Bible In One Year-Day 141 (Wednesday, May 21, 2014)

Commentary: Jer10-12. Chapter10 shows how God mocked the strange gods the Israelites adopted. There is a great difference between the true God and other strange gods. For the true God, Jeremiah 10:16 “The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.” (also Jer10:12-13). He does not need to be decorated, fastened to one spot with nails or be carried about. He does not need hammer or axe to be sharpened but His word is hammer that breaks the rocks. Unlike the strange gods which were carved from nature, the true God created nature but He is not part of nature. He is not bound by the rules guiding nature and the nature must listen to Him and violate any rule to glorify Him just as the axe head floated on the surface of the waters and the wooden stick that was supposed to float disobeyed nature and sank for God to be glorified. If the strange gods were thrown into the waters, they would sink to obey natural law. But Jesus Christ walked on the surface of the waters, made Peter to do same, stilled the waves and calmed the storm for God to be glorified. Jeremiah declares His majesty thus;

Jeremiah 10:6-7 “Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? For to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.”

This God has not changed but remained increasingly amazing and awesome, who can know the conclusion of His acts? NO ONE!!! This kind of God, you cannot sum Him up! The words that come out of His mouth are words of covenant and whoever ignores or disobeys this words automatically places him/herself under a curse;

Jeremiah 11:3 “And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,”

The Israelites rejected God’s words and it became a burden on Jeremiah. His life suffered many threats as He prophesied to the people. They eventually asked him not to prophecy in the name of the Lord. To Jeremiah, it was as if God had betrayed him. Even the entire of his hometown (Anathoth) was against him. He cried to God and the Lord answered him;

Jeremiah 11:21-22 “Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand:Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine:”

What Jeremiah went through made him to question God’s patience with the wicked, Jer12:1-4. Many are faced with unpleasant humiliations from their adversaries and despite much prayer, they think God was unfair to have made those wicked ones to be alive. God’s silence is not God’s forsaking. Jeremiah forgot God’s word in Jeremiah 1:19 “And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.”

It was true he suffered physical attack and embarrassment, but at the same time Jeremiah enjoyed spiritual protection which is the most important. God’s protection will never leave His people for as long as they stay out of iniquity. Sin is absolutely a covenant breaker and an evil usher for problems. You need to desist from every known sin to enjoy God’s divine protection;

Psalms 125:3 “For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.”

The cry of Jeremiah was a cry against abominations and sins. Let us ask for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. May His light shine in our darkness in the name of Jesus. Our reading for today is Jer13-15. Keep the fire burning and alive.