Gary Gleans

Bad news is always hard to give but it is far better in God’s eyes for us to give bad news that is true than to give good news that is false.  The nation of Judah is experiencing extreme hardship in the form of a drought.  The easiest message to give in these conditions is that rain is on the way, but God has told Jeremiah that no such thing is going to happen.  It is always tempting to tell people what they want to hear instead of telling them what the Word of God says.  We must never fall into that temptation.  The warnings of the Gospel are an eternity separated from God in hell.  This is not an easy message to proclaim but a very necessary one for us to remember and proclaim to all. JEREMIAH IS TOLD NOT TO PRAY ABOUT THE DROUGHT: The nation of Judah is experiencing a drought that has the entire nation falling to its knees.  The people and animals are without water, no crops will grow and misery is compounding by the day.  This is only a precursor to the captivity that is on th

We are our own worst enemies.  When we consider the various sources of temptation in our lives: society, Satan and self; it is easy to see that “self” is the hardest for us to run away from.  Jeremiah writes to his fellow countrymen about their plight and the difficulty they will be facing because of their self-inflicted sin.  God created us to worship Him and walk in fellowship with Him.  When we refuse to fulfill this purpose God is faithful to discipline us in an effort to bring us back to Himself.  Judah had been living in rebellion against God for generations and now they are about to discover the results of this kind of living.  As a result of their sinful living the people have become: DIRTY: God tells Jeremiah to go buy a cloth belt and then bury it by the river.  After time passes God tells him to go dig it up.  When he does so he discovers the belt is dirty, decomposed and worthless.  This is meant to be an illustration of what has happened to Judah.  God had chosen them

One of the most difficult questions for us to answer is: “why do the wicked prosper?”  This just does not seem fair to us and will always raise questions in our minds.  In reality, we should wonder why anyone would prosper because none of us deserve anything but judgment from God.  When we don’t understand God’s dealings with men it is best that we simply understand that His ways are higher than our ways and He deals with men according to His sovereign will.  The apparent prosperity of the unjust will not last just as the suffering of the apparently just will not last.  In God’s perfect timing all of these things will be made right. GOD PERMITS THE PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED: Jeremiah does not understand why the wicked and evil men seem to prosper while he suffers hardships.  God’s response may take us by surprise but He simply tells Jeremiah that things will only get worse.  Our sense of fairness has very little in common with God’s sovereign justice.  In our minds, the suffering o

Popularity is an infectious desire.  All of us like to be liked.  Jeremiah was an unpopular prophet with an unpopular message.  His job was not an easy one but it is what God called him to do.  His message was one of condemnation because of the nation’s refusal to obey the Lord.  Because of their rebellion God was about to reject them and lead them into captivity.  The people did not want to hear this message so instead of repenting they decided to try to remove the messenger.  The only comfort in all of this for Jeremiah was the fact that God had promised to protect Him in the face of unpopularity. ISRAEL WAS UNFAITHFUL TO THE PROMISE: When God was about to take the children of Israel into The Promised Land for the very first time, He made a covenant with them.  It was a conditional covenant in that it called for Israel to obey the Law in order to enjoy the blessings of the promise.  It also warned of the consequences of disobedience.  Even though God had been faithful to keep Hi

When we were children, we would argue with one another about whose father was the greatest or most important.  We would say things like “my daddy is the boss of your daddy.”  Jeremiah is making a very compelling argument in this chapter as to why God is greater than the gods of the nations.  He gives very distinct reasons that make it seem very foolish for man to worship any other besides the Lord.  Idolatry is such a common practice in the hearts of men but just because it is common does not mean it makes a lot of sense.  Jeremiah argues with the people about why God is the greatest. GOD IS ALL WISE: The idols of men are cut from a tree and carved with the hands of men.  They are then decorated to make them look something like powerful man.  Once all this carving, cutting and decorating takes place the idol is immobile, mute and ignorant.  God on the other hand is the source of all wisdom and knowledge.  He was never made and has no need of man to move Him from one place to anoth

Tears are the natural byproduct of physical or emotional pain.  Jeremiah cries because of the plight of His people to the point that He is all cried out.  The people cry because of the punishment they experience due to their idolatry.  God cries because His chosen people have rejected Him and refuse to return to Him despite His numerous efforts to call them back to Himself and be reconciled with them.  There are plenty of tears to go around due to both physical and emotional pain.  If only those tears would produce a true turning back to the Lord. JEREMIAH WEEPS OVER THE REBELLION OF HIS PEOPLE: Jeremiah has seen the rebellion and idolatry of His people as well as the consequences this rebellion will bring upon them in the future.  This knowledge has overwhelmed him with tears.  He is discouraged by the hard hearts of his people and would like nothing more than to be able to turn his back on them and be relieved of any responsibility for them.  Their mouths are full of lies.  Thei

Judah had been involved in a long sequence of actions that systematically took them further and further from the Lord.  They would not learn from their mistakes and they would not learn from the Word of God.  The people refused to repent and did not even recognize the extent of their corruption or the danger they were facing.  All of these things were going to change very rapidly.  God was preparing to judge the nation in a very severe way because of all that was lacking in their relationship with God. THE PEOPLE LACKED DECENCY: The people had spent generations ignoring the Word of God and running after idols.  Their immoral acts were grievous and repetitive.  Leaders who were supposed to call the people to repentance were contributing to the problem by keeping silent and in many cases were promoting the idolatry they were supposed to be stopping.  As a result of this blatant lack of decency, God has determined to judge the people and their leaders in the most severe way.  The bon

We are usually very adept at convincing ourselves of our own righteousness.  We can easily rationalize our sins so they do not look like sins to us anymore.  This dangerous practice will lead us down a road of deception and destruction.  Jeremiah is called to show Judah the fallacy of their thinking.  Unfortunately, his message fell on deaf ears.  It is a hard thing to admit that we are wrong, but it is impossible to enter into a right relationship with God apart from the recognition of our own sinfulness.  If we think we can continue in sin and still experience the blessings of God because we go to church; we are only kidding ourselves. JUDAH WAS DELUSIONAL IN THEIR RELIGIOSITY: Jeremiah is called to stand at the gate of the temple and deliver this powerful message.  The instructions were very clear: repent and obey the Lord and you will be able to stay in the land.  God offers multiple opportunities to repent and submit.  He promises to reward us for obedience but even still mul

Warning labels are appearing on everything from cigarettes to plastic bags.  Manufactures fear being sued over harm that their products might directly or inadvertently cause so they warn the consumers of the dangers their products might present.  The Bible is a gigantic warning label that God places on sin.  Just as the numerous warning labels on the products we by go unread and unheeded; God’s warnings about our sin are often ignored.  Jeremiah is warning the city of Jerusalem of the impending invasion God is preparing because of her rebellion against Him.  But these words fall on deaf ears so the people just continue in their sin. JERUSALEM IS WARNED THAT SHE WILL FALL: God warns the people to prepare to flee because he is calling a fierce Babylonian army to come and destroy the city of Jerusalem.  Even the most important and richest inhabitants are domed to destruction.  The warriors God is calling to destroy them are well organized and relentless.  God has determined that the

Dead bodies do not respond to any sort of stimuli.  God sees the nation of Judah as being spiritually dead.  No matter how much He punishes their sin, no matter how many warnings He gives the people simply continue down the same sinful path.  God searches for people who will be responsive to His Word, follow His leading and be sensitive to His spirit.  Unfortunately, He rarely finds these people.  When an entire nation is full of those who do not hear the Lord or fear the Lord; God will bring judgment upon them in hopes of bringing life through judgment. THE PEOPLE WERE UNREPENTANT: Jeremiah goes through the city of Jerusalem to try to find a righteous man.  This is reminiscent of the search through Sodom and Gomorrah in the days of Abraham.  Now, generations later the descendants of Abraham find themselves in a very similar situation.  They use the name of the Lord in vain because they speak of Him but do not listen to Him.  They refuse to turn from their sin.  This unrepentant c

God has determined how He will respond to the actions and attitudes of men.  Too often men believe they can continue to live in a sinful way without any repercussions from the Lord.  This is foolish and wrong thinking.  God may be patient in His responses to our sinfulness, but He will never ignore it.  The only way we can avoid God’s judgment on our sin is through repentance and faith in Christ.  If we will turn to the Lord and follow Him with our lives He will forgive our sin.  Remorse because of the consequences of our sin is often confused with repentance.  God is not moved by our remorse but by our repentance. REPENTANCE RESULTS IN RESTORATION: God loves to forgive sins and the longs to have men restored to fellowship with Him.  The reason God created an in the first place was for the purpose of sharing the joy of His fellowship with others.  Even though Israel and Judah had turned away from that fellowship, God still stand ready to restore them in response to their repentanc

Idolatry is spiritual adultery.  God has a very strong message for the nation of Judah.  She has been like an adulterous wife therefore God is about to send her away as if in a divorce.  Too often, people think of God as only gracious and merciful and fail to consider His holiness, justice and jealousy.  When men refuse to worship God and turn to the worship of idols they can expect to experience the wrath of God.  However, God does love mankind and has made a means through which even the idolatrous man can be fully reconciled to Him.  That way is through repentance of sin and faith in the Lord Jesus. THE PRACTICE OF IDOLATRY BRINGS REJECTION: God’s condemnation of both Israel and Judah is scathing because of their constant and unrepentant idolatry.  He compares them to a prostitute who has committed whoredom over and over again.  This unbridled idolatry has brought the land into ruin and taken the people into slavery but most importantly has caused God to turn His back on them. 

“What have you done for me lately?”  We use this phrase to express a lack of gratitude for the past because of a perceived lack of interest in the present.  Jeremiah looks to remind Judah that they have forgotten the gifts of God from the past and therefore have forsaken God in the present.  When we turn our backs on God it is a very dangerous thing with many undesirable consequences.  Jeremiah seeks to demonstrate to his countrymen that their lack of faithfulness in the past is going to result in their lack of freedom in the future.  THE LOSS OF LOVE: In the beginning of her history, there was a love and devotion from the children of Israel to the Lord.  The first years after entering The Promised Land, was like a honeymoon in the history of the nation.  There was great love for the Lord and devotion to Him.  However, that love has now been lost.  Jeremiah now looks back and laments what has happened in the nation.  Generation after generation has refused to love the Lord.  Their

It is always amazing to evaluate the people God chooses to use to accomplish His purposes on the earth.  We would expect God to be on the lookout for the most talented, movers and shakers on the planet.  God prefers to use the lowly and humble who tend to shrink away from the limelight and have very little confidence in their own abilities.  He does this so all the glory for what is accomplished will belong to Him and not the men He chooses to use.  Jeremiah is an unlikely candidate for the work of the Lord from man’s perspective but was just exactly the man God decided to use to accomplish His work.  Israel was about to go into captivity but God had a message to deliver to Israel and to the nations and chose Jeremiah to be His mouthpiece. GOD EXPRESSES HIS EXPECTATIONS: God makes it very clear to Jeremiah that He had chosen him to be a prophet.  This purpose was determined, not because of Jeremiah’s actions, but before he was formed in his mother’s womb.  God expects for His crea

All things will be made right at the end.  Today’s world is full of injustice, suffering and idolatry.  God did not create the world to function in this way and it will not function in this way for very long.  Sin is a temporary condition in the history of man.  A time is coming when all the unbelievers who have rejected the Lord will be eternally judged and removed from the presence of God and His children.  God will usher in an eternity of life without the presence of any kind of sin or any of the consequences of sin.  We, who have trusted Christ, will finally be “free at last, free at last; thank God all mighty, we’ll be free at last.”  GOD IS HONORED BY THE HUMBLE: Men impress themselves by the offerings they bring and the sacrifices they make, but God is not impressed.  Everything we ever offer or any sacrifice we bring to the Lord has first of all come to us from Him.  He has need of nothing.  He takes delight in us when we come before Him in humility and contrition.  Our re

There is a cause and effect to our lives and our relationship with the Lord.  God does not always respond in an automated reactionary way to our actions like people imagine or expect.  Nor does God sit by without response forever.  One thing about which we can be sure is that there will be consequences for how we respond to what He has revealed to us.  God had revealed Himself to the nation of Israel in an unprecedented manner; yet they refused to obey Him.  This disobedience was about to bring about some very undesirable effects.  However, God still has His people and His plan that He will accomplish in His time. THE REBELLIOUS WILL BE REJECTED: God has called people to Himself throughout the history of the world and especially with the nation of Israel.  He made them a great nation from nothing.  He revealed His will to them through the Law and prophets.  He called them to Himself.  But they would not hear or respond to Him.  Instead they worshiped idols; disobeyed God’s Word an

In times of trouble we can seek the Lord.  In fact, we can seek the Lord at any time so we might be able to avoid trouble.  Israel finds herself in great trouble and distress because of idolatry, immorality and all the resulting consequences.  This has brought about captivity, destruction of the land and most significantly a sense of isolation and abandonment from God.  Our sin separates us from God, hinders our relationship with God and places us under the wrath of God.  The only response available to us in this situation is to cry out to the Lord.  God uses the consequences of sin to motivate us to call out to Him in repentance and desperation. A PRAYER FOR REVELATION: The prayer of God’s people is for Him to reveal Himself to them once again as He has done in the past.  The people have grown desperate in their plight and now recognize that their only hope is through divine intervention.  They long to see God break through the clouds and make the mountains tremble once again at

Our knowledge of the future should always have a direct impact on the present.  When we look at the revelation of God’s plans for this world it should make a very distinct difference in the way we live our lives today.  Holiness, peace and hope should be the constant companions of those who look to the future with the knowledge of and in submission to God’s Word.  However, for those who refuse to follow God’s Word there will be a very different result.  Fear and anxiety will accompany the lives of those who rebel against the Lord.  The future He has promised to those who reject Him is not bright at all. A PROMISE OF RETRIBUTION: The vision is of Jesus returning to the earth with His robes splattered in blood.  When He came the first time, He was covered in His own blood which He shed for the sins of men.  When He comes again, He will be covered in the blood of those who rejected His sacrifice on their behalf and remained rebellious to the will of God.  As He judges nation after na

A new day is coming for the nation of Israel.  God has determined that He will bring a season of refreshment to the nation from both a physical and a spiritual standpoint.  He will bring a new perspective to the nation that will impact their relationship with God as well as their relationship with the nations that surround them.  Israel would be changed from a scorched blight to a shining light for the glory of God. GOD’S PROMISE OF SALVATION: God has determined to save people from their sins.  This is His story of redemption though out all of history.  He has determined to use the nation of Israel as the descendants of Abraham as a means to that end.  This was accomplished through the incarnation of Jesus from the nation of Israel but there is yet a greater fulfillment coming.  The fact that Israel rejected the Messiah when He came into the world has opened a great working of God to bring men from all nations to repentance and faith in Christ.  Israel has suffered greatly due to