I am currently reading the books of Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) and Eikhah (Lamentations). Yirmeyahu means “whom Yah has appointed” and did he ever get appointed to deliver Adonai’s message to the people. A few facts about Jeremiah; he came from a priestly family from the tribe of Levi and the territory of Benjamin. His ministry lasted over forty years and he continued to receive the word of the Lord after the exile, although he no longer acted as a prophet to Judah. When Jerusalem fell, he continued to minister to the people and accompanied them into their exile in Egypt where he died. His secretary and possible closest friend was a man named Barukh whose name means “blessed”. He began his ministry during the reign of Yoshiyahu (Josiah) and continued through the reigns of Y’ho’achaz (Jehoahaz), Y’hoyakim (Jehoiakim), Y’hoyakhin (Jehoiachin), and Tzidkiyahu (Zedekiah). The majority of his ministry took place just prior to the Babylonian invasion in 586 B.C.E.
Jeremiah was chosen before his birth for the purposes of Adonai and was even told so. “Before I formed you I the womb, I knew you; before you were born, I separated you for myself. I have appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 Upon hearing this, he exclaimed “I don’t even know how to speak! I’m just a child”. (v6) It is amazing how when someone is called by Adonai, they provide a reason as to why they cannot fulfill that call. Moses said he was slow of speech, and Gideon said, “who am I to save Isra’el? Why, my family is the poorest in M’nasheh, and I’m the youngest person in my father’s house.” Judges 6:15 Just as Adonai had a response for them, He had one for Jeremiah as well. “Don’t say, ‘I’m just a child.’ For you will go to whomever I send you, and you will speak whatever I order you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you, says Adonai, to rescue you.” Then Adonai put out his hand and touched my mouth, and Adonai said to me, “There! I have put my words in your mouth. Today I have placed you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to demolish, to build and to plant.” Jeremiah 1:7-10 Well, that isn’t intimidating much, is it?
As the prophecies unfold, we immediately see that Adonai is not happy with His people, He’s pronouncing judgement upon them. What is underlying that we may not see is that these are the words of a heartbroken God that is crying out to His people, begging them to return to Him. Adonai was so serious about His messages that Jeremiah was to give to the people that He gave Jeremiah himself a warning. “But you, dress for action stand up and tell them everything I order you to say. When you confront them, don’t break down; or I will break you down in front of them! For today, you see, I have made you into a fortified city, a pillar of iron, a wall of bronze against the whole land – against the kins of Y’hudah, against its princes, against it cohanim and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you, “says Adonai, “to rescue you.” Jeremiah 1:17-19 The calling of God is not always comfortable or enjoyable as Jeremiah would find out, and he did not spend his life in luxury or worldly success. He was warned ahead of time that his nation would fight against him, yet his love for Adonai and his people kept him sounding the alarm. Jeremiah’s prayer life had to have been so laser focused. He kept his people lifted up before Adonai, crying out for them, and it came to a point that more than once, Adonai told Jeremiah not to pray, cry for, or intercede on behalf of the people because He would not hear him. (7:16, 11:14, 14:11-12)
One of the things that Jeremiah is most known for saying comes from 20:9; “But if I say, ‘I won’t think about him, I won’t speak in his name anymore,’ then it seems as though a fire is burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I wear myself out trying to hold it in, but I just can’t do it.” I have heard many sermons preached on this verse, and even used it in the last post I wrote for the Prayer Collection. (The Levitical Choir of Nehemiah 12) As I was reading earlier in the book, I noticed something that made me think that there had to be more to the above verse. In chapter 5 verse 14, Adonai spoke something to Jeremiah that ties to that consuming fire within his bones. “Because you people speak this way, I will make my words fire in your mouth, [Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah)] and this people wood; so that it will devour them. Adonai set Jeremiah on fire for Him from the inside out. Deuteronomy 4:24 Moses told the people, For Adonai your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Jeremiah was consumed by Adonai, so much so that he could not, no matter the circumstances, his feelings, the people around him, hold in speaking the name of his Creator and the words given him to speak.
Chapter 7 begins with Adonai telling Jeremiah to “stand at the gate of the house of Adonai and proclaim this word”. It begins a series of messages that are sometimes called the “Temple Sermon” as it was delivered before one of the gates of the Temple. He urged the people to turn from their wicked ways, condemned idolatry, declared the impending judgement that would surely come because of their refusal to repent. One verse in particular of chapter 7 jumped out at me. Verse 11 reads, “Do you regard this house, which bears my name, as a cave for bandits? I can see for myself what’s going on.” Says Adonai. Yeshua Himself quoted Jeremiah while in Jerusalem. [15] On reaching Yerushalayim, he entered the Temple courts and began driving out those who were carrying on business there, both the merchants and their customers. He also knocked over the desks of the moneychangers, upset the benches of the pigeon-dealers, [16] and refused to let anyone carry merchandise through the Temple courts. [17] Then, as he taught them, he said, “Isn’t’ it written in the Tanakh, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.’ But you have made it into a den of robbers!” Mark 11:15-17 This gets a little personal, and a lot painful for me as it has a lot more to do than with just the physical building of the Temple. This makes me examine my own heart, my own life, and ask, “Adonai, how have I made this temple a den of robbers? What am I allowing to happen in the temple courts of my own heart? Your Word says that I am the temple of the Rauch HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) and that I was bought at a price. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) What tables do I need to knock over? What do I need to drive out?” I am supposed to be a house of prayer, and sometimes, a lot of times, I fail miserably at that call.
In chapter 13, we see that Jeremiah took a different approach with his messages to the people due to their negative response and began using illustrations and parables. The first dealt with a linen loincloth. [1] Adonai said to me, “go, buy yourself a linen loincloth, and wrap it around your body; but don’t soften it in water.” The last phrase in verse one made me pause and ask, “Why was he not to soften it in water? What are the properties of linen?” I looked up some information about linen on the website www.heddels.com and found out some interesting facts.
· Linen comes from the innermost part of the flax plant.
· Linen is the world’s strongest natural fiber.
· Linen is stiff and scratchy at first but softens with wear and washing.
· Linen takes a long time to soften up.
Upon reading these facts, it helped to put Jeremiah’s lesson into a little more context. Jeremiah buys and wears the loincloth and after some time, Adonai speaks to him and tells him, [4] “Take the loincloth you bought and are wearing, get up, go to Parah, and hid it there in a hole in the rock.” After spending time wearing this stiff, scratchy cloth, he went and hid it just as Adonai told him. Numerous times, Adonai called His people “stiff necked”, which was what came to mind when I read about linen. [6] A long time afterwards, Adonai said to me, “Get up, go to Parah, and recover the loincloth I ordered you to hide there.” [7] So I went to Parah and dug up the loincloth; but when I took it from the place where I had hidden it, I saw that it was ruined and useless for anything. [8] Then the word of Adonai came to me: [9] “Here is what Adonai says: ‘This is how I will ruin what makes Y’hudah so proud and Yerushalayim so very proud: [10] I will ruin this evil people, who refuse to hear my words and live according to their own stubborn inclinations, who go after other gods to serve and worship them. They will be like this loincloth, which is useless for anything. [11] For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s body, I made the whole house of Isra’el and the whole house of Y’hudah cling to me,’ says Adonai, ‘so that they could be my people, building me a name and becoming for me a source of praise and honor. But they would not listen. Oh, that Adonai softens me up and makes me pliable like linen. Heddels also notes that once linen is worn and washed numerous times, that its wrinkles fade away and that a plant compound found in the flax plant is known to have anti-wrinkling properties on skin. In Paul’s letter to Ephesus, he said in Chapter 5:26-27, “In order to set it apart for God, making it clean through immersion in the mikveh, so to speak, in order to present the Messianic Community to himself as a bride to be proud of, without a spot, wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and without defect.” When we come to Yeshua, we are stiff and scratchy. We are headstrong in our ways, but then, He begins to wash us, and as time passes we begin to soften and eventually, our wrinkles begin to fade and when that great and glorious day comes, we will stand before Him as the bride He can be proud of.
The second object lesson delt with wineskins. [12] So you are to tell them, “This is what Adonai the God of Isra’el says: ‘Every bottle is filled with wine.’” Then when they ask you, “Don’t we already know that every bottle is filled with wine?” [13] You are to answer them, “This is what Adonai says: ‘I am going to fill all the inhabitants of this land – including the kings sitting on the throne of David, the Cohanim, the prophets and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim – with drunkenness. [14] Then I will smash the one against the other, even the fathers and sons together,’ says Adonai ‘I will show neither pity nor compassion, but I will destroy them relentlessly.’”’” One of the first things that stands out in these verses is that in verse 13, He uses the word kings, plural. This demonstrates that this was from the multiple kings that sat on the throne during the Babylonian invasion. It showed that as skins are filled with wine, so would the nation be filled with the judgement of Adonai. Everyone was going to be touched when this “wine” was poured out.
After these illustrations, Jeremiah then expresses his heart and his sorrow that the nation continued to refuse to repent and that the Babylonians would indeed come. Verses 15-27, He pours himself out, imploring the people to return to Adonai [16] Give glory to Adonai your God before the darkness falls, before your feet stumble on the mountains in the twilight, and, while you are seeking light, he turns it into deathlike shadows and makes it completely dark. [17] But if you will not hear this warning, I will weep secretly because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, streaming with tears, because Adonai’s flock is carried away captive. Verse 16 is one to take note of. It brings to mind something that Johnathan Cahn says. “We are one heartbeat away from eternity. How long do we have to turn to God? One heartbeat.” There will be a day that the curtain will fall on our lives. The daylight of our lives will one day dim to shadows and turn completely dark. If we do not hear the warnings now. If we do not turn to Him while we are in the daylight of our lives due to our pride, He is going to weep over us because we will be carried away captive and separated from Him forever. I do not look at Hell so much as a place, but rather eternal separation from my Creator. He loves us with an everlasting love, His mercies are new every morning, and He is standing with open arms waiting for us to turn, and to return to Him.
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