Jeremiah 46

O Jacob My servant, do not fear," declares the LORD, "For I am with you. For I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven you, yet I will not make a full end of you; but I will correct you properly and by no means leave you unpunished." Jer 46:28

I recently finished watching the PBS series "Carrier". It followed a six month tour of duty for the U.S.S. Nimitz aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. It appeared to some on the ship that they weren't doing much. In six months there, the planes flying missions over Iraq never dropped a single bomb. So those on the boat felt that their mission was unimportant, but the pilots had a different perspective. They were often 20,000 feet up watching the movements of troops on the ground, prepared at a moment to swoop from the sky and give support to ground troops or to take out approaching enemies. These pilots commented on how many times they were told by ground commanders that even though they didn't engage the enemy, it gave their troops confidence to know someone was nearby, though unseen, that could help out at a moment's notice.

We read these words here against Egypt and find that there is a great destruction coming. Part of it is due to the disobedient Jews who fled there, but Egypt had plenty of reasons for God to bring judgement upon them. As God finishes talking about more destruction, He gives some final words of comfort to His people. He promises that He is near, even when they can't clearly see or hear Him. While they see the nations fall around them, those nations are being brought down without plans to restore them. God tells Judah that even though He needs to punish them to bring correction, He is still there. He hears their cries as they feel crushed under the weight of His judgment. God isn't hands off. He doesn't send angels to do His bidding while He remains aloof and uninvolved. Whether good moments or bad, God is constantly near to us as children of God. God's presence never leaves us. Have you ever prayed and felt that God wasn't available to hear? It's not because He's too far away...it may be because you are. Judah had much sin in their lives, and as a result they felt a disconnect from God, but He was still there and waiting for their ultimate repentance. If you have sin in your life, you are likely exaggerating the distance that exists between you and God. He's still around, but He's waiting for you to make the big decisions for change instead of ignoring your sin. Even as I write this, I do so recognizing that God is in the room with me right now. There is nowhere I can go that He cannot.

Jeremiah 45

Thus you are to say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold, what I have built I am about to tear down, and what I have planted I am about to uproot, that is, the whole land. Jer 45:4

Have you ever had someone try to comfort you in a situation, simply by telling you how much worse the situation could be? I remember watching a show one time where two guys are out on the ocean in a boat on a beautiful day. Suddenly the boat begins to take on water, and these two guys get their life jackets and prepare to go into the water. Eventually the boat sinks and these two guys are left treading water. The owner of the boat is devastated, but his friend tries to cheer him up by saying, "We'll it could have been worse." "How could it have been worse?" The friend says, "There could have been sharks in the water here." And of course, then a fin begins to circle them. Don't worry...this was a comedy so they didn't get eaten.

Baruch had simply done what God wanted him to do. He had written and delivered the words of Jeremiah and as a result had received much of the same grief and trouble that Jeremiah endured. I'm sure Baruch found this difficult to take, and probably slightly unfair. However the assurance that God gave was that Baruch's nation was going to crumble around him, and that God was going to allow it to happen. But Baruch was told that his life will be spared. He's not promised that it will be easy, but he's promised that he will live. I'm sure Baruch may have felt much like the man who jumped from a sinking ship into shark-infested waters. What did he have to live for? God wanted to continue using him. The Lord tells Baruch that his life will be preserved for all the places he will go. So there would be a lot of change in this man's life. You may feel that you're moving from one bad situation to another, or that your string of misfortune is more than most people around you are going through. Never forget that God is completely aware of who and where you are. There is never a time that He is taken by surprise by an event in your life, and just because your plans are thrown off kilter, doesn't mean that His are. Don't allow yourself to dwell on circumstances. Instead, pray diligently for wisdom and understanding on how you should handle situations you find yourself in. People who fail to pray, find themselves praying even harder later in an attempt to undo the work they attempted on their own.

Jeremiah 44

But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have met our end by the sword and by famine. Jer 44:18

Athletes are a very superstitious bunch. I read of a pitcher that always wore the same pair of underwear every time it was his turn to start a game. On a particular outing, he got blasted early and lost the game. He later said that he hadn't worn his lucky underwear that day. I don't know if he really believed that or not, but I did wonder if he went on the mound thinking that he had already messed up and that it got into his head a little bit. His ability came from his arm, but not underwear, but he was having a little trouble giving the proper credit to the proper things in his life.

The people of Judah were giving credit to the wrong person. They had been sacrificing to false gods, and everything seemed to be going just fine. Then when Babylon came, the people's lives were thrown into turmoil and their daily routines were interrupted. Many of the people credited that interruption of devotion to a false god as the reason for their upheaval. They didn't realize that the reason they had been able to remain in their nation during days of disobedience to God was as result of His patience and continued efforts to make all the Jews aware of the judgement to come. There were so many prophets all giving the same declaration of impending doom, but the people ignored it. Who's getting the credit in your life? Are you telling others of the great work God is doing in your life, or do fully accept the praise that people give you? Don't give yourself too much credit for the good things you have, because pride is always the downfall of the Christian. We begin to think that we deserve certain things, and we rely more on ourselves and less on our God. Who is your trust really in? If you're unsure, think about how many times this week you've listened to God's instruction and how many times you've simply went with your own plans. The ability to do anything comes from God, and He may take away those abilities if they are causing us more harm than good.

Jeremiah 43

He will also come and strike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and those for the sword to the sword. Jer 43:11

When I got ready to leave for Army Basic Training, I called my uncle who is an officer in the Army. I asked him what I should expect, and all he would tell me is "don't volunteer for anything." So when we were all snapped to attention in week three, I tried to look as inconspicuous as possible. They started calling names, and I did my best to be invisible. The drill sergeants were just berating these guys as they pulled them out of formation. Finally my name was called and I went through an hour of being put in stress positions before being told I was now placed in charge of the platoon. I couldn't have avoided being called on, because they had already chosen me and five squad leaders to lead the platoon. It seemed random, but had been completely thought through and set up.

It seems that the original reason these Jews in Jeremiah 43 were leaving was because they were afraid they would be blamed for a murder they didn't commit. After God makes it clear that they will not, the people accuse Jeremiah of lying about what God said and they head off to Egypt anyway. Their intention no longer seems to be avoiding punishment for the murder, but to avoid living under Babylonian rule. But the Babylonians came because all of Judah, including these people, had lived in rebellion against God. They would not be permitted to just escape correction, so now they have carried their sins amongst the Egyptians who will also suffer because of the disobedience of the Jews. These Jews thought that they had just hit some bad luck and they were trying to escape. Just like my experience in basic training, the Jews were receiving the judgment that was specifically laid out for them. Some would die, some would fight, and some would simply be imprisoned. They couldn't even escape to Egypt to avoid it. God would have made things easier if they had obeyed, but they chose their own way. Do you want to avoid judgment over your sin? Do you know how to do it? Repent. It doesn't mean we'll always miss the correction that God brings, but there are plenty of examples in the Bible where people were able to lessen the judgment by recognizing their sin (Zeph 2:1-3, 1 Corinthians 11:29-31). So what sin have you been trying to ignore, in the hopes that God will too? Perhaps He has withheld correction to give you a chance to recognize the problem as you choose to make different choices. Stop trying to avoid the truth of your sin, and confront it in the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah 42

Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant , we will listen to the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well with us when we listen to the voice of the LORD our God. Jer 42:6

There are really only two kinds of visits you can have to the dentist: pleasant or unpleasant. As a kid, I had a lot of problems with my teeth because I ate sugar and rarely brushed. So I hated going in for checkups because I knew the only thing they would check is how many fillings I would need this time. But, as unpleasant as it is to go to the dentist, the pain of a dental problem is much worse. I've had two root canals and the pain of a broken tooth is rough. In those cases I couldn't wait to get into the dentist, because I knew an unpleasant visit would bring a pleasant result.

So here you have this group of people who are left over from the last chapter. They didn't kill Babylon's newly appointed governor, but they were in the vicinity and so they're afraid of being guilty by association. The people are preparing to escape to Egypt, until the commanders of the people asked Jeremiah to seek if God wanted them to go to Egypt or stay put. And they assured Jeremiah that as long as he told them truth, they would do whatever God said whether they liked it or not. So Jeremiah comes back to tell them that going to Egypt is bad, and if they stay, God will protect them. Suddenly the people call Jeremiah a liar and refuse to listen. Why such a change of heart on following God? I would say it's because they never intended to follow God. They had made up their minds to go to Egypt and they were hoping that Jeremiah would give them the ok from God. When this didn't happen, it becomes clear that they didn't want God to give them instruction. They wanted God to go with their plan. Often we make our plans and then pray and ask God to bring them about. Our first step in an issue should not be to come up with a plan, but to seek God's plans. If we ask for wisdom, He will grant it, and planning without the wisdom of God is likely to get you a plan that God is not for. His ways are higher and greater than ours and as a result, His plans are not often going to be the ones we would have picked. Are you willing to follow God in any circumstance? Or are you simply looking for Him to verify your own thoughts? God's plan may not always be as pleasant as the one you picked, but the final result will ultimately be what's best for you and bring you closer to becoming the person God wants you to be.

Jeremiah 41

And they went and stayed in Geruth Chimham, which is beside Bethlehem, in order to proceed into Egypt because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, since Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. Jer 41:17-18

There are a lot of names in this account, but here is gist of what's going on. Babylon conquered Jerusalem, and in order to help maintain order on their new territory, the king of Babylon appointed a Jewish person, Gedaliah, as governor over the region. It was a way to help ease the transition of power, and really a very generous move on the part of the Babylonian king. Ishmael was also a Jew and considered Gedaliah to be a traitor agreeing to serve in this way, so Ishmael gets some men together to assassinate him and they even carry away some prisoners just to show how serious they are. Johanan was a captain in Judah's army and he hears of this and goes to free the prisoners, which goes fine. As a result of the action of Ishmael, all of these people are now on the run though. Even though they had nothing to do with the assassination of Gedaliah, they feared there would be repurcussions on them, so they planned an escape to Egypt.

One person can really gum up the works. I'm sure Ishmael felt that he was doing a great service for God's people by assassinating the Jewish governor. However, God had been communicating through Jeremiah that Babylon would be in charge for a while, and they needed to submit to that rule for a time. And so the actions of one man, put a large group of people in danger. It's very frustrating to see people make choices without thinking about the consequences or effects on other people. As a father, I recognize that the choices I make will have a direct impact on my wife and on my children. My son sees the choices I make, and perhaps they won't float to the surface for many years, but it's very likely that his choices as a husband and father will be influenced by what he saw me do. Who are you influencing around you? Before you answer that too quickly, really take an inventory of the people that you interact with on a daily basis. Some of the people we are with most often (family and co-workers) are the people who start to lose importance because of familiarity with them. You are making an impact. You need to consider your words and actions from yesterday. Our most important evaluation is what God thought of our day yesterday, but second is what did people think of us yesterday? Did they see us as someone living out a genuine faith? Or were they put off by our attitudes and actions?

Jeremiah 40

Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, "The LORD your God promised this calamity against this place; Jer 40:2

My co-workers in college knew that I was a Christian. In the early years, it was mainly because of the things I talked about and the items I had around my desk. I was talking about Jesus and God, but I wasn't always actively living my faith out. They didn't seem to be impressed by my words, but they were impressed when I would do unselfish acts. There were lots of extra paperwork responsibilities that people in the office didn't like to do, so I started doing them. I didn't tell people what I was doing to help, but eventually people would see me from time to time. That made a bigger impact on people listening to me about my faith than anything else.

I love it when God's work becomes clear to non-believers. In this passage you have a Babylonian general who holds Jeremiah in great respect. I'm sure he never read the Hebrew bible and knew little about the God of the Jews, but he knew when a prophecy came true. Everything Jeremiah had spoken for God came true, and Nebuzaradan holds Jeremiah in higher respect that Jeremiah's own people did. I wish more people would be vocal about their faith, but I think there is something to the idea that living our lives as Christians will influence others as well. Here an unbeliever was influenced by a believer who did everything God wanted him to, even when it was tough. That's authentic. Jeremiah didn't know about God...He knew God. Do people around you consider you religious? Perhaps they make comments about your office decorations or your church attendance, but it doesn't necessarily affect their lives. I don't think that non-believers are impressed by our religious stuff. They are impressed when we act as selfless people and show that we consider others around us more important than ourselves. We can draw the lost simply by being authentic in our relationship with God. The world doesn't need more religious people carrying around their churchy checklist. They need sincere followers of Christ who live their entire day considering the desires of God and the needs of people.