The prophecy of Jeremiah the prophet to Judah and Israel was a hard
word to preach. It was especially so for a man who loved his people,
and his nation; however, it was the word of the LORD, and Jeremiah was
going to proclaim it, and it would be better for the people to have
listened. It is still so in the 21st century among God’s people; good
to listen to the Word of the LORD.
Just as the LORD told Jeremiah,
“Thus saith the LORD; ‘Stand in the court of the LORD’S
house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in
the LORD’S house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them;
diminish not a word: if so be they will hearken, and turn every man from
his evil way, that I may repent Me of the evil, which I purpose to do
unto them because of the evil of their doings.” Jeremiah 26:2-3 (KJV)
He was also to never cut short or lessen the words of promise given
by the LORD. This prophecy is full of promises from God as well as
warnings. There are so many who lessen the promises of God to Israel.
Make them only good for them as long as the nation believes like they
think they ought to believe; lives as they think they ought to live.
Let us look at some of those promises. My reading this morning took me from chapter 25 – 38.
The nation had forsaken the LORD and His Word refusing to hear the
words of the prophets, including the warnings of Jeremiah; and they
would suffer for it by going into Babylonian captivity, Jerusalem being
burned to the ground, the temple being destroyed, and defiled. It
happened just as Jeremiah, by the Word of the LORD, said it would.
“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, ‘that I will sow
the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and
with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that like as I have
watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down,
and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and
to plant, saith the LORD.’” 31:27-28
Despite the fact that God was going to judge them, He wanted to
assure them, that just as surely as He was going to tear down, He would
also bring them back,and build them up again. He goes on and says in
verse 34, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their
sin no more.”
Just how good, how strong, how enduring is the covenant of God with Israel/Judah?
“Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by
day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by
night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of
hosts is His name: if those ordinances depart from before Me, saith the
LORD, ‘then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation
before Me for ever.’ Thus saith the LORD; ‘If heaven above can be
measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will
also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done,’ saith
the LORD.” 31:35-37
And the prophet by the Word of the LORD says again,
“And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying,
‘Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break My covenant of the day, and My
covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in
their season; then may also My covenant be broken with David My servant,
that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the
Levites the priests, My ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be
numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the
seed of David My servant, and the Levites that minister unto Me.”
33:19-22
Just as the Word of the LORD for punishment, chastisement cannot be diminished so too is it true of His promises. Hear again,
“Thus saith the LORD; ‘If my covenant be not with day and
night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;
then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David My servant, so that I
will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have
mercy on them.’” 33:25-26
The Word of the LORD is sure, it is true, it is eternal; and not one
word shall be diminished. The LORD will accomplish every word of it.
He will be glorified, and all the world shall know that He is GOD.
-Tim A. Blankenship
