Daily Bible Devotionals

“There is hope for your future – this is the Lord’s declaration – and your children will return to their own territory. I have heard Ephraim moaning: ‘You disciplined me and I have been disciplined like an untrained calf. Restore me, and I will return, for You, Lord, are my God. After I returned, I repented; After I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’ Isn’t Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Whenever I speak against him, I certainly still think about him. Therefore, my inner being yearns for him: I will truly have compassion on him. This is the Lord’s declaration.” Jeremiah 31:17-20 (HCSB)

In the days of Joshua, Israel had received her inheritance: The blessing of the Lord, which included the privilege of worshipping Him rightly and living in the land of Canaan. But, beginning with the generation that arose after Joshua’s generation, the young nation of Israel began a long, multi-generational downtrend of moral and spiritual depravity.  

Because of Israel’s idolatry, which had eventually saturated every household, the Lord banished them from His blessing and their land. (Yet, they were never banished from His heart.) After having squandered its inheritance and having found itself bankrupt and enslaved in a foreign nation, eventually, Israel (called “Ephraim” in today’s chapter because “Ephraim” was the name of the Israelite tribal region where idolatry was most highly concentrated) cried out to the Lord for His grace and mercy, repented of their idolatry and were restored to rightness with God. That included their restoration to the land of Canaan. It is precisely the correlation Jesus assigned when He told the parable we know as the “prodigal son.” Keep in mind the “two sons” represent Judah and Israel, and Israel (Ephraim) was the first to embrace idolatry and, hence, the first to be deported.

“He also said: ‘A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.” So, he distributed the assets to them. Not many days later, the younger gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country, where he squandered his estate in foolish living. After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. He longed to eat his fill from the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one would give him any. When he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger! I’ll get up, go to my father, and say to Him, ‘I have sinned against heaven in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired hands.’” So, he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.’”  Luke 15:11-20 (HCSB)

Has your sin led you down a self-destructive dead-end street? Return and repent. The Lord will run to greet you with compassionate, open arms, tears, and kisses. (Matthew 11:28)

“As for My servant, Jacob, do not be afraid – this is the Lord’s declaration – and do not be dismayed, Israel, for I will without fail save you from far away, your descendants from the land of their captivity! Jacob will return and have calm and quiet with no one to frighten him. For I will be with you – this is the Lord’s declaration – to save you! I will bring destruction on all the nations where I have scattered you; however, I will not bring destruction on you. I will discipline you justly, but I will by no means leave you unpunished.” Jeremiah 30:10-11 (HCSB)

In many Orthodox Jewish homes, whenever a family member chooses to follow Jesus as Messiah, the family has a funeral for them. They tear their clothes, weep, and mourn for the required amount of time. They do this because, to the ultra-religious, following Jesus is apostasy. They see a choice to follow Jesus as a choice against God and the Jewish community as a whole, so the community rejects them. This type of funeral communicates more than the death of a person; it signifies that they are dead and will not be seen in paradise. They are gone forever.  It is meant to evoke shame in apostates.

This must have been the way the Israelites in Babylonian exile felt, as if they had rejected following the Lord with their whole hearts by leaving the Jewish community in Jerusalem behind and were suffering the consequences of faithlessness. Many had supplemented proper worship with idolatry, while others completely forsook the Lord. Either way, God is looking for whole-heartedness. Lukewarm faith is not saving faith at all.

“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 (HCSB)

Today’s passage bears a message of hope. God is telling the descendants of Jacob that they are not cursed; their sin is not so great that there is no longer any means of salvation. If they would turn back to Him and obey His Word, God promised to restore His people to the land of Canaan. It was not their righteousness that would trigger this restoration. Instead, Israel’s return would be by God’s Grace, through their faith in His Word.  

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8 (NKJV)

That said, God’s Grace is seldom extended without His Mercy nearby! Grace is getting something you don’t deserve. Mercy is not getting what you do deserve, to the extent that you deserve it! But mercy comes with pain to remind us not to sin that way again. Israel was not getting a free pass. God said His discipline was just, and “Jacob” would no longer avoid stern discipline. Still, compared to what the other nations underwent, Israel was shown God’s mercy. They were not completely destroyed. Let’s thank God for His grace and mercy extended towards us through Messiah Jesus!

“Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were carried away captive - to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. (This happened after Jeconiah the king, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon.’” Jeremiah 29:1-4 (NKJV)

It was a tense moment in the courtroom as the judge pounded his gavel, “GUILTY!” and pronounced a 70-year sentence to the defendant, a felon whose case had such overwhelming evidence against him that a grade school child could have levied the proper judgment. But as the guards led the convict to the prison transport, a courtroom intern came running with a letter of encouragement. A pardon, perhaps? No. It was a statement that the judge’s sentence would never be repealed, not even by a single day. So, where was the encouragement? The judge’s note continued to state that the judge would personally ensure the convict’s safety while he was in prison and that at the end of his 70-year sentence, the prisoner would have paid his full debt to society. Then (and only then), the convict could return home and prosper without fear of further judicial recourse. The judge promised not to hold a grudge once the terms of the sentence had been satisfied. Furthermore, the judge would be willing to assist the convict in his restoration in society and already had a plan to financially support the (ex)convict upon release. Oh, yes, and the ex-con will be eternally thankful to the judge for having judged righteously.

If you can understand that story, you understand the essence of Jeremiah 29:11, the often-prayed yet seldom-understood verse of encouragement.

“For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.” Jeremiah 29:10-14 (NKJV)

You see, Jeremiah 29:11 is not a promise of pardon from a push-over god. It is a promise of justice from the righteous yet merciful Judge. He is the One who would die for us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:7-9), yet He chastens us so we would learn to sin no more! (Hebrews 12:6-11)

“The prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, ‘Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you, but you have led these people to trust in a lie. Therefore, this is what the Lord says: “I am about to send you off the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have spoken rebellion against the Lord.”’ And the Prophet Hananiah died that year in the seventh month.” Jeremiah 28:15-16 (HCSB)

Today’s chapter continues warning us against false prophets, but with the intended message that we should confront and expose false prophets. As a matter of fact, the more we study God’s Word, the more we notice how false messages have even wormed their way into certain Church circles. The distinguishing factor of a false prophet is how far their message strays from God’s Word. The apostle Paul described a community that was adept in distinguishing false prophets from true messengers of God.

“As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Borea. On arrival, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. The people here were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, since they welcomed the message with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Consequently, many of them believed, including a number of the prominent Greek women as well as men.” Acts 17:10-12 (HCSB)

God’s Word, the Bible, exposes the false prophet! Since a true prophet’s message is always consistent with the Bible, consider these statements:

“The messenger who went to call Micaiah instructed him, ‘Look, the words of the prophets are unanimously favorable for the king. So let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.’  But Micaiah said, ‘As the Lord lives, I will say whatever the Lord says to me.’” 1 Kings 22:13-14 (HCSB)

“Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I have had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said about you that you can hear a dream and interpret it.’  ‘I am not able to,’ Joseph answered Pharaoh. ‘It is God who will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.’” Genesis 41:15-16 (HCSB)

Even Jesus (one of the three Persons of the tri-unity of God) knew that His message must be completely consistent (and never contradictory) with God’s plan and purpose. He was, after all, God’s Word, made flesh. (John 1:1-14)

“The one who rejects Me and doesn’t accept My sayings has this as his judge: The Word I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commands as to what I should say and what I should speak. I know that his command is eternal life. So the things that I speak, I speak just as the Father told Me.” John 12:48-50 (HCSB)

“But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your fortune-tellers, or your sorcerers who say to you: ‘Don’t serve the king of Babylon!’ for they prophesy a lie to you, so that you will be removed from your land. I will banish you, and you will perish. But as for the nation that will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave it in its own land, and that nation will till it and reside in it. This is the Lord’s declaration.” Jeremiah 27:9-11 (HCSB)

False prophets are still alive and well in our culture. Sadly, there will be false prophets masquerading among us all the way up to the Messiah’s second coming. By perverting God’s Word and denying its authority, false prophets establish their own “word from God.”  By doing this, they establish themselves as the sole experts of their own “Messianic-themed” false religions.  

“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them and will bring swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their unrestrained ways, and because of them, the way of truth will be blasphemed. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.” 2 Peter 2:1-3 (HCSB)

Since Judah had followed the counsel of false prophets and rejected God’s Word, the Lord allowed Nebuchadnezzar to rule over them. This is so they could know the difference between the “yoke” of the Lord and that of a pagan ruler.  

“By My great strength and outstretched arm, I made the earth, and the people, and animals on the face of the earth. I give it to anyone I please. So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. I have even given him the wild animals to serve him. All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until the time for his own land comes, and then many nations and great kings will enslave him.” Jeremiah 27:5-7 (HCSB)

Knowing this era of Israel’s history brings context to Jesus’ statement:

“At that time Jesus said, “’I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because it was Your good pleasure. All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:25-30 (HCSB)

Serving God’s anointed One leads to peace & deliverance. God chose Nebuchadnezzar to rule for a season, but Jesus is Lord for all eternity, so whose “yoke” would you prefer?

Grab your Bible & experience the Groundworks Ministries Podcast as Steve Wiggins leads us through the full chapter of Jeremiah 26. Click the links below to watch or listen now!

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel said to me: ‘Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and make all the nations I am sending you to drink from it. They will drink, stagger, and go out of their minds because of the sword I am sending among them.’  So, I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations drink from it, everyone the Lord sent me to.” Jeremiah 25:15-17 (HCSB)

God is the Lord of all creation, the Judge of every nation. As Jeremiah was prophesying the imminent destruction of Jerusalem (at the hand of the Babylonians), he also prophesied global judgment on the nations whose idolatry had enticed Israel to forsake the Lord. We see the same “cup of wrath” imagery in the New Testament.

“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He told His disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’  Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is swallowed up in sorrow – to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with Me.’  Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, ‘My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me, yet not as I will, but as You will.’” Matthew 26:36-39 (HCSB)

The “cup” offered to Jesus was mandatory, for sin must be punished justly.

“Then you are to say to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, as a result of the sword I am sending among you. If they refuse to take the cup from you and drink, you are to say to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: You must drink! For I am already bringing disaster on the city that bears My name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth – this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.” Jeremiah 25:27-29 (HCSB)

Even Jesus’ disciples were unable to remain vigilant. All humanity is sinful and in need of merciful salvation. Jesus loved us while we were yet sinners. (Romans 5:8)

“Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He asked Peter, ‘So, couldn’t you stay awake with Me one hour? Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’  Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, Your will be done.’  And then He came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open. After leaving them, He went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. Then He came to the disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the time is near. The Son of man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up; let’s go! See – My betrayer is near.’  While He was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived. A large mob, with swords and clubs, was with him from the chief priests and elders of the people.” Matthew 26:40-47 (HCSB)

Only sinless Jesus could have accepted the cup and fulfilled God’s just requirement.

“After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had deported Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. One basket contained very good figs, like early figs, but the other basket contained very bad figs, so bad they were inedible.” Jeremiah 24:1-2 (HCSB)

In Biblical imagery, the fig is a symbol of Israel’s Spiritual identity. When the Lord showed Jeremiah two baskets of figs, He was telling him there are only two ways to worship Him: very well or very badly. Consider the prophet Micah’s usage of this imagery:

“How sad for me! For I am like one who – when the summer fruit has been gathered after the gleaning of the grape harvest – finds no grape cluster to eat, no early fig, which I crave.” Micah 7:1 (HCSB)

Jeremiah and Micah help us understand the instance where Jesus cursed the fig tree just before He cleared the Temple.  

“The next day when they came out from Bethany, He was hungry. After seeing in the distance, a fig tree covered with leaves, He went to find out if there was anything on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. He said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again!’  And His disciples heard it.” Mark 11:12-14 (HCSB - see also Mark 11:15-27)

“I will gather them and bring them to an end. This is the Lord’s declaration. There will be no grapes on the vine, no figs on the tree, and even the leaf will whither. Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.” Jeremiah 8:13 (HCSB)

“The Word of the Lord came to me: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah I sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I will keep My eyes on them for their good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not demolish them; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them My heart to know Me, that I am the Lord. They will be My people, and I will be their God because they will return to Me with all their heart. But as for the bad figs, so bad they are inedible, this is what the Lord says: In this way I will deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, His officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem – those remaining in this land and those living in the land of Egypt. I will make them an object of horror and disaster to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace, an object of scorn, ridicule and cursing, wherever I have banished them. I will send sword, famine, and plague against them until they have perished from the land that I gave to them and their ancestors.” Jeremiah 24:4-10 (HCSB)

The day after Jesus cursed the fig tree, His disciples found the tree withered. In 70 AD, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, which remains a ruin today. But all who repent and place their faith in Messiah Jesus will be saved.

“This is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are making you worthless. They speak visions from their minds, not from the Lord’s mouth. They keep on saying to those who despise Me. ‘The Lord has said: You will have no peace.’ They have said to everyone who follows the stubbornness of his heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’ For who has stood in the council of the Lord to see and hear His Word? Who has paid attention to His Word and obeyed?” Jeremiah 23:16-18 (HCSB)

When most believers in Jesus think of “prophecy,” our minds generally drift toward “end times” or the prediction of future events, almost like fortune-telling. For most of us, “prophecy” is limited to God’s revelation of His Word by the working of His Spirit when we commit to reading the Bible. But it is not beyond the Lord’s ability to reveal future events to His followers. Consider the apostle Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian believers:  

“Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, and above all that you would prophesy. For the person who speaks in another language is not speaking to men but to God, since no one understands him; however, he speaks mysteries in the Spirit. But the person who prophesies speaks to people for edification, encouragement, and consolation. The person who speaks in another language builds himself up, but he who prophesies builds up the church.” 1 Corinthians 14:1-4 (HCSB)

When we read God’s Word with the intent to know, apply, and share it with others, He reveals His truth to us. In a sense, we can predict the future because, through Scripture, He has shown us the predictable outcomes of those who choose to follow or reject His Word. But that is a far cry from predicting exact events. The purpose of His revelation of His Word to us is to build up His Church. But there is a problem. Many people claim to speak messages on the Lord’s behalf that He never gave them to deliver. Their “prophecy” came from themselves, not God.

“I did not send these prophets, yet they ran with a message. I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. If they had really stood in My council, they would have enabled My people to hear My words and would have turned back from their evil ways and their evil deeds.”  Jeremiah 23:21-22 (HCSB)

Furthermore, concerning “prophecy” and our shared daily Bible pursuit, I encourage you to gather in groups to discuss what He is revealing to you. This will maximize our potential to see Paul’s words realized in our midst and in our day.

“But if all are prophesying, and some unbeliever or uninformed person comes in, he is convicted by all and is judged by all. The secrets of his heart will be revealed, and as a result he will fall down on his face and worship God, proclaiming, ‘God is really among you.’”  1 Corinthians 14:24-25 (HCSB)