Skip to main content

Bad Stuff Coming

Do you remember that promise? The one I made with you a long time ago? Yeah, that one. I told you that if you did what I told you, good things would happen to you. Unfortunately, however, you didn't do what I told you. So, bad stuff is coming. And soon.

It will be so bad that there will be no way out. Crying will not bring sympathy. Do you want to know why? It's because you, Judah, have more little-g gods than you have towns. Incredible.

So, Jeremiah, don't even pray for these people because I will not answer your prayers. "The Lord Almighty, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and aroused my anger by burning incense to Baal" (Jer 11:17).

You know, when God's people receive a message like this, they should run to God and fall on their faces in repentance. But, often, that is not the case. It wasn't here, and even if they had, they had lost that option. 

In this case, the people weren't repentant; they were furious. They plotted to kill Jeremiah and put an end to his negative messages. They were trying to silence God. That is not a good strategy. The end of this chapter tells why. "Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: "I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. Not even a remnant will be left to them because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment" (22,23). Bad stuff was on its way.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What Are You Worth?

What are you Worth?  Have you ever thought about what you are worth? In investing circles there is a term used to gauge this exact question, it's called Net Worth. You take all of your assets, like property owned, funds in your bank account, clothes, jewelry, car, etc.. You total all of these things. You then take everything you owe, like mortgage, car loan, and credit card debt, and you subtract these items from the first total. This gives you your net worth. That number represents where you are financially. Most people never stop to think about this number because they don't understand anything about it. They never have two nickels to rub together. They live from hand to mouth and know (or at least believe) nothing will ever change so, they fall into the "daily grind" mentality. Psalm 49 should be a great encouragement to such as these. The sons of Korah write about them. These sons write about all of us. They call all people everywhere to listen to their wisdom. Bo...

Tottering!

I was watching my one year old grandson, Brandon, today. He had on some baggy little shorts, weird flip-flops over his socks, and he was tottering. It made me think about how I often feel these days. Funny how that when we are little and "innocent" and tottering in our baggy pants, with our little potbelly sticking out from under our t-shirt we look precious. When we are older and tottering in our low slung trousers and the same potbelly, we looks pathetic! I guess that the two drastically opposite points of view are based on the viewer's chronological perspective. Brandon is growing and I'm dying. He is cute because the little guy has a lot to learn and we love to see him progress. The old guy has already had his chance at learning and what he is progressing toward is not quite so much fun to ponder. When I have these weird thoughts I praise my God because He never lets go of my hand whether a tottering little guy or an old one. And I found this verse to prove my po...

Abs of Steel with Glasses

Have you ever wondered why Clark Kent always took his glasses off before he turned into Superman? I hadn’t ever thought about it either until this last Saturday when I almost got sucker-punched. Wellington, one of my spunky Juniors, wanted to wrestle. He feigned a punch to my gut and I said, “Go ahead. I have abs of steel!” I think that my gym visits might be going to my head because my abs of steel are buried under a healthy layer of blubber. I have improved my six-pack but it is far from chiseled. It looks more like a quarter of a keg. Anyway, quick as a wink and with near lightening speed Wellington said, “Yeah but up here is made of glass!” as his poke went within a hair’s breadth of my glasses! I belly-laughed. His rapid reflexes and wit had caught me by surprise. And what he said was so true and funny. It was an excellent though brief lesson. I often prepare for an oncoming fray. I get ready, set and then “BLAM”! The proverbial punch comes from a totally different direction. ...