “And they will die – big ones and little ones in this land without being buried. No sorrow will be shown for them, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.

Jeremiah 16:7 Bread won’t be broken for the mourner to comfort him because of the dead. A cup to drink won’t be given him for the loss of his father or mother.

Jeremiah 16:8 Do not come into the house where feasting is taking place to sit with them to eat and drink

Jeremiah 16:9 because this is what Yahveh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to eliminate from this place, before your very eyes and in your time, the sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the groom and the bride.

Jeremiah 16:10 “When you tell these people all these things, they will say to you, ‘Why has Yahveh declared all this terrible disaster against us? What is our violation? What is our failure with which we have failed Yahveh our God? ‘

Jeremiah 16:11 Then you will answer them, ‘Because your fathers abandoned me – this is what Yahveh declares – and followed other gods, served them, and bowed in worship to them. Indeed, they abandoned me and did not keep my instruction.

Jeremiah 16:12 You did more evil than your fathers. Notice, each one of you was following the stubbornness of his evil heart, not obeying me.

Jeremiah 16:13 So I will hurl you from this land into a land that you and your fathers are not familiar with. There you will worship other gods both day and night, because I will not grant you favor.’

skipping the receptions

The Lord tells Jeremiah to stop attending mourning feasts. The mourning feasts were another cultural expectation, and Jeremiah’s absence at such feasts would have sent a strong message of God’s disapproval of his people.

These receptions are very important in any setting. They give us opportunity to reconnect with relatives and friends we have not seen in a while, to process our grief among those who are feeling the same loss. We don’t think about them much, but the receptions are a blessing that we would miss.

The coming invasion would eliminate the mourning receptions for Jeremiah’s people.

There are so many things about our life that we would really miss if they were taken away – so many blessings from God that we often assume will always be there. Abandoning God strips a life of so much.

Lord, thank you for all the things in our life that reveal your care for us.

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single saints

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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single saints

Jeremiah 16:1-4 (JDV)

Jeremiah 16:1 The word of Yahveh came to me, and this is what he said:

Jeremiah 16:2 “Do not take a wife for yourself or have sons or daughters in this place

Jeremiah 16:3 because this is what Yahveh says about sons and daughters born in this place and about the mothers who bear them and the fathers who father them in this land:

Jeremiah 16:4 They are going to die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will drop like excrement on the surface of the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.

single saints

To add to the ever-growing list of Jeremiah’s troubles, God told him to stay single. No one is going to pay attention to an unmarried prophet. He might as well have painted “ignore me” on his forehead.

God had a very good reason for telling Jeremiah to go against the current and stay single – even in that culture. And God has reasons for people today to do the same. It is the church’s responsibility to affirm God’s choice for those who want to follow him, not to try to get them to conform to their own choices.

Lord, give us the wisdom to enjoy and affirm the single saints among us.

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like a mirage

Posted on October 29, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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like a mirage

Jeremiah 15:10-21 (JDV)

Jeremiah 15:10 Tragedy has come to me, my mother, who gave birth to me, a man who incites dispute and conflict in all the land. I did not lend or borrow, yet everyone curses me.

Jeremiah 15:11 Yahveh said: Haven’t I set you loose for your good? Haven’t I punished you in a time of trouble, in a time of distress with the enemy?

Jeremiah 15:12 Can anyone smash iron, iron from the north, or bronze?

Jeremiah 15:13 I will give up your wealth and your treasures as plunder, without cost, for all your failures in all your borders.

Jeremiah 15:14 Then I will make you serve your enemies in a land you do not know, because my anger will kindle a fire that will burn against you.

Jeremiah 15:15 You know, Lord; remember me and take note of me. Avenge me against my persecutors. In your patience, don’t take me away. Know that I suffer disgrace for your honor.

Jeremiah 15:16 Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart, because I bear your name, Lord God of Armies.

Jeremiah 15:17 I never sat with that band of revelers, and I did not celebrate with them. Because your hand was on me, I sat alone, since you filled me with indignation.

Jeremiah 15:18 Why has my pain become unending, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? You truly have become like a mirage to me – water that is not reliable.

Jeremiah 15:19 Therefore, this is what Yahveh says: If you return, I will take you back; you will stand in my presence. And if you speak noble words, rather than worthless ones, you can be my spokesman. It is they who must return to you; you must not return to them.

Jeremiah 15:20 Then I will make you a fortified wall of bronze to this people. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, because I am with you to save you and rescue you. This is what Yahveh declares.

Jeremiah 15:21 I will rescue you from the hand of evil people and redeem you from their terrible grip.

like a mirage

In one of Jeremiah’s complaining fits, he accuses God of being “like a mirage.”

I have been seeing a lot more things that are not there lately. I hope I’m not losing my mind! Out in the woods – especially – I am seeing shacks and towers where I expect them, and they turn out to be rocks and trees.

That’s what a mirage is. It is the mind filling in the gaps so that the eyes see what the expect to see.

Jeremiah was God’s representative – a seer. He was supposed to see things other people could not see. He was supposed to have divine perspective. But he confesses that he is not always confident that what he sees is really there.

It takes faith to stand up for God when everybody else wants him to not be there.

Lord, give us strong faith to stand for you – to declare your existence and power in a world that rejects both.

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because of Manasseh

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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because of Manasseh

Jeremiah 15:1-9 (JDV)

Jeremiah 15:1 Then Yahveh said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before me, my compassion would not reach out to these people. Send them from my presence, and let them go.

Jeremiah 15:2 If they ask you, ‘Where will we go? ‘ tell them: This is what Yahveh says: Those heading for death, to death; those heading for the sword, to the sword. Those heading for famine, to famine; those heading for captivity, to captivity.

Jeremiah 15:3 “I will ordain four kinds of judgment for them” – this is what Yahveh declares – “the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land to devour and destroy.

Jeremiah 15:4 I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the land because of Manasseh son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 15:5 Who will have pity on you, Jerusalem? Who will show sympathy toward you? Who will turn aside to ask about your well-being?

Jeremiah 15:6 You have left me.” This is what Yahveh declares. “You have turned your back, so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you. I have worn myself out showing compassion.

Jeremiah 15:7 I scattered them with a winnowing fork at the city gates of the land. I made them childless; I destroyed my people. They would not turn from their ways.

Jeremiah 15:8 I made their widows more numerous than the sand of the seas. I brought a destroyer at noon against the mother of young men. I suddenly released on her agitation and terrors.

Jeremiah 15:9 The mother of seven grew faint; she breathed her last breath. Her sun set while it was still day; she was ashamed and humiliated. The remainder of them I will give over to the sword in the presence of their enemies.” This is what Yahveh declares.

because of Manasseh

The Lord tells Jeremiah that this particular wave of destruction will come upon Judah because of Manasseh. There were plenty of evil kings of Judah. Why were his actions so deplorable? His father was Hezekiah, who had a relationship with God. He knew better than to rebel against the counsel of Hezekiah. In fact, Manasseh himself sought the Lord for healing and was delivered later in his life (2 Chronicles 33:12-13).

The reason Manasseh’s evil was so bad was that he had the chance to be an instrument of restoration for Judah, but he chose to be an instrument of rebellion instead.

Lord, you have given us such potential. Keep us from the impulse to throw all that potential away with acts of selfishness.

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corrected vision

Posted on October 27, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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corrected vision

Jeremiah 14:19-22 (JDV)

Jeremiah 14:19 Have you completely rejected Judah? Do you detest Zion? Why do you strike us with no hope of healing for us? We hoped for peace, but there was nothing good; for a time of healing, but there was only terror.

Jeremiah 14:20 We acknowledge our wickedness, Lord, the violation of our fathers; indeed, we have failed you.

Jeremiah 14:21 For your name’s sake, don’t despise it. Don’t treat your glorious throne with contempt. Remember your covenant with us; do not break it.

Jeremiah 14:22 Can any of the temporary idols of the nations bring rain? Or can the skies alone give showers? Are you not Yahveh our God? We therefore put our hope in you, because you have done all these things.

corrected vision

Jeremiah condemned the other prophets because they were just passing along the party line – insisting that God would not allow the drought to decimate Jerusalem and the coming invasion to destroy its people. God would certainly intervene because he is always good.

Jeremiah wanted the same thing. He wanted God to intervene, and he knew in his heart that God is always good. But he also knew that his people had broken covenant with God, and that all these bad things they were experiencing were part of God’s plan to restore them to him.

Lord, correct our vision. Restore our relationship with you.

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a false vision

Posted on October 26, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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a false vision

Jeremiah 14:11-18 (JDV)

Jeremiah 14:11 Then Yahveh said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of these people.

Jeremiah 14:12 If they fast, I will not hear their cry of despair. If they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. Instead, I will finish them off by sword, famine, and plague.”

Jeremiah 14:13 And I replied, “Oh no, Lord Yahveh! The prophets are telling them, ‘You won’t see sword or suffer famine. I will certainly give you lasting peace in this place.'”

Jeremiah 14:14 But Yahveh said to me, “These prophets are prophesying a lie in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, the deceit of their own minds.

Jeremiah 14:15 “Therefore, this is what Yahveh says concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, though I did not send them, and who say, ‘There will never be sword or famine in this land.’ By sword and famine these prophets will meet their end.

Jeremiah 14:16 The people they are prophesying to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. There will be no one to bury them – they, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. I will pour out their own evil on them.”

Jeremiah 14:17 You are to speak this word to them: Let my eyes overflow with tears; day and night may they not stop, because the virgin daughter of my people has been destroyed by a crushing blow, an extremely harsh wound.

Jeremiah 14:18 If I go out to the field, notice – those victims of the sword! If I enter the city, notice – those sick from famine! Because both prophet and priest travel to a land they do not know.

a false vision

In Jeremiah’s day, most of the prophets and priests were just trying to give people hope. They only had one song to sing, so they sang it all the time. It was a song about how God is good all the time, and he would never let his people suffer.

God is good – all the time. And sometimes his people suffer. If we don’t tell the whole story, we are telling a lie in God’s name. We are passing along a false vision.

What God wanted his prophets to do was call their people to see the devastation that the nation was facing, to cry over the loss that was coming. God wanted his people to mourn over their fate, and return to him in repentance. There is a time for a positive and encouraging message, but this was not such a time.

Jeremiah stood alone as the only prophet to give the minority report that God wanted his people to hear.

Lord, give us the courage to say what you want your people to hear – even if they do not want to hear it.

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like a traveler

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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like a traveler

Jeremiah 14:1-10 (JDV)

Jeremiah 14:1 This is the word of Yahveh that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:

Jeremiah 14:2 Judah mourns; her city gates languish. Her people are on the ground in mourning; Jerusalem’s cry rises up.

Jeremiah 14:3 Their nobles send their servants for water. They go to the cisterns; they find no water; their containers return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.

Jeremiah 14:4 The ground is cracked since no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.

Jeremiah 14:5 Even the doe in the field gives birth and abandons her fawn since there is no grass.

Jeremiah 14:6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights panting for breath like jackals. Their eyes fail because there are no green plants.

Jeremiah 14:7 Though our violations testify against us, Lord, act for your name’s sake. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have failed you.

Jeremiah 14:8 Hope of Israel, its Savior in time of distress, why are you like a resident alien in the land, like a traveler stopping only for the night?

Jeremiah 14:9 Why are you like a helpless man, like a warrior unable to save? Yet you are among us, Lord, and we bear your name. Don’t leave us!

Jeremiah 14:10 This is what Yahveh says concerning these people: Truly they love to wander; they never rest their feet. So Yahveh does not accept them. Now he will remember their violation and punish their failures.

like a traveler

I have traveled to many parts of the world, and had many adventures. I always liked traveling, but I have to admit, it wears thin after a while. When you travel, you sometimes see old friends and make new ones, but it is always temporary. Even if you are fortunate enough to actually live on assignment for several years in a place, you are always a traveler – a resident alien, never really putting down roots.

The inhabitants of Jerusalem had started to think of God that way. He felt like someone who comes and goes – and who has decided to flow out of the city with the last stream of water. They knew that God was still among them, but they did not feel like he was committed enough to help. Yet they also knew he was the only one who could.

Jeremiah’s job was to correct the people’s understanding about God, and about themselves. It was actually the people who love to wander and never rest their feet. They are the ones who were abandoning him.

Lord, we are prone to wander. Bring your prodigals home, and meet us on the way!

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a humble seat

Posted on October 24, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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a humble seat

Jeremiah 13:15-27 (JDV)

Jeremiah 13:15 Listen and pay attention. Do not be proud, because Yahveh has spoken.

Jeremiah 13:16 Give glory to Yahveh your God before he brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the mountains at dusk. You wait for light, but he brings darkest gloom and makes total darkness.

Jeremiah 13:17 But if you will not listen, my throat will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because Yahveh’s flock has been taken captive.

Jeremiah 13:18 Say to the king and the queen mother: Take a humble seat, because your glorious crowns have fallen from your heads.

Jeremiah 13:19 The cities of the Negev are under siege; no one can help them. All of Judah has been taken into exile, taken completely into exile.

Jeremiah 13:20 Look up and see those coming from the north. Where is the flock entrusted to you, the sheep that were your pride?

Jeremiah 13:21 What will you say when he appoints close friends as leaders over you, ones you yourself trained? Won’t labor pains seize you, as they do a woman in labor?

Jeremiah 13:22 And when you ask yourself, “Why have these things happened to me?” it is because of your great violation that your skirts have been stripped off, your body exposed.

Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Cushite change his skin, or a leopard his spots? If so, you might be able to do what is good, you who are instructed in evil.

Jeremiah 13:24 I will scatter you like drifting chaff before the open country wind.

Jeremiah 13:25 This is your lot, what I have decreed for you – this is what Yahveh declares – because you have forgotten me and trusted in lies.

Jeremiah 13:26 I will pull your skirts up over your face so that your shame might be seen.

Jeremiah 13:27 Your adulteries and your lustful neighing, your depraved prostitution on the hills, in the fields – I have seen your disgusting acts. Tragedy has come to you, Jerusalem! You are unclean – how long will this continue?

a humble seat

Jeremiah’s message to the king and queen mother was to take a humble seat, because their authority would be taken away and given to someone else. They proved unfaithful to God, and so would lose their job. Their nation would suffer, and so would their pride.

God in his justice still removes some people from power and influence because they refuse to correct evil. It is a serious thing to be given authority – whether it is political, ecclesiastical or social. If we do not wear the seat of power well, we are in danger of being demoted to the humble seat.

Lord, should you bless us with influence, may we use that influence to build your kingdom, and glorify your name.

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