October 5

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Jeremiah 4:19-6:15
1.(2012) Words. Words matter. I think about this passage in terms of (1) God has given mankind the gift of language; (2) God's blessings, His grace, comes to us through language; (3) if we don't listen to His words His wrath could come through words of fire:

Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says:

“Because the people have spoken these words,
I will make my words in your mouth a fire
and these people the wood it consumes.
15 People of Israel,” declares the Lord,
“I am bringing a distant nation against you—
an ancient and enduring nation,
a people whose language you do not know,
whose speech you do not understand.
16 Their quivers are like an open grave;
all of them are mighty warriors.
17 They will devour your harvests and food,
devour your sons and daughters;
they will devour your flocks and herds,
devour your vines and fig trees.
With the sword they will destroy
the fortified cities in which you trust.

2.(2012) Jeremiah has already described a spirit of Prostitution among the people; a recurring Old Testament theme of adultery. So the Lord turns them fully over to the fruit of their adultery: serving foreigners in a foreign land . . .

18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not destroy you completely. 19 And when the people ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.’

3.(2012) Boundaries & Limits. God has set them in place. Nature obeys His commands and boundaries and we should do likewise in reverent fear:

20 “Announce this to the descendants of Jacob
and proclaim it in Judah:
21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,
who have eyes but do not see,
who have ears but do not hear:
22 Should you not fear me?” declares the Lord.
“Should you not tremble in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
they may roar, but they cannot cross it.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;
they have turned aside and gone away.
24 They do not say to themselves,
‘Let us fear the Lord our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains in season,
who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’
25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
your sins have deprived you of good.

Colossians 1:18-2:7

Psalm 77:1-20

Proverbs 24:23-25

Years Read
2012, 2025