Old Testament - Jeremiah 1-3 - October 9, 2022

 10/9/2022 - Jeremiah 1-3

Jeremiah 1:

Jeremiah’s calling (a privilege or a burden?) was to prophesy, and then to live through, the fall of Judah to Babylon. V’s 4-5 tells us that Jeremiah was foreordained to this task: “Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

When Jeremiah heard this, he immediately responded to the Lord, that there was no way he could do this since “I cannot speak: for I am a child.”  (v 6) Jeremiah soon found that the Lord will enable us to do all He commands, for the Lord recognizes our limitations, but He doesn’t accept our using our limitations as an excuse not to do as He has commanded us. This is what the Lord told Jeremiah: “Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith he Lord. Then the Lord put for this hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto him, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” (v’s7-10) The Lord then goes on telling Jeremiah just how the Lord will direct and teach him. He follows this with “Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.” (v 17) The Lord is telling both Jeremiah, AND US: if we go forward in faith, we will have the Lord’s support. If our faith falters, he cannot help us as easily.

Jeremiah 2:

The people of Babylon worshiped planets. The had taken Heathen idols and placed them in the temple. They sacrificed children. They were immoral and unrighteous.

The Jews were not doing much better. The Lord said to Israel: “…I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.” (v 1) The Lord is very much aware of us and remembers the faithful things we do…and don’t do. 

In v 7, the Lord reminds them that He brought them into a plentiful country where they could live in peace and follow His commandments, but this is when His people began to listen to the prophecies of Baal, and fall away from the Lord. 

But in v 9 the Lord tells them “Wherefore I will yet plead with you…and with your children’s children.” He continues “telling them that they have committed two evils: they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters…” (v 13) He tells them that “Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backsliders shall reprove thee…” (v19) 2 Nephi1:7 tells us there is a “law irrevocably decreed…peace follows righteousness; problems follow sin.”

V's 30-31 “O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? A land of darkness? Wherefore say my people, we are Lords; we will come to no more unto thee” Then in v 37, the Lord tells them that He has rejected them, and He shalt not prosper them.” Judah has been denounced by the Lord!

Jeremiah 3: The Lord continues to try to get Judah’s attention. He tells them that they have “played the harlot” in that they have broken the vows that they had made with the Lord. In v 7 He tells them “And I said after she had done all these things, turn thou unto me, but she returned not…” 

Then in v 12, the Lord tells Jeremiah “Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord: and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever.” The Lord wants them to “only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord…” (v 13)

And then the Lord tells them the things that will happen if they return unto Him. This becomes not just a promise to Judah of that time, but also a latter-day prophecy and promise to us: v 14 is about missionary work and gathering Zion. V 15: knowledge and understanding to be taught by faithful church leaders who “shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” V 16 the fulness of the old covenant and the establishment of new covenant. V 17 the restoration of Jerusalem to righteousness. V’s 18-19 the gathering of Israel, including the return of the lost tribes, from the north and the reuniting of the children of Judah in the lands of their inheritance.”

We need to take a good look at chapter 4 when He tells us to be receptive and compassionate and sensitive to all around us; and to use our efforts and creativity for the good of all men.