Jeremiah 21 - 6.12.23

Scripture

Jeremiah‬ ‭21‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT

“Please speak to the Lord for us and ask him to help us. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking Judah. Perhaps the Lord will be gracious and do a mighty miracle as he has done in the past. Perhaps he will force Nebuchadnezzar to withdraw his armies.”

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Observation

King Zedekiah of Judah sends his priests Pashhur and Zephaniah to speak with Jeremiah. They asked if Jeremiah could speak to God on their behalf because their city was being attacked by the forces of the Babylonians. But you see, a couple of chapters ago, Jeremiah warned the people of Judah what would happen to them if they continued living their sinful lifestyle. Jeremiah told them that God’s wrath would be unleashed upon them, and He would destroy their city. But, the people of Judah refused to listen to Jeremiah then, and only now they come and seek God’s help in this issue. But it is too late. The people of Judah have made their bed, and now they will have to lay in it.

Application

Don’t treat God like some “genie in a bottle”!

That is exactly what the people of Judah are doing here in this passage. All God ever wanted from His chosen people of Israel, and us, is a relationship with them/us. He yearns for us to know Him more, so we can experience His abounding love and grace. He wants to bless us because of our obedience to Him. But why is it that we often can be like the people of Judah here? We want to do things our own way, NOT God’s way. We want to live our lives the way we please, but as soon as we experience turmoil…only then, we cry out to God for help. We can’t treat God like some “genie in a bottle” that we only go to whenever we need something from Him. God wants all of us. He wants our hearts. He wants our devotion. He wants that personal relationship with us that He setup through His Son Jesus. So let’s give God our all. Let’s give Him our best. Let’s see how God will bless us when we do.

“The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”-‭‭Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭27‬-‭28‬

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, I want to first and foremost ask for Your forgiveness for the times I treated You like a “genie in a bottle” or like my own “personal vending machine”. You deserve my best, because You gave me Your best…with Jesus. Thank You Jesus for giving me full access to a Holy God because You died for my sins and made me right in His eyes. I pray that I follow You and grow in my relationship with You. May my life bring You all the glory and honor You deserve. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽

-Moses Gaddi