Jeremiah 7-11: Reason To Boast (LSFAB S13E097)

[TEASER - 0:00]  
He would not be God.

[INTRO S13E097 - 0:09]
You found it! The Lifespring Family Audio Bible, coming to you from Riverside, California. Podcasting since 2004, I'm your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we're reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today is Prophecy Friday and our reading will be Jeremiah 7 through 11. I'm calling the episode "Reason to Boast."

Before we read, let's pray.

Our gracious heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word. And we asked you to bless us and teach us as we read. I pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.

All right, let's begin.

[JEREMIAH 7 (NIRV) - 0:43]  
Jeremiah, chapter 7.

(1) A message came to me from the Lord. He said,

(2) "Stand at the gate of my house. Announce my message to the people there. Say,

" 'Listen to the LORD's message, all of you people of Judah. You always come through these gates to worship the Lord.
(3) The God of Israel is speaking to you. He is the LORD who rules over all. He says, "Change the way you live and act. Then I will let you live in this place.
(4) " ' "Do not trust in lies. Do not say, 'This is the temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord!'
(5) " ' "You must really change the way you live and act. Treat each other fairly.
(6) Do not treat outsiders or widows badly in this place. Do not take advantage of children whose fathers have died. Do not kill those who are not guilty of doing anything wrong. Do not worship other gods. That will only bring harm to you.
(7) " ' "If you obey me, I will let you live in this place. It is the land I gave your people who lived long ago. It was promised to them for ever and ever.
(8) " ' "But look! You are trusting in worthless lies.

(9) " ' "You continue to steal and commit murder. You commit adultery and tell lies. You burn incense to Baal. You worship other gods you have not known anything about before.
(10) " ' "Then you come and stand in front of me. You keep coming to this house where I have put my Name. You say, 'We are safe.' You think you are safe when you do so many things I hate.
(11) My Name is in this house. But you have made it a den for robbers! I have been watching you!" announces the Lord.

(12) " ' "Go now to the town of Shiloh. Go to the place where I first made a home for my Name. See what I did to it because of the evil things my people Israel were doing.
(13) " ' "I spoke to you again and again," announces the Lord. "I warned you while you were doing all of those things. But you did not listen. I called out to you. But you did not answer.
(14) So what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house where my Name is. It is the temple you trust in. It is the place I gave to you and your people of long ago.
(15) " ' "But I will throw you out of my land. ThIS is exactly what I did to the people of Ephraim. And they are your relatives." '

(16) "Jeremiah, do not pray for those people. Do not make any appeal or request for them. Do not beg me. I will not listen to you.
(17) "Don't you see what they are doing? They are worshiping other gods in the towns of Judah. They are offering sacrifices to them in the streets of Jerusalem.
(18) The children go out and gather wood. The fathers light the fire. The women mix the dough. They make flat cakes of bread for the goddess who is called the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods. That makes me very angry.
(19) "But am I the one they are hurting?" announces the Lord. "Aren't they only harming themselves? They should be ashamed of it."

(20) So the LORD and King says, "I will pour out my burning anger on this place. I will strike people and animals alike. I will destroy the trees and the crops in the fields. It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out."

(21) The LORD who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, "Go ahead! Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices. Eat the meat yourselves!
(22) When I brought your people out of Egypt, I spoke to them. But I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices.
(23) I also gave them another command. I said, 'Obey me. Then I will be your God. And you will be my people. Live the way I command you to live. Then things will go well with you.'
(24) "But they did not listen. They refused to pay any attention to me. Instead, they did what their stubborn and evil hearts wanted them to do. They went backward and not forward.
(25) "Again and again I sent my servants the prophets to you. They came to you day after day. They prophesied from the time your people left Egypt until now.
(26) "But the people did not listen. They refused to pay any attention to me. They were stubborn. They did more evil things than their people who lived before them.

(27) "Jeremiah, when you tell them all of that, they will not listen to you. When you call out to them, they will not answer.
(28) "So say to them, 'You are a nation that has not obeyed the LORD your God. You did not pay attention when you were corrected. Truth has died out. You do not tell the truth anymore.' "

(29) The LORD says to the people of Jerusalem, "Cut off your hair. Throw it away. Sing a song of sadness on the bare hilltops. I am very angry with you. I have turned my back on you. I have deserted you.

(30) "The people of Judah have done what is evil in my eyes," announces the Lord. "They have set up statues of their gods. They have worshiped them in the house where my Name is. They have made my house 'unclean.' I hate those statues.
(31) The people have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. There they worship other gods. And there they sacrifice their children in the fire. That is something I did not command. It did not even enter my mind.
(32) "So watch out!" announces the Lord. "The days are coming when people will not call it Topheth anymore. And they will not call it the Valley of Ben Hinnom either. Instead, they will call it the Valley of Death. They will bury the dead bodies of some people in Topheth. But they will run out of room.
(33) Then they will not be able to bury the bodies of other people there. So the bodies will become food for the birds of the air and the wild animals. And no one will scare them away.
(34) "I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness. The voices of brides and grooms will not be heard anymore. There will not be any sounds of joy in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. The land will become a desert.

[JEREMIAH 8 (NIRV) - 6:34]  
Jeremiah, chapter 8.

(1) "At that time the tombs will be opened," announces the Lord. "The bones of the kings and officials of Judah will be brought out. The bones of the priests and prophets will be removed. So will the bones of the people of Jerusalem.
(2) They will lie outside under the sun, moon and all of the stars. "All of those people had loved and served those things. They had followed them and worshiped them. They had asked them for advice. So the bones of those people will not be gathered up or buried again. Instead, they will be like trash lying there on the ground.
(3) "Everyone who is left alive in this evil nation will want to die rather than live. That is what they will long for in the lands where I force them to go," announces the LORD who rules over all.

(4) "Jeremiah, tell them, 'The LORD says,

" ' "When people fall down, don't they get up again? When someone turns away, doesn't he come back?
(5) Then why have the people of Jerusalem turned away from me? Why do they always turn away? They keep on telling lies. They refuse to come back to me.
(6) I have listened carefully. But they do not say what is right. They refuse to turn away from their sins. No one says, 'What have I done?' All of them go their own way. They are like horses charging into battle.
(7) Storks know when to fly south. So do doves, swifts and thrushes. But my people do not know what I require them to do.

(8) " ' "How can you people say, 'We are wise. We have the law of the Lord'? Actually, the teachers of the law have told lies about it. Their pens have not written what is true.
(9) Those who think they are wise will be put to shame. They will become terrified. They will be trapped. They have not accepted my message. So what kind of wisdom do they have?
(10) I will give their wives to other men. I will give their fields to new owners. Everyone wants to get richer and richer, from the least important of them to the most important. Prophets and priests alike try to fool everyone they can.
(11) They bandage the wounds of my people as if they were not very deep. 'Peace, peace,' they say. But there isn't any peace.
(12) Are they ashamed of their hateful actions? No. They do not feel any shame at all. They do not even know how to blush. So they will fall like others who have already fallen. They will be brought down when I punish them," says the Lord.

(13) " ' "I will take away their harvest," announces the Lord. "There will not be any grapes on the vines. The trees will not bear any figs. The leaves on the trees will dry up. What I have given them will be taken away from them." ' "

(14) Why are we sitting here? Let's gather together! Let's run to the cities that have high walls around them! Let's die there! The LORD our God has sentenced us to death. He has given us poisoned water to drink. That's because we've sinned against him.
(15) We hoped peace would come. But nothing good has happened to us. We hoped we would finally be healed. But all that we got was terror.
(16) When our enemy's horses snort, the noise is heard all the way from Dan. When their stallions neigh, the whole land trembles with fear. They have come to destroy the land and everything in it. The city and everyone who lives there will be destroyed.

(17) "People of Judah, I will send poisonous snakes among you. No one will be able to charm them. And they will bite you," announces the Lord.

(18) Lord, my heart is weak inside me. You comfort me when I'm sad.
(19) Listen to the cries of my people from a land far away. They cry out, "Isn't the LORD in Zion? Isn't its King there anymore?"

The LORD says, "Why have they made me so angry by worshiping their wooden gods? Why have they made me angry with their worthless statues of gods from other lands?"

(20) The people say, "The harvest is over. The summer has ended. And we still haven't been saved."

(21) My people are crushed, so I am crushed. I sob, and I am filled with horror.
(22) Isn't there any healing lotion in Gilead? Isn't there a doctor there? Then why doesn't someone heal the wounds of my people? 

[JEREMIAH 9 (NIRV) - 10:41]  
Jeremiah, chapter 9.

(1) I wish my head were a spring of water! I wish my eyes were a fountain of tears! I would sob day and night over my people who have been killed.
(2) I wish I had somewhere to go in the desert where a traveler could stay! Then I would leave my people. I would get away from them. All of them commit adultery by worshiping other gods. They aren't faithful to the Lord.

(3) "They get ready to use their tongues like bows," announces the Lord. "Their mouths shoot out lies like arrows. They tell lies to gain power in the land. They go from one sin to another. They do not pay any attention to me.
(4) Be on guard against your friends. Do not trust the members of your own family. Every one of them cheats. Every friend tells lies.
(5) One friend cheats another. No one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues how to lie. They wear themselves out sinning.
(6) Jeremiah, you live among people who tell lies. When they lie, they refuse to pay any attention to me," announces the Lord.

(7) So the LORD who rules over all says,

"I will put them through the fire to test them. What else can I do? My people are so sinful!
(8) Their tongues are like deadly arrows. They tell lies. With their mouths all of them speak kindly to their neighbors. But in their hearts they set traps for them.
(9) Shouldn't I punish them for that?" announces the Lord. "Shouldn't I pay back the nation that does those things?"

(10) I will cry and sob over the fields in the hills. I will sing a song of sadness about the desert grasslands. They are dry and empty. No one travels through them. The mooing of cattle isn't heard there. The birds of the air have flown away. All of the animals are gone.

(11) The LORD says, "I will knock all of Jerusalem's buildings down. I will make it a home for wild dogs. The towns of Judah will be completely destroyed. No one will be able to live in them."

(12) Who is wise enough to understand those things? Who has been taught by the Lord? Who can explain them? Why has the land been destroyed so completely? Why has it become like a desert that no one can go across?

(13) The LORD answered me, "Because my people have turned away from my law. I gave it to them. But they have not kept it. They have not obeyed me.
(14) Instead, they have done what their stubborn hearts wanted them to do. They have worshiped the gods that are named after Baal. They have done what their people have taught them to do down through the years."
(15) So now the LORD who rules over all speaks. He is the God of Israel. He says, "I will make these people eat bitter food. I will make them drink poisoned water.
(16) I will scatter them among the nations. They and their people before them have not had anything to do with those nations before. I will chase these people with swords. I will hunt them down until I have destroyed them."

(17) The LORD rules over all. He says,

"Here is something I want you to think about. Send for the women who sob over the dead. Send for the most skilled among them."

(18) Let them come quickly and sob over us. Let them cry until tears flow from our eyes. Let them sob until water pours out of our eyes.
(19) People are heard sobbing in Zion. They are saying, "We are destroyed! We are filled with shame! We must leave our land. Our houses have been torn down."

(20) Women, hear the LORD's message. Listen to what he's saying. Teach your daughters how to sob over the dead. Teach one another a song of sadness.
(21) Death has climbed in through our windows. It has entered our forts. It has removed the children from the streets. It has taken the young people out of the market places.

(22) Say, "The LORD announces,

" 'The dead bodies of men will be like trash lying in the open fields. They will lie there like grain that is cut down at harvest time. No one will gather them up.' "

(23) The LORD says,

"Do not let a wise man brag about how wise he is. Do not let a strong man boast about how strong he is. Do not let a rich person brag about how rich he is.
(24) But here is what the one who brags should boast about. He should brag that he has understanding and knows me. I want him to know that I am the Lord. No matter what I do on earth, I am always kind, fair and right. And I take delight in that," announces the Lord.

(25) "The days are coming when I will judge people," announces the Lord. "I will punish all those who are circumcised only in their bodies.
(26) That includes the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon and Moab. It also includes all those who live in the desert in places far away. None of the people in those nations is really circumcised. And not even the people of Israel are circumcised in their hearts." 

[JEREMIAH 10 (NIV) - 15:37]
Jeremiah, chapter 10.

(1) Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. (2) This is what the Lord says:

“Do not learn the ways of the nations
or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
though the nations are terrified by them.
(3) For the practices of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree out of the forest,
and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.
(4) They adorn it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter.
(5) Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
their idols cannot speak;
they must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them;
they can do no harm
nor can they do any good.”

(6) No one is like you, Lord;
you are great,
and your name is mighty in power.
(7) Who should not fear you,
King of the nations?
This is your due.
Among all the wise leaders of the nations
and in all their kingdoms,
there is no one like you.

(8) They are all senseless and foolish;
they are taught by worthless wooden idols.
(9) Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish
and gold from Uphaz.
What the craftsman and goldsmith have made
is then dressed in blue and purple—
all made by skilled workers.
(10) But the Lord is the true God;
he is the living God, the eternal King.
When he is angry, the earth trembles;
the nations cannot endure his wrath.

(11) “Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’ ”

(12) But God made the earth by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
(13) When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;
he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

(14) Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;
they have no breath in them.
(15) They are worthless, the objects of mockery;
when their judgment comes, they will perish.
(16) He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the Maker of all things,
including Israel, the people of his inheritance—
the Lord Almighty is his name.

(17) Gather up your belongings to leave the land,
you who live under siege.
(18) For this is what the Lord says:
“At this time I will hurl out
those who live in this land;
I will bring distress on them
so that they may be captured.”

(19) Woe to me because of my injury!
My wound is incurable!
Yet I said to myself,
“This is my sickness, and I must endure it.”
(20) My tent is destroyed;
all its ropes are snapped.
My children are gone from me and are no more;
no one is left now to pitch my tent
or to set up my shelter.
(21) The shepherds are senseless
and do not inquire of the Lord;
so they do not prosper
and all their flock is scattered.
(22) Listen! The report is coming—
a great commotion from the land of the north!
It will make the towns of Judah desolate,
a haunt of jackals.

(23) Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own;
it is not for them to direct their steps.
(24) Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure—
not in your anger,
or you will reduce me to nothing.
(25) Pour out your wrath on the nations
that do not acknowledge you,
on the peoples who do not call on your name.
For they have devoured Jacob;
they have devoured him completely
and destroyed his homeland. 

[JEREMIAH 11 (NIV) - 18:58]  
Jeremiah, chapter 11.

(1) This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: (2) “Listen to the terms of this covenant and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. (3) Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant— (4) the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.’ I said, ‘Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. (5) Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’—the land you possess today.”

I answered, “Amen, Lord.”

(6) The Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. (7) From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.” (8) But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.’ ”

(9) Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. (10) They have returned to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. (11) Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. (12) The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes. (13) You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’

(14) “Do not pray for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress.

(15) “What is my beloved doing in my temple
as she, with many others, works out her evil schemes?
Can consecrated meat avert your punishment?
When you engage in your wickedness,
then you rejoice.”

(16) The Lord called you a thriving olive tree
with fruit beautiful in form.
But with the roar of a mighty storm
he will set it on fire,
and its branches will be broken.

(17) The Lord Almighty, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you, because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and aroused my anger by burning incense to Baal.

(18) Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. (19) I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me, saying,

“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
that his name may be remembered no more.”
(20) But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously
and test the heart and mind,
let me see your vengeance on them,
for to you I have committed my cause.

(21) Therefore this is what the Lord says about the people of Anathoth who are threatening to kill you, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord or you will die by our hands”— (22) therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. (23) Not even a remnant will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”

[COMMENTARY - 22:35]  
Well, Beloved, I've got a few words on Jeremiah chapter 9. We read today a lot of God telling Jeremiah of the judgment he was going to bring on Israel because of their rebellion, didn't we? God listed so many reasons he was angry with them. He said, "I told your ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt, that all they needed to do was follow my commands, and I will be your God and you will live in a land flowing with milk and honey. But if you do not follow me, I will cast you out of the land and you will lose everything." And most of the chapters elaborated on this basic theme, right?

But did you notice what God said in the 9th chapter? Starting at verse 23. "'(23) The Lord says, “Do not let wise people brag about how wise they are. Do not let strong people boast about how strong they are. Do not let rich people brag about how rich they are. (24) But here is what the one who brags should boast about. They should brag that they have the understanding to know me. I want them to know that I am the Lord. No matter what I do on earth, I am always kind, fair and right. And I take delight in this,' announces the Lord.”

So this is what delights the Lord, not judgment. He does not bring wrath and judgment because he delights in it. He does it because he must. He is a God of righteousness and holiness. If he let rebellion and cruelty and the rest go unpunished, he would be no better than the worst human that ever existed. He would not be God.

But our God does delight in those who seek him, who follow him, who desire to know him. I'm so glad that he's not a God who hides who he is. He has shown through all of human history that he wants to be known. And he even sent his only begotten Son to show us who he is and how much he wants us to spend eternity with Him.

[LIFESPRING FAMILY HOTLINE - 24:31]
This is a God whom I find very easy to love. How about you? Let me know. Call the Lifespring Family Hotline at +1-951-732-8511. You can also comment at comment.lifespringmedia.com and you can email me at steve@lifespringmedia.com. I do read every comment and I'd love to share yours on the show.

Tomorrow is Epistle Sunday and we'll read 1 Corinthians 13 and 14. 1 Corinthians 13 is known as "the love chapter." Be here tomorrow to find out why.

[SUPPORT THE SHOW - 25:07]  
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[SUPPORT THE SHOW (CONT'D) - 25:44]
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[OUTRO S13E097 - 25:54]
Thanks to Kirsty, Denise, Michael Haner, and Scott Snider, the Lifespring Family Audio Bible team. God bless you, guys.

Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Thanks for inviting me into your day. What do you say we do it again tomorrow? My name is Steve Webb. Bye.

[LIFESPRING MEDIA PROMO WITH JAMES COOPER - 26:14]
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Transcribed by https://otter.ai