Jeremiah 23-25

August 19

Jeremiah 23-25

How do we know if we are hearing the word of God or the words of men? None of us enjoy words of rebuke or words of correction so it is easy to side with those who speak words that are easy to hear. But God does not always speak words that are easy to hear. We have an advantage over the people of Israel in that we have the bible and we have the Holy Spirit living in us. The Holy Spirit will affirm and teach us the word of God and the bible gives us an anchor to help us stay grounded to the truth.

The people of Israel were rebelling against God. They were worshiping idols and doing whatever their hearts desired. God was fed up with their empty words and promises and spoke through Jeremiah telling them to repent or face discipline. False teachers came along and told the people that since they were God’s people they did not have to worry, God would not bring disaster upon them, after all He had given them the land they were occupying. He surely would not take it from them and He would never use pagans like the Babylonians to bring them down. The people like what the false prophets said instead of the words of warning Jeremiah spoke.

Paul wrote to Timothy; "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2 Timothy 4:3-4, NIV) This was the case in Jeremiah’s time and it is the case in our day. People do not want to hear about the consequences for their rebellion against God. People do not want to hear about the consequences for sin. They want to hear that God loves them, and He does, and that He wants to bless them, and He does, but He also promises to bring judgment upon us.

God wants to extend His grace and to change our lives. He does not want us to continue to live in our sin. "I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart." (Jeremiah 24:7, NIV) After Jesus’ death and resurrection, God sent the Holy Spirit who will change our hearts and come and live in us to give us new lives, lives focused on following God with all our hearts. God wants what is best for us. He is just waiting for us to turn to Him, to trust Him and to follow Him.