Call to Commitment

 I am not satisfied that the NKJV, which I normally use in my studies, closely portrays the analogy, used by the Lord in this chapter. I will turn to the American Standard Version, just this time.

Chapter 13

  1.      Thus saith Jehovah unto me, Go, and buy thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins and  put it not in water.   

 2.      So I bought a girdle according to the word of Jehovah, and put it upon my loins. 

 3.      And the word of Jehovah came unto me the second time, saying, 

 4.      Take the girdle that thou hast bought, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock. 

 5.      So I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as Jehovah commanded me. 

 6.      And it came to pass after many days, that Jehovah said unto me, Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there. 

 7.      Then I went to the Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it; and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing. 

 8.      Then the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 

 9.      Thus saith Jehovah, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. 

 10.  This evil people, that refuse to hear my words, that walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and are gone after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is profitable for nothing. 

 11.  For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith Jehovah; that they may be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear. 

 The parable of the girdle

 Paul wrote to Timothy: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 T.3:16). By this we know that the Bible, Old Testament and New, has the anointing of God upon it, but Peter shows that man did not leave his human imprint on the word at all. He attributes the authorship entirely to the Holy Spirit. “For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 P.1:21).  Men, then, were simply secretaries, who received dictation from Him.

 Having settled that absolute truth in our hearts, we can move on to the manner, in which the Holy Spirit expresses Himself. There is no literature among the human race that is more intriguing than the divine word. God’s stories are written with the lives of people, played out in real situations. The film industry has sometimes borrowed from it to present their productions. World empires and significant geographical locations play a part in the plots. Poetry and song are often included in the Scripture. There is oneness of purpose and principle throughout the Bible and conformity to them and the consequences of opposition to them could not be weightier. They continue throughout life and into eternity.

  

Capital 12

 1. Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead with You; Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? 

 2.  You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; they grow, yes, they bear fruit. You are near in their mouth but far from their mind. 

The unquestionable righteousness of God

 Righteous are you, O Lord. The heart of Jeremiah, just as Paul’s, had settled the issue of the righteousness of God and does not bring it into question. Even in the difficult circumstances of Romans 9, where Paul discerned a human potential for doubting God’s righteousness, he immediately squelched the matter: “(The children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil…) it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated… Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!” (Ro.9:11,13,14). “O man, who are you to reply against God?” (Ro.9:20). God is perfectly righteous and we are not. Let’s get that settled, so that we do not bring it into this question. Paul attempts no explanation in bringing the fact of Jacob and Esau’s case into light. He declares truth. That is the premise of the Bible; it is not an explanation, but a declaration. It does not cater to the mind, but to the heart of man. It does not promote intellectualism, but faith… confidence in the Lord and in His word.

 I find rest in the statement quoted above: Righteous are you, O Lord. Since my understanding is limited… actually very small… I will leave matters in the hands of the One, Who is perfectly righteous, takes every consideration into account and views everything from the standpoint of eternity. I will then simply say, “If God had already decided the fate of Jacob and Esau before birth, then it was perfectly righteous, without a flaw in judgment.” I can trust Him and His righteousness. I have little tolerance for human arrogance, my own and anyone else’s, which rises up, thinking that it understands righteousness better than God does. That is an awful demonstration of hubris!

 

Jeremiah 11

1. The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 

 2. "Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 

 3. and say to them, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant 

 4. which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, 'Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,' 

 5. that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them 'a land flowing with milk and honey,' as it is this day." ' " And I answered and said, "So be it, LORD." 

 6. Then the LORD said to me, "Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: 'Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 

 7.  For I earnestly exhorted your fathers in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, until this day, rising early and exhorting, saying, "Obey My voice." 

  Mankind’s responsibility

 We observed from the introduction of this book, that Jeremiah was concerned with the message that the Lord gave to him, rather than the chronology. That would cause us to think that his message was applicable to his people at all times. I think that we have tried to see how it applies to us many centuries later under the New Covenant.

 It seems that the Lord gave this portion to Jeremiah early in his ministry, when he was very young. Jeremiah was still among the citizens of Anathoth, his native town, where already he was drawing opposition from them. Anathoth is in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin and God is sending him to Judah and, particularly, to the streets of Jerusalem (6). Also, in agreement to his calling and message, Jeremiah says, “Amen”.

 The message has to do with the Covenant, which God established with His people at Mount Sinai. They agreed then to obey His Covenant with them (Ex.24:3). Recently the Book of the Law was rediscovered at the repair of the temple and had been made public by the good king, Josiah. King Josiah showed deep remorse and attempted to guide his people in repentance. To the best of his ability, he destroyed idolatry, even in the high places, and restored the temple and the Passover, but apparently the people did not follow with their whole heart.