{"id":3897,"date":"2021-11-03T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-03T23:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/?p=3897"},"modified":"2021-10-31T16:14:30","modified_gmt":"2021-10-31T22:14:30","slug":"jeremiah-speaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/?p=3897","title":{"rendered":"Jeremiah Speaks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’m still following the annual through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan, and I realized I’ve just finished Jeremiah and written nothing about it except a quote from Jeremiah 23 supporting James 3<\/a>. So here’s one containing a few of my favorite takeaways from a book that, unfortunately, is overall depressing: predicted in the first chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, \u201cBefore I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.\u201d Then I said, \u201cAh, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.\u201d But the LORD said to me, \u201cDo not say, \u2018I am only a youth\u2019; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.\u201d Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, \u201cBehold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.\u201d (Jeremiah 1.4 – 10, ESV)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeremiah was sent, but the overall effect would be the destruction of Jerusalem. The people would be against him; therefore, he needed God’s promised protection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And despite God sending the Israelites into exile he gave them this promise:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the word of the LORD came to me: \u201cThus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up. I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart. (Jeremiah 24.4 – 7, ESV)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, they were to live life well in Babylon – not just yearn for their return to the land:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (Jeremiah 29.4 – 7, ESV)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then the promise from Jeremiah 24 is repeated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. (Jeremiah 29.10 – 14, ESV)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wow. There’s more hope here than I thought…and more takeaways! To be continued tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15.16, ESV)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? (Jeremiah 23.29, ESV)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m still following the annual through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan, and I realized I’ve just finished Jeremiah and written nothing about it except a quote from Jeremiah 23 supporting James 3. So here’s one containing a few of my favorite takeaways from a book that, unfortunately, is overall depressing: predicted in the first chapter. Now the word of … Continue reading Jeremiah Speaks<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8X9bo-10R","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3897"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3898,"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3897\/revisions\/3898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}