Jeremiah 22 and 23

It's picture time for Jeremiah 22-23.

Jeremiah 22

As God speaks to Jeremiah, he basically tells him to warn the kings of Judah to shape up and obey or they will be ruined, as will their children and children's children.  No more playing king for them.  No more fancy houses.  No more feeling important.  No more privileges.  No more favor from the Lord.

So what simple choices does the Lord want from these kings? Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent!  God tells them to OBEY Him, or they will experience the consequences of their disobedience. There is no escaping this.

And IF they refuse to pay attention to God's warning, the Lord Himself will make all their self-made glory and false majesty turn into a heap of rubble. They will be...Broken. Separated. Lonely. Destroyed.  "WHY? why?", you ask. Because they violated their covenant with the Lord by worshiping other gods! Does this not give us reason to look inside our heart and consider our own obedience to the Lord and ask ourselves if we, too, are living for ourselves in a way that is unrighteous or unfair to others, or ignores the poor, orphans, and widows?

What makes a great king? It's not having a beautiful house.  No, God points out Josiah and shows how he had plenty but, BUT he was honest and fair in all his dealings with others. God blessed him as he saw how he helped the poor and needy.

God goes so far as to say that THAT is actually how we can know Him! It's by having a right heart before the Lord as we give and bless the poor, orphaned, and needy.  Are we fair and just in our dealings with others? Is our heart inclined to His?

God then reminds these kings of Judah through Jeremiah that they ought not to go on an on about their losses, whining about everything when they are destroyed. He tells them they are greedy and dishonest. He reminds them that they have been rebellious toward Him, despite His warnings, since childhood.  They have lost all because they have chosen to live for themselves and not as the Lord instructed. (God is really into obedience.) How might we relate to God if a child we know misbehaves and rebels against us?! How much more does God hate disobedience?

He warns them that for now, they may live in fancy places, have nice things, and be deceiving themselves, but they are informed that soon they will groan with pangs of anguish over the consequences of their disobedience.  

Jeremiah 23 

The Lord is full of promises. In this chapter we are reminded that although Judah's kings, called the shepherds of His people, were doomed to sorrows because they destroyed and scattered those they were in authority over, God Himself will appoint shepherds that will care for His people and they will not fear.  Not one of His sheep will be lost or missing. This prophecy of the Great Shepherd, Jesus, is comforting to know that He was sent and will wisely succeed in bringing to safety all God's remnant by doing what is just and right. We even are told the Shepherd's name in verse 6: The Lord is Our Righteousness. 

*Note on Jeremiah 23:6

Notice this doesn’t say “THE LORD HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Jesus is OUR righteousness. We don’t approach God with our own goodness. We have to receive the righteousness of Jesus as a gift.

 Jeremiah next laments the false prophets in Judah. So many are ungodly, even priests and prophets of the Lord. But God informs them of their future. They will be destroyed! They will be punished! Adultery and dishonesty are a part of their normal lives. They tell God's people that they have had dreams and a word from the Lord, yet they just make it up to turn the people away from God.  God has no tolerance for this and he declares that they will be destroyed and, in fact, God has an appointed time for their destruction. He states that He will forget them completely and they will be expelled from His presence, along with the city He gave them. He has no kind, merciful, tender words for these adulterous people. This is a hard pill to swallow.

Note on Jeremiah 23:12 to believers in Jesus

This was the just punishment for the ungodly pastors and priests that the previous verses speak of. Under the New Covenant, our judgment has been placed on Jesus, so we will not reap God’s judgment. But there are still consequences for our actions. Satan will take advantage of our sins and dominate us. And we can be assured he only wants to steal, kill, and destroy us.   ~Andrew Wommack

Note on Jeremiah 23:19

This was prophesying the wrath of the Lord upon the ungodly. Praise God that Jesus bore this wrath for us.   ~Andrew Wommack