28:10-11 - I guess that Jeremiah has been going around wearing the yoke he built as instructed by God for a while. Jeremiah really likes to drive home the point of his messages from God. In my mind he sleeps in the yoke...walks hunched over all the time because of the yoke weighing him down...he really sells the illustration. It probably makes the Jewish people around him pretty uncomfortable..."Here comes the crazy guy with the yoke that says we're all gonna be enslaved for 70 years! Let's get out of here." So finally Hananiah decides to do something about it...he doesn't like the message that Jeremiah is bringing, so he breaks the yoke off Jeremiah's back and tells everybody that God said there isn't going to be an exile. How often do people lie to themselves in order to hide an uncomfortable truth they don't want to have to face?
28:13-14 - Jeremiah tells Hananiah that the wooden bars of the yoke have now become iron bars...his lies and false prophecy have actually made the situation even worse and they highlight the corruption that was so prevalent in the leadership of Israel at this time. This reminds me of the webs of lies that people often entrap themselves in...they keep lying to avoid consequences, and the more they lie...the worse the situation gets. Face the truth, no matter how difficult, and start to work towards making things better rather than avoiding reality.
28:15 and 17 - This is a great example of why you don't want to ever get involved with lying or misleading the children of God. And though it would be easy to say this passage only applies to church leaders...I think it also drives home the importance of being a godly parent. When you have been give the responsibility of leading - it is a serious task that should be approached with much humility and prayer.
29:7 - God instructs the exiles to accept the situation that has descended on them and to move froward...to go on living their lives. Jeremiah tells them, "Pray for Babylon. Be good citizens. Live God honoring lives in the midst of the pagans." Of all the passages from Jeremiah that apply to the life of a Christian living in America...this one really carries some weight. Instead of trying to cloister together in holy huddles...instead of trying to force a human government to be "Christian" (which it never will - either party) - choose to live your lives as holy exiles. We are exiles from the kingdom of heaven that we will go to one day...pray for your country (and others)...be good citizens...set the example for what it looks like to be the people of God in a broken society.
29:11 - I love this verse...the plans of the Lord are always focused on bringing wholeness to our lives - you can rely on that promise from God. Is life gonna be easy? Not hardly. Is everything gonna go our way? Nope. But the Lord of All has plans that are focused on bringing wholeness to our being. We are disjointed and empty when we reject Him...and He will do whatever it takes to change that (Even if we don't like "what it takes.")
29:23 - The leaders of the Israelites are the most corrupt people of all...they pose as God-fearing, holy leaders, and then they live corrupt live and lie to cover up their actions. But there is a witness that is testifying against them...and this is the most reliable witness of all - God. God needs know proof outside of what He can see for Himself to bring His judgment...remember that the next time you are feeling really judgemental. As Christians we should spend our time focused on living righteous lives to honor our Holy God, as opposed to throwing self-righteous judgement at others.
30:22 - This verse echos back to the original covenant God made with Abraham. God said, "I will make you a great nation and all peoples will be blessed through you." The Israelites are the people of that promise - they are the nation. Though they broke the covenant with God over and over...and though God was forced to allow them to experience the consequences of their actions...He always remains faithful to His promises. He says, "You will be my people, and I will be your God."
30:23-24 - The picture that comes to mind for me is a powerful electrical storm, crackling on the horizon. The lighting bolts split the sky and cause a forest fire to rage through a wooded area. The woods are charred and destroyed by the blaze...destruction is everywhere...yet from the ashes of the blaze grow a new and more vibrant forest...a forest that feeds on the nutrients left behind by the forest fire. After new life begins, you understand we the raging fire needed to come in the first place. The judgement of God is like that...it is fearsome to behold, but once it passes you see that it was necessary to bring change and new life.
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