July 25: Unfaithful Bride

Jeremiah 1:1-3:5

Jeremiah 1:4-5

Amplified Bible (AMP)

4 Then the word of the Lord came to me [Jeremiah], saying,

5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

Jeremiah 1:17-19

Amplified Bible (AMP)

17 But you [Jeremiah], gird up your loins! Arise and tell them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed and break down at the sight of their faces, lest I confound you before them and permit you to be overcome.

18 For I, behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar and bronze walls against the whole land—against the [successive] kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land [giving you divine strength which no hostile power can overcome].

19 And they shall fight against you, but they shall not [finally] prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.

I wonder, is Jeremiah's call also the call to the church today? Pastor Thomas preached an amazing message last night urging us to answer God's call to let people know about the impending disaster coming to those who continue living directly against God's word. He said just because our nation passes laws making sinful lifestyles okay doesnt mean God's word has changed as well. 

This was not a pleasant task for Jeremiah. It's not a pleasant task for us. But it must be done. And the Lord promises to deliver us. Even though many may not accept our word from God.

Jeremiah 2:10-12

Amplified Bible (AMP)

10 For cross over to the coasts of Cyprus [to the west] and see, send also to Kedar [to the east] and carefully consider; and see whether there has been such a thing as this:

11 Has a nation [ever] changed its gods, even though they are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory [God] for that which does not profit.

12 Be astonished and appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked and shrivel up with horror, says the Lord [at the behavior of the people].

Even the idol worshippers are more faithful to their gods!

Jeremiah 2:20-22

Amplified Bible (AMP)

20 For long ago [in Egypt] I broke your yoke and burst your bonds [not that you might be free, but that you might serve Me] [a]and long ago you shattered the yoke and snapped the bonds [of My law which I put upon you]; you said, I will not serve and obey You! For upon every high hill and under every green tree you [eagerly] prostrated yourself [in idolatrous worship], playing the harlot.

21 Yet I had planted you [O house of Israel] a choice vine, wholly of pure seed. How then have you turned into degenerate shoots of wild vine alien to Me?

22 For though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, yet your iniquity and guilt are still [upon you; you are] spotted, dirty, and stained before Me, says the Lord.

Jeremiah 2:27, 28

Amplified Bible (AMP)

27 [Inasmuch as] they say to a tree, You are my father, and to a stone, You gave me birth. For they have turned their backs to Me and not their faces; but in the time of their trouble, they say, Arise [O Lord] and save us!

28 But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise if they can save you in the time of your trouble! For [as many as] the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah. [Surely so many handmade idols should be able to help you!]

Jeremiah 3:1-3

Amplified Bible (AMP)

3 That is to say, If a man puts away his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, will he return to her again? [Of course not!] Would not that land [where such a thing happened] be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot [against Me] with many lovers—yet would you now return to Me? says the Lord [or do you even think to return to Me?]

2 Lift up your eyes to the bare heights and see. Where have you not been adulterously lain with? By the wayside you have sat waiting for lovers [eager for idolatry], like an Arabian [desert tribesman who waits to plunder] in the wilderness; and you have polluted the land with your vile harlotry and your wickedness (unfaithfulness and disobedience to God).

3 Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no spring rain. Yet you have the brow of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.

"Dear God I repent for all who have known Your love and have turned away and allowed themselves to be ravished by deliberate, shameless sin. I repent for those who say they are Christians while winking at sinful lifestyles. I pray You would continue to draw them to You just as You drew Your chosen people, time and time again. Help me to be Your voice. As Jeremiah was. Give me the words. Help me not to hesitate or be fearful. I hurt for You O God. To see all the deliberate turning away from the truths of Your word. Even by those who say they are Christians. That has to hurt the most. I accept Your call. I will be Your voice. Even if I lose friends. I will stand for truth as long as I live. I will worship You and hold up Your banner forever. In Your precious name, Jesus. AMEN."