耶利米书

Meditative Reflection
Break up Unplowed Ground

“Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns.” (Jer. 4:3)

Since I was a young Christian, I have heard the message on “Breaking up unplowed ground” many times, especially at revival meetings. So, as I read Jeremiah 4, it brought back many wonderful memories of those days of hunger and thirst for the Word of God together with a bunch of young brothers and sisters in Christ. Every Summer Conference was such a time of revival, though I have to admit, our zeal was short-lived. However, cumulatively, those messages that we heard contributed greatly to our growth and unwavering determination to put God first in our lives, which have withstood the tests of academic challenges, career and family, even to these days.

I vividly recall the message on “Breaking up unplowed ground” which challenged me in these ways:

- Be courageous to look at my life, to see if I was so satisfied with the “status quo” of my life that I am not willing to deal with my sins seriously.

- Examine my life’s direction to see the futility of my pursuit which really has not brought satisfaction and real spiritual growth — like sowing among thorns.

- Be willing to be plowed by the gracious plough of God to break my hard-heartedness, to inflict hurts in my life that are necessary for repentance, and to receive the Word of God with a softened soil, more ready to produce the fruit of the Spirit.

Meditative Reflection
Jerusalem and Her Punishments

“Your own conduct and actions have brought this on you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!” (Jer. 4:18)

It is true that the nation from the north, prophesied by Jeremiah as the tool for punishment by God, refers to the Babylonians who came and destroyed the city in 586 B.C.

However, as the people of God has not learned their lesson, the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem perpetuated itself into the time of Jesus, as the Lord wept for her with these words,

“The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (Lk. 19:43-44).

Again it came to pass in A.D. 70 in the hands of the Roman.

As we know, by the grace of God, the nation of Israel has been restored in 1948 exactly as prophesied by the prophets (Jer. 32:37; Ezek. 37:1-14). However, they have yet to acknowledge and believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah God. I am afraid Jerusalem has to suffer another punishment as prophesied by the Lord before His return (Lk 21:20ff).

If we read the prophecy of Jeremiah in 4:18-31, one could already feel the horror of this impending judgment in the hands of the Babylonians which caused the prophet to writhe in anguish and pain even in his vision (4:19). The Jewish historian, Josephus, described in even more horrific language the destruction of Jerusalem in the hands of the Romans (The Wars of the Jews or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem). However, the future one predicted by our Lord will be of such horror that, “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive” (Matt. 24:22).

Meditative Reflection
Christians in the Marketplace

 “Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives'. Still they are swearing falsely.” (Jer. 5:2)

It is quite alarming to read that the charges against the people of Judah by the Lord include total dishonesty in the marketplace:

“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city.” (5:1)

It is alarming because during the reign of Josiah, virtually all the people of Judah had returned to the worship of Yahweh. To say that the marketplace (which is what 5:1 refers to) was dominated by worshippers of Yahweh would be not an exaggeration, and I would therefore assume they would be trust-worthy traders and merchants. Such was not the case. They were so corrupted that the Lord basically charged that not one of them dealt honestly. In other words, the marketplace was marked by cheating.

What about those who believed in Yahweh? Should they not be different? Worse yet, not only did they deal dishonestly as the rest of the merchants, they did so in the name of the Lord!

We should not be so quick to condemn them. In my 20+ years in the business world before I was called into full-time ministry, I have seen Christians act like this all the time. Even after I became a pastor, I was approached by a businessman in the congregation who appeared to seek every opportunity to share the gospel at work and in the restaurants. Yet, his dishonesty resulted in his disqualification by the professional body he once belonged to. He was so impressed with my administrative skill that he once tried to talk me out of full-time gospel ministry to help him as the CEO of his new venture by saying, “You can help me make tons of money to give to the Lord!”

It is obvious that money, not Jesus Christ was his God!

Meditative Reflection
“What will you do at the end?”

“Should you not fear me…Should you not tremble in my presence?” (Jer. 5:22a)

Through Jeremiah, the Lord does not only rebuke the people of their sins and pronounce the coming judgment in the hands of the Babylonians from the north, He seeks to engage them in a debate so that these foolish people may gain wisdom and turn from their senselessness (5:21) through a series of rhetorical questions. The first set of questions He asks is, “Should you not fear me…Should you not tremble in my presence?” (5:22a).

To back up the obvious answer which is “yes, we should”, the Lord gives the example of the sea saying, “I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it.” (5:22b). This is such a fitting example of God’s omnipotence in these ways:

- A stormy sea and its pounding waves are not to be taken lightly. Many seafaring vessels, no matter how sophisticated, have been victims of its mighty power, not to mention that the ocean floor still remains a mystery to modern-day scientists.

- It is also a fitting imagery of the unstoppable army of Babylon that was on the rise and would take over the mighty Assyrians at the time of Josiah.

However, just as the Lord of Creation is able to put a limit to the surging sea, so can He put a stop to the surging Babylonians, if only the people of Judah would repent. Unfortunately, these are “foolish and senseless people” with “stubborn and rebellious hearts”. As a result, the Lord continues with another set of rhetorical questions, asking, “Should I not punish them for this…Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?” (5:29), ending with His last question: “But what will you do in the end?” (5:31). The obvious answer to the last question is, “Nothing! It is too late!”

This is such a sad picture too of the world today, as they also witness the omnipotent power of the Lord through His creation (Rom. 1:19-20), and yet refuse to acknowledge Him also because of their foolishness (Rom. 1:21-23). As we continue to warn the world of the impending judgment of God, just as Jeremiah continued to warn his generation for 40 years, we are ridiculed as religious fanatics. But just the same, what was prophesied by Jeremiah (which was meant for his time) came to pass in his generation, his prophecies for our time will come to pass as well, “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21).

The question remains, “But what will they do in the end?” and the tragic answer also remains, “Nothing! It is too late!”

Meditative Reflection
The Offensive Gospel

“(P)rophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace', they say, when there is no peace.” (Jer. 6:13b-14)

I have had the privilege of visiting some of the more remote towns and cities in North America, South America and Europe over the years as part of my short term mission experience. Most of the time, I was there to lend support to the local missionaries or pastors. More than once, as I accompanied the local pastor to evangelistic visitations, I ended up being the one sharing the gospel with the non-believer who seemed to be hearing the gospel for the first time although he or she had been visited by the local pastor many times. As I gently enquired about the reason, some of the local pastors were honest enough to admit that they were afraid to offend them with the gospel, and said “it is better for an outsider to tell them the gospel”.

I share their sentiment as a pastor. However, over the years, I have learned that the gospel is necessarily offensive to the unrepentant, but Ezekiel who had the same reluctance was told in no uncertain terms by the Lord that,

“When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.” (Ezek. 3:18-19)

I was once approached by a man and woman who were cohabitating, and wanted to get married. I was obviously glad to help them, except that I did not want to “dress their wound” as though it was not serious, because cohabitation is adultery. Therefore I asked them to live separately from then till after their wedding, since they also had the desire to become Christians. They reacted angrily, charging that I was being judgmental and they stopped attending our church.

Although I regret their departure from church service, I cannot say “ 'Peace, peace' ... when there is no peace" (Jer. 6:14), because the peace of forgiveness only comes with recognition of our sin and repentance therefrom.

Meditative Reflection
Trendy Religion

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it'.” (Jer. 6:16)

A Jewish actress once remarked, “It’s never going to be trendy to be observant or religious in Hollywood circles”. Her remark not only reflects the mindset of Hollywood, but of the world in general, including the Jewish world in which Jeremiah served.

While the reform by Josiah was really radical and complete, it remained a top-down movement that the people and leaders had no choice but to follow, not to mention the obvious political benefits they could derive by siding with the king. As a result, as complete as the restoration of Yahweh worship was, it remained an external form of piety. Deep in their hearts, they despised the “ancient path”, and wished for something more trendy, i.e. more in tune with and more acceptable by the culture of the world. This is the reason why, once Josiah had passed away, the people and their leaders returned to all forms of idol worship, because it was trendy!

Sadly, even Evangelical Christians have bought into this “trendy” mindset. Not that we have abandoned the “ancient path” openly, but we seek to package this “ancient path” with a trendy appearance. The problem is that one of the main untrendy elements of the “ancient path” is the exclusive claim by Jesus Christ as the only ”Way, Truth and Life” and that salvation through Him can only come with faith in Him and repentance. That is not only too exclusive, but too intolerant to the trendy mindset of the world. As a result, in the last few decades, some Evangelical Christians have packaged the gospel with a cover of “inclusiveness”, beginning with a seemingly biblical pretext, but extending now to accept homosexual behaviors as normal, harmless and biblically acceptable, contrary to the clear teachings of the Bible (Rom. 1:26-27; Lev. 18:22).

The problem lies not in the desire for inclusiveness, but in trying to make the gospel trendy and more acceptable to the world. Underneath such a desire is the notion that the gospel is too ancient, forgetting God’s truth never changes with time.

Meditative Reflection
The Temple of the Lord

“Do not trust in deceptive words and say, ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!’.” (Jer. 7:4)

At the time of Jeremiah, the people were still able to worship in the temple built by Solomon. Although it fell into disrepair through successive wicked kings like Manasseh and Amon, and some of its gold were peeled off as tribute to foreign kings (e.g. 2 Ki. 18:16), Josiah had done quite a decent job in repairing it. More importantly, Josiah had fully instituted the proper worship of Yahweh at the temple, following strictly the Law of Moses; he reinstated musicians and choirs for a vibrant worship, and fully-staffed the temple with priests and Levites (2 Chr. 29). One can compare the temple worship at the time with that of the best  mega church today —  a place where everyone enjoys going to worship at.

But soon after the death of Josiah, the apostasy which had already begun in his time was now openly practiced. The list of sins which the Lord accused them of is quite alarming (7:5-9) and it included things that went beyond unjust dealings and a lack of compassion, to open idolatry and blatant breaches of the Ten Commandments (stealing, murder, adultery and swearing by false gods). And yet, they felt no shame and no guilt, all because their temple was still there, unlike the altars of Israel in Dan and Bethel which were no more after the fall of Israel—their temple was a sure symbol of God’s presence, God’s delight in them, and God’s protection, so they thought!

They thought that as long as they did not stop going to the temple to worship, all would be well. What a great deception!

Isn’t it still a great deception for many Christians, who think that as long as they keep going to worship every Sunday and giving their tithe, all should be well irrespective of whether or not they keep living in sin or in a sinful lifestyle? The false security is further fostered by a lack of discipline by the Lord, although deep in their hearts, they do lack a sense of peace. To speak the truth, if God chooses to inflict chastisement on us at this point, it is His mercy; if He does not, it is a curse. The latter is true of the people of Judah: The apparent delay of the prophesied judgment only emboldened them to ignore all the warnings until it was too late! The nation together with its temple was eventually destroyed 24 years after the death of Josiah in 586 B.C.