Jeremiah 12
Jeremiah asked God why are wicked people successful? (vs 1 -2)
Like even though they always talk about God, they care nothing about Him.

Jeremiah told God to appoint a time for the wicked people in the land to be "slaughtered"
So harsh a word! 


God later assured Jeremiah that He knows everything that goes on in the land.
And that He will abandon the nation, He will forsake them and turn them over to the enemies.
Because these people have turned their backs to God.
God will do it such that the land will lay in waste and lie empty.

But God also promised that after He has uprooted the people of those nations, He will relent and have pity on them. He will restore these people to their own lands and to their own country. But these people must make sure to follow the ways of God.

Jeremiah 13
An Object Lesson from Ruined Linen Shorts
God told Jeremiah to buy some linen shorts and wear them. And that he should not put it in water.
Jeremiah did so.
Then God told Jeremiah to take the shorts to this place called Perath and bury them in a crack in the ricks.
Jeremiah did so.
Many days later, God told Jeremiah to get the shorts from Perath.
Jeremiah did so. And realised that the shorts were ruined and good for nothing.

God spoke to Jeremiah through the shorts.
God will ruin the highly exalted positions in which Judah and Jerusalem take pride.
The people who are stubborn and worship other gods will become like the linen shorts - good for nothing.

Quite cute huh! God speaks through many funny situations. But quite sad for the Israelites. As I think about how they can stray away from God, even though He is so good. I feel that it can be the same for us- it is very easy to stray away from God. But being close to God takes a lot of intentional effort!  So we need to be on our toes and always remember God because He is good! And always spend time with God! 

Jeremiah 9
Jeremiah cried for the people who have been killed.

The Lord laments that He has no choice but to judge them
God explained His reasons to Jeremiah:
That the people have become powerful in the land but not by honest means.
They do evil things and do not pay attention to God.
Everyone is on guard around people (even relatives) because everyone will find some way to cheat him.

4Everyone must be on his guard around his friends. He must not even trust any of his relatives.12 For every one of them will find some way to cheat him.13 And all of his friends will tell lies about him.  5One friend deceives another and no one tells the truth.

wa very sad sia. Imagine living in those times. There is no one that can be trusted! 


Therefore God is punishing them.

The coming destruction calls for mourning


Jeremiah 10
The Lord, not idols is the only worthy object of worship

Jeremiah 11
The people have violated their covenant with God
A plot against Jeremiah is revealedand he complains of injustice


God gave JEremiah knowledge that he might have understanding. And God showed Jeremiah what the people were doing. They actually made plains to kill him. So Jeremiah told God to vindicate his cause.
And God said that He will punish the people who threatened Jeremiah.

04.25.2011

Jeremiah 7 
Faulty Religion and Unethical Behaviour will lead to judgement. 

6Stop oppressing foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands. How often is it that we discriminate against the foreigners who live in Singapore (think about the Ah Tiongs) ? Question for thought.  In this passage, God is angry at the people. Because even though they sin against Him and all, they still can go into His temple and say that "We are safe". Like quite shameless hor. God was so angry that He instructed Jeremiah not to pray for these people. - the extent of His anger. God was also angry that they built places of worship so that they can sacrifice their sons and daughters by fire and God was angry because He did not command them to do so. Jeremiah 8 God said that judgement will come upon the land but even then He will leave some survivors alive and banish them to other places. But these survivors would wish that they had died instead of lived. Wilful disregard of God will lead to destruction Jeremia laments ove r the coming destruction Jeremiah is sad over what is going to happen. he has compassion on the Israelites.

Jeremiah 6
The destruction of Jerusalem depicted


God has given the people warning time and again.
But again and again they ignored His warnings.

God is sending an army from the north to siege Israel.
They will be cruel and show no mercy.

God made Jeremiah observe how the people behave.
And Jeremiah observed that they are a stubborn people.

Jeremiah 3
God is angry with the Israelites because they have prostituted themselves to other gods.
I feel that in this context maybe the Israelites were into some occults that has sexual practices. 

Because of this, the land is defiled.
Thus, the rains have been withheld. Even though they have done wrong, they still dare tell God

'You are my father!10 You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young.  5You will not always be angry with me, will you? You will not be mad at me forever, will you?'11

But then after saying that, they still continue to do wrong.

God says that even though Israel received punishment from God because of their sins, Judah saw God's judgement on Israel but they too continued to sin against God. God said that they had pretended to turn back to Him but without any sincerity.

The Lord calls on Israel and Judah to repent. 
God is a forgiving God. Even though Israel and Judah have both turned away from Him and worshipped other gods, He still called them back and ask them to repent. But however, He said that they must confess that they have done wrong.

Even though God wants to punish them already, He still so compassionate. Still give chance and ask them to repent before He carries out the punishment. 

Jeremiah 4
Warning of Coming Judgement


Jeremiah 5
Judah is justly deserving of coming judgement
God told Jeremiah to look around the streets of Jerusalem and find a single person who deals honestly and tries to be truthful. And if he can, then God will not punish Jerusalem. God says that some of the people make empty promises to Him.

When we promise God something, we need to fulfill it. If not, He would be upset. 


Jeremiah told God that everyone refuse to be corrected even when God nearly destroys them. They are described as hardheaded as a rock- VERY STUBBORN. And at first he thought that only the ignorant poor people are stubborn but even when Jeremiah went to the leaders, they also refuse to submit to God.

God commanded the enemy to ruin Israel and Judah. Even though He is punishing Israel and Judah, He still had compassion for them . He commanded :

"March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them. But do not destroy them completely. Strip off their branches for these people do not belong to the LORD.

God said to Jeremiah that He will put the words in his mouth like fire and the people like wood so that when Jeremiah speaks, the fiery judgement he speaks will burn up. (so metaphorical i dont know what it means)

God will send a nation (Babylon) from far away to attack Israel.

It will be a nation that was founded long ago and has lasted for a long time. It will be a nation whose language you will not know. Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.

18Yet even then57 I will not completely destroy you," says the LORD.  19"So then, Jeremiah,58 when your people59 ask, 'Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?' tell them, 'It is because you rejected me and served foreign gods in your own land. So60 you must serve foreigners61 in a land that does not belong to you.'

04.20.2011

Jeremiah's name means "Yahweh exalts". One of the main prophets of the bible. Jeremiah was also known as the weeping prophet (also written Lamentations) BECAUSE his job was to reveal the sins of people and explain the reason of impending disaster (which is destruction by Babylonian army and taken into captivity into Babylon) 


Jeremiah 1
The Superscription
The Lord spoke to Jeremiah in the 13th year of the reign of king Josiah (King of Judah)
The Lord spoke to Jeremiah during Jehoiakim reign, Son of Josiah (King of Judah) until -->
the 11th year of the Zedekiah's reign, son of Josiah (King of Judah)

This is the period where the people of Jerusalem taken into exile.
Jeremiah is a prophet who has seen both God's favour (during King Josiah's reign) and anger (During Jehoiakim and Zedekiah's reign. ) 


Jeremiah's Call and Commission
God has called Jeremiah even when he was in his mother's womb.
And even though Jeremiah felt that he was too young to do God's work, God assured him.

7The LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am too young.' But go13 to whomever I send you and say whatever I tell you.  8Do not be afraid of those to whom I send you,14 for I will be with you to protect15 you," says the LORD. And even assured him that He will give Jeremiah the words to speak. In our context, I feel that God has called us to be His even when we were in our mother's womb too. And sometimes, perhaps, we feel inadequate to do God's work (be it serving in Youth or Children ministry) But God says that He will give us the words to speak. So we must seek Him to ask Him to teach us how to teach our young ones!  Also, I feel that God is saying like how we shouldnt be afraid of sharing the gospel with people older than us (example our parents). Because He is there to protect us.  Visions Confirming Jeremiah's Call and Commission.  - The branch of an almond tree which means that God is watching that His threats are carried out (His anger towards the people during Jehoiakim and Zedekiah time) - The pot of boiling water tipped towards them from the north which means tht there will be destruction from up north on all who lives in the land. God is passing His judgement on people of Jerusalem and Judah because they have turned away from Him. 2 Kings 24 1During Jehoiakim's reign,1 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked.2 Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him.3  2The LORD sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, as he had warned he would do through his servants the prophets.4 2 Kings 25 1So King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside1 it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign.2  2The city remained under siege until King Zedekiah's eleventh year.  3By the ninth day of the fourth month3 the famine in the city was so severe the residents4 had no food.  4The enemy broke through the city walls,5 and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night.6 They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king's garden.7 (The Babylonians were all around the city.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley.8  5But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with him in the plains of Jericho,9 and his entire army deserted him.  6They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah,10 where he11 passed sentence on him.  7Zedekiah's sons were executed while Zedekiah was forced to watch.12 The king of Babylon13 then had Zedekiah's eyes put out, bound him in bronze chains, and carried him off to Babylon. Even though Jeremiah has such scary visions about the country that he lives in, God still assured him that He will be with him. And that, He will protect him.  Jeremiah 2 The Lord Recalls Israel's Earlier Faithfulness The Lord reminds them of the Unfaithfulness of their ancestors I feel that Israel is kinda like us. LIke sometimes, we can be faithful towards God but sometimes we are unfaithful when we turn away from Him and turn to the other "gods" in our life. E.g. school/dance,, etc,,, And God remembers all these times when we are faithful and unfaithful. God, today I come before You and acknowledge that there are times when I am unfaithful towards You when I spend so much time studying my schoolwork but none to study Your word. I am sorry for these times. God, help me be faithful towards You and that I'll be so excited to spend time with You each and every day. Thank You God. In jesus name, amen. The Lord charges Israel with Spiritual Adultery Israel's Reliance on Foreign Alliances The Lord Expresses His exasperation at Judah's Persistant Idolatry