Tag: Jeremiah

The Anger Of The Lord

The Word of God provides so much comfort, consolation, encouragement, strength, hope, and excited anticipation. It is food and drink for the soul. David describes it as beautiful and beneficial (Psa. 19:7-10). It makes us alive and saves our soul (1 Pet. 1:22; Js. 1:18). It sanctifies (Jn. 17:17). 

Neal Pollard

The Word of God provides so much comfort, consolation, encouragement, strength, hope, and excited anticipation. It is food and drink for the soul. David describes it as beautiful and beneficial (Psa. 19:7-10). It makes us alive and saves our soul (1 Pet. 1:22; Js. 1:18). It sanctifies (Jn. 17:17). 

Yet, the Word, consistent with God’s perfect character, contains warnings, rebukes, and threats all backed by the unlimited power and perfection of God’s nature. Back when God instituted His special covenant with the Jews at Mt. Sinai, He made it clear that His promises and blessings were conditional. Moses reviews this promise of God at the end of his life, saying, “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known” (Dt. 11:26-28). 

At the end of 2 Kings, the remnant of the Jews still in the land (remember, Israel was destroyed and carried off into captivity in chapter 17) had drifted into the curse Moses spoke of. The prophets, like Jeremiah, Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, had warned Judah, but the kings, priests, false prophets, elders, and the people, shunned the message. After His perfect patience had been repeatedly tried and finally exhausted, He displays His wrath.

Wicked Jehoiakim’s son, Jehoiachin, mounted the throne in his father’s place. Though he only reigned three months, the record shows that “he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had don” (2 Ki. 24:9). The Babylonian Emperor, Nebuchadnezzar, besieged Jerusalem, carried Jehoiachin captive “his mother and his servants and his captains and his officials” (12), all the temple and king’s treasures (13), ” all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths” (14–leaving only the poorest people in the land), and “all the men of valor, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all strong and fit for war” (16). Nebuchadnezzar put a puppet king on Judah’s throne, Jehoiachin’s uncle, Mattaniah, who Nebuchadnezzar renamed “Zedekiah” (17). He did evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his nephew had done (18)! Even in the face of such punishment and defeat, Judah’s leadership refused to humble itself and repent. In fact, Zedekiah was not only rebel against God but also the instrument of punishment in His hand (Babylon’s king, Jer. 25:9)(20).

Why would God allow this to happen to His chosen people? The writer of 2 Kings explains it this way: “For through the anger of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence” (20). Perhaps the people convinced themselves that since God had not acted in punishment against their parents and grandparents, He didn’t care about how they were acting and they were going to get away with it. Peter tells us how that is part of human nature. Using the past (the days of Noah) as an illustration of the end of time, Peter says that mockers with their mocking will ask where the promise of God’s coming is. They’ll say, “Ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation” (2 Pe. 3:4). They ignore what happened in Noah’s day (5-6). They ignore that God spares or destroys this world according to the word of His power (5-7). They ignore that God is not bound by time (8). They ignore that God’s perfect patience is at work right now, as He wishes for all to come to repentance (9). But, the day of the Lord will come (10a)! He will deal out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus (2 Th. 1:8). 

But, let us be convinced of this. God wants to pour out His blessings, approval, and incredible love upon all of us! Yet, He leaves the ball in our court. He wants nothing more than to hold us close to Him and have us spend our eternity with Him (2 Pe. 3:11-15). If we respond to that love in submissive obedience, we will feel the full force of His kindness. If we don’t, He’s loved us enough to show us what that will mean for us! May we be wise enough to avoid “the anger of the Lord”! 

Calls From The Low Dungeon

Neal Pollard

All he said was what was true. For prophesying that Judah would he devastated by Babylon, Jeremiah was cast into the dungeon of the king’s son (Jer. 38:1-6). He was suspended by cords which surely cut into his armpits. He soaked in unsanitary mire. He was left there to starve to death. Were it not for the compassionate heart of Ebedmelech, Jeremiah likely would have died.

The book of Lamentations, written by Jeremiah, is entirely filled with his sorrowful cries because of God’s punished people. The book can be seen as five, distinct mournful poems. Each poem reflects a different facet of the common sorrow [chapter one, the physical suffering of Judah; chapter two, God’s scolding of Judah; chapter three, Jeremiah’s spiritual suffering because of Judah’s sins; chapter four, the spiritual suffering of Judah because of their sins; chapter five, Jeremiah’s supplications for contrite Judah] (F.D. Hemenway., 454).

In Lamentations 3:55, the weeping prophet tells the Lord, “I called on Your name, O Lord, from the lowest pit.” This image is identical to the words of the psalmist, who says in Psalm 88:6, “You have laid me in the lowest pit, In darkness, in the depths.”  Heman seems to complain that he has been placed there because of injustice and not because of his iniquity. Our minds are called back to Dothan, where jealous brothers cast Joseph into an empty pit. The sins of Joseph’s brothers caused him to look up from his pit.

But, no doubt or question arises about why Judah is in this figurative pit from which Jeremiah cries. Though Jeremiah has lived godly and has not deserved suffering , he realized he stood among a nation of people who failed to obey Jehovah. So, from the low dungeon of despair, Jeremiah says several things.

“You Heard Me When I Cried” (Lamentations 3:56). From this statement we see that THE LORD RECOGNIZES HIS PEOPLE! David knew this (Psalm 6:8; 18:3-6; 66:19), as he often exclaimed that “God has heard me.” Paul’s inspired conviction of hope was “the Lord knows them that are His ” (2 Tim. 2:19). To the Corinthian brethren, Paul said, “But if any man love God, the same is known of God” (1 Cor. 8:3). In verse 56, Jeremiah finds comfort in calamitous times. He also makes an impassioned plea that God not turn away from His crying, Because Jeremiah was a child of God, he was assured that God would, in some way, answer him.

“You Drew Near When I Called” (Lamentations 3:57). THE LORD RESPONDS TO HIS PEOPLE! Jeremiah recognized the “Shepherd” aspect of the Lord. One can clearly envision the cradling Arms of the Almighty, scooping up His lambs injured by their own choices and giving them comfort in their repentance (cf. Psalm 23). James would teach us that God draws near to us if we draw near unto Him (James 4:8).

“You Have Pled The Causes Of My Soul” (Lamentations 3:58). Truly , THE LORD REPRESENTS HIS PEOPLE! David prayed that God would plead his cause and deliver him (Psa. 119:154). The prophet Micah patiently waited for the representation of the Lord on his behalf. He said, “I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me” (Micah 7:9). He who, in the flesh, experienced humanity represents man before God as mediator (1 Tim. 2:5).

“You Have Redeemed My Life ” (Lamentations 3:58). THE LORD REDEEMS HIS PEOPLE! A suffering Job rejoiced, ” I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand upon the earth at the latter day” (Job 19:25). Jeremiah, knowing the mercy of the Lord, confidently spoke of how God had preserved his life in times past. In a greater sense, Christ is the means of mankind’s redemption from eternal condemnation. That prolific passage, Titus 2:11-14, proclaims that God’s saving grace has appeared to all men in the person of Christ, “that he might redeem us from all iniquity.” Christ’s incorruptible blood redeems the faithful obedient one (cf. 1 Pet. 1:18). Part of the enchanting song sung by the adorers of Christ includes the words “…For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9). 

“You Have Seen My Wrong” (Lamentations 3:59). Additionally, we learn that THE LORD REPRIMANDS HIS PEOPLE! God sees all that we do, though many think that God only sees the good we do. Others think that God only sees other people’s wrongs, and still others think that God only sees non-Christians’ sins. God sees everything everyone does every instant everywhere and every time. How wonderful and reassuring this is to those who walk in the light. How fearful this is for those who walk in darkness. God, in His justice, will punish all whose wrongs are not covered by Christ’s precious blood.

Obviously, God’s people had sown iniquity. Jeremiah rebukes his brethren throughout the book of Jeremiah because of their idolatry, hypocrisy, failings in the home, materialism, and stubborn wills. Through the Babylonians, Judah reaped the captivity. But, as Jeremiah prophesied, Judah would not be captive forever (Jer. 30-35). God heard the cries of Jeremiah from the low dungeon of despair.

Christians have the confidence that God will deliver them from the Pits of Persecution, the Dungeons of Despair, and the Cells of Sin. What hope!

“We Are Born Three Times”

Thursday’s Column: Dale Mail

blond man with goatee smiling at camera with blazer on
Dale Pollard

Jeremiah was a man who faced many challenges and hardships. He was someone who was intimate with failure and let down— but God’s reminder to him is the same for us today. He was designed with a purpose before he was born. 

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah 1.5 

All humans are premeditated in their formation but are born first in the mind of God. That’s something worth thinking about. Our minds are incomprehensible in their complexity and our bodies came stock with a piece of eternity called the “soul.” 

The King of Kings had a hand in every every atom that makes up the body. 

According to ancestry.com, 

“Your DNA could stretch from the earth to the sun and back ~600 times.” 

Suzanne Bell is a chemist at West Virginia University and she estimates that a 150-pound human body contains about 6.5 octillion (that’s 6,500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) atoms.

Jeremiah’s job was to speak on behalf of God to the people of his day. He was created for that purpose. Today our job is the same. A prophet is simply a mouthpiece for God and we were created to be a mouthpiece on behalf of the same God for the people of our day. Since we are fearfully and wonderfully made, according to Psalm 139:13-14, then any purpose other than the one God has given us will fall short every time. Let’s not be the clay that questions the potter.

Worship That Wearies God

Monday’s Column: Neal At The Cross

Neal Pollard

If we are honest, some days it is easier to worship with focus and enthusiasm than others. We’re human and we struggle. With mental preparation and prayer, we can minimize the frequency of such times, but they happen to the best of us.

Have you ever thought about God getting tired of the worship brought by His people? I don’t mean worship done incorrectly and according to the will of men which violates what He commands. Apparently, He rejects such worship (Mat. 15:9). I don’t mean the idea that He gets bored and had rather skip a Sunday here and there. No such picture is ever painted of God.

But through the prophets, He repeatedly talks about being weary of the worship brought by His people. 

“I have had enough…I take no pleasure in…your worthless offerings…an abomination to me…I cannot endure…They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them” (Isaiah 1:11-14).

“I hate, I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies…Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps” (Amos 5:21,23).

“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you” (Malachi 1:10). 

Each prophet is dealing with specific circumstances prompting such a response from God, but it should cause us to take notice that just coming into the “meeting house” and going through the motions does not equal acceptable worship. Neither does simply following the New Testament pattern for the acts of worship. You will find in each of the passages above that the people were at the right place offering the right sacrifices on the right day led by the right people. The problem was either one of attitude, hypocrisy, or outright worldly living. Jeremiah documents how the people lived just like the world for the rest of the week, then filed into the temple to sing, “Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!” (7:4-10). 

Worship is a special privilege, to come into the presence of our Maker and Savior. At our best, we worship Him with sin and weakness in our lives. He knows that and the cross proves that He knows it. He is not expected sinless perfection, but He is looking for characteristics in our worship just beyond doctrinal accuracy.  He wants:

  • Feeling (Psalm 95:6; John 4:24).
  • Engagement (Matthew 15:8).
  • Effort (Hebrews 13:15).
  • Gratitude (Ephesians 5:20; Colossians 3:16-17).
  • Thoughtfulness and Intentionality (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).
  • Devotion (Acts 2:42).
  • Consideration of one another (Hebrews 10:24). 

It is such a blessing that God communicates with us not only about the “what,” “when,” and “who” of worship, but also the “how” and “why” of it. When we are assembled for worship, He tells us what worship should look like. Between the assemblies, He tells us what a life looks like that partners with that worship.

God speaks of the various sacrifices of His children being a “fragrant aroma” to Him (Philippians 4:20; ). He likens the prayers of His faithful people to incense (Revelation 5:8; 8:1ff).  Jesus assures us that true worshippers offering true worship are highly sought after by God (John 4:23). That’s the aim, isn’t it? The idea of presenting God with both a worshipper and worship which enthuses Him is the pinnacle of excitement! 

Next Sunday, before we come together in worship, we can read Psalm 95, Psalm 96, Isaiah 6, or a similar chapter which reminds us of Who we get to worship. Today and every day, let us strive to build on the most recent worship we have offered by a life of faithful service and sincere devotion. That will set the table for worship God can’t wait to receive! 

Planning Like Prophets

Tuesday’s Column: Dale Mail

Dale Pollard

Vision: The ability to think about or plan for the future with imagination and wisdom. 

 In the book of Revelation we read of seven churches that needed to develop different areas of weakness in order to be the church Christ needed them to be. 

The Old Testament is also filled with valuable information and strategies to help congregations develop and execute their visions. Each church family will differ and since that’s the case, each congregation needs custom vision.

Here are two Old Testament passages that give us some insight into the mind of God on the subject of vision planning. 

  1. A Good Vision Is Visible 

         Habakkuk 2:2-3 

Though Habakkuk’s message was concerning the the conquest of Babylon, this text is invaluable for us today. 

Here we read God’s strategy for successful/effective planning. 

“Write down the revelation 

It should be tangible
    “and make it plain on tablets”

It should be precise 
    “so that a herald may run with it.”

It should be effective. A vision without legs won’t go far. 

“For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
    it speaks of the end
    and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
    it will certainly come
    and will not delay.”

 A vision should be lasting. When God spoke to the prophets they would often record things that would happen years in the future. With these future events written down, the following generations could plan accordingly. God is coming back and eternity is coming, we must create a plan so that we and those after us can continue to prepare. 

  1. If It’s Not His, It’s Hopeless 

          Jeremiah 23.16 

“This is what the Lord Almighty says:

God must have a voice 

“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;

The ungodly shouldn’t have a voice when it comes to planning a vision for God’s people
    they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
    not from the mouth of the Lord.”

God must have a voice because the vision shouldn’t be born from the mind of man!

The Struggles Of The Righteous

(Pinch Hitting For Brent, Who Is Sick)

(This is from today’s Lehman Learner)

Neal Pollard

Perhaps Jeremiah seemed to be mean, harsh, even unloving, to his brethren. His message is certainly what we could categorize as negative, but we remind ourselves that its source was God. What may get lost in Jeremiah’s challenging message is how it affected him to share it. Chapter nine is full of the struggles he endured in being God’s spokesman with a message of divine judgment.

Jeremiah endured mourning (1). While Judah would be hypercritical and threatening toward Jeremiah for his message, they had him all wrong. He did not relish his unpleasant message. He would have preferred to have kept his mouth closed (20:9). They had no idea of how his mission was wearing on him. He writes, “Oh that my head were waters And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people!” He knew that they were hurting themselves by their lifestyle, and he wanted them to escape judgment. It can be heartbreaking work to share God’s word on any number of unpleasant, unpopular subjects. No rational preacher, elder, or teacher is excited to share such a message, but it must be done (2 Tim. 4:2).  Jeremiah is rightly called the “weeping prophet” (8:18; 13:17; Lam. 2:18). Revealing this was an emotional struggle.

Jeremiah endured isolation  (2). The pressures of sharing a message nobody wanted to hear created inevitable isolation. He felt alone and like nobody understood or cared. He longs to escape such disappointing, unrighteous behavior. He wanted to run like Jonah. He felt alone like Elijah. It can go with the business of declaring God’s message. There are times when you may feel like you are standing all alone, but you never will if you are sharing God’s word God’s way. He will never leave you (Mat. 28:20; Heb. 13:6). 

Jeremiah endured disillusionment (3-6). He expected more and better from his brethren. They knew better, but they were guilty of treachery and adultery (2), lies and deceit (3,5-6), ignorance (3), violence (4), slander (5), and general iniquity (5). Have you ever overheard someone you looked up to use foul language or stumbled upon someone doing something sinful? It’s like a punch in the gut. But imagine a congregation full of people doing what God through Jeremiah reports. It had to have been discouraging and caused feelings of hopelessness. 

Jeremiah endured a sinking realization (7-11). What was the cost of this? Sin is not without consequences (Gal. 6:7-8; Hos. 8:7; Prov. 6:26). At the heart of God’s message was this rhetorical question: “Shall I not punish them for these things?” (9). Jeremiah knew what was coming. There would be weeping, wailing, and dirges (funeral songs)(10).  Judah would be ruined and desolate (11). Jeremiah knew this ahead of time. Whatever normalcy he witnessed each morning and evening, he knew that would ultimately change. The fact of judgment looms over the horizon of time. It will be a day of rejoicing for the righteous and prepared, but not for the rest of humanity. The people of Judah were not ready for this judgment, and Jeremiah knew that. 

Jeremiah endured being overwhelmed (12-16). The message gets specific about the nature of what was coming. It was going to be more devastating than any of them had experienced. Because of their stubborn rebellion, they would be scattered and annihilated. Hope belongs to the penitent, but there’s just no good news for those who are determined to oppose God’s way.  

Jeremiah endured unpleasant duty (17-22). God tells Jeremiah to call for mourning, wailing, and tears (17-19). He is help them focus on their shame (19).  The heart of the message was death (20-22). Don’t you think Jeremiah would have loved to have spoken of grace, mercy, lovingkindness, and blessings? But the circumstances did not call for that. Jeremiah had to be faithful to God’s message. Like Micaiah, every faithful spokesman for God should say, “As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I shall speak” (1 Ki. 22:14). 

There is a ray of hope starting in 9:23. Amid the folly of idolatry, there will be a reminder of the wonderful, perfect character of God in chapter ten. But even here, there is encouragement for God’s faithful servant. It was a message for the worldly wise, for the mighty man, and for the wealthy (23) not to trust in those things, but to trust in Him. Everyone should boast of knowing and understanding God, that He is “the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things” (24). Punishment was for the spiritually uncircumcised (25-26). It was not for the faithful, like His man Jeremiah. Whatever we have to struggle through for the Savior, may we know that God will be with us through thick and thin. He has not left us alone. He will always be with us, help us, and strengthen us! Declaring His word is right, and He will not let us lose for being unswervingly loyal to it and Him! 

 The Doom of Jerusalem 

Tuesday Column: Dale Mail

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Dale Pollard

Have you ever been to a “show and tell”? Maybe it was in school and the teacher asked you to get up in front of the class and show a particular object and explain and talk a little bit about it. I remember as a child dragging my giant yellow dump truck to class and showing everyone how the scoop on the back worked. I was very proud of it and after the class I sat on the truck and rode it down the hill in the parking lot. 

Jeremiah’s “show and tell” was not nearly as lighthearted. Instead of bringing a toy truck to show the people, he brought a sword and began to shave his face with it. The hair that he shaved off was what has been left alive by the people. The point of him dividing it into thirds was to make a point. That one third are the ones that survived the siege. Then the few that survive will be taken off but taken care of by God. In Zechariah 13 we find out that the fire of destruction took care of the first third. This wasn’t a fire that was meant to refine them. 

When we look at accounts like these it should make us think. Why was that account there? It’s definitely for our learning, but what is it that we need to take away? I believe at least two lessons can be learned from this. The first is that God will keep His word. If God says that He is going to punish the wicked for their wickedness, then He will most definitely do so. The second lesson to be learned is that in all of this, we can clearly see God’s love. Did God have to take care of the remnant? We know from previous scripture that God wanted to destroy them all at one point and start over. God still cares for His people and He still saw them through their trials, despite what they had done to Him. As His children today we need to realize that even though God may not necessarily strike us down on the spot for rejecting Him, He still takes it just as seriously. God still feels the same about selfishness and a self-serving lifestyle. It’s an ongoing battle to put away those human desires that pull us away from God but it’s a supernatural force that allows us to remain close to Him. 

The Art of Excuses (Jeremiah 1)

Thursday’s Column: Captain’s Blog

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Carl Pollard

Someone once said, “Excuses are tools of the incompetent, and those who specialize in them seldom go far.” Ben Franklin is quoted saying, “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” 

Jeremiah had a complete list of excuses ready when God called on him to be a prophet to the people of Israel. Many times the excuses of Jeremiah become ours when we are called on to proclaim God’s Word to this world. We see that with every excuse Jeremiah made, God gave promises in return. 

First, Jeremiah said, “the task ahead is difficult.” Jeremiah 1:5 says, ““Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” This is God speaking to Jeremiah, and notice what He says, “I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” The task ahead is difficult, so Jeremiah gives off a list of excuses for why he isn’t the one for this job. God gives a promise for Jeremiah’s excuses. He says, “before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” God knew that Jeremiah was the one for the job, even if Jeremiah didn’t think so. 

Second, Jeremiah said, “I don’t have the talent.” Jeremiah 1:6 says, “Then I said, “Alas, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth.” Many times people blame their cowardice on a lack of talent. They say that it isn’t natural to them, that there are others more suited for the job. But God knows Jeremiah and the great good he can accomplish. In Jeremiah 1:9, God promises that He would put His words in Jeremiah’s mouth.  

As Christians today we have these same promises for our worries and excuses. Let’s not blame our cowardice on a lack of talent or the difficulty of the task. That isn’t a good excuse to God. Nothing is. He has promised that He will be with us, and we have HIS Word to teach to others. Let’s trust in that. 

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What To See When False Prophets Speak

Neal Pollard

Peter has a sobering warning for the church, writing, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves” (2 Pet. 2:1). He warns them about the model, the methods, and the message of these men. The counterparts of these modern messengers is the false prophets of old.

Jeremiah lived at a time when such prophets flourished, and the result of their work was the destruction of the people. Jeremiah 23 is a graphic depiction of what God helped Jeremiah see as he looked at and listened to these sinful seers. Notice that in Jeremiah 23:9-40), he saw:

  • Tears (9-10)–Jeremiah was heartbroken, trembling, and overcome, because he knew their message was different from God’s Word and it was taking people off course. 
  • Pollution (11-12)–The Lord found their way wickedness, and this pollution made for a slippery path that would make them fall in calamity and punishment. 
  • Offensiveness (13-14)–They looked to the wrong spiritual source and it led the people of God to commit horrible depravity. 
  • Tragedy (15)–Their message was going to cause their own spiritual sickness and death.
  • Emptiness (16-18)–The message is from their own imagination and not from the Lord’s mouth, so they tell those who hate God they’ll have peace and those who walk in stubbornness that everything will be fine.
  • Storms (19-20)–The storm is the tempest of God’s wrath upon the heads of these false messengers. 
  • Audacity (21-25)–They ran, but God didn’t send them; They prophesied, but God didn’t speak to them; God was right there listening when they said, “I had a dream, I had a dream!”
  • Heart Trouble (26-27)–The prophets had spiritual heart trouble, and their message was loved by people with heart trouble. It resulted in both of them forgetting God. 
  • Straw (28)–Just as straw and grain are totally different things, so is God’s message and their false message. 
  • Judgment (29-40)–God’s Word is like fire and a hammer. He is against their Word and against them for misusing their speaking abilities and leading His people astray. They don’t furnish the people with “the slightest benefit.” They cause the people to forget what truth is.  The end result is tragedy. 

So many can have a message that sounds good, makes one feel good, but does no good! In fact, their message contradicts what God said in His Word. As we grow our Bible knowledge, it will help us see these messengers and their messages for what they are. God’s Word is a blessing to us, both now and eternally. But, measure their message against the Master’s. Embrace only the words that are from Him! Reject the words that come from them!

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Destroying What God Loves

Neal Pollard

God encouraged and comforted Jeremiah, a man He had delegated for a difficult task, with these intimate words: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations” (1:5). This knowledge is intimate knowledge, spoken of God’s intimate acquaintance with Moses (Dt. 34:10) and even Adam’s sexual knowing of Eve (Gen. 4:1). This consecration is “that which belongs to the sphere of the sacred” (TWOT, 786). This appointment is an intentional act of giving something or someone based on the value of the gift. God was sending Jeremiah to the people because of how highly He regarded this one who would become His prophet. Taken together, Jeremiah the fetus was cherished and beloved by God. He recognized Jeremiah as totally human in the womb as out of it.

How startling to read, then, that God “hates…hands that shed innocent blood” (Prov. 6:16,17).  This echoes what is said elsewhere in the Old Testament (Dt. 19:10; Prov. 28:17; Isa. 59:7). Certainly, the unborn are as innocent as can be. Judah’s punishment (70 years of Babylonian Captivity) was sealed because King Manasseh’s sanctioned and encouraged the killing of the nation’s children (2 Ki. 24:3-4; Jer. 15:4). The people paid the price for destroying God’s precious children, known, consecrated, and appointed by Him for work only He knows. 

It is not newsworthy for me to tell you how many abortions have been committed in our nation just since January, 1973. Those facts are frequently shared. However, it is helpful for us to ask what influence we have in trying to turn people’s hearts toward righteousness.

  • Focus more on soul-winning. Converting men and women to Christ will persuade more to sensitivity to God’s will on everything that matters, including this.
  • Thoughtfully examine the positions and voting records of every person seeking political office. Forget party affiliation. Investigate and use your constitutional rights. The lines in the sand on this issue are already horrific, yet they still keep moving.
  • Pray for national leaders to care for the precious unborn and courageous defend them.
  • Stand with and encourage groups who fight for the rights of unborn children.

Only God knows how full America’s wine vat is with the grapes of His wrath. Perhaps, like Judah and Manasseh, it is too late to save this nation. That is a matter for constant prayer. Let’s be infinitely more concerned with saving the precious life within the womb than we are the personal comforts, freedoms, and privileges we enjoy in this nation.

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So You Have A Sinful Past? (POEM)

 

Neal Pollard

Moses was a murderer, Rahab was a liar,
David was an adulterer and to murder he did conspire,
Gideon and Timothy were timid, Peter a confirmed denier,
Paul wrecked havoc on the church, so full of hate and ire.

God, from time immemorial, has used the earthen vessel,
Sons of thunder or deceivers– like Jacob, who an angel did wrestle.
Just like Abraham and Isaac, very human if chosen and special
Barak, Samson, Jephthah, who with flaws their faith did nestle

From cover to cover, Scripture shows that God works through sinners
Preachers, prophets, kings and elders, saints and great soul-winners
It helps us who would serve today, to be better enders than beginners
To not let sin defeat us, to go from offenders to God defenders

Perhaps you have a sinful past or there’s guilt here in your today
A habit, sin, or weakness, crimes of deeds, thoughts, or what you say
Look back to men and women of old, they willed for they knew The Way
Conquer through Christ your old man, get busy, trust in God and obey!

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Peter denying Christ

“Good That Comes From Bad”

Neal Pollard

With a name like “Lamentations,” you know it isn’t a joke book. It’s not lighthearted or jovial. It’s the inspired record of Jeremiah’s tears and troubled spirit over the punishment of Judah for her idolatry and abandonment of God. It is graphic (see 2:20-21; 4:4-10; 5:11-14). Conditions became terrible for the nation (cf. 1:9-10). The book is filled with apocalyptic language and hyperbole (3:1-16).

In the middle of the prophesy, though, Jeremiah expresses the hopeful effect of all this calamity and reaping. The desired effect of captivity was three-fold, according to Lamentations 3:40. First, it was for self-examination–“Let us search out and examine our ways.” Second, it was for repentance–“and turn back to the Lord.” Finally, it was for spiritual development–“Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven.”

When we sin or even are caught in some long-term transgression, there will very often be consequences. If we fail to overcome it, the consequences will be unending and most serious. Yet, if we “come to ourselves” (cf. Luke 15:17) and let go of what is keeping us from being right with God, it can have those same three positive impacts on us. It cause cause us to engage in proper self-examination. It will hopefully lead us to repent. Then, this paves the road for us to grow close to God through proper spiritual development.

The ideal is to avoid spiritually spiraling out of control or into some sin problem. Yet, if or when we do, let us remember Lamentations 3:40. Good can come from bad.

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Is There No Balm In Gilead?

Neal Pollard

Jeremiah asks that question rhetorically? It comes at the end of an oracle God gave this prophet to share with his people, Judah. He had asked if the people had turned to idolatry because God was not in Zion (Jer. 8:19). He then ends by saying, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?” (8:22). In context, the people were sin-sick, but the cure was available. It was not because God was unable to restore them that they were ailing, but because they refused to seek the cure.

Certainly, today’s society mirrors this attitude of Jeremiah’s contemporaries, but this, in context, was spoken to those who had been healed in the past. These were God’s people. Now, they were spiritually sick and not getting better. The logical question is the one Jeremiah asked—“Why not?” When we are sick with sinful habits, lifestyles, attitudes, and speech, why don’t we turn to God for the cure?

  • Sometimes, we are oblivious to our symptoms.  Paul speaks of some who are “past feeling” (Eph. 4:19). We can become callous to our condition and rationalize it. As long as we persist in that state, it is as if there is no balm.
  • Sometimes, we look elsewhere for the cure. Judah had her idols, and so can we. People struggling with life turn to so many poor substitutes to numb, deaden, and try to eliminate the pain. Nothing can substitute for the Balm of Gilead (cf. Jer. 3:23).
  • Sometimes, we feel ourselves to be a hopeless case. As we struggle with our temptations and sins, we can get to the point where we feel we’ve gone too far or been too often to reverse the problem. This is not God’s message. He provides hope to every one who will come to Him for help (Heb. 6:9-12).
  • Sometimes, we underestimate God’s power. Jeremiah’s predecessor, Isaiah, shares God’s message regarding this, saying, “The Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save” (59:1). Jeremiah would echo this idea, writing, “Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You” (32:17; keep reading in context for more beautiful truth along this line). Though we should know better, sometimes we forget God’s power to save.
  • Sometimes, we neglect our support system. God gave the church as a hospital where all of us, sick with sin, can not only receive healing from Him but help each other. In a sense, we’re a leper colony that has found the One who will keep us from dying. But we need each other for help to survive this spiritual sickness (Gal. 6:1-2).
  • Sometimes, we don’t avail ourselves of God’s medicine. How tragic to die from spiritual disease when God has the means to heal us. We have His Word as a divine prescription. We have prayer. We have the confidence of faith. We have the trust in His providence. He has armed us sufficiently with the cure, if we accept it (cf. Luke 5:31).

While they await the cure for cancer, cystic fibrosis, ALS, multiple sclerosis, and the like, our greatest illness has already been remedied. This illness carries with it the greatest repercussions. We cannot neglect the cure. But if we spiritually die, it will not be because there is no balm and no Physician. It will be because we would not come to Him for healing. May we not let this be the reason.

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STUBBORN TRUTHS

Neal Pollard

—And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery (Mat. 19:9).
—Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).
—For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error (Rom. 1:26-27).
—And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all…There is one body (Eph.1:22-23; 4:4).
—And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord (Eph. 5:18-19).
—A woman is not allowed to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet (1 Tim. 2:11-14).

Passages like these are hotly debated, denied, and derided by those who either cast them against other Scripture or subjugate them to current cultural expectations. Those who desire to accept verses like those above as simple truth are often thought to be ignorant or, worse, dangerous.

The same book reveals the person and sacrifice of Jesus. It reveals the nature and attributes of God. It tells us where we came from and where we are going. It speaks of grace and faith. We accept these truths at face value. But when we come to passages that go against the grain of popular opinion (in or out of religion), cultural mores, or religious orthodoxy, we somehow attempt to say they do not say what they say they say. Jehoiakim’s scribe’s knife and his brazier fire did not eliminate truth (Jer. 36:23). It actually intensified the message against him (36:29ff). The number of academic degrees, religious followers, or oratorical skill will not change the truth of Scripture. It is what it is. Our role is to humbly submit to it or forever beat ourselves against it. May we love and revere God enough to always do the former.

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The “Nothings”

Neal Pollard

What the child is always doing, despite evidence to the contrary (“nothing”). What is wrong with one’s spouse who sits nearby, quietly and tightlippedly fuming (“nothing”). What the interrupted person was going to say (“nothing”). The word which defines itself is “nothing.” The Bible teaches, “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Gal. 6:4).

Those low in self-esteem think of themselves as nothing. Children and spouses who are constantly told so think of themselves as nothing. Those not as wealthy as their friends or neighbors often conclude themselves to be nothing. Those unrecognized for their accomplishments can feel like they are nothing. But the inspired apostle refers to some who think themselves to be something who are actually “nothing.” The Bible makes mention of that arrogant family, The “Nothings.” They are a haughty, proud, self-involved, earthly-minded crew.

Meet The Nothings.

There Are The “Good For Nothings.” Jeremiah introduces them. He says, “This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing” (Jer. 13:10). They were unaware of problems they had. They were evil, spiritually deaf, selfish, and idolatrous. He compares them to a good for nothing, straight from a hole in the ground, dirt-soiled belt!

No one is inherently worthless, but we can choose a lifestyle that is wicked, lukewarm, or indistinct (cf. Mat. 5:13). Christians, by our distinctive nature, are of great value to God (1 Pet. 2:9). Yet, by surrendering our Christian influence, we can become “good for nothing.”

There Are The “Brought To Nothings.” After referring to the danger of making decisions based solely on human reasoning, Jeremiah prays that God will not bring him to nothing (Jer. 10:23-24). God will rename some the Brought to Nothings, those who believe man’s ideas over God’s facts. Paul warns that God will “destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent” (1 Cor. 1:19; Isa. 29:14). The wisest and most scholarly man who discounts God’s Word will be a regretful member of the Brought To Nothings someday.

There Are The “Need Of Nothings.” These are the overly comfortable, spiritually out of shape members of the Nothings clan. They live their lives saying, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and they do not know that they “are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (Rev. 3:17). They aren’t really bad people, but they aren’t all that good either. They’re just quite satisfied with what they have done for Christ, which isn’t all that great and not too bad. They merely yawn through their spiritually lives, only occasionally stirring from spiritual sleep (cf. Eph. 5:14). They half-heartedly do just enough to deceive themselves into thinking they’re pleasing the Lord.

Unrelated to these Nothings are some good folks, like the Ashamed In Nothings (Phil. 1:20), Terrified By Nothings (Phil. 1:28), Anxious For Nothings (Phil. 4:6), and the Wavering In Nothings (Jas. 1:6, KJV). But the Nothings family mentioned above are black sheep in God’s family. No one should want to “take after” them.

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