Loving the Word with the MudPreacher

Jeremiah was a prophet who preached to a nation that was about to be overtaken by enemies. Their “favored-nation” status with Jehovah was no longer protecting them from the aggressions of their enemies. God had chosen Jeremiah to put His Words in his mouth and was now directing Jeremiah to speak those words. God told him “whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak”. There was some success during the reign of Josiah, but for the most part the people’s honoring the message from God continued to deteriorate until the capture of Jerusalem  in 586 BC. Jeremiah’s second message preached during the reign of Josiah was at minimum 20 years before the siege of Nebuchadnezzar II in 588 BC. Even at that time, during the reforms of Josiah and the renewed religiosity of the Jews, Jeremiah was calling Judah to acknowledge her iniquity and turn ‘O backsliding children’ to the Lord. (Jer 3:13-14).

Jeremiah confesses the sins of Judah: “But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.” (Jer 3:23-24)

‏This shameful thing is the Hebrew word בֹּשֶׁת‎ (bōshet) which means “to fall into disgrace, normally through failure, either of self or of an object of trust.” It is not an inward shame like we think, but means  “to come to shame” and stresses the sense of public disgrace, a physical state. Because of their toleration and even worship of other gods, the Israelites had been brought to shame to disgrace. That which they had trusted in, a Baal god, their government, their wealth, had done the opposite of what they wanted. They were now lying down in public shame and disgrace, the works of their hands, their wealth, their possessions, their children, their grandchildren, having been consumed and corrupted by that which they worshipped.

Our great country, the US of A has been headed down a slippery slope for years. We have worshiped the gods of our own making. We have worshiped our possessions, our rights. In the meantime we have sacrificed unborn babies to the god of governmental rights. We have relied on our gods of government and finance to provide for our needs and our retirement. America has turned away from the one True God, the source of our Blessings. We have swept him out of our classrooms and our court rooms. He is barely thought of as we pay homage to the gods of video games and entertainment.

As a result the wealth of America, the souls of our children and grandchildren, the works of our hands are all being stripped away. The enemy is upon us and we keep relying on our little handmade gods. Soon we will realize that they cannot save us. Our shame and disgrace will be evident to all.

Jeremiah Provides Advice for the Nation of Israel in Chapter Four.

I believe this applies to America as well

1. Return to the Lord. Do away with those things which are an abomination to God. This means abortion. This means corruption in government and the court rooms. (4:1)
2. Swear allegiance to the Lord, to walk in His truth, His judgment and in His righteousness. We must teach God’s truth to our children. His Word must be allowed back into the classroom. His word must be allowed back into our workplaces. (4:2)
3. Break up the fallow ground. We must repent and mourn as a nation for our hardness toward God and His Word. (4:3)
4. Circumcise our Hearts. We must take away that which causes the destruction and corruption of our hearts. Pornography, Drugs, Prostitution must be dealt with. We must no longer turn our heads and allow this corruption. (4:4)
5. Blow the Trumpet of Assembly. Our leaders must stand and warn America of the coming judgment. They must encourage us to seek Him and return to Him. (4:5)
   

   Time to Blow the Trumpet & Raise the Standard

6. Raise a Standard. No matter the enemy, we must raise the standard of God and His Word over our nation. Once more our leaders must live by the standards of God’s Word. (4:6)
7. Realize that Judgment is coming. We must gird ourselves with a resolve to follow God. We must continue to seek Him with repentance. (4:7-8)
8. Wash our hearts from wickedness, that we may be saved. (4:14)

Jeremiah was a broken-hearted prophet.

His words were ignored, and his message was treated with contempt and even imprisonment and torture. God’s judgment is already upon America, and there is no man to raise the Standard that God requires. True Believers must prepare themselves for the wrath of God on our nation. We must cry out to Him. Perhaps God will allow us more time to turn this nation back to Him, or at the very least, allow us to see our loved ones come to Jesus Christ.